A Year Of Yes | Heather Lepp | Episode 1148

Heather Lepp | Episode 1148

Heather Lepp is an artist and educator originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She received her BFA from the University of Manitoba in 2016, and her MFA from West Virginia University in 2024. In addition to formal education, she apprenticed with four professional potters from 2016-2020. In 2019 she was an artist in residence at Medalta, and in 2023 she was a summer resident at the Red Lodge Clay Center. She has taught at numerous art centers and exhibited her work across Canada and the United States. Currently, she is a long-term resident at the Clay Studio of Missoula where she lives with her partner and two dogs.

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Does a year of yes have any kind of limits?

Umm, I mean, yes and no. (laughter) I am saying it’s a year of yes for my business so when somebody is asking me if I can be part of a show I’m like, Yes! Or if you can do some kind of exhibition or something, I am like, Yeah , sure. I’ll do that. But I am just a one person show so if I really can’t making it work then I say, I’m sorry I can’t.

Tell me what that does for exposure or increasing your exposure.

Yeah, that’s part of what it’s all about. So I just got a website a couple of months ago. I am trying to post a little more regularly on Instagram and just really get my pots out into the world and make a go at this.

Does this help you in terms of networking?

Yeah, definitely. And that is also wholesome networking. It’s not the kind of networking that feels like, Oh, I’m making these connections just specifically for me to get ahead or something. It feels like, Oh , I am networking with this other person because they are also working in the same temperature range as me or something, and that’s really cool and there’s not a lot of people doing that.

What has the year of yes done for your confidence?

It’s done a good thing for my confidence for sure. Coming out of grad school my confidence was at an all-time low. I intentionally didn’t exhibit my work through my years of grad school. It was a very personal journey for me. But coming out of grad school meant that I didn’t get feedback of my work from the greater community and my work had changed a lot. It had changed in ways that felt good to me. I felt like it was more personally connected to me but I was ready to get feedback from my greater ceramic community and also appreciators of the the arts. Their feedback makes me feel and good and keeps me going.

Has this year of yes helped you become more focused?

Yeah, absolutely. I am somebody that thrives on deadlines and everyone is like, Wow, you are busy and you make so much work. And it’s like, This is what I love to do. I love to make things. I love for them to go out into the world and then I can make more things. So it keeps me really focused.