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Gerit Grimm | Episode 1027
Gerit Grimm and I sat down at NCECA to talk about her journey with clay. In our conversation we also talked about her moving from being a dreamer to being a doing. She gave us insights from the importance of dreaming to taking action on the dreams.
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Why is it important to dream?
There were seven years of my life where I didn’t dream. My dad died and I lost all my dreams. People may not know but for seven years I had such a heavy depression and actually following something bigger than life, like the sailing dream, out me back onto my feet. Because now I have goose bumps. I realize people get depressed because they underchallenge themselves.
Underchallenged.
And so when you are underchallenged you get depressed but when you follow big impossible assignments, and even failing and falling on your nose…when I posted I was afraid people would laugh but for me I wanted to fail big. So I realized that is the key to living is to not underchallenge yourself.
When you have a new vision for life or for your ceramics what are your first steps of trying to achieve it? Do you have a notebook or scrapbook that you write them down in?
I tried writing them down but it doesn’t work for me and what people suggested doesn’t work for me. I already heard from real big go getters that you don’t write it into your notebook, you write it on your calendar. And for me if I have an idea I just book the airplane ticket right then. Because you do it now or never. It goes away if you let it too long wait. I go to the studio if I have a vision and I try to make it. If I think too long about it I become hesitant and weak and then I don’t do it.
So it’s taking action that gives you the drive to do the next thing?
Oh my God, once you start you meet all these people who already started and you are like, What took me so long? Why did I waste seven years with depression? I think I got really slapped into my face in those seven years and now I have to make up for all the lost time I was a chicken, I was scared. Why would I be scared? I want to fail big at this point. Because I have only a few years left. I want to do it all.
Why do you think having the dream and taking action…why do you think that is such a great medicine for depression?
I don’t know. I experienced it. I experienced it and people are watching me and are like, Wow, you smile now. I don’t know, I guess it is because you really get to live what you were thinking as a child, you know? My dad always wanted to circumnavigate the world and he could never do it health wise and then he didn’t figure out how and I wanted to live it for him and I couldn’t figure it out and now I figured it out and now I got all the tools, you know. I got all the tools, I can do it now.
What about road blocks. When we have a dream things get in the way. How do we get around them or over them?
Little steps. Either we do it or time runs away. It’s hard to age too. I love that everyone around us ages the same. (laughter)
Who is a woman who inspires you to chase your dreams?
Well I don’t know enough about the sailing world but I know a bunch of artists in America. I would love to transform into them. Tip Toland. Cristina Cordova.
I also have two artists in Europe that I adore. I adore Margaret Cottach and Vally Viziltear. One Austrian and one Hungarian. They were not alive but I adore their work. They sculpted using the wheel and making
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