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Abbie Preston Edmonson | Episode 623
Abbie Preston Edmonson is an object maker and entrepreneur living and working in Houston, Texas. As the owner and designer of Box Sparrow Studio, Abbie creates ceramic functional works. Abbie is a graduate of Valdosta State University in Georgia, receiving her BFA in Studio Art in drawing, painting, and ceramics.
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You have an Instagram post that says, Drink some coffee, out on some gangster rap, and handle it. How does that play out in your life?
You know, (laughter) I was not prepared for this question, this is great. I can be a bit of a procrastinator, my husband likes to point that out often to me and it is something that I am trying to get better at. But some times when that happens I have a very short window of time so for me what that looks like is just getting your sh## done basically. So I love that quote because one, I am a big coffee drinker, two, you may not know it but I love hip hop, and I love to listen to it when I am in my studio. So there’s those times when you just have to get to it and find that things that you need, coffee, good music, and just get to it. So many times in my life after procrastinating and having plenty of time but waiting until the last minute and down to the wire, this is what it looks like for me to get it done.
You have a post with a tumbler in it and it says on it, create. What does that mean to you?
It means everything to me. I have always been an artist and it has taken me a long time to claim that title but create is something I have been doing since I was a child. It is not always just clay. It is creating from the very moment I get up . So it’s the outfit I put on, the meal that I make, the way I chose to design and decorate my home, the way that I choose to even create the day that I am going to be living into. It’s everything. I am a firm believer that we are all creators at heart and you just have to find what that outlet is. So it has been a word of inspiration and a way to push myself as long as I can remember.
You posted some cups that say, Trust your dopeness. Tell me about that.
Yeah, I was going through a time where I was transitioning as a woman and as an artist, I was trying to figure out some hard questions about who I was in both parts of my life. And I saw this saying and I thought, This is what I need right now. A reminder to myself to trust in myself, to trust in the direction that I am going and even though it seems really intimidating and I am feeling fearful I am going to lean into that and trust that I am dope enough and cool enough. I can do this. So it is a good reminder and I just drank out of that coffee mug the other day and it is still such a good reminder for me to trust myself, trust the direction I am choosing to walk into.
In one post you have on a cup, She believed she could and so she did. Riff on that.
Yeah, so it’s a pretty common saying, I feel like I have seen it a few times just around. My husband had actually created a sign for me, he had designed actually that little decal that you are seeing on the mug, but he had blown it up to a print to hang in my studio as a Christmas gift one year as I was starting my business. You may notice there is a little bird on there and that is the bird from my logo which he also designed. It was just words of encouragement for me as I was starting this new endeavor. I am a firm believer in entrepreneurship, especially with women who are starting their business and I feel like if it could encourage me and be that daily reminder especially on a coffee mug in the morning that you grab. If you need that little pick me up then I wanted to share that with other people as well, other women.
You have a pin up in your studio that says, Don’t you dare give up.
I have to give credit to my studio mate, that is on her side of our shared studio space and there is an artist who created that I , for the life of me, cannot remember. but I can let you know. It is a print that this artist made that is hanging up on her side. But I came in one day, and I don’t think I had ever noticed it hanging on her side of the room, and it was exactly what I needed in that moment. As you know, as an entrepreneur there are those moments where you are, What am I doing this for? What is the point? I am feeling run down. I am wearing too many hats. And I think in those moments you just have to remind yourself of what you are doing and why you are doing it and kind of find that passion again and that drive that first called you when you first decided to go into business for yourself when you first started to claim the title artist. So that morning was the perfect timing to even notice that. And it is such a small little piece of paper hanging on the wall but it was exactly what I needed. I know that other people might be feeling that and if I can share encouragement and inspiration with ohter people who are following along I would like to be able to offer that.
Another saying you have is: And she let go of what she was not.
This is by far sort of like a mantra for myself. I borrowed this word and changed it a bit, I changed the pronoun from a poet, Wendell Berry. He is one of my favorite poets and to me as I mentioned before and we are all going through this, deconstructing of self, and for me it has taken me a really long time to let go of the things people or the expectations that people have for me and focus on what I want for my life and to focus on the things that are important for me and also to give myself grace and forgiveness when I am not able to do the things that I thought I should do or the things that I want to do. So I find that every day is a practice of letting go.
Your Instagram is sprinkled with inspirational quotes. Why do you find inspiration important as an artist?
I think that you have to find something that keeps you going. You have to do a check in with yourself every so often in order to make sure that you are being authentic to yourself as an artist and a person. With that being said, one of my favorite quotes from Chuck Close is Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. I love that quote because there have been so many times when I’ve come into my studio and felt completely lost and not know even what to do. Sometimes you just have to show up and get your hands dirty.
Book
Fewer Better Things by Glenn Adamson
Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor
Contact
Instagram: @boxsparrow