Etsy's Handmade Blog
Process: Sweet Peas with Kim Westad
Story by kimwestad, objecked
Published on April 29, 2009 in This Handmade Life

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Kim Westad is a ceramics artist who lives and works in the Bronx, New York. She opened up her studio to show me the delicate process involved in making her Sweet Pea porcelain vessels. The Sweet Peas are minimal and elegantly rotund little "characters," and despite having a simple matte white finish of unglazed porcelain on the outside, their true colors shine from the inside out. Each Sweet Pea is similar to the others, but completely unique in and of itself.

Kim's story starts like many others' — she was formally trained in Graphic Design — but after she found working for others artistically unfulfilling, she took a friend's advice and started attending a pottery class. Five years later she has the successful ceramics career she enjoys today. 

Watching Kim's process firsthand, it's clear to me that she draws on her background to unify her work, but clearer still is that she is doing exactly what she was designed to do. Seeing her forms take shape through swift graceful movements is both inspiring and mesmerizing. Her hands and wrists move in calculated yet fluid motions, while her gaze is calmly fixed on every minute detail of her work.

With such a refined skill, it is difficult to imagine Kim making a mistake, but she says much of her success lies in errors. Like a phoenix from ashes, she concedes that if she can make something once  — even if it fails — she can always make it better a second time.

Visit Kim's Shop | Watch more Process Videos | Ceramics and Pottery Category

Tags Bronx, ceramics and pottery, clay, creative process, Kimwestad, Kim Westad, New York, Process Video, sellers, studios, This Handmade Life, THIS HANDMADE LIFE, throwing on the wheel, video
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85 comments     Login to add your own!

April 29, 2009 at 4:03 p.m. bbbennyandthejet

FUN!! Oh I love hearing more about artists that have found their true medium and calling.. *warm fuzzies*
-Benny

April 29, 2009 at 4:20 p.m. ModernMetalJewelry

Kim - Your work is just awesome! Love the white with all the colors!

April 29, 2009 at 4:20 p.m. adoreneko

Beautiful vessels. Love the flower mug!
Keep up the amazing work!

April 29, 2009 at 4:22 p.m. ShauneilSupplies

What a cool process and beautiful finished product!

April 29, 2009 at 4:23 p.m. LaveMeSoapCo

that looks sooo relaxing

April 29, 2009 at 4:25 p.m. MayaBella

Very very cool! Her work is so beautiful! I love ceramics. I have been looking for an open studio where I can fire some pieces. No luck.

April 29, 2009 at 4:25 p.m. JessicaTorrant

What a beautiful, meditative video. I love your work, Kim!

April 29, 2009 at 4:26 p.m. travellingcircus

Wonderful work...very inspiring to learn about artists that start off in a different field of work and eventually find their calling!

April 29, 2009 at 4:27 p.m. missindie

Oh my gosh, so cute!!!

April 29, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. jCranejewelry

Watching her work is soothing...from the bright, crisp, white studio space to the repetitive spinning of the wheel! Love the work, so clean and beautiful!

April 29, 2009 at 4:31 p.m. EarthElements

Simple and elegant work, definitely with character.

April 29, 2009 at 4:40 p.m. waisze

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the video. Amazing artist. Truly beautiful work!

April 29, 2009 at 4:42 p.m. odiliafu

Wow!! Very beautiful and organic! Love the delicate Fruit Bowl.

April 29, 2009 at 4:50 p.m. PipingHotPapers

Now that's what I call a featured artist!! Loved the video and the process of creating!

April 29, 2009 at 4:52 p.m. ASADesigns

These are so beautiful and unique! They remind me of little sea creatures! Wonderful!

April 29, 2009 at 4:54 p.m. EJPcreations

Her creations are soooo amazing!!!!

April 29, 2009 at 4:57 p.m. embellishjewelry

So simple, yet they make a very powerful statement. Beautiful!

April 29, 2009 at 4:58 p.m. timberdoodledesigns

I love to hear about graphic designers finding their true calling (and making a living) in a medium other than computers!!! Way to go, Kim, and wonderful work!

April 29, 2009 at 5 p.m. yumiyumi

Thanks for sharing your work process Kim! Your work is beautiful.

April 29, 2009 at 5 p.m. midnightgrammar

Great video into Kim's process. I've always loved her pieces, they're so simple and beautiful.

April 29, 2009 at 5:05 p.m. sleepymoondesign

I love the sweet peas they are so cute. She is very talented and makes it look so easy on the wheel.

April 29, 2009 at 5:19 p.m. ArtMind

I love Kim's work & really enjoyed seeing the process!
Thanks heaps for sharing! :)

April 29, 2009 at 5:21 p.m. mudpuppy

Gorgeous. You really captured that intimate quite time when making ceramics and when one is really connecting with their work. Kim is an inspiration.

April 29, 2009 at 5:24 p.m. AprilAdriance

Amazing!Beautiful!

April 29, 2009 at 5:25 p.m. TheSpeeceCollection

Your theme and variation of your sweet peas is quite eye-catching! Lovely work.

April 29, 2009 at 5:31 p.m. weirdwolf

Gorgeous video, stunning work! I loved watching Kim at the wheel, her delicate touch and focused intent.

April 29, 2009 at 5:40 p.m. pengpengs

Love Kim's work! what great insight to her process!

April 29, 2009 at 5:59 p.m. LifeInThePastLane

Kudos to Kim - fabulous pieces!

April 29, 2009 at 6:21 p.m. jenniferlynnstudio

I loved watching the video and the creative process at work. Absolutely gorgeous..Love the Sweet peas!

April 29, 2009 at 6:29 p.m. lovelygifts

Very nice

April 29, 2009 at 6:38 p.m. JulieMeyer

Lovely. Makes me long for the days when I dabbled on the wheel. What a wonderful studio space.

April 29, 2009 at 6:42 p.m. bylynnkrestel

absolutely beautiful work..always inspiring to see an artist create... thank you for sharing!

April 29, 2009 at 6:55 p.m. michelemaule

That was so much fun to watch! Now I'm inspired to make ceramics :D hehe...if only I had the time.

April 29, 2009 at 7:18 p.m. FrucciDesign

fantastic space!!

April 29, 2009 at 7:33 p.m. SweetPeaFabrications

What a beautiful video! You have become one of my favorites! Hope to be back to shop!

April 29, 2009 at 8:09 p.m. DeBonisOrquera

Beautiful!

April 29, 2009 at 8:23 p.m. dragonhouseofyuen

thanks for the video of Kim working - it was a priviledge to have an insight into her work.
Conflict yet harmony!
thank you!

April 29, 2009 at 8:44 p.m. stubborndog

Yay! One of my first favorited shops. Beautiful work.

April 29, 2009 at 9:25 p.m. VedaArtsFabrics

pretty frickin' rad

April 29, 2009 at 9:57 p.m. zeropumpkin

i love ceramic used to learn that b4..this all so beautiful :D

April 29, 2009 at 10:11 p.m. memekiwii

i so much enjoy watching other potters at work..this was a great video from start to finish!! Thank you! xoxoxo

April 29, 2009 at 10:33 p.m. TheFigLeaf

Those are stunning - fantastic pics also!

April 29, 2009 at 10:55 p.m. tinalewis

I love her work. Can't wait to watch the video.

April 29, 2009 at 11:33 p.m. vitamini

That was a beautiful video. I feel so relaxed after watching it! Gorgeous ceramics, too.

April 29, 2009 at 11:57 p.m. eclecticmoi

I so enjoyed this video!
Thank You so much Kim for sharing your process with us, Your pieces are just Gorgeous ♥

April 30, 2009 at midnight patspottery

She is a true ceramic artist!

April 30, 2009 at 12:22 a.m. Lirola

Wonderful pieces!

April 30, 2009 at 12:44 a.m. MSHandbags

What a great video, it's so wonderful to be invited into Kim's studio.

April 30, 2009 at 1:30 a.m. amyluo

I love her pieces and I love her! She was such a sweet person when I met her at 2007's Renegade Craft fair!

It was pretty amazing, getting to see the process, that is.

April 30, 2009 at 2:50 a.m. threelle

I love the pieces I purchased from you! I get so many compliments on them. I really enjoyed watching this video to see you in action!

April 30, 2009 at 3:50 a.m. woollypuppy

That was beautiful to watch!

April 30, 2009 at 6:26 a.m. CoraDesigns

Beautiful work thank you

April 30, 2009 at 8:11 a.m. polarity

So amazing and beautiful! Kim has such incredible skill she can make this look effortless and I have worked on the wheel and it is so hard. What talent and inspiration!

April 30, 2009 at 8:45 a.m. lucyy325

Your work is sooo beautiful and I have finally had the pleasure to see you create them. I want to buy every one of them.

April 30, 2009 at 9:23 a.m. mythunderstood

Relaxes me just to look at her pieces!

April 30, 2009 at 9:38 a.m. reiter8

Been a fan of Kim's work for sometime now. Very nice to see the process - makes me appreciate it that much more. It's very calming listen and watch - thanks!

April 30, 2009 at 9:42 a.m. sherrytruitt

Such beautiful work, and I love it even more after seeing Kim's process.

April 30, 2009 at 10:06 a.m. kimwestad

thanks so much everyone!

April 30, 2009 at 11:24 a.m. nharburger

Watching this video just made my day! Beautiful, beautiful work.

April 30, 2009 at 11:39 a.m. dkoss2

what a wonderful process and beautiful work! such an inspiration!

April 30, 2009 at 11:56 a.m. niTeBecOmEsdAy

i love the simplicity of the work. so beautiful!

April 30, 2009 at 12:03 p.m. iomiss

It's wonderful watching Kim making her beatiful work!

April 30, 2009 at 2:45 p.m. bellabijoujewellery

I loved watching that! Very inspiring!

April 30, 2009 at 11:09 p.m. Moosemom

That was interesting and informative. Was nice to watch your process from start to finish. Nice work.

May 1, 2009 at 1:11 a.m. kwestad

My beautiful sister doing exactly what she was meant to do, create beautiful art. This video brought tears to my eyes because I never make the time to see what wonderful things you are doing. You are so very talented and I'm so proud to be your sister. I loved listening to what your thinking process is as you create something. It was so soothing to listen to. This was an eye opening experience for me to watch in many ways so thank you for sending it to me. I am truly amazed at what you do.

May 2, 2009 at 7:53 a.m. Ornamentii

I used to do pottery many moons ago, and it was a medium I loved, but never considered as a career. I always had to hand-knead my clay....a process I hated, so it was interesting to see the pug mill in action. I really love the white porcelain fruit bowl and flutter pieces. Congrats on your success.....cheers!!!

May 2, 2009 at 12:38 p.m. shoshonasnow

Good stuff Kim! Congrats on the feature!

May 4, 2009 at 12:17 p.m. mrYen

I love the sweet peas and how every one will be slightly different, also i love the minimal use of colour against the white.

May 5, 2009 at 9:05 p.m. PollyPainting

This is a wonderful video! Kim is so articulate about her process. I'm passing this on to my teacher husband so he can share it with his ceramic students.

May 24, 2009 at 1:50 p.m. hakalah

Bravo to the Bronx-girl! Clean, well-lit and surely animated. I thoroughly enjoyed this peek into this Process.

May 26, 2009 at 5:39 p.m. waxandwool

Such a wonderful thing to watch, I love the part when you talk about the physicality of the process, the hands, the sound of the wheel, the splatter of the clay - hooray for hand made!

May 28, 2009 at 3:54 p.m. cupcakeperfumery

beautiful work :)

May 28, 2009 at 9:21 p.m. riskodesign

Very nice work, and great video.

May 30, 2009 at 1:23 a.m. SparrowsNest1

I LOVE your work!!!

May 30, 2009 at 5:31 a.m. myJellyBean

Love your work!!! Can go with any decor, in any room of your home.

June 3, 2009 at 8:14 p.m. BeadingPrincess

I enjoyed watching you create a beautiful piece. Great video.

June 5, 2009 at 3:21 a.m. isler

Well Done! Bravo!

June 7, 2009 at 9:32 a.m. amyquerin

GREAT!!!!!

June 9, 2009 at 9:37 p.m. Jewelryjeans

Awesome craftsmanship and ingenuity...LOVE that the items are just white in substance with a touch of color...purity at its best.
The pendants are most definately interesting...

June 11, 2009 at 10:23 p.m. NicoleMarieHandbags

I didn't want that video to end, it looks like so much fun!!

June 15, 2009 at 12:13 a.m. gramsheart

I love to watch you. I've always wanted to work on a wheel. I took a class, once, but they didn't do the wheel, so I didn't go back. I would like to try it again.
Thanks for showing us your love of clay...

June 15, 2009 at 2:46 a.m. ceramiclady

Your handmades cups and items are very nice . Good sells. Iam making cermic ,chine plates. Bye...

June 15, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. SoigneAtelier

It is so relaxing just by watching it. Great work!!!!

June 18, 2009 at 12:49 p.m. slumptown

When someone has really connected with their media it really shows. Great work and thanks for letting us watch.

Nov. 4, 2009 at 6:19 p.m. IraRott

Oh Kim, your work is absolutely gorgeous! You are so talented and creative! Thanks for you video, just enjoyed it!

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