February 10, 2021

There are a great number of opportunities offered in the High School, one of those is being able to organize internships. This school year, I had the opportunity to intern at my aunt and uncle’s pottery studio and showroom, Potsalot, in New Orleans. They have been creating hand-crafted pottery in New Orleans for over 25 years. My aunt and uncle are inspired by home and family—every design is first tested in their home. I worked with both my aunt and uncle learning the different techniques to create pottery. My uncle throws on the wheel to create his pieces. He walked me through the ceramic process and I got to test it myself. With my aunt, I learned how she hand-builds a lot of her designs. She enjoys incorporating beautiful pattern imprints and images. A very popular image is a roach at the bottom of a bowl!

Along with learning the artistic aspects of their work, I also helped out on the business side like reimagining their website. Luckily, I am currently taking a web design class as an elective, and I was able to use what I already knew about creating a website. Another skill I ended up using was pricing the products. The process was very similar to what we did in the soap occupation in the Adolescent Community. I also worked in inventory. I checked on the packaging supplies and ordered more when needed, as well as keeping up with the clay stock. 

I had a great time getting the chance to work with my aunt and uncle on something they really love. I was able to learn a lot about the balance of being creative, but also needing to pay the bills. 

Thank you for reading!