Daily Inspiration: Meet Amber Castellanos

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Castellanos.

Hi Amber, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Growing up I always loved creating and always found myself having and enjoying a bunch of different hobbies. That has not changed as an adult. I am an advid dog mom who attends many dog themed events, I am a recent green belt in Karate at Jeff Speakman Kenpo 5.0 Monrovia, I am learning to play the violin, how to speak ASL, am a board member at Underdog Bookstore in Monrovia, and have recently started my own pottery business. I love expressing my inner child and my pottery work showcases that by using a lot of unique designs and fun pops of color. Being a dog mom has also inspired my buisness in that I also make custom sculptures of people’s dogs and other pets. Whether its creating a piece of someones current fur baby or of one that has crossed the rainbow bridge I also put my all into capturing every bit of likeness that I can into these sculptures. I feel so honored to be a part of showcasing someone’s love for their fur baby. Any little bit of joy that I can bring someone just brightens up my day. As someone who suffers from anxiety, depression, and various forms of trauma, my pottery is part of my therapy. It makes me calm and happy and I love that I get to share that happiness with others through my pieces.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My small business is still fairly new, but there have been many times when I have thought if my pieces were good enough to sell or if I was just kidding myself. My pieces are not polished and refined by any means. I look at so many other potter’s creations and always think that they are so much better and more talented than me. Thankfully, I have such a wonderful support group of friends who always cheer me on and push me to continue. And when I get an order or put a smile on someone’s face it only validates my friends words and praise. I’ve made so many vendor friends throughout my pottery making journey who are so kind and loving. They always let me know when a new pop up or opportunity comes around and I do the same for them. It’s such a great and beautiful community of talented people. Of course, not every pop up is successful. Sometimes I only sell one piece, sometimes I don’t sell anything. I’m left not making back the money and time that I put into the event and it’s hard. But I always leave learning something or having met some amazing people. Pottery is not an easy thing to have a business in. Production is time consuming and slow and many mishaps can happen along the way. I’ve had pieces, crack, break, and even explode in the process. The pieces have to be baked two different times and it requires a lot of patience, precision, and thinking on my feet when something doesn’t go my way. Though, I wouldn’t change any of it for the world because its so rewarding once a piece comes out and its amazing and you can just breathe out a sigh of relief because all your hard work paid off.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I do pottery, pinch pots more specifically, that can turn into bowls, trinket dishes, sculptures, vases, etc. A pinch pot is a little clay bowl that you make by hand. I love it because its an imperfect process that ends up showing all your fingerprints and indents within the clay. The process and finish product is always unique and one of a kind because no piece is ever the same. Each one will always come out a different way and its honestly truly beautiful. What I love about pinch pots is that they are the foundation of many different forms of handbuilding. Sculptures can be made utilizing different size pinch pots that you piece together. All sculptures have to be hollow so creating the pieces by piecing two bowls together into cylinders is a very efficient way to do this. If the sculpture is not hollow, the piece will most likely not dry properly and thus burst into pieces when exposed to the heat of the Kiln (the oven that we use to bake it). I am known for my pinch pots and dog sculptures and for creating pieces that utilize a lot of bright colors. In my pottery studio I am the only potter that utilizes pinch pots as much as I do, and bright and colorful glazes on my pieces. But that’s the thing with pottery, everyone is able to put their own spin onto their pieces and how they make them. The process of drying and baking the clay is the same, but everyone builds and creates differently. It’s really cool getting to see all the different pieces at the studio and ask my friends how they made them.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was a very very curious child that spent way too much time outdoors and playing make believe. I had an over active imagination, I still do. I would spend my days crafting, and creating, and day dreaming, and playing. I questioned everything, and was always the odd one out. Though, that never stopped me. No matter how much I wanted to be understood I couldn’t escape the colorful worlds that I was creating in my mind.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @justalittlepinchpot @lunaandmiababy