Meet Jazmin Colette | Ceramic Studio Owner & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jazmin Colette and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jazmin, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Taking risks is an essential part of being a business owner. To put it simply, there is no set in stone users manual to creating a successful and enjoyable business in the world we live in today. In my business, the largest risks I’ve taken have a lost always had the best results. That being said, I also do not think of taking risks as scary. If something doesn’t work out, okay, great. I tried that. It’s time to pivot and try something else; come at it from a different angle. With a little bit of planning, some determination, and luck anything is possible.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The story really begins about 8 years ago. I was a Fine Art student at University of Wisconsin River Falls with a major emphasis in ceramics and a minor emphasis in glass. How did I get there? Simple. Growing grew up in very small town in Western Wisconsin- population roughly 1000- UWRF was the closest university to home and had a great art program. As I studied the making of ceramics on a very technical level, I began to fall in love. Yes, with the process.. but more with what the process was giving me. Reflection. Patience. Expression. I wanted others to have that too.

In the UWRF ceramic studio, discussion was highly encouraged. This was an invaluable aspect of my education. Of course, we spoke of art. We also spoke of being an artist. Life after school. How to continue making. How to make it as an artist. You know, the ‘impossible’. I never wanted access to art making to feel impossible. This just reaffirmed what I’d been thinking for years; we need more community art spaces.

In 2017 I was awarded the Multi-Cultural Fellowship Grant to attend NCECA (National Conference for Education in the Ceramic Arts). It was there that I first heard the term ‘art administrator’. I didn’t really know what that meant at the time, but it sure rang a beautiful note in my ear. Experiencing NCECA also exposed me to SO many different types of education. What I took away from that conference was that art administration, art education, art business… it’s not cut and dry. It’s not easy. And quality matters. 2017 was also the year I began leading my own kids ceramic classes at Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN. Again, my biggest learning from that summer was… quality matters.

After graduating from my undergrad at the tail end of 2018, I took a one way road trip out of the frozen Wisconsin tundra and into San Diego. Once in San Diego, I honestly gave up on art. I didn’t see a way to make art work while working. I began to feel the way I assume my mother used to feel about.. work. With a painful lack of.. art. To alleviate this feeling, I began working at a very small pottery studio in Encinitas, CA part time. When I started working there, there were only 3 pottery wheels and about 400 square feet. It was perfect. It was inspiring. Teaching to such small groups allowed me to deliver the quality of education and individualized attention that I firmly believe is necessary to learn anything. As that business grew, so did that studio. I grew a ton too. As life would have it, in 2022, I needed to create my own path and do things my own way.

At the beginning of 2022, I tried to quit both of my jobs and open a studio; supporting myself off of commissions and lessons. Full transparency, it lasted about 4 months before it epically failed. Simply put, I wasn’t ready. I picked up a job doing digital marketing (in which I had zzzzeerrooo experience), learned a lot, and promptly got fired 1.5 months in. Pretty shitty, aye? At this point I was ready to completely surrender. I packed my pottery studio away and started getting used to the idea of being a nanny for the rest of my life.

Fast forward a few very short months. My pottery studio was set up in a tiny stinky corner of a metal working warehouse and I was nannying 55 hours/week. I began teaching a few lessons out of the warehouse and taking commissions again. I mean, hey, a girls gotta try. Fire and passion? Yup. Determination? Had that. Delusional? Undoubtably. Desperate for my own, quieter space I started my way down a Craigslist rabbit hole. I was looking for ANYWHERE that I could rent to set up a studio space for myself. This is when I found it. Our super cutie little Hillcrest corner store front. YAY! Only problem? I definitely had a mere $34 in my bank account. Obviously that is PENNIES in comparison to what I’d need to get a security deposit and first month of rent together. And what about shelves? Materials? PENS??!? (No one tells you how many pens you need to start a business. It’s kind of wild…)

January 14th 2023 was the day I got the keys to the studio; the day my whole life changed. An artist. An art administrator. A business owner. I’d done it. I continued working my full time job for the first two months of Terra Terra being open, pulling 80-90 hour weeks just to make it happen. I literally had to be carried from the studio to my bed some night. Exhaustion would be an understatement. Just two trying months in, sweet relief came. I was able to quit my other job and focus whole heartedly on my vision- Studio Terra Terra. The studio has gone through many evolutions in it’s short time street-side and there are many more to come as we continue to grow.

Terra Terra was born out of love. A love for community. A love for art. A love for quality, thorough, and supportive art education. As Terra Terra’s story continues to be written, I truly do hope that you find your way to the healing art of ceramics. Whether it be here at Terra Terra… or waaaaaay over elsewhere, the clay is calling you. What are you waiting for? Make your mark!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m honestly the worst for this because I am SUCH a home body. I would definitely take my friend to the beach, we would probably get drinks at The Lafayette and find a good hiking trail somewhere in east county.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My story is a long and funny one that boils down to one thing- I had a lot of people who believed in me and encouraged me… or at least did not cal me crazy. As for mentors, I always give a huge shout out to my college ceramics professor Rhonda Willers. Rhonda not only taught me to love the craft, but she saw something special in each of her students and did what she could to pull it out of them. Because of Rhonda’s encouragement and guidance, I was able to find my voice in clay and in turn my path as a human. I was taught to approach life gently with strong boundaries and to give people the benefit of the doubt, if not for them, for my own peace. I was taught to see obstacles and creative hurdles rather than road blocks and to accept the challenge of problem solving my way to the end of any situation in a playful yet logical way. All invaluable lessons in both business and life.

Of course there is always my mother, friends, peers, and constantly growing community as well.

Website: Terraterra.studio

Instagram: @studio.terraterra

Image Credits
The darker images were taken by Kolby Listenbee @kolbylistenbee18