I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Rebecca Ickes Carra for her Maker’s Playbook podcast (an awesome podcast all about the business side of being a ceramic artist!).

The Importance of Storytelling with Naomi Clement

Listen to the podcast Episode Here

I discuss my creative career path, and how I resisted becoming an artist for many years, in part because the cultural myth of the starving artist led me to believe that all artists had to be poor (pro tip: that’s not true!). I also talk about my approach to sales and marketing, why sales really just equals storytelling, and why I think more artists should embrace the mantle of creative entrepreneur/CEO. 

Despite initially being a reluctant entrepreneur, I find it suits me pretty darn well. Especially when I get paid to geek out on the details of what makes a great pot.

If you’re reading this and wondering how I figured it all out, the short answer is: trial and error. Lots of it. Or, as I talk about in the podcast: launch ugly. 

I wish I could say that I learned the business side of being an artist in art school, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. 

That’s what inspired me to create my popular Professional Practices — A Bootcamp for Artists course. It is a comprehensive overview of everything I wish I knew when I was first starting out, and I designed it to give you a jump start into building the creative career you’ve always wanted. 

September 22, 2023 — Naomi Clement