Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Samantha Ingram . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Samantha , so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
As a self-taught potter, my confidence and self-esteem did not magically appear over night. If anything, my confidence is something that actually birthed from fear and vulnerability. Like anybody, I have self-esteem issues and the last thing I ever wanted to do was see myself on video. However, I enjoy relaxing to videos of other potters and their approach to throwing certain forms so I knew that I would enjoy watching myself throw. So my Boo 👻 bought me a 20$ tripod from Amazon and I set my phone up and bravely hit that little red circle. I sat down at my wheel to throw and could barely even center my clay. I wrestled wet, sloppy clay for an hour and forty-two minutes. As I went to review the footage, I noticed the apron I was wearing was on inside out and my hair was going every which way. I immediately deleted the footage and maniacally laughed at myself for even considering the idea. The next time I sat down to throw I had an amazing session; I was centering my clay, I was able to pull some walls, I was relatively successful, and I regretted not having it on video. I committed to recording myself no matter what, but, like every iPhone owner on the planet I ran into a problem with photo storage. Was I really about to become an Instagram influencer? What if I just created an account that was private? I could upload, save, and rewatch my favorite videos, clear out my iPhone storage for regular life photos, and not a single soul would have to know. Thus @singceramics was conceived. Over time I fell in love with creating reels and pairing them with the best music selection. I was feeling myself one day and thought what would it hurt to just share this video to my personal Facebook account? I hit share and obsessively refreshed the spinning wheel of lines to see if my friends would hurl insults my way. Obviously that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. I was met with such support and encouragement – shoutout to my homies. I’ve been sharing videos on the reg for over a year now and just recently embarked on my first video series. Now I get notifications for memories of videos I shared a year ago and marvel at how much I’ve grown. In comparing old videos to new videos you can see the steadiness in my hands, the improvement in my forms, and evolution of my style. So for me the beauty of my confidence was created from the bravery of my vulnerability.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m Samantha! I am an educator and potter from Ocala, Florida. I acted on my daydream of being able to create and produce art. I enjoy working with brown speckled clay the most, and combining it with other textures and materials such as fabric and reed. Currently, I am focused on slowing down my production in order to define my style and brand. I started by setting out to see what all I could accomplish within certain techniques and styles. I’ve transitioned into perfecting small details to discover my own sense of style. What is important to me right now is the ability to create and explore beyond the boundaries of ability. It is no longer the question, “Can I do it?” The question has become, “What do I do with it?”
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Failure, Perseverance, and Creativity are the three qualities that are the most impactful in my journey.
No one sets out to fail. However, you must become comfortable sitting in failure to flourish. So many philosophies build upon the cornerstone that failure should not be an option. I believe that mindset overlooks the hard truth that failure is inevitable and minimizes the gospel that failure is the breeding ground for growth. I’m preaching to all my perfectionist girlies out there (myself included). In my pottery journey I have clung to the phrase, “It’s not that precious”. If a form flops, a plate cracks, a glaze blisters, or a final piece shatters, I can make another probably better version. Often times artists painstakingly grind over a creation for it to flop. Some of my favorite pieces have come to fruition by me allowing myself let go of my plan and accept the path the art was leading me to. That path is where the qualities of perseverance and creativity stepped in. There are so many times my plans failed beautifully and I went with it. Building upon those failures and persevering beyond the mistakes has opened new ideas and creative doors for me every time.
I speak of creativity as a quality but I do believe it is a skill anyone can learn and flex. By pursuing pottery I have steadily developed different creative skills such as basket weaving and sketching. Yes, some people are born creatives; but, creativity can be reaped and sowed.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
In August I was approached about creating a 36 piece dinner set. I was excited at the challenge of it and I learned so much from working out the kinks in my skill set. As I climbed the ladder and neared the end of the project I encountered a catastrophic setback chuting me right back to the beginning. In the thick of the process I discovered I only enjoy repetition for a finite amount of time. In ceramics, if you’re hoping for 12 pieces you need to throw 24. Throwing 24 of the same form over and over again at some point begins to lack creativity. As an artist (and professional) I enjoy setting and accomplishing new goals, then creatively improving upon those goals. That is hard to do when you’re only focused on producing so many of the same thing. I found myself avoiding my studio because my escape became work and truthfully, due the setback, I lacked confidence in my abilities. So the current challenge I face is figuring out how to push myself to get better while protecting my passion. As I mentioned previously, my confidence has always grown through my vulnerability. I know that by sharing and documenting my struggles now, a year later I will look back and build even more confidence within myself knowing that I overcame what was once holding me back.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.singceramics.co
- Instagram: @singceramics
