Exploring ceramics as a digital designer
If you're a designer feeling creatively drained, you're not alone. I've met countless UX/UI designers and art directors who hit a wall — not from lack of talent, but from too many meetings and not enough making. It’s time to get offline and get our hands dirty.
How i found Ceramics
The infamous caca green glaze.
I was looking for ceramics studios in NYC with the intention of meeting creative people in the city. I ended up at 92nd Street Y, NY in the Upper East side at a class that taught you handbuilding and wheel-throwing. I actually avoided getting on the wheel and ended up making tiny figurines instead.
My tiny figurines were a success in the bisque fire- woo!!! Then I selected a Shino glaze because it sounded fancy. It was not fancy. I had no idea what Shino meant and even less context on glaze temperatures or preferences with clay bodies. The glaze fire came out and I almost cried. All that hard work!!! I needed a shirt that read: “I signed up for ceramics and all I got was a lousy figurine.”
All could do was keep showing up to class to learn where I went wrong. Fortunately, lots of learning has happened since.
my Takeaway
Mistakes continue to this day. My pieces crack. Something previous collapses right before it's done. In design, mistakes feel expensive. In ceramics, mistakes are part of the journey.
That permission to fail freely — and oh so messily— is something I didn't know I needed until I had it. And that’s the point with ceramics- there is no undo button and leaning into that chaos reminded me of my first interactions with my own creativity.
You don't need a full studio setup or years of experience. Just start. One class, one bag of clay, one ugly mug that only you will ever use (you know what I’m talking about!!!). The point isn't to be good at it. The point is to remember what it feels like to make something just because you want to. There’s always time to perfect your technique.
So try ceramics! And experiment with all the random elements clay has to offer. Your creativity in your design work will thank you.