Elizabeth Priddy on wed 24 dec 03
This is a tangent to Lili's post, not a direct response, but a response to the idea:
Regarding full time or no, John Rodgers said
...It makes the up and
down nature of clay work and sales come out a little better. The latter
is very hard to do if there is no stability to the income level so
routine monthly bills including food and other things can be taken care of....
And if he don't count as a "real" potter, I don't know who can.
People on the list frequently come around to whether you are a "real" potter versus a hobbyist versus a professional, ad nauseum. I am referring to "real" potters as ones who sustain themselves with their clay work, professionals, as it were.
I would like to point out that a lot, or maybe even most, American households could not count either partner as a "real" anything by the standard Lili sets. If your household needs both incomes to keep truckin', then the one income is insufficient to sustain your family or your mortgage. Think about it. That means that some folks out there aren't "real" lawyers because they do pro bono enough that they need their spouse's income to sustain their living standard and mortgage (cause they take it back if you don't pay it no matter how much the net worth). Anyone retired should just bag it regarding their self-esteem associated with their professionalism. People who get sick don't count until they are well enough to do it all themselves again.
Only the tone of that is facetious. Many businesses are variable enough that that they need alternate plans for various seasons. (lives have seasons, too, a better world would acknowledge and celebrate this) I have a friend who owns a kayak shop and they rock and roll in the summer and waitress in the winter. Does that imply that they are not "real" Kayak proprietors and business people. No. It means that they have a diversified business plan that allows for a variety of services and resources according to the changing daily needs of the business. God help anyone who does not have flexiblilty in the current marketplace.
Teaching is part of my product line. It is part of what I sell. I also sell pots. I also sell consultation services and some other things. All related to pottery or painting. I am a full service artist. If my husband's job disappeared, I wouldn't be bummin it on the street, but I surely benefit from his health insurance. I enjoy knowing that I could hire out as a journeyman and make any production studio a lot of maoney and myself a modest living. I have done it and still can. But that is not my current status, I am busy doing other things. Partnered living is normal and does not mitigate your validity as a "whatever". Don't diminish your role in your home economy because you take advantage of opportunity. That is the American way and you should be proud of your resourcefulness and that you are doing what you love rather than what you hate.
My advice to the would-be potter is that they evaluate the part of their post where they indicated they did not do well in the work force in general. The indication I got was that they have hated their work experience, regardless of what they are doing, cube or no. You can easily hate being a potter if you don't really enjoy working. There is no superstructure of a corporation to cover your lazy ass when the going is rough when it is all on you. And those potters who count on their spouse to act as back up and who (in low self-esteem moments) sometimes doubt their own contributory worth to their households...look at your budget and see how far in the hole you would be if you just stopped bringing in that hundred here hundred there income. Your spouse may not be a "real" whatever they do...
And please, people...stop relegating teaching as not real work. It is real work. It is real pottery work if what you teach is pottery. If I charge 25 an hour to do it, it is real work. It's no plumbers rate, but If it takes me an hour to completely make, market, and sell a bowl and I get 25 for it, it spends just the same. Or not if I don't hump my butt out there and do it.
If I just wanted to make pots, I probably could, but I don't freakin' want to...as john also said, I BTDT as well. What a remarkable world and by what grace I got to be able to choose whether and how I work is beyond me, but I am not complaining. I did my time working for somebody else and I am done with that now. And as my husband pointed out in a recent bout of self-pity regarding my capacity to work over the past months, he said, "You somehow manage to get wahtever extra money we need when we need it and you have pulled our feet out of the fire often enough over the years that I know you could do it any time you choose to. If I can be your benefactor for a while while you get back to it, that makes me feel great cause I know you would step up if I get down or start hating what I do." I wish everybody could have a spouse like that.
You should keep your work portfolio as diversified as your financial portfolio. That is why pottery is the perfect job. There is built in diversity of experience each day with random surprises and some real sweet moments. Pottery is not 9-5, no matter when you do it. And some people can't pull the 9-5 grind, no matter what the work because they are either lazy, infirm, or disabled. And yet they meet their needs with alternative work plans. People are ingenious when it comes to getting by. So what...
Work is work. How much, what kind, who for, and where are transient details. In the end it is work or the pen (-itentiary) for all of us, not just the men.
Elizabeth Priddy
252-504-2622
1273 Hwy 101
Beaufort, NC 28516
www.angelfire.com/nc/clayworkshop
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