I was lucky to grow up in a town with a magnet school system that I was in for both elementary and middle school. Why lucky? Because from the age of 5-years-old, I had music, performance, foreign language, and art as part of my daily school curriculum.
Some of my earliest art memories are of sculpting paper mache marionettes and clay baby snow leopards in my 3rd grade art class at Booker T. Washington Elementary School in Champaign, IL with Ms. Fite. |
|
My higher ed schooling and early career path were professional. I received a BA in French with minors in Business and Photography from Washington University in St. Louis which led me into a career in marketing for Fortune 500 beauty companies in New York City and an MSc in International Marketing from Leeds University Business School in Leeds, England in the middle of my years in the cosmetics industry.
In 2010, upon taking a 6-month work hiatus to make a career change, I rediscovered pottery. I had been dabbling in ceramics for a few years, working in different studios with amazingly talented teachers, mostly as a hand-builder. My career however kept tugging at me, not allowing me to fully embrace and enjoy the medium. With a new found mental freedom and some time on my hands, I began working at Mugi Pottery on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with Outi Putkonen, the owner, as my teacher.
In 2010, upon taking a 6-month work hiatus to make a career change, I rediscovered pottery. I had been dabbling in ceramics for a few years, working in different studios with amazingly talented teachers, mostly as a hand-builder. My career however kept tugging at me, not allowing me to fully embrace and enjoy the medium. With a new found mental freedom and some time on my hands, I began working at Mugi Pottery on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with Outi Putkonen, the owner, as my teacher.
|
|
|
Not only did this new studio community embrace me, but the clay became a new and exciting medium to work with. I quickly shifted from years of hand-building to wheel-throwing and have been working at the wheel ever since.
With a husband, young son, two inspiring cats (sadly only one now...), and a day job as a marketer, time was sparse. Add a global pandemic to the mix, and things got interesting. I set up a studio in our apartment and began firing my work with the amazing Lynn Isaacson at New Prospect Pottery in the Hudson Valley.
With a husband, young son, two inspiring cats (sadly only one now...), and a day job as a marketer, time was sparse. Add a global pandemic to the mix, and things got interesting. I set up a studio in our apartment and began firing my work with the amazing Lynn Isaacson at New Prospect Pottery in the Hudson Valley.
|
|
|
In April 2021, a layoff from my job pushed me once again to pivot. With a fairly well established Etsy shop, I began submitting work to local, regional, and national competitions. I now take part in art and ceramics shows and markets in NYC and upstate; I teach at a few studios; and finally, I am leveraging my vast experience in the public and private sectors to helping other makers and small business owners by providing the digital marketing services they need to grow their businesses and maintain their digital presence!
I'm more grateful than ever to have had the opportunity to do art from such a young age; it proved to be formative. And I'm thankful that my education and career have allowed me to discover pottery as a passion now that I'm a "grown up" -- and the amazing friends, mentors, and teachers that have come with it.
I'm more grateful than ever to have had the opportunity to do art from such a young age; it proved to be formative. And I'm thankful that my education and career have allowed me to discover pottery as a passion now that I'm a "grown up" -- and the amazing friends, mentors, and teachers that have come with it.
Download my CV:
| Amy_Schnitzer_CV.pdf |