Chris Clarke on tue 1 may 01
I got so many emails both list and private. Thank you everyone. I've =3D
realized value is given when value is assigned. My husband told me he =3D
noticed when people asked about the three large(16 in to 12 in) carved =3D
jars, I almost apologized over the price, I hadn't realized.
But I'm still done with trying to find the in thing to make, I'm going =3D
to make what I want and continue to be impatient opening my kiln. The =3D
last few days have seen large jars and teabowls, teapots and water =3D
containers. I have sprayed slip and painted with that large weird brush =
=3D
that came with a set (looks like a bush), I have pushed and pinched out =3D
handles that seem to grow from the piece. I added two more chops to my =3D
signature. I will test glazes and drive my husband nuts with talk of =3D
copper red and shinos.
My rant this morning was a build up over people telling me I should do =3D
grapes after they asked about the crumby show (I live in wine country) =3D
Let someone else do grapes, I've had an epiphany:) chris
temecula, california
chris@ccpots.com
www.ccpots.com
Paul Lewing on tue 1 may 01
Chris Clarke wrote:
My husband told me he =3D
> noticed when people asked about the three large(16 in to 12 in) carved =
=3D
> jars, I almost apologized over the price, I hadn't realized.
Chris,
I have a brother who's an actor, and I've learned a lot about selling
=66rom watching him work. I believe that acting is a skill, just like
throwing, that anyone who cares can learn. You may not ever be Lawrence
Olivier, but then you may not be David Shaner either. But you can learn
to do either one well enough to do what needs to be done.
When you're selling, you may need to create a new character for yourself
that may be quite different from who you normally are. Actually, not
ebveryone needs to do this. I have a feeling, from meeting him, that
Mel has never even THOUGHT of apologizing for the highest price he's
ever charged, and I'm sure he has a wonderful, persuasive sales style
that comes as naturally to him as breathing. But you may not be that
kind of person.
And this is not deception. This is not being untrue to yourself. This
is a craftsperson learning a new craft- acting. You need to become
"Chris Clarke, Master Salesperson".
And one of the elements to creating a character is what actors refer to
as "backstory". This is all the story that is not told in so many
words, but is necessary for an actor to keep in mind so the audience
will know, quite literally, "where he's coming from". So when someone
says, "How much is that platter there?" you might answer with the same
words, but if the backstory is different, it will come out very
different. One reply might be, "That one is (and I'm sorry it's so high
in relation to a platter that same size at K-Mart, but I'm afraid I'm
going to have to say) $300. Or you could say, "That one is (fifty times
as nice as the dreck you see at K-Mart, and would be a bargain at double
the price of) $300". See the difference?
I'm really convinced that much of our lives, on a subjective level as
well as an objective level, is determined by the movies we play in our
heads to ourselves. So remember, you're the actor in those movies, but
you're also the writer and the director. Write a new script and
rehearse it.
For instance, one acting skill that everyone MUST master if they're
going to be successful is saying "Thank you!" when someone says how nice
their work is. And you must say it EVERY time as if you've NEVER heard
that before. If you're at any kind of a good show, you'll hear that and
say that hundreds of times in a day. Work on it.
And if a show isn't full of stuff that you'd be proud to have in your
home, don't insult your work by taking it there.
Also, what you should make is the stuff that keeps you awake at night.
The stuff you can't wait to get into the studio to make, the stuff
you'll burn your hands on because you can't wait to see it. You're not
selling value, you're selling passion. But luckily, selling passion, if
it's YOUR passion, is an easy acting job.
Good luck, Paul Lewing
Chris Clarke on wed 2 may 01
Paul Lewing wrote
<The stuff you can't wait to get into the studio to make, the stuff
you'll burn your hands on because you can't wait to see it. You're not
selling value, you're selling passion. But luckily, selling passion, if
it's YOUR passion, is an easy acting job.>>
You hit it right on the head. I know some of the potters on the list fe=
el
that you can't always do that. It has to sell. But I'm very lucky. Sin=
ce
the day I stepped out of college, I've be doing this full time (except th=
at
year and a half for baby). My husband, a computer artist, makes a fine
living. So, again, I am very lucky that it's not about the money. It's
about passion for me, and I somehow lost it for a moment. I'll not squan=
der
it again. You really struck a cord, thanks chris
temecula, california
chris@ccpots.com
www.ccpots.com
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