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Avè Rivera | Episode 896
Avé Rivera is an artist based out of Connecticut making pots and illustrations that celebrate her love of fantasy, cute things, TTRPG (Table Top Role Playing Games) and all around general nerd stuff. Her art also explores a range of feelings–especially anxiety– with a dose of humor.
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What is your typical work week like?
When it’s not the holiday season or faire time, it’s basically admin time on Mondays. Then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays is typically studio days. In the mornings I try to catch up on emails or taxes or shipping stuff. Then on Fridays it flexes between a day off, admin, or more studio time. But that is the basic schedule I have set out for myself.
How about your weekends… Do you involve your weekends in making time?
Sometimes. But since everyone else in my life is not self employed, I leave it open for them. My husband is a teacher so my schedule still revolves around school a little bit still. I hang out with friends, and Saturdays is one of my Dungeons and Dragons days. Every other Saturday we play in person.
Have you 0ptimizied your studio for a good work flow?
I think so. I have two different areas that I can do my creations. I have one table where I roll out my slabs and then I have my table where I am forming everything. Then I have another table off to the side where everything goes to dry. Then on the other half of my studio space is where I go to glaze. Then I have bisque shelves, stuff that is waiting for luster, and then my back stock. Under my table for glazing is my buckets of glazes and that is also the side of the room where my sink is.
Do you make room for clay playtime so you can still just have fun with clay and love it?
Yeah. That is the reason I made a Patreon page so that I could ease up on the financial anxiety of Oh my gosh, I’ve to make make make! So the idea of Patreon is that I could start to ease back into sculpture. I am still trying to determine where that fits into people’s lives. But if I make it smaller, I feel like more people could interested in finding space on a shelf if they really love it. I also think that January and February is when I play around the most because it is a slower season and I have more time to breath and think and experiment with new ideas.
Now for a two part question… What’s got you excited in the studio and what has you challenged?
What’s got excited is an idea that’s brewing that I am about to start. I’ve been wanting to do a zodiac collection for years so I am excited about that, but it is going to be a January thing.
What’s got me challenged is that I feel like I don’t really make enough stuff. This is kind of a struggle online with thousands of people wanting a certain thing and I am only one person so I can only make so much.
Book
The Little Book of Hygge by Meike Wiking
Contact
averiverastudio.com
Instagram: @averiverastudio