{"id":37422,"date":"2015-06-22T11:00:25","date_gmt":"2015-06-22T15:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uncommongoods.com\/?p=37422"},"modified":"2016-03-28T19:05:46","modified_gmt":"2016-03-28T23:05:46","slug":"this-just-in-spiration-meet-liz-rodriguez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/2015\/this-just-in-spiration-meet-liz-rodriguez\/","title":{"rendered":"This Just In-spiration: Meet Liz Rodriguez"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our makers never fail to motivate us, encourage our creativity, and fill us with inspiration. So, when a new design<\/a> enters our assortment, we\u2019re always excited to learn more about the person behind the product.<\/p>\n

What gets an artist going and keeps them creating is certainly worth sharing, and every great connection starts with a simple introduction. Meet Liz Rodriguez<\/a>, the maker behind our new\u00a0handmade floral kitchen trio.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Liz<\/a><\/p>\n

When did you know you wanted to be an artist?<\/strong>
\nSince I can remember.<\/p>\n

What was the most exciting thing about becoming a professional artist?<\/strong>
\nBeing immersed in a world of creativity where just about anything is possible.\u00a0 Not many professional artists have the word “can’t” in their vocabulary.\u00a0 We all figure out how to make things happen whether it be within the work itself or building a death-defying display system.<\/p>\n

What does your typical day in the studio look like?<\/strong>
\nI usually arrive at 8 am, turn on the teakettle, clean the studio and finish projects from the night before, take Nacho (my sweet and adorable Pit Bull mix) out for a good walk or play date, come back and take a look at the to-do list which could range from making work, packing and shipping to a gallery or customer, mixing glazes, administrative duties or tending to customer needs. I’m usually loading Nacho back in the car for our commute home between 6:30 and 7 pm, sometimes later depending on the deadline.<\/p>\n

\"Liz<\/a><\/p>\n

Is there a trinket, talisman, or other inspirational object you keep near? If so, what is it and what does it mean to you?<\/strong>
\nI’m not terribly religious, but my dearest\u00a0 friend Cathy (a mixed media assemblage artist) colorfully painted this small BVM<\/a> bust for me shortly after my mom died last year and I keep it by my pottery wheel. It brings me a little comfort when I get too caught up in sad thoughts.\u00a0 Cathy is a colorful and very funny person herself, so it also makes me think of her which inevitably leads to a smile.<\/p>\n

Imagine you just showed your work to a kindergartener for the first time. What do you think he\/she would say?<\/strong>
\nI meet young children at shows and have many kids in that age group in my family.\u00a0 They are always first drawn to the bright colors, then they remark on the roses and how much they like them, and finally there’s an atypical silence that washes over as they feel all the textures.\u00a0 I love watching kids experience the work, which frightens a lot of parents because of the fragility of pottery, but I welcome and encourage it. It makes me so happy.<\/p>\n

\"Liz<\/a><\/p>\n

What quote or mantra keeps you motivated?<\/strong>
\n“Sometimes the only available transportation is a leap of faith.” – Margaret Shepard<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Liz<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Liz<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our makers never fail to motivate us, encourage our creativity, and fill us with inspiration. So, when a new design enters our assortment, we\u2019re always excited to learn more about the person behind the product. Meet Liz Rodriguez, the maker behind our new handmade, floral kitchen trio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":37426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[743],"tags":[1610,669,1535],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37422"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37422"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44604,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37422\/revisions\/44604"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}