Finding your voice

Everyone wants to be recognized. Every artist dreams of that signature style that everyone knows them by and instantly recognizes as yours. But the real question is, how do you find/cultivate and develop that style into your own.

For years I was asking myself who I am as a craftsperson and how am I going to find that signature voice. It hasn’t been an easy and everyones journey is a little different. Today I’m going to share a few tips that helped develop my own style thats instantly recognized as mine.

Firstly, I have two main lines of functional work. I call one body my salt and pepper line, it’s focused on design and neutral colours. My other line of work I call my sugar cube line because it’s so sweet and colourful it could give you cavities just by looking at it.

An example of my sugar cube line from 2021

Salt and Pepper line from 2021

As you can see, both lines are very different, and for a long time I tried to combine the two of them because I so badly wanted a single line of work that felt entirely like me. It took a lot of trial and error to finally discover that I just needed to separate the two.

From the start of my pottery career I’ve made whatever my heart felt like making, not focusing at ALL on what I wanted to be known for or what my style would eventually be. It wasn’t until I really sat down and looked at my past, could I connect the dots and figure out what I’ve truly been trying to say.

TIP #1- PHOTOGRAPH EVERYTHING

Reviewing every old portfolio, photoshoot and video that I had taken over the years really helped me notice the similarities I had throughout the years. Even though the work itself was SOOO different, there were definitely common denominators.

Here are a few examples of my work through the years. The first two are from 2017 and 2018. Both have sharp black line work with colourful imagery. Although they have different subject matter I discovered I really enjoy showing a narratives with my surface illustrations. I also like having the entire cup decorated without having a front or back to it, almost as if its a continuing story. The last two photos are from 2017 and 2019. Both of them have circles, black line work, simple colour palettes and a designated front and back.

After analyzing these similarities I was able to use them as guidelines while creating my two bodies of work. I absolutely would not have been able to do this if I hadn’t documented so much of my work over time. Even if you don’t like it, PHOTOGRAPH IT, you never know when you’ll need to reference it.

Tip#2 MAAAKE.

DON’T THINK ABOUT IT, JUST MAKE

Don’t let not having a voice or a specific art style intimidate you. Just keep making and just keep making. Your voice will find you if you just continue making from your heart.

If you’re not making your definitely not going to find your style.

Tip #3 CONTINUE TO EXPLORE

Even bad work is good work when you’re finding your own style. Not everything you make is going to be a masterpiece. Not everything you make will even be GOOD. Theres an old saying “you’ve got to make bad art to make good art” and sometimes the worst things can teach you and push you in the direction you need. Not everything you make you’ll be proud of, but it can all help you move forward and find your voice. Don’t put yourself in a box and continue to find new ways to explore your ideas. The worst thing you can do to yourself is get comfortable and stop exploring your own creative ideas.

Thank you so much for listening and I hope this is able to help anyone thats feeling a little lost on their artistic journey. I know I’ve definitely been there, but thats all just part of the process.

I’d love to hear from you if you found this at all helpful! Send me an email or DM me on instagram @galleryk.ca :) I’d love to see your work <3

-K