Ceramic Artist Meg Thompson: The Act of Creating

Written by Emily Euchner

In 2020 when the pandemic hit and people were learning to adjust to staying home, many turned to art for comfort. Meg Thompson, hailing from Charleston, SC, has always been an artist interested in many mediums, but she had a special interest in ceramics.“With ceramics, I can take an idea that I was holding in my brain and physically create it so someone can hold it in their hands,” she says. 

 Meg was introduced to ceramics in high school and became fascinated by the art. She eventually asked her parents for her own potter’s wheel. When she received this gift, she set out to teach herself the craft – and she did through much hard work and many tutorials on YouTube. Unfortunately, the college she planned to attend did not have a pottery studio, so she sold her wheel and focused on other forms of art, such as painting.  

During the pandemic, she purchased another potter's wheel, all the necessary tools, as well as some clay, and got back to practicing the art form in her garage. The world wide web became nearly the only connection to the outside world during the pandemic. During this time, Meg found inspiration from other potters on Instagram and Tiktok who shared their art through photos and short videos. She already had a natural desire to create beautiful things, so showcasing her pottery journey online made sense.

In the beginning, Meg would do live videos of herself throwing clay (a method for forming pottery on a potter’s wheel) and talking about her other great passion: Dungeons and Dragons. Her videos got a lot of views, which helped her social media following. She started making Dungeons and Dragons-themed pottery items and selling them. The online sales market is competitive, however. Fortunately, she was able to lean on her experience with graphic design to create her own beautiful and professional website where she could sell products, take orders, and even get commissions.  

Meg markets her work through Instagram and TikTok, sharing videos to get people's attention. Using tricks of the online marketing trade, like adding trending sounds and showing behind-the-scenes peeks at an artist's lifestyle, more traffic began to come through her online shop. What was a hobby soon turned into a full-time job. Thanks to the internet, her mugs and ramen bowls have reached all over the country and even across the globe. The thoughtfulness, persistence, and creativity she has put into utilizing online platforms are apparent and are most likely the key to her success.  

Maybe most important of all, though, is the passion that drives her to create. Meg knew that she wanted to be a full-time artist since she was young. The urge to create and share has driven her to follow her desires and creativity to experiment with new ideas, such as making ceramic dice, an art form that can be particularly challenging. After a year of experimenting, she figured out how to make it work, and the results are pleasing. Paired with her ceramic dice towers, the dice make a pleasant sound as they tumble down the stairs of the tower and into the holding tray. This sound is what inspired her to create the dice. For Meg, the act of creation is what is important. 

You can learn more about Meg Thompson and her work by visiting her website: www.iampickledtink.com, and her Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok through the name “iampickledtink” inspired by her favorite classic crayon color “Tickle Me Pink.”