{Featured Artist: Shoshona Snow}

Here at Gussy has a lot to say we love to look at all things beautiful. Beautiful decorations, beautifully soft home-elements, beautiful stories about family life.

Today marks week #17 of my series on featured Etsy artists. I hope you’ve enjoyed the featured drool-worthy eye-candy shops. Don’t worry, I have many more, so please stay with me :] You can read all back Featured Artist posts by clicking here.

Please join me in welcoming Shoshona at Shoshona Snow

What inspires you? My parents are antique dealers, so grew up going to antique shows and yard sales. I’ve just always had a fascination with old things. I’m inspired by ancient Egypt, 18th century French porcelain, kitschy pots from the 1940’s, sleek atomic age design…I could go on and on. Oh, and animals.

Where do you call home? Are you from there originally? Kingston, New York. It’s 90 miles north of NYC. But I grew up in the Catskill Mountains… not too far from where I am now.

Name something unique to where you live. We have the Wallkill River, which flows north between two major south-flowing rivers (the Hudson and Delaware Rivers). That’s pretty unique. It’s all rivers, creeks and mountains around here. And I have a lot of fossils in my back yard.

Share an interesting fact about yourself. Um. I work too much…and thus visit the chiropractor twice a week. And I like to stay up until 4am.

How did you come up with your shop name? I think that’s pretty self explanatory ;)
{it’s her name}

Share a little bit about yourself. I have a husband named Jonathan. I have a Boston terrier named Dudley. I went to school for ceramics and I’m still working with clay 10 years later. I like books (reading and listening) and music and movies and can’t work in the studio without some kind of audio/visual stimulation to keep me company. I hate wearing pants, even in the studio I prefer to wear skirts. I own too many pairs of shoes. I’m sure my neighbors think I’m nuts when I take Dudley for walks, clay up my arms, wearing an apron, at all hours of the day and night. I love opening up a kiln and seeing happy pots.

If you had to describe yourself in a word, what would that word be? Introvert.

What made you decide to open up shop? I found Etsy in 2006 when I had just decided to quit my day job and make a go for it. Thank goodness it all worked out. Name your favorite thing about selling handmade. There is something that I can’t even describe that goes on when I make and sell something. I take a lump of clay and form it with my hands. I make glazes from powders and with some time and a lot of heat, end up with a unique vessel that someone will buy and hold and use. It’s pretty great.

Do you have a day job or sell on Etsy full-time? It’s been a full time gig for 4 years. I sell on Etsy as well as many shops and galleries across the US.

Give us a little glimpse into what a typical day in your life looks like. I usually spend a few hours every morning answering emails and packing and shipping orders. Then I check my list of what needs to be made that day and start prepping my clay. I usually have several groups of work at different stages, so I’ll go from carving to trimming to throwing… If I’m firing a kiln I usually take the day off from making and clean, mix glazes, recycle clay or take photos. My studio is at my house, so it’s hard for me to set work hours for myself and I end up working 14 hour days without even realizing it. I seem to get my best work done at night.

Share with us a favorite Etsy purchase or shop. This is a hard one. I love all my pots from other ceramic artists. And I love my level earrings from sherrytruitt and my bubble earrings from ashleyjewelry.

List a few of your most favorite pastimes. Reading Watching movies Music Walking outside at 3am in the dark Sewing Hiking Making up nicknames for my dog.

Read any good books lately? I just got a Kindle and I think I’ve read 7 books in the last 2 months. Anything good? Not really. I’m always looking for good autobiographies if anyone has any suggestions. I read To Kill a Mocking Bird once a year.

What is your most prized possession? My wedding rings. My dog.

What are three of your favorite foods? Indian Ice cream Sushi What would you like to learn to do? I’d like to be a better photographer.

What are you listening to right now? The Who (Happy Jack) and Dudley growling in his sleep next to me.

Name one place you must visit in your lifetime and why. Athens, Greece. It’s been a city for 7000 years. That’s just cool.

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