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| Flyer for this weekend's pop-up. |
A couple of weeks ago, I had the following exchange:
New friend: Do you make a living from your ceramics?
Me: No... I don't really make a living. Turns out I'm still alive.
It's a statement I laugh at, but it has real relevance today. Our technological advances have necessitated a reimagining of work and of life and of economy that we haven't really engaged. I live outside of many of those norms, but I still have to negotiate rent and debt.
I agreed to have a pop up at Kostüm this weekend because
1) I was flattered to be asked
2) I have a lot of pottery that I'd like to to be out in the world being enjoyed instead of crowding together on my shelves and in boxes
3) I need to make a lot of pots to be as good at making pots as I would like to be, so more will be coming soon
4) I was raised and still live under capitalism.
What do we really need to stay alive? What's the value of an hour? What would we make and how would we feel if we could focus on the difficulty of feeling?
Okay, I'll pause the abstract thinking.
I'm really happy that I'm beginning to build relationships with POC-owned businesses in Oakland, because ultimately what it's all about is relationships with people, and how intimately intertwined our survival is.
Below is a repost of some questions I answered for Kostüm's blog.
The pop up is Saturday and Sunday, February 11-12, 1:00-6:00pm.
Address:
4020 Piedmont Avenue
Oakland, CA 94611
Access notes:
Kostum is located on the groundfloor, has a tight layout that may be difficult for a wheelchair to navigate. Store uses Glade plug-in air fresheners.
***I'll have a Square reader to take credit cards, but cash and Venmo are also welcome. If you are a maker and haven't started a Square account yet, use this referral link to give us both free transactions.
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1. What do you do for work?
My usual answer to this question is “this and that.” Since 2014, I’ve worked seasonally as an outdoor educator, teaching young people wilderness skills from day-hiking to backpacking to rock climbing. It’s taken me from Pinnacles National Park in our own backyard to the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico to the Southern Talkeetna Mountains in Alaska. I’m also a freelance video and audio transcriptionist. I’ve been able to work on footage for some incredible projects, the first of which was American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, way back in 2009. I also recently joined the Bridges Rock Gym staff and am excited to deepen my relationship with their community.
2. How did you get to this point in your career?
Before 2014, I worked primarily in nonprofit administration. My gateway to becoming an outdoor educator was a program called Girlz Climb On, run by San Francisco-based GirlVentures. I was a volunteer mentor in the 10-week program, then worked as their part-time Admissions Associate, and then the Program Director at the time invited me to be an instructor on a 4-day backpacking course in Point Reyes in 2014. I was hooked. (Enrollment in Girlventures’ summer programs is starting now, by the way! They have courses for 5th to 12th graders.) I took my first ceramics class at Laney College in 2014, using the Segal Education Award I received after serving as a Los Angeles Public Ally 2011-2012. While this path is not easy, I must acknowledge the privilege I have as an able-bodied, cisgender, college-educated person whose parents do not depend on me financially, which affords me more mental and emotional space to manage this life.
3. What are you passionate about?
The idea of intimacy— with objects, processes, people. Nurturing interdependence. Supporting folks in articulating and actualizing their desires and possibilities.
4. What feeds you creatively? (If different than number 3)
Coffee!!!
Conversation.
Observation.
Quiet contemplation.
5. What is one of your favorite aspects of Oakland (or area of the Bay in which you live)?
I love the smallness of Oakland, which is a contrast to the sprawl of Southern California where I grew up. To be able to move is a privilege I don’t take lightly, and I’m grateful for the people around me with whom I can grapple with questions of displacement and gentrification— familiar questions to me from my 5 years in Downtown Los Angeles.
6. How do you feel most connected to Oakland (whether it’s the people, culture, environment, etc.)?
I love that there is a large community of queer and trans people of color here. I love the energy around political and social engagement that exists here, the sense that many people are in active investigation of what might be possible to make our world more just. And that there are many people who, like me, cobble together lives of “this and that” and art and activism.
7. How is fashion a part of your daily life?
My aesthetic for daily wear is on the scruffier side. I love wool sweaters and comfortable jeans. My hiking boots make foot travel around Oakland’s concrete much more bearable. I’m tempted to attribute my scruffiness to being a climber and outdoor educator, but I was scruffy long before those activities came into my life. When it comes to clay or chapbooks, I have strong feelings about proportions, texture, lighting, angles, curves. I meander through Instagram quite a bit for inspiration (daily… hourly…) and take note of what seem to be aesthetic trends in pottery and also in poetry. Some of it is similar to what I like to make and write, and some of it vastly different. There is so much wonderful work being made in the world.
8. What do you hope Kostümers walk away with after seeing or purchasing your poetry and/or pottery?
Simply put, I hope they feel good after seeing, touching, and/or bringing my work home. I’ve found such magic and healing in making; I hope they’re inspired to make things with their own hands if they don’t already. I hope that they’ll perhaps find new or greater value in what they do make, whether it’s art or craft or food.
