Jeff Longtin on sun 26 oct 03
Well gang,
I'm in the studio making production molds and it's going very well. It's
going alot slower than expected but I'm learning to live with that.
As I sat back and enjoyed a cigar the other day it dawned on me that I
haven't made production molds in about 20 years. "20 YEARS?" I thought, "WHY on
earth did I wait 20 years to make production molds again?"
The answer, of course is rather complicated.
I haven't remade production molds of my teapot design because I knew how much
effort went into the first set. (I also remember how disappointing that first
set was!) Over the last twenty years I've learned alot about mold-making and
I knew that this next set of molds would be really great BUT I also wanted the
teapot design to be equally great. I finally made discoveries, and reached
conclusions, that brought me to the point of knowing THIS IS IT. It is now time
to put this baby into action and see what happens?
(I'd also like to put my Braille cups into production molds but that will
have to wait. Too many people clamouring for teapots at the moment. Never really
made production molds for my Braille cups either, just have one mold for each
phrase, but hopefully blind folks haven't completely given up on me on that
score? We'll see?)
(The Helen Keller Center is still waiting, damn!)
As I work a few funny thoughts run through my head. I know that the clay
community is alot different now than it was twenty years ago. I also know my work
throughly looks "commercial" and I wonder who will, and who won't, accept it
for that reason? The fact that my work is slip-cast is not in its favor, I
know, but I wonder who will see it for its shape and beauty, and not its means of
production? (My work, realistically, can't be "handmade" to be sure, the
Braille cup definitely not!)
We'll see?
Curious effect: As my mold designing skills increased, as my knowledge of
plaster and its uses increased, I developed a line of work that very much
reflects its production method, i.e. very designerly, very "commercial". As a result
I know full well that most "craft" shops will reject my work, "We don't carry
slip-cast work", as one has said. ("We only carry the students of Warren
Mackenzie" as another has said.) So I will, in all likelyhood, be forced to go
outside the typical "craft" community and look for other avenues in which to sell
my work.
A little bit annoying to be sure but what the hell. (I'm rather excited to be
perfectly honest.) Life is too short!
BTW: For those of you who don't remember, I was the guy who coined the phrase
"yuppie _ _ _ _", I hope you maybe have a idea why I flippantly through out
such a phrase. While you folks banter about YOUR supposed market I have been
forced to create my own. Several galleries, and several "craft" fairs, have
rejected even the idea of Braille pots. In the meantime I created a market, I did
the marketing and I did the production. (Unfortunately that still did not
convince lenders of its validity so my debt forced me out of the studio. I shall
return as soon as it is possible.)
(Years ago, one blind woman, calling long distance on her dime, told me she
was really excited about Braille cups and loved the one she had just received.
She went on to say she didn't get out much. As she was blind she couldn't
drive, and as the city she lived in didn't have widespread public transportastion
she was homebound more often than not.)
Over the year that I spent focused on marketing and producing Braille cups I
sold cups to people in 37 different states. (I kept track to prove to lenders
that there was/is a market for them.) Most of the people who called to order
were blind. As a result of being blind they could not drive. I learned very
quickly just how "inconvenient" some peoples lives are in this convenience driven
world.
Suffice to say, my year spent immersed in Braille cups and talking to blind
people from around the country, on a daily basis, really opened my mind to the
reality of other peoples' lives.
Not everyone is a yuppie, not everyones' market are yuppies either.
Dig.
Jeff Longtin
in sunny minneapolis
ps. Up until 3 months ago I lived in the ghetto (14 years), here in south
minneapolis (as much as minneapolis can claim to have such a thing). I lived, I
guess, three blocks away from the epicenter of crime in minneapolis,
statistcally speaking. On a daily basis I was insulted, confronted, and sometimes,
verbally assaulted, by some very scary fellows. Most people who know the area,
police officers included, were amazed that I lived to talk about it. But I did.
Also on a daily basis it was par for the course to respond to someone with the
"who the f... are you?" attitude. It kept those scary fellows at bay.
(Note: for those of you who find yourself in a scary, i.e. dangerous,
situation. The best attitude to adopt is the "this could be really bad for me...but
it could not", i.e. you're not sure how YOU"LL react to a specific event.
A victim is one who has the "this will be bad, this will be bad, this will be
bad" mentality. The aggressor knows the victim will be so caught up in their
own obsessions that he'll be able to get away without injury. If, on the other
hand, you have the attitude, "I'm not sure how I will RESPOND?" you will
convey to an agressor that he might NOT win. You don't know. If you don't know
than he doesn't know either so he'll avoid you.
Kept me safe for 14 years beleive it or not!
All of which is to say... sometimes my postings have had a little edge to
them. Now that I no longer live in the ghetto hopefully I can leave the ghetto
attitude behind.
Life is too short gang
Helen Bates on mon 27 oct 03
Re: Production Molds
Jeff Longtin's work:
A doorway to Jeff's teapots:
Jeff has also got his "Foot in the Door" here:
Hey Jeff, I've always thought the design of your teapots looks
fantastic. I agree, they can't be thrown, and hand-building would
require hours of work per piece with a less polished surface. They
would be different, after all that, not necessarily better, not
necessarily worse.
The braille cups could perhaps be thrown by a production wheel potter,
and sprigs for the lettering in English and Braille could be made. That
would combine two making methods and satisfy those who can't accept cast
functional pieces as "art."
Thrown ware can be art, or not. Cast pieces "ditto." I'm sure that
even working with production moulds, you'll have lots of work to do
regarding finishing. (Unless you intend to set up a full factory with
paid labour.)
You know, I'm sure, that another Clayarter (who seldom posts, maybe
because he too has been stung with criticism about his work) is Jonathan
Kaplan, who also makes original designs cast in plaster. One Clayarter
who does appreciate his skills and has offered courses by him is Vince
Pitelka.
I think the lines between "art" and "craft" and "manufacturing" and
"constructing" will always be in flux, always shifting. I won't even
try to define them. Your teapot design is "art" if it locates itself in
the intersection between human physical needs, whatever they are for an
individual, and the needs of the "soul" the same individual.
Your making method is in the field of "craftsmanship" at least, but in
the terminology of a few centuries ago, "craftsmanship" and "art" were
equivalent terms. The highest examples of "craftsmanship" or "art" in
the past, if not the present, are "art" because they express the
individual's soul, that is, the individual who made the piece, and the
individual who enjoys the piece as well.
With that in mind, your design is "art", though the cast pots are harder
to define. If they are immensely pleasing to whoever owns them, they
may indeed be seen by the user as "art" too. In any case, I am certain
that each one of your pots is "craftsmanlike."
Just trying to clear up my own thoughts.
I guess if I owned an upscale restaurant, I might wish to use your
teapots and mugs if you could produce enough of them to lower the cost
(somewhat) from the retail online price I see, but I wonder how low
could you go, and how many pieces you could make in a month, say, before
you couldn't afford to finish the ware as perfectly as you now do? At
what point do you sacrifice (some level of) craftsmanship? (Always a
dilemma.)
If I was buying a teapot to use in my own home I might have different
criteria. It might depend on my like or dislike of textured surfaces,
or of knowing that the pot I have is going to be made just in that exact
form only once. Of course, the differences between one pot and the next
from a skilled and knowledgeable production potter are minor. But, they
are there. Also, I know the potter's hands touched the teapot
throughout its creation, and that may matter to me even more than
gorgeous design. But that is just me at one moment. At another, the
elegant design may be what pulls me the most. (That's why I've got such
an eclectic collection of pottery.)
Anyway, I believe you should follow your own way.
Regards,
Helen
PS: Jeff, is this you in your "day job"?
--
===========================================================
Helen Bates - mailto:nell@cogeco.ca, nelbanell@yahoo.com
Web - http://www.geocities.com/nelbanell/
PMI Online - http://www.potterymaking.org/pmionline.html
Clayarters' Urls - http://amsterlaw.com/clayart.html
Surfing Posts - http://amsterlaw.com/nell.html
===========================================================
Jeff Longtin on tue 28 oct 03
Helen,
Thank you for that!
(And no I'm not the same gent at progressive casting, strange coincidence
though?)
Sometimes I need to remind everyone that slip-casting, when done for the
right reasons, is as valid a formation method as any.
As I reread your posting I am struck by the fact that many of the issues you
touch upon are the same very issues I confront either in myself or in the
marketplace.
Starting out as a wheel-thrower (as we all do I think?) slip-casting was not
an easy choice for me. I came to it reluctantly only after some wheel-throwing
friends recommended it. But once I made the transition I realized how
perfectly it fit me. Making molds (and slip-casting) really forced me to look at the
design of my work. Or put more accurately, it really allowed me to SEE the
design of my work. And that's when I transitioned from molding finished forms I
had made in clay to using plaster and molds to help me actually MAKE the
finished form.
Moldmaking (mold designing more explicitedly) took me into the world of
positive and negative like nothing ever had before. It took me forever to perfect
my teapot design because I really needed to see it in the negative before I was
able to execute it in the positive.
(That is why my work CAN'T BE handmade. My designs are born of the molding
process because they necesitate using both the positive AND the negative.)
Your question about pricing is, indeed, another issue I need to address. So
how do you price out 20 years of development into one little pot? (Surely you
can't charge $200 dollars for a slip-cast teapot?)
man-o-man!
take care
Jeff Longtin
in cloudy minneapolis
ps. just have to acknowledge how much I enjoy your postings. It is always
such a joy to see what other folks are doing with this thing we call clay.
Amazing stuff to be sure!
John Rodgers on tue 28 oct 03
Jeff Longtin wrote:
>So
>how do you price out 20 years of development into one little pot? (Surely you
>can't charge $200 dollars for a slip-cast teapot?)
>man-o-man!
>
And why not?????
Jeff, I have been reading your ongoing commentary about molds, molding,
and production molds with great interest. It is where I also live. I
began my work in clay as a slip caster, and gradually worked my way into
all things clay until I was deep into throwing, slab rolling, sculpting,
tile pressing, you name it. But early on, I got into the making of molds
and it remains deep in my heart and soul. Part and parcel to that is the
design and sculpture that automatically seems ot go with mold making. I
too, make the positives and the negatives, all in plaster, but I have
also added wax to the process after working for some time with a friend
who is a jeweler. I adapted the designing in wax that is done in jewelry
to the ceramic processes and it has worked out beautifully. Plaster and
wax are wonderful materials. What I like about the wax is you can carve
it, add to it, bend it, fold it, squeeze it to shapes, cut fine little
details in it, and it will accept them all, without loosing shape,
warping or collapsing. Then you can mold it!!!! And the end result can
be a beautiful ceramic piece in design and color.
I think many people miss out a great deal by not delving into what
moldmaking is all about. The process is old, old, and made production of
large numbers of things possible, but it also makes possible the
production of truly unique objects that can't be made any other way.
I am really glad you put your oar in the water on this subject of molds.
Regards your teapot ----- why not $200. It is unique to you. It reflects
your skills, your passion for the work, your growth, and is an wonderful
object made by no one but you, from concept in your mind to the
realization of the finished work. So why would it not have significant
worth, especially in the eyes of those who appreciate such things. I
have made many ceramic pieces that were slip cast in molds.....my own
unique designs, not found anywhere else in the world, produced by no one
elses hands but mine. They carry my heart and my soul as an artist. They
are small, and they sell, and they are not cheap. I have sculpted and
molded pieces that when finished sold for 4-5 thousand. Of course not
every piece sells that way, but enough to keep things interesting.
Granted, I didn't start out with my work selling like that, but it comes
in time as one matures in ones work.
Look at your teapot, consider all the elements that have gone into it's
development and production, market it accordingly, and sell at a good
price .... for you. Keep in mind that marketing is very different from
selling, and marketing must come before the sale. There will be buyers
for your work, but your presentation is everything.
Hang in with the moldmaking.
Regards,.
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
Snail Scott on wed 29 oct 03
At 06:05 PM 10/28/03 -0600, you wrote:
>I think many people miss out a great deal by not delving into what
>moldmaking is all about...
I entirely agree with this. While molds can be a way
to inflict more ghastly tourist tchotchkes on a world
that probably deserves them, they can also be a means
to create beautiful and worthy objects which might be
difficult or impossible to achieve by other means. A
mold is not merely a device for replication, but a
powerful method of creating a huge range of forms which
augment the 'tool kit' provided by throwing and hand
fabrication. There is no inherent moral superiority in
any means of making - its worth lies in how you use it.
-Snail
Eleanora Eden on sat 1 nov 03
>Amen.
>
> >I think many people miss out a great deal by not delving into what
> >moldmaking is all about...
>
>
>I entirely agree with this. While molds can be a way
>to inflict more ghastly tourist tchotchkes on a world
>that probably deserves them, they can also be a means
>to create beautiful and worthy objects which might be
>difficult or impossible to achieve by other means. A
>mold is not merely a device for replication, but a
>powerful method of creating a huge range of forms which
>augment the 'tool kit' provided by throwing and hand
>fabrication. There is no inherent moral superiority in
>any means of making - its worth lies in how you use it.
>
> -Snail
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
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>
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>
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>melpots@pclink.com.
Eleanora Eden 802 869-2003
Paradise Hill Road eeden@vermontel.net
Bellows Falls, VT 05101 www.eleanoraeden.com
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