Immerse yourself in conversations and enchanting stories with Alex Simon, extraordinary artist and founder of Make Good Choices, a one-stop-shop for all things ceramic, sparkly, and spirited. In this interview, we venture into the depths of the human experience, uncovering the hidden nuances of artistic processes intertwined with her own personal voyage of self-discovery.
Witness the significance of rituals and routines in nurturing creative momentum, and gain insight into how Alex’s ceramic art serves as a profound medium for self-exploration and love. Our hope is that this episode kindles a flame of inspiration within you, encouraging you to embrace your own unique journey of self-expression, while finding joy and beauty in the rituals that breathe life into your everyday existence.
Dive into the whimsical and euphoric facets of the creative process, while discovering how the infusion of intentional rituals into your daily habits can bring forth a sense of pleasure and presence.
Listen to the full podcast episode on The Pleasure Provocateur — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform.
Queer Joy Through Art and Creativity During Low Points
Lorrae: I just am so vibing with your art. It’s just so joyful and just exudes this excitement and genuineness and it just radiates from everything that you create. And I’m so curious just what inspired you to bring so much fun and joy through your art.
Alex: Well, my art is really inspired by my lived experience of being myself in this world. And the more that I embrace my radiant, sparkly, queerdo, eccentric self, the more it gets infused into my art and the more I let my art reflect me more authentically.
If you look at my work in the progression of, let’s say, it lasts like 10, 15 years, it just keeps getting louder and more fun and more sparkly and exuberant. And also just dialed in the techniques I’m using and in the way that I’m going about it. But really it’s like all of the things that make my heart explode are the things that inspire my work.
Lorrae: I love that so much. I think it’s so important. I’ve wanted to bring forward so much of myself in my own work, but I also go through periods of depression and anxiety and challenges where it can be hard to find that joy.
Being able to indulge in somebody else’s magic and creativity reminds me of the beauty that’s out in the world and that we do get a chance to tap into and welcome into our lives. Have you found that your creative process is challenging when you’re going through those hard times or does it help you to create more in your life?
Alex: Yes and no. Yeah, when I’m going through hard times, my creative process definitely takes it’s swivels. But sometimes it forces me to spend more time in the studio. So I can re-hone my energy into my work. And sometimes it just derails me and I have to go to the coast or take a little trip or just get outside of my own way to make room for creativity to come back. But my work ebbs and flows between feeling creative and like an artist then flows back into, “oh wait, but you own a business,” “oh wait, you’re an entrepreneur,” “oh wait, like you have help that you, assistants that you pay that rely on the art to do well.” And so it’s like this weird ebb and flow or push and pull of I’m an artist, I’m a business woman, I’m an artist, I’m getting shit done. It’s a process.
Lorrae: Before we hopped on and started recording, I got a little view of your studio and there are so many cool things that you do. There’s the bedazzling, the glitter, the asthma pipes, which I just think is so funny. And I love kind of making fun of ourselves a little bit as we play because it’s that vulnerability and authenticity that is what makes us unique and brings that magic. It’s our little idiosyncrasies and quirks.
Alex: I think that when you experience someone else’s art or work in that way and you see that their authentic self is coming out, I feel like it gives others permission to let that happen for them too. To see this big bold mug or whatever and be like, “oh my god, I don’t have to choose a minimalist like way of self-expression if that’s not my truest self” or I’ll never forget the first time I was at my first ever gay party.
I saw this voluptuous, like fat femme babe DJing. And she was in this full spandex bodysuit. My jaw hit the floor and I was like, you are the most beautiful, sexy creature I’ve ever seen. And I would have never worn a full spandex bodysuit, but seeing her in her element made me realize that if I wore a spandex bodysuit and really felt myself and felt confident and owned it that others would feel that way about me, too, because it wasn’t actually about what her body looked like or what her outfit looked like but it was watching her in her power and that really shook me in that moment, and then I really came out of the closet
Lorrae: Yeah, there’s these two pieces of it. On one side, we have this coming out process through our art, like we’re always learning and revealing more about ourselves. And as I’ve been on my own self-expression journey through different types of media, I learn more and learn to express more and it’s this really vulnerable opening process. But through that, we learn so much about ourselves.
And I love what you say about this embodiment and confidence being such a core piece of that self-expression. And that’s where the shame that’s in our culture really starts to stifle that light. We’re not able to shine as brightly, but we have this opportunity to let it all out and overcome that.
Sex-Positive Art, Starting With the Classic Magic Wand
Lorrae: What inspired you to start incorporating sex-positive imagery into your art and how has that transformed your self expression?
Alex: I had wanted to make a Magic Wand vibrator pipe for a long time before I did. But the pieces hadn’t really come together for me. I also hadn’t had a very deep relationship with a Magic Wand, the vibrator itself, and didn’t have one. I just knew how iconic it was. I was like, oh man, that would be amazing. I had, at that time, the inhaler pipe already rolling.
I was with a former partner and she had a Magic Wand that she’d had for, I want to say over 10 years, 12 years, like ride or die, old reliable, best friend, Magic Wand.
Lorrae: It’s truly the iconic powerhouse.
Alex: It is the iconic powerhouse. So yeah, she had this Magic Wand and after 10 plus years of loyal service, it started sparking. And I have since learned that that’s a long time for vibrators to live and that’s a dramatic way for it to die. And so when her Magic Wand sparked, I was like, well, obviously that’s dead now, it’s terrifying.
I think it wasn’t even a full minute after I heard that it had died, I was like, “wait, can I have it? Can I make a mold of it? Can I immortalize it forever?” I got to take the Magic Wand and, you know, deep clean her and then make a plaster mold of it and start to play with casting.
I feel like a real Magic Wand that you would use on your body or someone else’s body or whatever, it’s typically a very private experience. It’s a very private act with you and your partner, partners or whatever, whoever you play with. And it’s not the kind of thing you just leave out on your coffee table, you know? But the Magic Wand pipe…
Lorrae: I wanna put it on bookshelves, my table. I want one for every room of the house.
Alex: Not only is this made in ceramic, but it’s also glazed, it’s going to outlive us all. It is never going to break down. You know, it could break, it could crack, but this is covered in 22-karat gold and glass rhinestones and mother of pearl luster. And it’s my way of elevating the Magic Wand to be, “oh my God, I understand, you understand.”
We’ve had our worlds rocked by Magic Wand’s. And now let’s smoke weed about it and talk about our bodies and talk about pleasure and talk about the stigma around sex toys or how do we love ourselves more and how did the Magic Wand help with that? For most people, it’s a solo toy, but let me tell you, I think it’s almost better with a friend or a lover.
Finding Your Sex-Positive Community
Lorrae: What has the response been since you’ve been incorporating sex-positive imagery into your art? You have multiple different versions of the Magic Wand that are different designs and speak to different vibes and energies.
Alex: The response has been mostly incredible. The right people find me. And it’s interesting because the Magic Wand has consistently gone viral. Not whenever I post about it, but twice a year, once a year since I started making them. They’ll just take off because all the right people find them, they send them to their friends. And whenever people find my work and react to it in this really specific all caps kind of way, I immediately feel like I found my people because my work is arguably so niche, like so niche.
My work isn’t for everyone because not everyone resonates. But when something as niche as the Magic Wand pipe comes along, they’re like, “hi, we’ve been waiting for you.” And I’m like, “I have also been waiting for you.” And they say “if we can’t afford it, then we’re gonna promote it.” And I feel really supported by the people that love them.
There are definitely the haters that come, especially if a video goes viral. They say “that’s disgusting or gross or whatever.” And it’s fine because the right people do find them and the response is overwhelmingly positive. And it’s almost funny to make art that brings haters sometimes because you’re like “thank you for engaging with my post. You actually inadvertently helped it take off and reach more people. And I am going to sell this piece of art now.”
Lorrae: I think it’s really revealing how much work other people have to do around their own sexuality. That folks can be so emotionally distraught from something that’s bringing us pleasure is really a testament that we got a while to go. But it’s important that we are able to find this community and feel seen and that your art is inclusive and empowering. When I see art that speaks to me, like you said, I’m like “these are my people.” And we feel less alone in the world.
Join us on a journey of self-discovery, sensuality, and creative expression. In this episode, we unveil the power of self-expression and authenticity, explore the transformative strength inherent in artistic expression, and delve into art’s capacity to serve as a catalyst for healing, self-love, and liberation.
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Episode Resources
Get my favorite vibrator, the Magic Wand Rechargeable and the Magic Wand Mini! You can also get the authentic Magic Wand Original – available at my favorite sex-positive shop.
- Download my free sex-magic ebook
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- Lorrae’s Twitter | Facebook | TikTok
Connect with our guest, Alex of MakeGoodChoices, via @makegoodchoices | @makegoodchoicesshop | http://www.makegoodchoicesshop.com
