Kelly Savino on fri 1 jan 10
Reading the thread about recycling, buying prepared, and what's worth our t=
ime:
I sat down once with a friend in business and he helped me attach a dollar =
amount to my time. It felt weird but it keeps me on track.
Sometimes I can make a table full of marketable, ten dollar doodads and do =
better that that number, but it's balanced by the time I spend on some insa=
nely detailed arty project for which I will likely not be paid proportionat=
ely.
Edith Franklin has it figured out: she says, "I don't like to clean my hous=
e. I like to make pots. So I make pots, sell them, and use the money to pay=
somebody else to clean my house." It's not a new concept... the butcher do=
es the butchering, uses meat money to pay the candlestick maker. As potter=
s we sometimes forget that we're part of a bigger picture.
Jeff Longtin made the point on facebook today that as potters, we can help =
by being employers. I have hired my kids to pug clay, mop, unload kilns and=
sort tools back into drawers, but as their time is more and more required =
by school, theater, sports and (soon) dating, I will be looking for somebod=
y local to do the stuff I don't have time to do.
I get $30/hour for private instruction, (and about the same for teaching at=
the college and the guild) and have more students than I care to schedule =
in. So if Molly gets $10/hour to pug clay while I teach, I'm still ahead of=
the game, especially when the clay being recycled has already been paid fo=
r by my students.
Some stuff I'm not willing to farm out. 16 years ago we sat down to look at=
the cost of daycare in balance with two paychecks, and chose the one paych=
eck scenario... no regrets. My dorky homemade website suits me fine, and my=
weedy but productive veggie garden, and my clean-enough house. I do my own=
bookkeeping but a nice lady sorts out my taxes every year.
Happy New Year, all. Make it yours. We're in a fighting stance and ready to=
take on whatever comes. Low enrollment cancelled one of Jeff's part time c=
lasses so me and my clay are the main breadwinners again this semester. Sum=
mer's gonna be a total Hail Mary play.
I haven't touched clay for two weeks, and for the first time in all of life=
, I'm not itching to get back to the studio. I've worked on the woodpile, m=
y house, the bills, my paperwork. painted rooms, done some sewing, beadwork=
, cooking, and even napping... all the stuff I don't have time for anymore =
with three part time jobs. When I get back to class/the studio I'll get cau=
ght up again and swept off with it... but for now I am relishing the last d=
ays of clean clothes, unscheduled days and odd projects. This morning I dec=
oupaged color copies of my ancestors' handwritten letters (in German) over =
the switchplates and outlet covers in my house, and helped Molly fill baloo=
ns with split peas to make juggling balls. Never a dull moment...
Yours
Kelly in Ohio
http://www.primalpotter.com (website)
http://primalmommy.wordpress.com (blog)
http://www.primalpotter.etsy.com (store)
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