The Beauty of Surprise with Rhona Polonsky [Ep9]

Today’s guest lived and worked in many exotic parts of the world before finding her way to Artsville, where she is currently very happily residing and exhibiting her work. Whether in India, Indonesia, or Ghana, Rhona Polonsky has always sought out beauty and surprise, and therefore she has always been surrounded by inspiration for her art.

Rhona describes herself as a maker and a teacher, rather than an artist, and in today’s episode, she shares what her journey as a creative has looked like, including the moment she discovered her love for clay, her experience with sgraffito, her tendency to steer towards simplicity, and some of the challenges and failures that she has gracefully dealt with along the way.

The Beauty of Surprise with Rhona Polonsky - Episode Key Points:

• Appreciation for today’s guest, Rhona Polonsky, who is currently exhibiting at Artsville.
• Mentors who have helped Rhonda on her journey as an entrepreneurial artist.
• An overview of Rhona’s professional background.
• Rhona’s first introduction to clay, and what she immediately loved about the medium.
• The many places around the world where Rhona has lived.
• Where Rhona started doing pottery.
• Sgraffito; what this type of art is, and Rhona’s experience with it.
• How the places Rhona has lived have inspired her art.
• Surprise; how Rhona incorporates this element into her work.
• Rhona’s journey from complex to simple.
• How Rhona approaches rejection and imperfection.
• An explanation of the Batik method.
• What motivated Rhona to begin selling her artworks, and the challenges that she faces with pricing her pieces.
• Why Rhona refers to herself as a maker rather than an artist.
• How Rhona feels about living in Artsville and exhibiting her work at the Marquee.
• Some of the many different types of clay.

Longer Quotes:

“Indonesians are just so creative, and so encouraging around creativity, and Ghana's the same way. People make beautiful cloths that are just so amazing, and batik. So I always was around pieces of beauty. And I seek them out also. Wherever you go you want to see what people are doing and creating. They make beautiful glass beads and beautiful woven baskets. Just like here in Artville, it just feels like you always have this opportunity to go out and see beautiful things, and I think seeing beautiful things really influences what you do yourself.” — Rhona Polonsky [0:18:57]

“There’s a big narrative of surprise. I like surprises. I don’t think that I would have traveled as much as I did if I didn't like surprises. Every place you go, it’s like a surprise, and every person you meet, it’s a surprise. So, when I start a vessel it’s like, “Wow, what’s this going to be?” I have an idea but inevitably it never comes out like my idea, it’s a surprise. And sometimes I like the surprise and sometimes I don’t.” — Rhona Polonsky [0:20:19]

The Beauty of Surprise Tweetables:

“I started sculpting, and I loved clay because it’s so forgiving. You make a mistake and you just bring it back into place. It’s just so workable.” — Rhona Polonsky [0:09:55]

“If I was in a meeting, I always felt like I was listening better when I was doodling.” — Rhona Polonsky [0:16:42]

“I am so blessed, I need nothing, so it is so hard for me to put a price on my pieces.” — Rhona Polonsky [0:31:53]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Artsville Podcast —

Scott “Sourdough” Power — https://www.notarealartist.com/

Louise Glickman — https://www.louiseglickman.com/

Daryl Slaton — http://www.tailsofwhimsy.com/

Crewest Studio — https://creweststudio.com/

Sand Hill Artists Collective (SHAC) — https://sandhillartists.com/