I started wheel throwing pottery in February 2025. I have always been creative ever since I was very small, but for most of my adult life so far I had been looking for "my thing" creatively speaking, something I could really dedicate myself to and maybe even make a career out of.

My beginner's wheel throwing class had me immediately obsessed. I had been interested in trying pottery for several years but didn't really have the money to spend on a class, until my financial situation changed and I was able to treat myself to an 8-week course at a studio in Reykjavík where I learned the basics and made my first ceramics. I also became a member of the communal studio and was able to practice my skills there for the next several months. I ended up taking a 12-week intermediate wheel throwing class, and joined the studio's glaze development committee where I learned to mix and test glazes. In December I participated in the studio's Christmas market, and discovered how much joy it gave me to see complete strangers actually wanting to own my work! I made a decent amount of money, and it was a fantastic motivator.

All that time I had been wondering whether I had finally found "my thing", and kept an eye out for signs in myself that I was getting bored or burned out. Some days are worse than others when you're making ceramics, and it's a craft that constantly finds ways to humble you, but I never wanted to give it up. Eventually I started thinking about possibly finding a place to set up my own workspace. It felt like a distant dream though, for many reasons.

Until around Christmas 2025, when my dad and I started talking about setting up a studio for me in my granddad's garage, that wasn't being used for much other than storing a heap of old tools and junk. I immediately started to clear it out, which ended up taking weeks, cleaning, building work surfaces and shelves with my dad, and I nervously bit the bullet and ordered a modestly sized kiln and a pottery wheel. I also spent time learning more about glaze making, kiln firing, and studio practices, as well as working harder on my designs and practicing my technical skills. Firing the kiln for the first five times or so was stressful, but I got used to it and I'm very happy with my dinky little kiln. I named it Merlin.

When I first started the beginners' class, I wrote a list of goals in my journal to sort of outline my ceramics journey. The first one was to finish the class, then become a studio member. Next I planned to build my skills until I felt confident enough to sell some work here and there. Eventually, I thought I could maybe think about finding my own studio space, although I didn't expect that to happen until years later. I reached all of these goals within one year, which still blows my mind. I am extremely lucky.

So here I am! I have my tiny studio with everything I need, and my focus right now is to develop my style and my skills as well as learn how to market my work. I feel like I've finally found what I've been looking for for many years, and I hope it all works out.

If you read all of that, I appreciate you. :) I post videos and stuff on my Instagram if you're interested.