We recently connected with Emily Everitt and have shared our conversation below.
Emily, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
My creativity is kept alive by my relentless curiosity and compelling need to push boundaries. A lot of my creativity stems from the basic question of ‘What happens if I do this?’, which opens up endless opportunities for what an idea can become. It also creates space to push the boundaries of your medium, methods, and beliefs. This constant need to push creativity outside of itself has lead to the cultivation of many great artists like Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirror rooms, Claes Oldenburg’s colossal mundane objects, and Banksy’s revolutionary street art.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Emily Everitt, I am a ceramic and sculptural artist from Canton, Texas. Art has always been such an innate part of my life. Growing up as an introverted child in a rural town, I often found myself alone on my grandparents’ farm surrounded trees, dirt, and red clay. I used anything I could to make something, attaching rocks, sticks, and leaves together using sticky red clay from the pond until I had something my mom could lovingly display in the china cabinet. (Thanks Mom). I’ve always had this insatiable need to make, experience, and explore, and art has always been my outlet. This early childhood fun sparked my love for ceramics and sculptural work and has continued to be a center point of my life today.
My journey as an artist began at Tyler Junior College, where I graduated with an associates of art and proceeded to study art at The University of Texas at Tyler, where I got my bachelors and am now continuing to work on my masters of art. By studying here, I have gained a better understanding of art and what it takes to truly be an artist. I have also been given the opportunity to study and mentor under two great artists, ceramic professor Merrie Wright and sculpture professor Dewane Hughes, who helped cultivate my art and myself for the better.
Utilizing distinct materials such as clay, fur, metal, and plaster I pinch, pull, and mold my pieces to life using each material as a manifestation of an emotion or feeling. My goal is to ignite a sense of curiosity and playfulness from the viewer about the complexity of what it means to feel and create space for shared emotional experiences.
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?
The three qualities that have been the most impactful in my journey are persistence, dedication, and most importantly excitement. I think it is important to keep yourself interested and excited about what you’re doing. I have found that if I am excited and engaged with what I am doing than the dedication and willingness to pursue it is innate. You can do this by exploring qualities within your work that you find appealing and are worth getting excited about.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My parents have always offered unwavering support with anything I do and that has always been beyond impactful for me. Even when it came to others questioning, or even degrading, my career my parents have always been my rock, my support. I can never thank them enough for what they’ve done and what they continue to do for me. They truly mean the world to me and I am so grateful for them.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: emily.everitt.art
Image Credits
All images are shot by me, Emily Everitt
