Meet your talented Cook County neighbor: Hannah Palma

Feb 24, 2023 10:16PM ● By Editor

Photos by Hannah Palma and Ashley Bredemus

Exclusive to Boreal Community Media - February 24, 2023

Did you know at an early age in life that you had so many artistic talents or did they come about as an adult? Would you tell us about how you trained and learned to perfect your beautiful work?

Honestly, I always was drawn to art through the natural beauty of the outdoors. I was born and raised in Grand Marais, and as a kid I spent most of my time collecting rocks off our property, roaming the creek bed next to my house, and of course swimming and beach combing on Superior's shores. I do believe there is something about being a small human and sitting on a body of water you are told is a lake, but that feels much more like an ocean. I was swallowed up in the vastness of Superior, and I do believe that this sparks a very vivid and active imaginations in young people - me included.

As a high schooler, I got very deep into the art world, but never saw myself as naturally good artist. To achieve the quality I wanted, I had to work hard, mess up, and repeat over and over again. I came to realize as I kept developing my drawing skills that art truly is a muscle and that it is extremely rare for someone to just be able to sit down and see the world and record it effectively.

When I got to college I started trusting my artistic voice more as I explored in many mediums. Initially, I really leaned into black and white photography, sculpture, and woodblock printmaking, and I learned how each medium transforms an idea. It made me more focused on the ideas I wanted to convey, and then I would choose the medium based on that. In the second semester of my freshman year, I found pottery. From the moment I found it, I was enveloped completely. Ceramics was such an interest for me I think because it takes a long time to build the craft to a point where you feel you can really speak in the medium. I became my ceramics professors teaching assistant where I mopped floors, fired the kilns, mixed glazes, and pugged thousands of pounds of clay. It taught me a lot about running a studio, and it really prepared me to have my own studio now. Since college I have continued to make pottery in various places I have lived, and for the last five years I have sold my work for a living without any other side hustle. Being solely focused on ceramics has pushed my craft to the next level, brought clarity on my intentions and inspirations, and aided me in finding my voice in clay. I feel so thankful to be able to do something that I love for work, and I know that it is a privilege.

Photo: Ashley Bredemus

Who inspired you to follow your dreams? Where do you find inspiration for the pieces that you create?

Since I was little my parents have always been in support of me following any dreams I have, but would push me to really dig deep and work hard at whatever direction I was headed. That mixed with my own motivation and work ethic, has made dreams appear attainable. I am very attracted to art forms that require lots of time, steps, and complexity, and no matter what I do to try to simplify, I find myself always reaching for intricacy, as I feel it helps me get lost in the craft.

I find inspiration in many places, but my core inspiration is to aid in curating meaningful moments. The outdoors is the place I gather the majority of my inspiration from, as it is beautiful, ruthless, and extremely complex in its function. I spend lots of time outside reflecting and gathering intellectual ideas that then become drawings, wood stamps, carvings, and eventually become tangible objects that remind us of how those moments in nature change us. I create nature scenes on the functional ceramic vessels, and I layer glazes one on top of the next to create atmospheres and feelings. Is it a stormy day? Is the sunlight reflecting diamonds off the water? Are the northern lights out? Is the moon reflecting on the water? This life is hard, and challenges are always arising. It is my belief that the way to combat all of that is to keep the wonder and awe alive in life, which requires an intentional presence. The outdoors are a place that will constantly bring you back to amazement, which can really help subdue the suffering that all of us inevitably experience. I want to create vessels with a spirit, and I want to awaken souls to connect to nature's magic.

Do your children follow in their mother's footsteps and also create magic with their hands?
I have twin daughters that will turn 9 in May, and they are very much into creating. They love making cards for others, writing stories, drawing, and they do love making pottery in the studio with me. They like to free play with clay a lot, but we do make pots together that they use daily. Their magic really comes out in their hearts full of empathy and love for others. That love inspires them to create and make, and watching that has been one of the greatest gifts of my life so far.

On a day off, what do you and your family do to unwind in beautiful Cook County?

On a day off, we love to take family hikes or just venture across the road to the big lake for a bonfire. Now that the girls are getting older, we find ourselves letting them lead the way in what they are interested in doing, and we partake in that. This year they got very into hockey, therefore every spare moment we had we were skating with them. Overall, we just love getting that fresh air together.

What are some of your hobbies when you are not working?
My hobbies are mainly what I would consider my daily rituals. I meditate, move my body in some way outdoors, cook colorful foods that nourish, and I am ALWAYS up for a sauna. Other hobbies I absolutely love are writing, building meaningful relationships, and salsa dancing.

Can you share some of your fondest memories of growing up in an area as beautiful as Cook County?

My fondest memories are growing up on a 30 acre property with federal land behind, which made me feel like my backyard was endless. I have always loved tracking animals patterns, watching sunsets & moonrises, swimming in Lake Superior, and being called outside in the middle of the nights to watch the northern lights dance across the sky. The experiences in nature with the ones that I love are what have created the best memories (i.e. chopping wood with my dad, sledding down our driveway, hearing wolves call in our backyard, and gardening.)

Is there any advice you would like to share with young artists who would like to pursue their calling?

Just remember that you can build any skill you put time into and practice. The important part is to be passionate about what you want to do, and do it from a genuine place. I find that the more genuine I am, the more my work speaks to people. I am a believer that strong art is the fusion of intention and skill. Skill without intention creates work that feels static, and intention without skill creates work that falls flat. When you marry intention with skill, the work has the potential to really come to life, morph, change, and impact.

Follow this link to visit Hannah's website to see her work: https://www.hannahpalma.com/

Her Facebook page can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/hannahpalmaceramics