(bright music) - I don't know that I ever really became an artist.

I've just always been one.

(bright music continues) I definitely was one of those kids that was always digging for the crayons and the markers and stuff like that.

So I don't know, I've just kind of always loved color and that type of vibe.

What can I do to make something prettier?

(bright music continues) (pottery wheel humming) Hey, ha ha ha, look at that pull.

Love that.

(bright music continues) Sometimes, I do stuff and I'm just amazed.

(laughing) (bright music continues) My very first time doing pottery, I was in fifth grade.

And my teacher had, my art teacher, had selected me for this like small group of students that she was gonna take up to the Paramount in St.

Cloud.

And I remember doing three different activities that day.

I can't tell you what the first one was, but one of 'em was like construction paper something, and the third one was throwing on the wheel.

And that was the last thing I did that day.

And I just remember sitting there and like being completely mesmerized by the fact that I could take this ball of dirt (buoyant music) and make it into this cute little bowl.

So like that was, I think, that was my first real spark of like, I really like this, you know?

(buoyant music continues) (buoyant music continues) And then, of course, as I got older, I had the opportunity to work with an elderly couple that had a shop downtown where the brewery is now.

I got to work with them for a little bit, and I had the opportunity to work with Bill Gossman and Craig Edwards.

And they were really cool to learn from.

And then, I just, like high school, I kinda dipped my toe in a little bit, but really it was exploring more media and seeing what I could do with like random junk really.

And I ended up going to college and specifically choosing a college that had a ceramics program, so that I could experiment and really push that.

So it's been five, six years now that I've been doing pottery consistently.

Look at that cotton candy swirl.

Um, that looks great!

(laughing) (delicate music) I really like to do mugs, which is kind of an odd thing for a ceramist.

But I personally really love mugs because, I don't know, there's just nothing better than that cup of coffee in the morning with that perfect little mug.

When you pick something up and it just kind of clicks with who you are, why wouldn't you wanna use it every day?

I don't know.

(chuckles) (delicate music continues) A lot of my mugs, the designs and the ideas come from experimenting just kind of with textures and different glaze combinations, but also from my travels.

'Cause I am one of those people that will pack up my car and leave without a real destination.

It stresses my parents out to no end actually that I'll just be like, "Oh, tomorrow I'm gonna go "to Michigan," pack up the car and leave with no, I don't know where I'm gonna stay.

I don't know what I'm gonna do.

I'm just going.

So my favorite design that I have right now is my sunset mugs, and those are inspired by a trip that I took up the eastern side of Lake Superior into Michigan a couple years ago.

Just with like the pine trees and the rocky beaches and all kinds of stuff like that.

So I just love bright colors and trying to make functional fine art, you know?

(chuckles) (delicate music continues) I love being an artist in New London.

Especially now, like I've said, the town has changed a lot in the last 10 years.

But nowadays, it's so nice to just have so much support.

There's been a couple of different stores that they find out who I am and what I do, and they're like, "Oh my gosh, I wanna have your stuff "in my store and we wanna sell it."

And it's so flattering, you know?

(chuckles) (cheerful music) Anytime that I feel like I'm getting burnt out from pottery or I'm just kind of feeling like I'm running out of ideas or, you know, whatever the vibe is, I really enjoy moving onto a different kind of media.

I like to experiment with macro photography, (cozy music) and I love being able to do like the little embroidery cloths that I do.

Those are a big wintertime activity for me.

Just 'cause, again, I remember sitting on the couch with gran just picking away.

And she's sitting next to me going, "Ah, your stitches are too big."

(chuckling) So that's a big thing for me.

And of course my Grandma Ruthie was a painter, and she had lots of watercolor work and just all kinds of stuff that I really feel like I am hanging out with her when I've got a chance to do that, which, ironically, today is the four-year anniversary of her pass.

So it feels kind of kismet (chuckles) that, you know, the last thing I promised her was that I'd continue to do my artwork and here we are.

I like having conversations with some of the little old ladies that come up and look at my stuff and coo over it 'cause, "Oh, well, we used to do this "when I was a kid."

And art has gotten me through a lot of stuff.

I was never a popular kid.

I dealt with a lot of bullying and self-doubt and depression and all kinds of stuff from a very young age.

I think I was probably 10, 11 when I remember that stuff.

And so diving into art and finding different ways to express myself was a huge part of growing up.

I don't know, I just, I didn't really go out and hang out with people.

I just kind of made pretty things.

And that was the world I lived in to the point where like my senior year, I set up my schedule, so that I had study hall, study hall, art, art.

So it was literally just four hours that I would go sit in the art room in the morning for days on end.

And that was where I stayed.

(optimistic music) Now, I've realized that even if I don't do anything fantastic or major in my life, I've still made something pretty that changed somebody else's life.

'Cause I've got a mug or two upstairs that were made for me by a couple of really important people, and I hold those and they make me just lighter inside.

And they remind me of the heart and soul of the person that made it.

And just the little ways that you can make other people's lives better.

(optimistic music continues) (enthralling music) (enthralling music continues) - [Narrator] "Postcards" is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the Citizens of Minnesota.

Additional support provided by Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies.

Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen on behalf of Shalom Hill Farms, a retreat and conference center in a prairie setting near Windom, Minnesota, on the web at shalomhillfarm.org.

Alexandria, Minnesota, a year-round destination with hundreds of lakes, trails, and attractions for memorable vacations and events.

More information at explorealex.com.

A better future starts now.

West Central Initiative empowers communities with resources, funding, and support for a thriving region, more at wcif.org.

(calm ambient music)