Rising Stars: Meet Ana Cho

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Cho.

Hi Ana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a Korean-Canadian potter and a woodworker living in Los Angeles. In (what feels like) my previous life, I worked in the video games industry as an artist for about a decade. While I took much pride in my work and enjoyed many aspects of it, the highly demanding nature of the industry was slowly wearing me down. Then in 2014, while trying to navigate through a challenging time after the death of my mom, I signed up for a pottery class in hopes to find a new hobby and a community outside of work. It’s almost a cliche these days to say that I took my first pottery class and fell in love, but that’s exactly what happened. It had an element of zen, the tactility and mess I was craving, and lots of women who I just loved being around especially after work where it had a very high male energy. So I kept going back and I was enjoying working with my hands so much and I wanted more. So I signed up for an evening woodworking class at a local college, and at this point, it became my daydream to one day quit my day job and become a full-time maker, which at that time I was sure was never going to happen. But the more I was working with my hands and with natural materials, the more gratifying and fulfilling it became and on the other hand, I was feeling more and more disconnected from the digital part of the world I was living in.

Fast forward to 2019, I reopened for the hundredth time the website for the Krenov School, a fine woodworking school in Northern California that I had bookmarked years before as part of my “daydream package”. This time, I decided to apply for their 9-months program. I was still working at my video game job and was feeling burnt out more than ever. It felt like now or never and spending nine months in a small town away from LA immersed in something completely new seemed like a perfect way to make a big life transition. Once I submitted my application form, I was so excited that I couldn’t even wait until I hear the result to quit my job. Thankfully, I was accepted and the school experience was incredibly fulfilling and meaningful, although it was cut a little bit short when the pandemic hit the world. Now I’m back in LA, doing the two things I daydreamed about for years – making things with clay and wood. I still have so much to learn and figure out, but I feel very fortunate and grateful each day for taking the leap of faith.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Quitting my day job was equally exhilarating and terrifying. It meant leaving my safety nest I’ve worked very hard to build for several years. There’s something really comforting about showing up at work each day, getting paid, and not having much to worry about the logistics. Hah! Being self-employed has been a whole new level of “adulting” for me. While the freedom and independence have been priceless, I am now also accountable for all of the decisions I make around my work-life balance, budgets, and establishing myself as a small business. It’s been an extremely rewarding process, but it can definitely be overwhelming, too, from time to time.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In my pottery practice, I’m drawn to creating an effortless and timeless everyday aesthetic & functionality. Each of my ceramic pieces is handcrafted stoneware and fired at a high temperature for durability. They’re made to be used and to last. With woodworking, I’m currently focusing on building for myself and making prototypes. Through my work, I celebrate honest work and slow-living, and being able to share my pieces with like-minded people brings me joy and purpose to show up to work each day.

How do you define success?
Right now, it is finding joy and purpose, and pride in my work, being able to support myself while doing it and still having space for other things that I value in life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.anachoceramics.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anacho.made/

Image Credits
Ana Cho