Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Brodeur.
Hi Sarah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
From a young age, I found solace in art. To say my home life wasn’t healthy is an understatement. I remember my big brother drew a lot and told me that it helped him get away from what was happening at home. This was the birthplace for my desire to decorate everything. By the time I was 13, I was not only drawing on my walls, tables, and myself, but on my friends too!
In 2015, I caused a serious automobile accident with a friend who was driving in the other direction. Neither my friend nor I should have walked away from it. After that accident, my journey to finding faith in God began. A year later I was baptized and began to sense that I was supposed to go back to college. I knew God was putting it on my heart to go and I was fortunate to qualify for the TN Reconnect program that was starting that year. I didn’t really know what I wanted to study, but my son’s father suggested business. While studying business, an acquaintance informed me of an open position at McQueen Pottery, as a production assistant.
I had zero experience or interest in pottery until I showed up for the working interview. The interview was hands on and interactive. I was able to participate in completing tasks for the role they were looking for. I remember leaving the interview messy, covered in clay and glaze, and thinking that I was going to be really bummed if I didn’t get the job. I eagerly waited a month to get the call – I was in!
After working for McQueen pottery for about a year, I was given a 6-week pottery course where I got my hands dirty and got to throw clay on the pottery wheel. I had so much fun and I just happened to be a good at it! The second time I threw, I was already executing more complicated techniques used for making canisters and chip-and-dip platters. I was officially in love!
I was the production glazer at McQueen Pottery for 4 years; adding the finishing touches to each piece. During my time there, I learned how much dedication it takes to run a successful business, all the ins and outs of creating beautiful, classy place settings for chefs and was given the opportunity to hone my attention to detail.
I graduated college for Business Management in December of 2019, right before the world shut down. I used the lockdown as an opportunity to focus on figuring out what I really wanted from life and found myself starting to build out a little pottery studio in my garage. By 2022, I had a fully functioning studio, the skills to create pieces, and the degree to run my own business. In June of 2022, I finally opened my business: Tried By Fire Studio. Now, I make and draw on pottery and my inner child is pretty happy about that.
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?
Life is rarely a smooth road for any of us. But the biggest struggle I face is keeping the faith in my dreams alive. It’s really easy to start doubting your abilities and your path when you’re working alone in your garage and bills are coming due. Having to learn how to wear all the hats of a small business owner is already a lot. But balancing that with being a mom of 2, is tricky, to say the least. Learning time management has been paramount in keeping all the plates spinning, so to speak.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
What sets me apart from the crowd is that I work from the heart and I try to pour as much of myself as I can into each and every piece. I also have a keen eye for detail and a steady hand which lends itself to my specialty of sgraffito, which means “to scratch”. To do this, I make a piece on the throwing wheel, trim it and paint it with a black underglaze. Once the piece gets closer to dry (“leather-hard”), I carve into it, exposing the clay underneath. I’ve been drawn to Mehndi patterns and mandalas for decades and it’s what you can expect to see on my pieces, too.
The project that I’m the proudest of, however, is a video project I did recently for Foothills Church in Maryville, Tn. They had a vision in mind to create a Kintsugi piece as a representation of a person’s life being put back together and made beautiful again. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of fusing broken pieces back together with gold. Making them more beautiful and valuable for having been broken in the first place. While working on this project, I just kept being reminded of how long and messy of a process healing and forgiveness is. It takes time and a willingness to put the pieces back together. But the end result is worth it. This project was all heart and spoke to me and my journey from brokenness to recreation.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was the weirdo, artsy kid who drew on everything. A full-fledged creative. I loved to sing, dance, draw, paint, do macrame, and talk in funny accents. Being raised by my self-employed, single father, gave me an appreciation for the things I had and to learn to be resourceful to make things that I didn’t have. You could give me a wad of fur and I could turn it into a cute little bracelet. With that same train of thought, in 3rd grade, we had an open, flat acre and I remember thinking “What can I do with all this space, with no equipment and by myself?” The answer for me was “cart-wheels”. I was able to, eventually, take lessons and did competitive power tumbling for about 5 years. It’s funny because I still like to do all these things, just with more self-awareness.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.triedbyfirestudio.com
- Instagram: @triedbyfirestudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/triedbyfirestudio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAb35ps_DBc
Image Credits
Profile Picture: Zachary Shaddix Product Pictures: Sarah Brodeur
