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Sarah Koik | Episode 795
Sarah Koik’s ceramics try to bring attention to things that often go unnoticed, with inquiry and exploration at the core of her practice. To be both referential and add to the narrative– new while familiar, serious while playful. Sarah founded her studio in 2014, and currently lives in Los Angeles.
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You said you wanted to set up some rules before you sold your work. How many rules are there?
Yeah, so I think at the time I was keeping kind of running list of things to check in with myself about. I think sometimes when we start new endeavors you can kind of lose your way, you can get lost in the fog, or you don’t really remember why you started doing something in the first place. So I really wanted to be very intentional about why I was doing this. There were probably about ten at the time but now there’s about three.
What is your first rule?
So the first rule, and this has always been the first rule, that this is supposed to be fun. (laughter) and that was rule number one. Like this is suppose to be fun and I said that because at the time I had a full time job and I loved my job and I was very wary of participating in capitalism in this particular way. I mean, we all participate in different ways. We all are hypocrites in different ways but I was just really wary about participating in this way of creating an object and deciding how much it’s worth. And then taking someone’s money for it and then giving it to them. I wasn’t sure. So rule number one is that it is supposed to be fun.
I like that your first rule was not, this has to be profitable.
No, and at the time, you know, I didn’t need it to be. And I think that really set the tone truly, actually for how I approached this. It has changed, what’s at the top is different now, but at the time I think it really allowed for a lot of exploration and discovery because I did have a career that I was really proud of and I loved doing.
What’s your second rule?
Second rule, and this still rumbles around in my head whenever I try to decide whether I will pursue something. I don’t want to be a factory. And I don’t want to scale in a way to become a factory. So again, that is definitely a path. When you make objects and especially when you make something like pottery that can be replicated in different ways there are different infrastructures that are required to really scale in that way. I just don’t think that’s why I am here on this planet, is to run a factory. I think people do it really, really well. And I was just never drawn to that. I don’t want to be a factory.
What’s your third rule?
The third rule. (laughter) and I laugh because folks who know me listen to this. We talk about this a lot. I sometimes reference these rules. I sometimes say, check to make sure you still want to do this. I think it’s good to check in with yourself. Especially when you are doing this to eat and to function in this version of society. It’s a lot and there’s a lot of layers to it. When you make these sort of choices to do this full time. And every year I check in with myself. Do you still want to do this? And every year I warily say, Yeah, let’s keep going.
Why did your other six or seven rules fall to the wayside?
I think truly it’s because these three are the ones I break most frequently. These ones make me laugh it just shows up in my head on a long, hard day and you open the kiln and it’s just bad. And then the first thing that pops into my head is, This is supposed to be fun. And I always just chuckle and wonder what about me finds this fun. So I think these are the three that make me laugh and also are good north stars to remember. I think these are the three things that are a version of a path that is still important.
You make such great forms. I’m curious. What’s your favorite tool?
Oooo. I love tools. Great question. I am going to have to say a metal rib. I am going to have to say it, a metal rib. It is such a simple, efficient, multi-faceted tool that you can cut into things. It’s just stunning. I am metal rib fan.
Book
Lucie Rie Modernist Potter by Emmanuel Cooper
Contact
Instagram: @sarahkoik