Michelle Moody on tue 24 oct 00
Can anyone out there recommend a good book on grant writting and/or =
business proposal writting for the artist? I have recentl graduated with =
a BFA and I am trying to figure out how to set up my own studio. I am =
trying to approach being an artist as I would being any business person. =
I think this is something that is sorely missing in 'art school.'
Thanks
Randall Moody
Charles on wed 25 oct 00
Randall,
I strongly suggest you either apprentice with a master potter for a year
or two, or seek a residency, at the very least, join a local potters guild
where there are competent professionals to learn from. A BFA is great but
they only have 4 years in which to instill what takes 1/2 a lifetime to
learn. College pottery is much different from day to day studio pottery. I
make now in a week, and sometimes a day, what I would make in a whole
semester at college. You have to have the skills down 100%. A BFA often
gives you a lot of information on creativity, but seldom have I seen a BFA
pottery student come out of college actually prepared to make a living. The
few that have were throwing from the time they were kids.
The idea of grants for potters just ticks me off. I almost applied for a
couple, but decided I'd rather figure out how to do it on my own. I don't
need or want a handout so I can do my pottery. Pottery is a legitimate
business and the numbers work out pretty well. No reason a potter with good
skills can't make a living. I think grants for artists in general are a bad
idea. We should be out there making our work and earning a living from it.
As a whole, I think artists rely too strongly on grants and not nearly
enough on their ability to create and produce something of value. ANYWAY...
If you really want to get started with your own studio, start by
collecting all your work from school and having a BFA graduation sale from
your home. Invite your family, invite the folks who watched you grow up,
invite the neighbors. Put flyers up in the grocery stores, community
centers. Price the pots professionally and sell everything you can. Then
take that money and buy what you need. A wheel is a good place to start, if
you have one, then buy materials...clay, chemicals for glazes. Then start
making pots. If you don't have a kiln, find out if you can buy space at a
guild, community center, from a local professional. most places will charge
by the piece or the kilnload. Make a couple loads of pots, and do it all
over again...a load of pots will buy materials for the next load and
probably pay some bills too. Look into local arts festivals and galleries.
Make good consistent work and get good slides.
If you happen to have a wheel and a kiln...maybe you can rent a basement
for $50-$100 a month from someone, buy some materials and get to work.
There's my .02 cents, hope it helps, even if I didn't tell you where to look
for grants or how to do a business plan...
Good luck...
Charles
Visit my webpage...
http://www.thecreativeoasis.com/Hughes/hughes.html
----- Original Message -----
From: Michelle Moody
To:
Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2000 5:26 PM
Subject: Grants books
Can anyone out there recommend a good book on grant writting and/or business
proposal writting for the artist? I have recentl graduated with a BFA and I
am trying to figure out how to set up my own studio. I am trying to approach
being an artist as I would being any business person. I think this is
something that is sorely missing in 'art school.'
Thanks
Randall Moody
____________________________________________________________________________
__
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Snail Scott on wed 25 oct 00
Randall-
Where I am living now (Nevada) there are small grants available
to individual artists, and many other localities have similar
programs. No, you can't use them as a substitute for making a
living, but such funds could really ease the impact of start-up
costs or equipment purchases. I believe Charles is right about
the value of an apprenticeship to a college-trained potter. Grant
money is no replacement for experience, but that wasn't really
your contention anyway, was it? They're giving money to somebody...
why not you?
Grant money isn't really free, though. Grants are often quite
competitive, and the time needed to prepare a winning proposal can
be substantial. Some arts-support groups offer workshops in
grant-writing skills, however, and aid in locating appropriate grants
to apply for. Small-business groups can also help you draw up a
business plan, find start-up financing and may sponsor business-
skills workshops. Find out your local resources.
Both grant money and small-business loans will be easier to get
if you can show a good professional foundation and an understanding
of your trade. Even if you don't take an apprenticeship, you need to
talk to other potters - LOTS of them, and often.
-Snail
At 12:23 AM 10/25/00 -0400, you wrote:
>Randall,
>
> I strongly suggest you either apprentice with a master potter for a year
>or two, or seek a residency, at the very least, join a local potters guild
>where there are competent professionals to learn from. A BFA is great but
>they only have 4 years in which to instill what takes 1/2 a lifetime to
>learn. College pottery is much different from day to day studio pottery. I
>make now in a week, and sometimes a day, what I would make in a whole
>semester at college. You have to have the skills down 100%. A BFA often
>gives you a lot of information on creativity, but seldom have I seen a BFA
>pottery student come out of college actually prepared to make a living. The
>few that have were throwing from the time they were kids.
> The idea of grants for potters just ticks me off. I almost applied for a
>couple, but decided I'd rather figure out how to do it on my own. I don't
>need or want a handout so I can do my pottery. Pottery is a legitimate
>business and the numbers work out pretty well. No reason a potter with good
>skills can't make a living. I think grants for artists in general are a bad
>idea. We should be out there making our work and earning a living from it.
>As a whole, I think artists rely too strongly on grants and not nearly
>enough on their ability to create and produce something of value. ANYWAY...
> If you really want to get started with your own studio, start by
>collecting all your work from school and having a BFA graduation sale from
>your home. Invite your family, invite the folks who watched you grow up,
>invite the neighbors. Put flyers up in the grocery stores, community
>centers. Price the pots professionally and sell everything you can. Then
>take that money and buy what you need. A wheel is a good place to start, if
>you have one, then buy materials...clay, chemicals for glazes. Then start
>making pots. If you don't have a kiln, find out if you can buy space at a
>guild, community center, from a local professional. most places will charge
>by the piece or the kilnload. Make a couple loads of pots, and do it all
>over again...a load of pots will buy materials for the next load and
>probably pay some bills too. Look into local arts festivals and galleries.
>Make good consistent work and get good slides.
> If you happen to have a wheel and a kiln...maybe you can rent a basement
>for $50-$100 a month from someone, buy some materials and get to work.
>
>There's my .02 cents, hope it helps, even if I didn't tell you where to look
>for grants or how to do a business plan...
>
>Good luck...
>
>Charles
>
>Visit my webpage...
>http://www.thecreativeoasis.com/Hughes/hughes.html
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Michelle Moody
>To:
>Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2000 5:26 PM
>Subject: Grants books
>
>
>Can anyone out there recommend a good book on grant writting and/or business
>proposal writting for the artist? I have recentl graduated with a BFA and I
>am trying to figure out how to set up my own studio. I am trying to approach
>being an artist as I would being any business person. I think this is
>something that is sorely missing in 'art school.'
>Thanks
>Randall Moody
>
>____________________________________________________________________________
>__
>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.
>
>___________________________________________________________________________
___
>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.
>
Spincy68@CS.COM on wed 25 oct 00
maybe we should not assume that all members of the listserv are potters. i am
a ceramic sculptor with a master's degree who recently got a small grant
which has allowed me to purchase equipment i could other wise not have
afforded. i am not interested in making my work purely to sell, and sales are
in no way a reflection of the quality of the work. the idea that grants for
artists are a bad idea borders on the ridiculous, since our society is one
which otherwise makes earning a living next to impossible for someone not
making sales-driven functional pottery.
Jim Bozeman on wed 25 oct 00
Randall, This post comes in a timely fashion, as I have been looking into
grants availabe on the internet. I would say to contact your local Arts
Council. I applied for 2 different grants and got them both! One was to go
to a two week workshop to study with Pete Voulkos at Anderson Ranch and the
other was to purchase hard brick to construct a kiln. In both cases I first
typed up my proposal and when I made the 'cut', I met with the committee and
further stated how this grant would help me grow as an artist. You have to
get creative in how you word your proposal. In the Pete Voulkos grant, I
simply stated that I wanted to do a compare/contrast with folk pottery vs
contemporary ceramics; and they fell for it!! The other one was a bit
tougher, but lucky for me there was a potter sitting on the committee and he
understood what I meant by 'low-fire salt kiln'. Don't give up hope! Lastly,
I totally agree with you that academia doesn't do a thing to prepare people
for the real world. They are totally out of touch with what it's like to
make a living off of the sell of your artwork. ciao, Jim Bozeman
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