Nunnelly, Chuck on tue 9 mar 99
I notice a lot of work has been signed with brushwork. The recent discussion
of iron oxide washes makes me think this is what I'm seeing on the bottom of
pots. I wonder what others use. I've always carved my initials in the
bottom, sort of my signature, but the brushwork interest me.
chuck nunnelly
mechanicsville va
Carol Jackaway on wed 10 mar 99
I used to curve my last name into every peice but I found that brush work is
easier (for me). As I finish a peice I just get out the black underglaze and
in a broad brush stroke sign Jackaway. This almost creates its own design on
the bottom.
Carol Jackaway
CoilLady@aol.com
Parkside Pa.
my wonderful children have given me their cold!!
Ilene Mahler on wed 10 mar 99
I was taught to use the iron oxide as it doesn't scratch a table etc. of
the buyer of your work...Ilene in Conn..U.S.A
At 04:40 PM 3/9/99 EST, Nunnelly, Chuck wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I notice a lot of work has been signed with brushwork. The recent discussion
>of iron oxide washes makes me think this is what I'm seeing on the bottom of
>pots. I wonder what others use. I've always carved my initials in the
>bottom, sort of my signature, but the brushwork interest me.
>
>chuck nunnelly
>mechanicsville va
>
>
millie carpenter on mon 15 mar 99
Hi
I have really bad handwriting, and a long name, and when I sign my pots,
it looks bad. I wind up printing so that it can be read, and it looks
like a first grader. I have tried using a brush and oxides, i have tried
using a stylus. I would really like some suggestions.
Millie in Md. where the snow is beautiful, fluffy, and melting when it
touches the ground. And I am starting to pack for NCECA!
Maggie Woodhead on tue 16 mar 99
Millie! Kia Ora!
When I started pottery nearly 23 years ago
the tutor taking the class persuaded us to design our own stamp then
draw and carve it out on a small plaster of paris mold. We made the
molds in the tops of plastic lids from grocery jars.
A piece of clay was then pushed firmly into the carving and allowed
to stiffen, which gave a small stamp we fired to bisque and even to
glost. At the time it was so easy I made several of them and still have
the mold. A small hole in the clay means you can hang it over a hook.
My stamp was simply my initials in a curven form and easily recognised.
Every pot I make still gets its stamp since the day I presented one to
someone without a stamp and they said somewhat disappointedly "Oh you
haven't put your stamp on it"
The carving had to be fairly deep and for several firings of the
stamps I would deepen the carving until now I get a good mark. The
stamp shrinks of course if fired to glost and gives you a neater
product. It is a tool which may take some time if you want a longish
signature, but will save you endless time in the future and avoid any
arguments about whose pot it is, in a group situation. Hope this helps.
----Best Wishes Maggie----
maggie@clear.net.nz
Dai Scott on tue 16 mar 99
Hi, Millie! Instead of using your whole last name, why don't you just come
up with some neat variation of your initial/initials, or a simple "logo"
--- you could even make a bisque or plaster stamp with the logo (reversed
:} ) for impressing your clay. You can put the logo anywhere on the pot,
it doesn't have to be on the bottom. A very well-known potter in this area
whose last name (long) starts with a "K" simply uses the "K" with a dot
after it and a dot in the top "v" part of the "K" (his surname has 2 "i's"
in it, thus the dots, I guess). Very simple, very effective. Another
thing I've seen, but I think it would only work if you have a very flat
bottom on your wares, is a rubber stamp and a potters' stamp pad; the stamp
would be professionally made, just like the kind for stamping on paper.
Have fun with it!
Dai Scott - Kelowna, B.C. (the province with the interesting politicians)
I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it left.
Lee on fri 19 mar 99
------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: Maggie Woodhead =3Cmaggiew=40clear.net.nz=3E
=3E When I started pottery nearly 23 years ago
=3Ethe tutor taking the class persuaded us to design our own stamp then
=3Edraw and carve it out on a small plaster of paris mold.
Maggie, I use stamps too. I make mine out of porcelin clay and then
bisque fire them. My main stamp is the Japanese Kanji for Ikiru. I
also use my Zen name Dairin. I made this stamp by taking a rubber stamp
of the same design, putting a lot of red ink on it, stamped it on paper
and then pressing my block of clay against the wet paper to make a
negative image.
I limit the use the Zen name stamp for ritual objects.
/(o=5C=A7 Lee In Saint Paul, Minnesota USA =B0
=5Co)/=A7 mailto:Akitajin=40hachiko.com
=A7http://hachiko.com
BRIAN & NINA SCHMITZ on fri 19 mar 99
From: millie carpenter
Subject: signing your work
Millie
I have ordered Simple rubber stamps that I have been using to 'sign' some of
my pots. I have also found a great resourse for inexpensive personalized
stamps right here on the internet.
http://members.aol.com/radamz/rubberstamps.html You wouldn't know from
their web page but I was able to tell them what font, and size I wanted the
stamp, and they were very reasonable, and friendly. Let me know privately
if you need any more information on this.
Others in the classroom setting that I work in have also ordered these for
their own work. I've even ordered stamps in Family names, added the
impression to the face of a mug, and given both the stamp and the mug as a
gift. These have really gotten some nice responses.
This may or may not be an option for many, and I don't use this for all my
work, but it leaves a nice legible "signature".
Nina in Kansas
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Hi
I have really bad handwriting, and a long name, and when I sign my pots,
it looks bad. I wind up printing so that it can be read, and it looks
like a first grader. I have tried using a brush and oxides, I have tried
using a stylus. I would really like some suggestions.
Millie in Md. where the snow is beautiful, fluffy, and melting when it
touches the ground. And I am starting to pack for NCECA!
-----------------------------
Lee & Kevin Daniels on tue 23 mar 99
Hi Susan - A beginner's question here - when you copyright a piece of
pottery, what are you protecting against? I'm a graphic designer and
copyright newsletters, etc., but it never occurred to me to copyright a pot.
Just wondering . . .
Lee in Seattle where the daffodils just started blooming yesterday
-----Original Message-----
From: Susan Fox Hirschmann =3CHirsch616=40aol.com=3E
To: CLAYART=40LSV.UKY.EDU =3CCLAYART=40LSV.UKY.EDU=3E
Date: Saturday, March 20, 1999 3:43 PM
Subject: Re: Signing your work
=3E----------------------------Original message----------------------------
=3EMay i suggest,....that if you are involved in pottery as a business,
=3Eyou should try and figure out a way to sign your work, perhaps with a =
high
=3Efire pencil, so that it is legible.
=3EMany times i have found that a new customer has found me just by reading
the
=3Ename on the bottom or back of a piece. Believe it or not, but i once had=
a
=3Ecleaning lady call me, that was cleaning a framed mirror that i had made =
in
=3Eone of my customer's homes (and i stick my business card to the back of
all
=3Ewall pieces) and she ended up coming over and buying a mirror from =
me=21=21=21
=3EIf that name (either inscribed or on the card) were incomprehensible, =
that
=3Ewould be one more customer that might not find me.....one sale that i =
would
=3Ehave =22lost=22=3E
=3ESo from my point of view, as a potter and a businessperson, my
recommendations
=3Eare to sign it, copyright it (c-circled with a date) in a readable =
manner.
=3Ejust my 2cents worth=21
=3E
=3Esusan, in sunny northern Va where the daffodils are prepping to open=21
=3E
Kathy Stecker on wed 24 mar 99
Someone recently told me a horror story about one of the professional potter's
working in this area. Evidently an admirer? had made a mold of one or two of
her pieces then mass produced -can you believe that someone had that kind of
gall?
Her pieces are definitely her distinct style, but would you believe that you
would need to copyright a mug!
Kathy Stecker
Connie Pike on tue 13 feb 01
>From Bob Pike
How one signs ones pots (or not) could be very dependent on whether you
are trying to make a living working with clay, or if you just play at it as
a pastime, or if you hold a tenured position at a university where your
future doesn't depend on selling your work.
If you're a potter making a full time living working with clay (We've been
since 1973), even something as small as the way you sign your work can make
a significant difference to the way people think of you. You are how you
sign your work. How you sign your work is something you have decided to tell
people about yourself, whether you have thought it out or not.
Would you go to buy a car at 'Crazy Harry's' car lot? Do people want to
buy a $500 vase from 'Fred' or 'Dodie'? People are influenced by things you
can not even imagine. Try to read a book from about 1960 called the 'Hidden
Persuaders' by Vance Packard. It's about some research done on how people
read things into the articles they purchase. (Even things that aren't there)
People are measuring up both you and your work all the time. When someone
turns your pot over and looks at the bottom, what have you decided to tell
them? What standards are they measuring you by? The ones at their office?
The ones at their church? The ones they learned in the U.S. Marines? The
ones they learned at Harvard medical school? You'll probably never know what
ruler they will use, so try to be as professional as possible. If you do
something weird or silly, you'll never know if you might have made that
sale.
If you have to sell your pots to make a living, who you are, how you
present yourself, (at every level) how you sign your work, are all very
important things you'll have to make decisions about. Who are your buyers?
Flea market attendees? New York gallery customers? Wholesale Gallery owners?
All these different groups expect different levels of professionalism.
Connie and I decided long ago that having a readable name(stamp) on our
work was important so people would know who made it. Other people who read
the name could possibly find us if they wanted to also make a purchase.
We've used 'Bob Pike CANADA','Connie Pike CANADA' and 'Pike Studios CANADA'.
If we do an 'Art Piece', it is signed by hand and stamped. No confusion. We
make quite a number of sales to people on vacation and they expect to see
where the piece was made. Why this is important to them is beyond me. It's
just important to them. So we do it.
If you haven't ever thought about why you sign your pots the way you do,
maybe you should.
Cheers Bob Pike
--
Bob & Connie Pike
WWW. pikestudios.com
Email pikec@cadvision.com
Merrie Boerner on sun 9 dec 01
Last week I sold woodfired pots at the Mississippi Craftsmen's Guild show.
For the past year, I have used a stamp with an "M" which looks like a flame.
I thought it was cool, but the shoppers did not like it. Several people
picked up my work and did not buy because it did not have my name on it.
Someone finally asked me why I didn't sign and date my pots. I had to think
about my signature evolution.....I was not looking at it from a
consumer/collector's point of view. When I first started making pots, the
most important part (to ME) was my name. Over time, the most important part
has become the pot....but, I must sell them and please the customer ?!?!
I have written on Clayart about "potter's presence" in work, and hope the
consumer enjoys my presence in their purchase. Now, I realize that they need
my name to verify my presence.
Elemetary as it may seem, I think I might return to "Merrie" and
2002......it just doesn't seem to fit woodfired bottoms with nice flashing
around wadding.......Hummmmm, to compromise or not......I'll let the pots
tell me what to do.
Cheers,
Merrie
Jocelyn McAuley on sun 9 dec 01
Hi Kate
I too have pottery that has a nice crisp marker looking signature on the
bottom. I'm envious! Minnesota Clay company (http://www.mm.com) sells
markers and ink pads (for stamping these neat designs and such) that will
work at cone 8 and beyond. Perhaps that would be fun to experiment with.
Cheers
Jocelyn
--
Jocelyn McAuley ><<'> jocie@worlddomination.net
Eugene, Oregon
http://www.ceramicism.com
Jocelyn McAuley on sun 9 dec 01
On Sun, 9 Dec 2001, Jocelyn McAuley wrote:
> bottom. I'm envious! Minnesota Clay company (http://www.mm.com) sells
Woops, that's actually http://www.mm.com/mnclayus/
thanks
--
Jocelyn McAuley ><<'> jocie@worlddomination.net
Eugene, Oregon
http://www.ceramicism.com
Kate Johnson on sun 9 dec 01
I suppose this is a bit of a trivial question, but I feel that signing wants
to have a bit of the potter's personality, too. Besides, sometimes I write
on the bottom of a piece...in "Real Life" I _am_ a writer and artist, so
sometimes I just add a quirky comment or description. Like "Don't ask," one
one experimental thing that turned into an odd little sculpture, or "yet
another red clay bowl" when I've been stuck in a rut...or "mug for a REAL
coffee lover..." on a rather large mug...
Anyway, I hate pin tools for that, and often use an old ivory knitting
needle with the pot's about leather hard or a bit softer. Sometimes I
forget, though, until the pot's dry. One piece I own has the sig done with
what looks like a fiber-tipped pen, but fired with the piece. Anyone have a
clue what might have been used, and at what stage? It looks GREAT, and
would solve my occasionally forgetful problem...
Best--
Kate
Lois Ruben Aronow on sun 9 dec 01
I use an underglaze pencil (black). Works great, easy to use, and
inexpensive. I shows through most of my transparent and translucent
glazes too.
>Anyway, I hate pin tools for that, and often use an old ivory knitting
>needle with the pot's about leather hard or a bit softer. Sometimes I
>forget, though, until the pot's dry. One piece I own has the sig done =
with
>what looks like a fiber-tipped pen, but fired with the piece. Anyone =
have a
>clue what might have been used, and at what stage? It looks GREAT, and
>would solve my occasionally forgetful problem...
>
Les Crimp on sun 9 dec 01
Kate -
I mix some Red Iron Oxide, Manganese and some ball clay with water and sign
everything with a liner brush. Works well.
Happy Holidays!
Les on that Island in the Pacific.
lcrimp@shaw.ca
Chris Jones on mon 10 dec 01
I mostly use a "glaze pencil" available from AAmaco pottery supply. I get
them in green and brown and they work great and are permanent
Thank you,
Chris Jones
Visit www.jonespottery.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kate Johnson"
To:
Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2001 1:26 PM
Subject: signing your work
> I suppose this is a bit of a trivial question, but I feel that signing
wants
> to have a bit of the potter's personality, too. Besides, sometimes I
write
> on the bottom of a piece...in "Real Life" I _am_ a writer and artist, so
> sometimes I just add a quirky comment or description. Like "Don't ask,"
one
> one experimental thing that turned into an odd little sculpture, or "yet
> another red clay bowl" when I've been stuck in a rut...or "mug for a REAL
> coffee lover..." on a rather large mug...
>
> Anyway, I hate pin tools for that, and often use an old ivory knitting
> needle with the pot's about leather hard or a bit softer. Sometimes I
> forget, though, until the pot's dry. One piece I own has the sig done
with
> what looks like a fiber-tipped pen, but fired with the piece. Anyone have
a
> clue what might have been used, and at what stage? It looks GREAT, and
> would solve my occasionally forgetful problem...
>
> Best--
> Kate
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
Kate Johnson on mon 10 dec 01
Hi, Merrie...
I hadn't thought of it in that light, but as a consumer as well as a budding
potter, I suppose I agree with your consumers. I don't care about a date on
a piece, but it is deeply satisfying to me to see a piece of pottery for
sale and think "that looks like one of Cecil's pots" or Rebecca's, or
Dennis's, and then turn it over to see that I've truly recognized the potter
in his or her work.
> I have written on Clayart about "potter's presence" in work, and hope
the
> consumer enjoys my presence in their purchase. Now, I realize that they
need
> my name to verify my presence.
> Elemetary as it may seem, I think I might return to "Merrie" and
> 2002......it just doesn't seem to fit woodfired bottoms with nice flashing
> around wadding.......Hummmmm, to compromise or not......I'll let the pots
> tell me what to do.
I often forget to sign mine, but at this stage of my development that's
probably quite all right.
Best--Kate
Marcia Selsor on mon 10 dec 01
I use a dull pencil ot the end of a wooden needle tool which I sharpen in a
pencil sharpener.
I sign after trimming while wet.
Marcia Selsor
Kate Johnson wrote:snip
Anyway, I hate pin tools for that, and often use an old ivory knitting
> needle with the pot's about leather hard or a bit softer. Sometimes I
> forget, though, until the pot's dry. One piece I own has the sig done with
> what looks like a fiber-tipped pen, but fired with the piece. Anyone have a
> clue what might have been used, and at what stage? It looks GREAT, and
> would solve my occasionally forgetful problem...
>
> Best--
> Kate
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Christena Schafale on mon 10 dec 01
Minnesota Markers from Minnesota Clay Company, work great.
Chris
One piece I own has the sig done with
>what looks like a fiber-tipped pen, but fired with the piece. Anyone have a
>clue what might have been used, and at what stage?
Consultation and Referral Specialist
Resources for Seniors
christenas@rfsnc.org
www.resourcesforseniors.com
Phone: (919) 713-1537
FAX: (919) 872-9574
1110 Navaho Dr, Suite 400
Raleigh, NC 27609
Lexxy on mon 10 dec 01
Don't know if anyone else mentioned this but I find it simpler to just stamp
the pot. In a class I took under Rick Berman he insisted we all carve
initial stamps...don't know if it was a phase with him cuz he was using them
then, but I like them. I have several little 1/2" "E"s in different
alphabets carefully carved out of porcelain. On mugs use it to squish the
handle tail down.
I wonder about using initial stamps...what is the protocol? Is it mostly an
oriental pottery thing?
Lexxey
Please check out my website at: http://www.flummoxed.org/lexxey/index.htm
Michael Imes on tue 11 dec 01
Hello Clayart Folks,
I've been reading messages for a couple months, but haven't responded
until now. I know that signing work is a big deal to a lot of buyers. My
pots are pinch pots; they are absolutely covered with my finger prints; they
make the repeat texture of the piece. What better signature? People say
they want a name, though. I had a customer a few years ago tell me she'd
pay me more if I signed my work. When I showed her the signature she hadn't
seen she seemed to forget her offer to pay extra. Anyway, I do sign and
date larger pieces. Cups and small bowls just don't have enough room to add
a date without it feeling like an imposition. I don't want it to be an
imposition. It feels like the work and the possibility of its relative
immortality (at least compared to our life spans) should be more important
than our name. For me it's that amazing fact that we're making artifacts;
that we're agents in this incredible magic transformation, that has brought
me to dating the work. I imagine someone finding it in a thousand years and
seeing 2002 sketched into it. Notwithstanding the possibility that 2002
could be a meaningless scratch in a thousand years, it seems amazing that
these vessels we're making have the potential to extend that far into the
future (further, depending on circumstance). Anyway, I imagine a potter or
a descendant of one of my patrons picking up one of my pieces and using it
somewhere way in the future and think this date I'm adding could be a gift
to that person who just might cherish the work all the more. I might feel
differently about it after I've dated a few thousand pieces, but as a
pincher I might not even make that many more.
Sincerely,
Michael Imes
mimes17@hotmail.com
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
Joseph Herbert on tue 11 dec 01
Merrie Boerner writes about signatures and their effect on customers.
I observed before that one of the reasons people buy our pots is for a
connection with the potter. If we resist that connection, we make it more
difficult for those people to enjoy their purchase.
An additional factor for a more sophisticated buyer is the tradition of
pottery manufacturers to mark their ware with a makers mark and (sometimes)
the year of manufacture. Rookwood went beyond that by including marks for
glaze style and decorator.
I think a stamping system, maybe in plain English rather than a code, might
be a good way to go. I have pots that are signed and I remember where and
when I got them, but I have no idea what that scribble on the bottom is
intended to mean. I have lost that connection, if I ever had it.
Joseph Herbert
Katheleen Nez on tue 11 dec 01
Dear Merrie & Dave in Idaho: Amazing that a signature
(or lack of) would cause someone to lose a sale. I saw
some really cool pots today while walking around doing
errands and they were signed but I don't recognize the
potters' name and I'll still probably buy the pitcher,
cuz it's cool. However, I sign and date (but that's
just cuz I'm wierd like that). And I happened to run
into one of my Early pieces a couple of days ago - I
only recognized it becuz of the painted design and the
glaze I use in Heavy Redux (Gee, that looks
Familiar...'91?). Maybe someday I'll throw off my
Hang-Up...
Bought one of Shane Mickey's teapots at the NC
Potter's Benefit/Seagrove online a while back - he
just uses stamps. It looks way cooler in person than
the foto suggested - I'm glad it sits on my shelf here
at home. I'm shure if you see a bunch of them together
you'd have a hard time not taking at least one home,
signature or not. NEZBAH snowing hope it stops going
to the Jemez for some dances at the pueblo tomorrow...
__________________________________________________
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your unique holiday gifts! Buy at http://shopping.yahoo.com
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Merrie Boerner on tue 11 dec 01
Katheleen wrote...."Amazing that a signature
(or lack of) would cause someone to lose a sale."
I'm in Mississippi ! The people are buying poured ceramics, made in a
factory, painted and glazed by hired help,....and the only thing the
"artist" who calls her work "pottery" does is sign the pieces, and I have
heard that she doesn't even do that now. Some people buy ceramics here so
they can say they are "collecting so-and-so". I have even had people tell me
that I could possibly evolve to be just like so-and-so ! Sorry for the
rant, but I have lived with this a while. So, you see.....it is pretty
important to get my name recognized by the typical Mississippi collector.
I liked the suggestion that I sign my wood fired pots with "Boerner"
(pronounced Burner).....but, remember where I live !?! I was introduced as
an officer in our Craftsmen's Guild as "Merrie Boner"......I took it as a
compliment ; ) Well, I guess it is a never ending process...teach the
public about woodfiring...teach the public how to pronounce German names.
Now, about dates......if there is a pot in my studio that has an old
date, and the person asks about that.....I tell them that it was one of my
favorite pieces for years and that I just decided to bring it out of my den
to sell it. If you could only see how much pottery I have in my den, you
would believe me ! Lowell says it is a sickness : ) to have so much pottery.
Usually the person will see an old date and grab it up like a treasure.
Cheers,
Merrie
It is so good to be back.
iandol on tue 11 dec 01
Dear Merrie Boerner ,
I can understand your dilemma in attempting to make a signature which =
will fit into the aesthetic ambience of your work. So I wonder if this =
might not be an instance where using Swing Tags which have your =
Signature, Mark and a brief auto to promote yourself might overcome the =
disadvantage of such negative prospective customers.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Austalia.
Merrie Boerner on wed 12 dec 01
Dear Ivor,
Thank you for that suggestion ! It had crossed my mind and left it about
a year ago. Since you reminded me, I'll get right on it. The brief
autobiography can also have a description of woodfiring and it's affects on
the pots. I should have done this long ago !
Cheers,
Merrie
----- Original Message -----
From: "iandol"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2001 12:13 AM
Subject: Re: signing your work
Dear Merrie Boerner ,
I can understand your dilemma in attempting to make a signature which will
fit into the aesthetic ambience of your work. So I wonder if this might not
be an instance where using Swing Tags which have your Signature, Mark and a
brief auto to promote yourself might overcome the disadvantage of such
negative prospective customers.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Austalia.
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Luis Fontanills on thu 13 dec 01
I sign my pots with a cursive LF 1 (Luis Fontanills 2001) with a needle tool
on the bottom when the pots are leather hard. Soon they will be LF 2 (2002).
I only started in 2000 so these only have an LF. Some of my pots are thimble
size and I can still manage to clearly inscribe my signature on these.
Most of my pots are bonsai pots; traditionally the Japanese and Chinese use
chops for the signature, but I am a Cuban-American potter and feel that this
is an affectation that I do not wish to follow - affectation for an American
that is.
I have signed with a cursive LF since high school in the 70's, for my
paintings and drawings, so doing it on ceramic artifacts establishes
continuity with my full body of work.
Luis Fontanills
Miami, Florida USA
Luis Fontanills on fri 14 dec 01
Another aspect of signing work is that it be done to make identification
easy. As indicated in my previous post, many Japanese and Chinese potters
use chops to stamp their bonsai pots, the problem is that most individuals
cannot read them. Translation by a qualified person is required.
Many stamps used by potters are unknown to the general public, so even if it
is unique to you, no one will be able to identify you. As far as I know,
there is no active -comprehensive database whereby potters can submit their
identifying marks and interested parties have access to them. This would be a
worthwhile venture for some organization to accomplish.
I believe that signing and dating is important, and many of these reasons
have surfaced in this thread; just as important is to be able to know who
made the identifying marks.
Luis Fontanills
Miami, Florida USA
tomsawyer on fri 14 dec 01
Let me begin by saying that I don't consider myself a very good ceramic
artist. Having said that, I attended two consecutive workshops by very good
cereamic artists that bodly place their names on every bit of pottery they
made. Full name. I was impressed and with a name like Tom Sawyer, I started
signing my full name. I've had several people that just loved buying a Tom
Sawyer pot. I realize that not everyone is so blessed with such a name.
Being a phyisician and lawyer also has helped [ the public is so easily
deceived]; there is a general impression that because I have been a
successful physician and attorney that it somehow has translated into a good
potter. Nuts. But [I admit] I do take advantage. As to the dating of potter,
this question arose about a year ago on this listserve. At that time I had
just finished a show and had a customer come by and look at the signature
and date. Since I am not a full time potter, I had taken pots made in past
years. She really liked one of my pots but was taken aback because it had
been made 2 years before the show and wanted a recent work. Thereafter, I
devised my own coding system that I placed on this listserve, at that time.
I really like dating my pots so I know about when in my growth cycle they
were made and so I can keep track of them during the decorating and firing
cycle. My solution was to code my pots. This also helps me keep track of
glaze tests that I do. The system is this. I start with the alphabet; the
first pot of the day is A the second B etc. this is the first letter of the
code. The second notation is the day of the month - 3 for the 3rd day 4 for
the 4th - 10 for the 10th's day etc. The next is a return to the alphabet A
for Jan B for Feb etc. Last 1 for 2001, 2 for 2002 etc. In summary if I use
a code of C11E1, it means that it was the 3rd pot made on the 11th day of
May 2001. If a customer asks what the code means I can tell them its part of
a series, if they are really hung up on a date; others I may elect to tell
them my code which they really like because they think they are privy to
some great secret.
Tom Sawyer
tsawyer@cfl.rr.com
Richard Urban on sat 15 dec 01
I used to sign and date my work. Since I am a production potter and make lots
of pots it got to be kind of a hassle for me to sign each piece. So then I
started signing with just a simple circle. I'm sure this has been done
before. But it's quick and easy.I use the end of a lipstick case to make the
circle and the customers seem to think it's really cool. It satisfies those
who are concerned about having a signed piece and it frees me up to
concentrate on more important matters like lunch.
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