mel jacobson on sat 23 aug 08
exposure at nceca is a difficult concept.
so many potters have very clear `ins`...like
`oh, we have include so and so`...that is a given.
many shows fill will buddies and friends first, then
they are open to others.
some call for entries, some do not.
getting any show together, at any venue is one
hell of a lot of work. it takes time, expense, advertising
and someone has to clean up after it is over.
never easy.
and this is not whining...it is a fact, if you are
a working functional potter...you are not first on the list.
if you sell your work...well, you go way down the list.
so much about shows are still...exposure to tenure track
jobs. and staying in your job. nceca is about teachers.
mostly college. it is their duty to show...just like a science
teacher writing papers and being published. so, they work
hard at showing work..being in shows and making sure friends
get to show....it is a buddy system...and that will not change.
and the $10,000 price tag is to show others how important the
work is...who cares if it sells. just so the dean and chancellor know.
if i put on a show, i sure look to best friends and people that
i support to be first in line. just the way it works.
nothing is about being wrong, bad or exclusive...it is how a system
works. if you are not within the system, you are out of the system.
remember, clayart is an international concept. doing a show of
clayart members would be near impossible...shipping alone would
kill the show....and who would pay for it? who would sponsor it?
it would take $5,000 of seed money. who would judge it, who
would go through the 2000 slides? who would set it, mail back
the work, clean the venue? not me.
i still think that the clayart room show is a dandy. mugs and
pots on tables...pick them up/talk to the potter/ask questions
and share info. just show up in phoenix, bring a pot or two, and
share with friends.
exposure is a touchy subject. each has a way...or no way.
some hide their pots under the bed, some sell, some think that
fame will follow a show....in most cases, this is not true.
being in the magazines will give you status among other potters/
artists, but your customers will rarely care.
who knows? lots of ways to skin the cat. i know i sell most
of my pots...about 99 percent. most of my customers live
within 50 miles of me. so, that is what i care about.
i enjoy the showing of my work, set up shows, sponsor shows,
work at it some...but, it sure does not drive my work.
i do not think i have ever gotten up in the morning thinking.
`god, i hope i get in a show`. in fifty years i have not filled
out a show app or sent a slide. never will. and for sure i have
never paid a fee to show my work.
like doing clayart, most of my writing is about the profession and
helping others to understand ceramics...hoping to make a difference.
like the new book, it is about kilns, firing and technology....for
the new century. we, me and the many helping authors want
to do something of value. it does not have to be a glossy, full
of pix of pots, coffee table book. this has to be for working potters
that want information. lots of it. it will be spiral bound/ printed, including
cd and dvd. the printed book will be black and white...the cd book
will be full color...the dvd will be movies...home movies of working
potters kilns...that actually make pots...lots of pots. you will see
david hendley's kiln, tom wirt's kiln, michael wendt's kiln...kurt's kiln,
my kilns..the farm kilns...all in operation...and the kiln sheds that
cover them. you will see another 15 kilns by unknown potters...
made by them, and they work, and a joy to see kilns made by very
talented women...alone. you will see heidi haugen's kiln, way out
in rural montana. i think primal mommy is sending me pix of the
new catenary kiln she is working on. so, exposure...sort of like running
nude...it may be really fine....but then...whooooo, dangerous.
mel
p.s. in self publishing, we run the printing press and cd makers
when we need the books...about a hundred at a time. no inventory.
my guy at greatapes does not want hundreds of books in storage.
we sell them, get some more. and, we encourage the buyer to print
off pages as they need them on their home computer. this is a great
way to have plans and diagrams right at the kiln site. (but, sure as
hell we will catch anyone re/printing and selling this work...kick butt.)
and, remember, in self publishing, the book will be `downloadable`..right
to a computer 10,000 miles away. they can print off any pages they
want.
anyone's chance of having `kodonsha` do a history of your work,
in glossy coffee table format is one in ten million...doing a valued
professional teaching book, self published is just a matter of grabbing
the bull by the horns...and doing it. hey, i think ron and john have
sold some books..hmmmmmmmmmmmm
from minnetonka:
website http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart site:
http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Lee Love on sun 24 aug 08
On 8/24/08, mel jacobson wrote:
> anyone's chance of having `kodonsha` do a history of your work,
> in glossy coffee table format is one in ten million..
Yes, odds are not in one's favor, but but publishing with Kodansha is
not impossible. An executive editor of Kodansha came to my Tokyo
opening. He told me the hardest part of his job is finding good
ideas for new books. He is very open to going over new proposals.
But the problem is, I realized and my sewing teacher made
concrete, is that they, as the editor told me, publish a book until
they figure every one that ones one has one, and then lets the book go
out of print. Like they did with MacKenzie's book.
Kodansha publishes more than what we see. Visiting Gerd Knapper
(most famous Western potter established in Japan
http://www.gerdknapper.com/ ), he has a coffee table Kodansha book
that he did all the layout and editing for on his Mac computer. He
had total discretion. Check out his web page listed above.
Never the less, self publishing of reading, sound and video are
the way of the future. It is a boon to the gifted, but will make it
harder for the readers to find substantial work in the deluge.
Trusted Critics and editors will become more important guides. That
opens up jobs for some of us, helping folks find the good stuff.
--
Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
http://claycraft.blogspot.com/
"Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." --Rumi
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