Roeder on mon 7 oct 96
Hello again,
When I posted the original ...best sellers getting the best of you... I
never expected such a flood of responses! People feel very differently
about the subject, but they all FEEL.
I have begun to change the way I throw the "sellers". I'm still making dip
dishes, vases, etc., but now they are altered, faceted...different looking.
They are now interesting enough to me to continue making them with a smile.
I have also gotten some new music in the studio, and have lit some vanilla
scented candles....little things make a difference.
I love to work in the studio, and would not consider having anyone else
take on a part of the process....besides, I can't afford an assistant. I do
not want to make molds, nor jigger. So I just have to vary the process
enough to keep from being so easily bored, or just plain exhausted.
I make the "shoulds" first to get them out of the way, and look forward to
the experimental stuff, like it's some kind of desert.
I have also begun to say "no". "No" to the shop that called last week
wanting to carry my work; "No" to the offer to be in some show w/3 weeks
notice...."no" to teaching again next semester. I left my options open with
these people, I just indicated, "no, not at this time".
I don't want to give the impression that I do not like being a potter.
Quite the contrary. I still get a cheap thrill when I put on a pair of
yesterday's clay-smeared jeans, a battered old sweatshirt, and head out the
door, "dressed for success" ;-)
It is a GREAT help to hear from others-- how they feel and cope. I don't
view it as whining, just problem solving.
Thanks,
Candice Roeder
under rainy Michigan skies
Lisa on tue 8 oct 96
Roeder wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Hello again,
>
> When I posted the original ...best sellers getting the best of you... I
> never expected such a flood of responses! People feel very differently
> about the subject, but they all FEEL.
I've been interested in the various responses here, as well. I've only
been 'behind the wheel' for about a year and a half, but it's been a
concentrated time, so Ive made more progress in that time than some
others who started at the same time I did.
One thing I notice is that the more things one learns to make, the more
one WANTS to make, and experiment, and therefore, get away from those
things that'll sell. Around here, big bowls are really good sellers. It
doesn't even seem to matter to the purchaser how good the bowl looks, if
it's uniform in thickness, or whatever. We had a street festival this
past weekend where 10 of us with experience levels of a few months to 5+
years had a booth together, and there was a great deal of variety as far
as types of things in our booth. One of the 2 "newbies" only had a few
pieces in the booth and they were huge bowls, and he sold all but 2 of
'em.
The moral of this story for me has been "don't forget what pays the
bills." no matter WHAT.
Lisa in Greensboro, NC where the hurricane is drenching us.
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