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Levi Yastrow | Episode 407
Levi Yastrow is a Chicago based potter who earned a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2012. He is currently a teaching artist, ceramics studio technician and member of the Teaching Artist Advisory Board at Marwen, soda monitor and teacher at Lillstreet Art Center and an instructor at Penguin Foot Pottery.
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What sort of sacrifices have you had to make in order to live this life that you are living?
Well, I work many, many hours. It is a very physical job which can be demanding and tough. And surely I don’t make as much as my friends who went to school for computer programming and what have you. I am sure that to an extent those are sacrifices but positives and negatives, they weigh each other out.
What does success mean to you?
I think first and foremost it’s happiness. It is being able to support myself and my family and having a good balance between life and work and not having one totally outweigh the other.
When you go through bouts of self-doubt or adversity in your own life, how do you build yourself back up in order to keep going in the direction you want?
It’s such a great question. I think for artists we can live in a constant state of self doubt. We put out our best work and weeks later we know it is not as good as it was . I have a friend who puts these great sayings on his shirts and one says; Still learning. I think as long as I can remind myself that I am still learning and I am not the best I am going to be yet. I always want to strive to be better. Whether it is the art or personally in your relationships or whatever as long as we are still learning we are doing OK.
Which of your traits are you most proud of?
I think I try very hard to be kind and friendly. To remember that everyone is still learning. I try and be very flexible and forgiving with people. It is always better to be nice than it is to be cold or distant.
You talk about having a busy lifestyle and long days. What is your favorite thing to come home to after a long day of teaching?
I love coming home to see my girlfriend. We cook a lot and make really great food. So I like coming home to a nice, great meal and making it and spending time. But also just going to bed. Coming home from the studio at 11:30 or 12 after working all day or firing the kiln all day, it’s nice to come home and just go to bed.
What does the world need more of and what does the world need less of?
Right now there is a lot it needs less of. It needs more truth. It needs more compassion. It needs more conversation. It needs a lot less anger and sadness and hate. It has probably been true for all time but right now in my lifetime it is more true more than ever.
Book
Mastering Hand Building by Sunshine Cobb
Contact:
Instagram: @take_it_or_levi