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Flourish Online Magazine | Winter 2009 |
Alumni Spotlight: Margot Potter
Theatrical Crafter
By Kathleen Walker
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Image courtesy of Margot Potter |
Whether she’s pitching her idea for a new arts and travel show or working on her new book, Margot Potter (theater, 1996) draws on the performance skills she learned while a theater major at KSU. “I use all of my different talents and abilities,” Potter says. “My professors instilled a sense of self-confidence and they also taught me acting, research and writing skills.”
Potter, who describes herself as “eclectic, restless, and creative,” divides her time and talent among several projects. She’s written four books in her Impatient Beader series and is working on the fifth, discusses jewelry on QVC, creates crafting how-to videos, and works on her internationally read blog, “The Impatient Crafter.”
After earning her degree, Potter moved to Philadelphia in the hopes of becoming a professional actress. However, life did not turn out as she planned. “It’s a whole different world in professional theater,” she says. “I learned to be flexible, to have a plan yet be open to ideas I would normally push aside. That’s when exciting things happened for me.” One of those things was the inspiration for writing a fun book about jewelry making, which eventually became The Impatient Beader series. “I proved I could do something completely outside my comfort zone,” Potter says. “That opened the doorway to where I am now.”
Although she is proud of her books, she also looks forward to the next idea and the next project. Ultimately, her goal is to host her own TV show. “With a show, I get to integrate performing back into the mix,” Potter says. “I want to appeal to the average person by making the complex look easy and by showing how sometimes mistakes can lead to your best ideas, in art and in life.”