My Story
Hi! I'm Jeanette, a full time vascular surgeon during the day and a potter at night. My shop assistant is my Pomeranian, Scotch, who ensures quality control 😊
How did you get into art?
I’ve always wanted to become an artist when I was younger, but I didn’t want to become a starving artist. The best advice I ever received was that I could pursue my passion in medicine, and still do art on the side- so onto medical school I went. My goal was actually to become a plastic surgeon to perform the ultimate artwork on people, but when I saw DIEP flaps and watched them perform microanastomsois on the arteries and veins, I fell in love with vessel work. I switched to vascular surgery, and now I make function artwork that heals wounds! When I go to the studio, it’s a way for me to decompress and to make art that may or may not be functional. And best of all, it’s low risk. I’m not pressed for time and there is no bad outcome and I can experiment!
Favorite part of making the mug?
Carving out the designs on the mug (a technique called sgraffito)! It's like during an endarterectomy on a soft gelatinous plaque, especially when the clay consistency is just right. This usually happens in the middle of the night while I listen to Celine Dion (Scotch and the walls of my art room can attest to that).
Least favorite part?
Glazing because it’s so hard to control, and the color you see pre-firing is so different from the color you see post-firing!
Favorite way to enjoy coffee
Starbucks Pike Place Roast sweetened with a tablespoon of condensed milk and a splash of Bailey’s on the weekends
Why limited batch?
To prevent burnout, and because I'm a full time vascular surgeon too. If I try to make too many mugs in one go, it also goes from a being hobby to a chore real quick. It’s like when you have a patient who you are doing a hundred stab phlebectomies on. I usually have a side project going on to dedicate my own time to “play” with clay and explore making other things.
Future goals
I would love to offer other variations on my mugs to support different causes and bring awareness, either with different color glazes or different designs. Once I calculate my profit margins after the first few drops, I would like to donate some of the profit to a chosen organization that will rotate each year!