Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Burns.
Hi Andrea, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My clay journey began about 40 minutes south of Allendale in the small farm town of Hopkins. From age 2 to 20 I lived at a campground that my parents owned. It sat on 70 acres of woods, swamps, a lake, and one amazing source of natural clay. I was constantly sitting on the ground with a bucket and metal spoon in hand, scooping up as much clay as I could and making little pots and sculptures from it.
Fast forward to my college days, where I was required to take an intro to Ceramics course to complete my Art Education degree. I was not prepared for how hard I was about to fall in love with Ceramics. I hadn’t touched clay in years and never had any formal education in it, but when I did it was like everything in my life just lined up – my childhood, my passions and desires, and my plans for the future. I continued taking classes all the way through the advanced level, falling deeper and deeper in love with clay in the process. I graduated with my degree in Art Education but have yet to formally use it. I jumped headfirst into creating and selling pottery as soon as I graduated and it took off better than I ever imagined.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The process of falling in love with clay and turning it into a career was quite a smooth ride. As soon as I graduated, I dove right into making ceramics at a local community studio. At first, it was a lot of playing and experimenting, just getting my hands into as many materials and techniques as I could. From there I discovered that I love tiny sculptural work and it seemed like a lot of other people did, too. My work was starting to sell pretty quickly on my Etsy shop and that’s when I decided it was time to start building a home studio. I bought a pottery wheel and kiln off of craigslist and renovated my basement into what’s now my favorite room in my home. Once I was able to work from home, I had none of the limits I had at the community studio, like the types of clay and glazes I could use and what temperatures I could fire to. This is what led to my current work with porcelain, colored clay, and gold luster. I now have my own website, products that sell within minutes of being posted, the best studio assistant named Casia and I’m looking to hire additional help in the near future. It’s crazy looking back and seeing how it all just fell into place!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I make pottery for people that love plants. My current designs came to be because I am a huge succulent fan, but I cannot for the life of me keep one alive. Creating them in ceramic form was my solution to my own problem, but others seemed to love it as much as I did. Ceramic succulents and flowers are never alive in the first place, so I can’t possibly kill them (and neither can any of my not-so-green-thumb customers). Every petal is made entirely by hand so no two pieces are alike. It drives me a little crazy sometimes but I love pouring so much of myself into my creations. I think that’s what makes them so special!
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love living just outside of Grand Rapids. Allendale is great because it feels more like country living but it’s still close to everything I need. I enjoy nights out with friends in Grand Rapids because it’s so rich with art, good food, and drinks. I’m only 30 minutes away from Lake Michigan so a lot of my summer days are spent there. There are so many campgrounds and great backpacking trails here as well. Michigan in general is so full of adventure that I can’t ever see me leaving. If I had to choose something I dislike about this area it’s that Michigan mosquitoes are no joke. I’m one of those people that gets absolutely eaten alive even if nobody else around me is getting bit. But hey, I’ll sacrifice a little blood to stay here. That’s how much I love it!
Contact Info:
- Email: potsbyandrea@gmail.com
- Website: www.potsbyandrea.shop
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/pots.by.andrea
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/PotsByAndrea
- Other: www.tiktok.com/@pots.by.andrea
