I got curious about Emma McCarthy’s work after seeing her name pop up in my friend’s art group chat last Wednesday. Nobody knew exactly what she did or where to find it, so I decided to figure it out myself after dinner.
The Starting Point
First thing Thursday morning, I grabbed my phone and typed “Emma McCarthy” straight into Google. Big mistake. Got flooded with LinkedIn profiles, real estate agents in Florida, and some novelist in Ireland. Zero helpful results. Felt like searching for a needle in a digital haystack.
Switching Tactics
Next I tried Instagram. Searched her name and scrolled through hundreds of accounts. Started adding keywords like “illustrator”, “designer” and “artist” to narrow it down. Took forever but finally spotted an account with tiny watercolor paintings in the posts. Bio said “EM – Painter & Ceramicist” – jackpot! Remembered to check hashtags too:
- #EmmaMcCarthyArt
- #McCarthyCeramics
- #WatercolorSketchesEM
Verification Process
Found her Etsy shop through Instagram stories – took screenshots to compare artwork styles. Everything matched perfectly. While checking Pinterest later, her pottery videos suddenly appeared in my recommended feed. Algorithm magic I guess! Double-confirmed by cross-referencing:
- Same signature brushstrokes in paintings
- Identical glazing techniques on mugs
- Matching color palettes across platforms
Social Media Deep Dive
Discovered she’s mainly active on Tumblr under a nickname (@InkAndClayLife). Would’ve never found it without clicking through tags from her Instagram comments. Saw she occasionally posts project timelapses on TikTok too – followed both accounts immediately.
What Actually Worked
- Starting broad then narrowing with specific skill keywords
- Stalking hashtags across multiple platforms
- Letting algorithms do the work after initial searches
- Cross-referencing visual details like art style
Total time spent? About 2 hours over three coffee breaks. Now I’ve got all her work streams saved for future inspiration. Moral of the story: always check those hashtags and let the creepy algorithms help you!
