Bobbruch1@AOL.COM on thu 29 apr 04
Kathy Forer writes
I had a show a couple of months ago.
http://homepage.mac.com/kef/exhibitions
It went really well, the people who came
were very enthusiastic. But no one bought
anything. The gallery guy, the gallery owner,
said my work was high priced, but
admitted that no one made any offers.
It's work that took forever and a day
and was actually comparably priced
to other work he had shown, work
that in my purest arrogance I might
say was elementary.
Kathy: I have had similar issues - and
a comment that was made to me was
that I need to consider finding more
efficient ways to work. I.E., if I can increase
the output while maintaining the quality, I
can "afford" to lower my prices to a level that
will make consumers comfortable. Those of us
who do work that takes "forever and a day"
face the issue of how to make our work
affordable in this very competitive market.
Luckily, the person making the comment has
also pointed to ways to accomplish this goal.
You may need to think outside the box in a less
theoretrical realm to determine methods to
increase your production. That can be as (if not
more) important than content issues when your
are setting up your own studio and trying to sell
your work.
Bob Bruch
Kathy Forer on fri 30 apr 04
On Apr 29, 2004, at 2:20 AM, Bobbruch1@AOL.COM wrote:
> Kathy: I have had similar issues - and
> a comment that was made to me was
> that I need to consider finding more
> efficient ways to work. I.E., if I can increase
> the output while maintaining the quality, I
> can "afford" to lower my prices to a level that
> will make consumers comfortable. Those of us
> who do work that takes "forever and a day"
> face the issue of how to make our work
> affordable in this very competitive market.
Bob, Nice to hear I'm not the only one left behind as everyone sells
all their wares, or a goodly portion of them.
But I don't think it's really about efficiency, more about the rhythm
of time. Sometimes "forever and a day" can take a moment, other times
it can be a way of postponing or delaying. Long, slow pieces can be a
form of meditation, but also a diversion, a way to apply brakes to
active development and spontaneity of one's work, or oeuvre, as the
chickens might say.
Maybe that is the same as what efficiency would address?
Some longer-time work can better be done as multiple pieces and you'd
get to the same point. I have a problem with saying something is
finished unless it really satisfies what I was getting at. What
Leonardo said: he would paint or draw something until he felt he had
clearly succeeded in communicating what he was getting at (witness,
though, his few 'finished' works).
So maybe doing five pieces instead of one is one way to go. It can
possibly also make for fresher work.
The traditional academies required apprentices and journeymen to
complete "masterworks" to prove their competency. Most of what many of
us do, specifically what I was doing as an aging journeykid, was worked
in this vein. But I feel I have nothing to prove now, except maybe
still need to write about it, play with words. It's a lot easier not
being interred in my hometown where "if you can make it here you can
make it anywhere." I'm ready for something new. Especially something,
anything new! Though that won't be easy, I have a sense of where I need
to go, and also of what to let go.
Clayart and its built-in approach to materials has provide me with a
missing link. I hope I have been able to contribute something in kind.
We are all very lucky to have this kind of forum and assembly. For the
longest time, I never knew "how" to do something or even how to ask.
Many times I'd manage to make something despite a proper technical
approach, but there are more pieces I never made because I couldn't
quite figure out how or what material to use.
I may continue to have problems with pieces being too large and heavy,
but by using better techniques and abiding by some of the tried and
true rules of ceramic art and craft I should be able to make them more
manageable. Basically, technique is "not" stylism, something I was
taught to avoid; lack of technique is a limitation which creates
stylism.
> Luckily, the person making the comment has
> also pointed to ways to accomplish this goal.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that. I don't consider my work
damaged because it had been broken and repaired. Except one piece which
is very formal (not in the exhibit) and whose surface repair issues are
yet unresolved, that's not what the work was about. Most of the damage
was from bad transport and I am learning how to deal with that: wheels,
handles, quadruple foam, triple care, rented truck! I don't think the
work didn't sell because a few of them incorporated repairs.
I was sorry the gallery director was persuaded my work was lacking
because of repairs, ie:
http://kforer.com/gallery/landscape_narrative/100-krater.jpg or
http://kforer.com/gallery//portraits/100-davidbfhead.jpg or because it
violated a rule that stipulated thickness should NEVER be more than
1/2", ever, though I realize that a strict formalist point of view was
very much in keeping with the gallerist's general attitude toward work
and display. AND, I will be more careful in the future. Though I can't
guarantee 1/2". If it works when it's uneven or too thick, what is the
requirement that it be less? It's not a porcelain teapot. You do what
works, or I do, or I try to. If I made slab, maybe, that would be
consistent with the technique; but I'm modeling, then hollowing out to
whatever needed degree.
Maybe I'm in denial, but I am fine with a repair once I can resolve it
(the accidental breakage itself is a bad affair!). Though form is
important for me, I'm not a purist. Maybe I'll use a gold leaf
technique, fake Urushi, with the piece that's stuck. It's too late to
make a proper repair insert and re-fire with glaze or black, burnished
slip and gold leaf, as the repair was already made with plaster.
Is it possible to fire a slip on bisque-ware with a propane torch only?
> You may need to think outside the box in a less
> theoretrical realm to determine methods to
> increase your production. That can be as (if not
> more) important than content issues when your
> are setting up your own studio and trying to sell
> your work.
Now I like theoretical realms and find being too practical too much
like business and that's not what I'm after, despite being disappointed
by not selling, aka having others corroborate the path I've chosen.
That said, the craft of pottery seems to have a strong balance of art
and business.
I don't think you (or anyone here) should let go of what brought you
where you are, unless you want to be somewhere else entirely. If slow,
careful work is what you're good at, you should stay with it. The same
foes for fast, fresh work. Maybe changing the scale might alter the
dynamic, either make it less slow for you, or more accessible to
others. Or more accessible even to yourself, sometimes a way of working
can be a rut.
Perhaps content need take a second place for a spell. Maybe it's just
not so much a priority any more, and has been stretched too thin by
work that takes too long, by working on too many other things as well.
Just as "Form follows function" was a long-lived slogan that served the
purpose of its makers, perhaps I should adopt "content follows form" as
my rallying cry.
But... yes, it is important to be practical. And make a studio a going
affair. I've too long relied on my work outside, feeling it would be
less corrupting, but as a freelancer, it's like running two businesses,
and I'm no Trump. I did commercial model-making for a while and
couldn't hack it: "the fingers look deformed!", "make them less male,
more androgynous"! Only my animal commissions were never criticized.
hmmm. I donated one to a local group recently, time to get to work on
it. And calaboca!
Kathy Forer
k. sam miller on fri 30 apr 04
Kathy,
You have brought up many issues which I have been struggling with for quite
awhile, as well - don't feel like the "lone ranger"!!
You say...
>But I don't think it's really about efficiency, more about the rhythm
>of time. Sometimes "forever and a day" can take a moment, other times
>it can be a way of postponing or delaying. Long, slow pieces can be a
>form of meditation, but also a diversion, a way to apply brakes to
>active development and spontaneity of one's work, or oeuvre, as the
>chickens might say.
>
>Maybe that is the same as what efficiency would address?
I have a cycle that I use which seems to keep my creativity going. That
is, to intersperse smaller pieces between the making of the larger
sculptural pieces that I work on. In the last year, I have started working
from sketches on larger pieces that sometimes take a couple of months to
completely finish (realizing that I have a "day job" and only spend 6-12
hours a week in the studio). Between these well-thought-out pieces I like
to do little "improvisational" pieces. These are not done from sketches
and I typically think of them as "hand sculpture" that is made like a jazz
musician's solo, each piece flowing & spontaneous - formed in about 2
hours, max.
These smaller pieces I can justify pricing in the affordable range
($65-$80), and they are typically what I make for group sales, etc.
(... like the kiln opening sale that myself & 5 other
ceramic artists/potters are having this Sunday at the Dallas Crafts Guild,
1-5 pm -- fellow Clayarter Kristen Giles will also have work for sale).
My work doesn't move at a high velocity through the sales venues which I
have chosen (which obviously means that I have not chosen well ;*) ). I
hope to gain gallery representation one of these days, but I have felt that
I needed to get the resume expanded a bit via juried showings before
actively pursuing. I also feel that Dallas, TX, is not the best scene for
abstract clay sculpture (but that may just be "under-educated"
opinion). I'm also not completely sure that I understand my own motivation
for pursuing "success" other than reaching more people with my work
(external validation, most likely, which makes me grimace... ).
Sorry for the ramblings, but your e-mail got me thinking!! Please continue
to use this forum to voice your concerns & discuss these issues. I, for
one, can identify with your situation & look forward to further discussions.
Best wishes!
Sam
Sam Miller
"Texas Dabbler"
in
Dallas, TX
(no website yet but a couple of impromtu pix of my latest BIG
Mayan-influenced sculpture as well as a couple of slides of finished pieces...)
http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v83/smillx/Ceramic%20Sculpture%20by%20Sam%20Miller/
"The sleeping dog sighs,
Rabbits run fast in her dreams,
Poor, slow bag of clay."
Kathy Forer on sun 2 may 04
Sam,
Ahoy there Kemo Sabe -- or is it kemo sabay , "Ke Mo Sah Bee," or
perhaps kinmasaba? Aside from appreciating your work methods, sketches
and larger pieces interspersed with fast "get goings," and the ambition
of what you are trying to accomplish, I most sympathized with your
6-1/2 hours per week. That is a very small allotment of time, one the
efficiency experts might even consider negligible and below their
radar, and YET you have managed to pull something from it. More power
to you!
I must say, your work looks as though it would take very nicely to
stone. Carving for 6 hours can take you far, it's a very intense work
method.
http://www.sculpt.com/catalog_98/stones/OtherStones.htm
http://www.thesculpturestudio.com/carving2.htm
Thank you for your note of solidarity.
Kathy
> "The sleeping dog sighs,
> Rabbits run fast in her dreams,
> Poor, slow bag of clay."
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