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Gabo Martini | Episode 587
Gabriela Martinez (Gabo Martini) was born in Tarimoro, Guanajuato, Mexico in 1995. She received her BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Ceramics from Texas State University in 2018. Martini’s work is inspired by indigenous Mexican and Native American art. She carves patterning and lettering onto terracotta vessel forms.
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How do you give yourself permission to not get overwhelmed by the “giants”?
The key is to not compare yourself. I think this past year after not being in school and having my work critiqued, I’ve been trying to embrace myself and whatever I make- however it comes out, I embrace it. Especially as I develop my style more as an artist and I realize that everything you make is completely unique. I think that by embracing that it empowers me a little bit, and I don’t feel the need to compare myself so much.
Do you feel it is important to become really “niched” in what you make?
Maybe when you are trying to become established, but I’ve seen a lot of artists that make the same work for their whole lives and I know that I don’t want to do that. So I am always pushing myself to make things a little weirder, and to make pots that make uncomfortable. Every time you experiment and do something different, it sparks more ideas. It is like I am constantly inspiring myself.
Do you find yourself providing a lot of “give” at this point in your career?
Yeah, definitely. I’m at the studio a lot and I am always down to help people, but I have also had to realize that I am trying to be a full-time artist and whenever I am at the studio, I am technically working for myself. So I have been trying to work on boundaries and respect myself more and to have people realize that because I am not paid to work there that I shouldn’t be expected to teach them lessons. So I have had to establish boundaries like that and not give so much of my time because I work for myself.
Is your story significant in that you need to tell it to your followers or the public in order for you to be remembered?
Not so much because I think my pots are kind of memorable. I feel like people see my work and that’s what they remember. I try to separate myself a little bit from my work. I mean, my work is me, but I try not to get to attached to any of my work. I also try let my work live in it’s own space aside from me. So I try to keep my ego in check as an artist.
What does it mean to keep your ego in check?
I feel like a lot of people think about being an artist and its about your image and its YOU as an artist. For me, whenever I make work I want to live through my pots. In other words, I don’t want to be the artist; I want the pots to speak for themselves.
You say you want it to be about the pots, and yet you also talked at the start of The Potters Cast about branding and how even your name is a part of the branding. So how do you balance that with your work wanting to stand alone and building a strong brand?
I guess for the brand it is more like style, and I want to keep that style consistent. And while I am establishing myself I want to be know for that style.
What is your favorite pot that you made so far, and did you keep it or did you let it go?
My favorite pots for sure were the pots I made for my thesis which were coil thrown. These ones took way longer than the pieces I make now because I was literally building them coil by coil. Both of them had poems that I wrote myself and that deal with certain traumas and moving past that and growth. So those pieces meant so much to me. And they were the first big pieces I ever made so it was amazing to see them finished and survive the firing. So it was such an accomplishment. I sold one of them and the other one I still have it. It is actually at my parents’ home every time I go home to visit I give it a hug.
Book
Boarderlands/ La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldua
Contact
Instagram: @gabomartinipotts