Wyndham Dennison on sat 5 jul 08
>
> Chris=2C you left out a few phases of the "Compleat Home Potter's Tradition=
> al Studio." Make your own firebricks. Use the sawdust you saved from havi=
> ng hand hewed and sawed the planks from logs you felled with an axe you mad=
> e from ore you mined... (That lived in the house that Jack built! So goes=
> the old memory rhyme.)
>
For those that are interested, potters that make a living at their
craft, have to, by economic necessity, make,repair,invent, reinvent, and
be masters in many fields. When a electric kiln fries a relay, I will
buy and replace it myself for $30 but if I hire someone that maybe an
electrician but has never seen the control box of a kiln for parts$80
+time $50-75/hr. If I Want someone to rewire a kiln, it's s part$$
+profit + $400. I can either Make a gas kiln for $IFB@ $1.00 ea for 50
or so boxes(depending on size of kiln) + scrap steel and burners or
buy a brand name for $15000 or more.
Because gas for my car cost $4.00+/gal doesn't mean I can charge $25 for
a $15 mug, the market will not tolerate it.
There are 2 or more different worlds here on clayart. I'm from the one
that has to make a living, pay the bills and find time, after a day in
which some customers thinks I should be able to match their whims and
time frames to my craft, to clear my head and enjoy the clay.
Fortunately there are still many fine customers that understand that
they are being welcomed into my working life and we share the benefits
of my making the art and they receiving it, otherwise why bother.
If their are those that belittle those of us that by necessity have to
be very frugal just to pay the bills, walk this way and the truth will
open your eyes.
I don't mind people learning to be potters from college programs and
workshops. I've learned from those as well as those generous potters
that were kind enough to realize that I was just starting out and not
overwhelm me with more information than I could handle.
I once setup at a show where an instructor at a local inst. sold
beautiful forms for pennies on the dollar because it was cluttering up
his life. Little did he realize or care that he was demeaning the very
craft he taught and insulting his fellow potters at the show(ref: many
yrs ago and no one on clayart)
Once at an outdoor show at the end of the day, a fellow potter was
draping his display. A gust of wind destroyed all the pots.
Those events are part of the life of a working craftsperson, just part
of the biz. Others have their own stories. Please remember there may be
a good reason for making use of or reuse of some things and it's not to
be ecofriendly or green, it's simple trying to make a living.
Wyndham
Kim Hohlmayer on tue 8 jul 08
Hi Wyndham,
Being self-sufficient is great and often a financial necessisty. There is nothing wrong at all with being an eco-friendly potter either. What some of us get our hackles up over are judgement calls by others that those who are either of the above are superior human beings. I once attended a church conference where one of the side groups had bought into what I called the sliding scale of Christianity. I reacted to that the same way I reacted to the attitudes here about "the more you do yourself, the better the potter you are." In each of our lives we are where we are. No one can assess all the influences and outside factors that put anyone of us where we are. I now have limited studio time due to family issues. You are a conservative do-it-yourselfer because it is financially responsible. I just don't want other potters judging my work or anyone elses based upon these sliding scales but upon the work itself.
The students who are serious about their art but just can't up and quit their jobs or other responsibilities should not be judged lessor artists. Learning to use the materials at hand be they glaze chemicals or commercial glazes is still learning to use a tool. Even learning to "use" the kiln firing tech by working with him/her is learning to use a tool. The motivated students and artists will advance sometimes in spite of all these restrictions.
Okay, that is enough of being painfully serious. I've made my point and now I am off to try my luck at navigating the treacherous waters of the archives. Wish me luck. --Kim P.S. The guy selling his pots for so little would really get me riled! I have faced that kind of unfair competition also!
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