MudPuppy on tue 4 jan 05
Hi there everyone...
I don't post here much. Just sort of sit back and soak in the information.
The last 10 months or so have been really exciting for me as a budding
potter.
This time last year, I was struggling to throw a 1 lb ball of clay into
something recognizable, having taught myself to throw from books and the
internet.
I was firing in an small electric ^6 kiln, using pre-mixed glazes, relying
soley on my kiln sitter to fire correctly.
Results were predictable...
Then my vet mentioned that another of her clients was a potter who sometimes
took on apprentices. I called that potter and within a week I was her new
apprentice. She joked that she had never had an apprentice as old as me
before (40 somethin').
Boy have I learned alot!
With some actual instruction and hands on learning, I am fairly proficient
on the wheel, able to comfortably throw bowls, cylinders and even plates
with pretty reliable consistency.
I'm spending the winter working on very large bowls.
I have attended glaze workshops, visited other potters, started mixing
glazes and doing lots of glaze tests.
I bought an old electric kiln for $100, gutted it and converted into a ^10
gas kiln.
I have developed a firing schedule and an eye for when I am in reduction or
oxidation.
I have a very long way to go, but where it used to be that I encountered the
same problems along the way over and over, now each problem is a new one and
I am able to work through it, learn from it and chug along until the next
challenge presents itself. I don't feel like I keep hitting the same brick
wall anymore!
So, I've done some re-working of my little art website.
Put up some ceramic pieces along with some photography and prints and stuff,
ordered everything neatly and added a little bio.
I also added a place for visitors to add their links (so feel free) and a
glaze exchange area that I thought might be of use.
I am hoping for some input, particularly suggestions on how to photograph
and present my pieces, as well as how I might improve my bio.
Any input would be greatly appreciated...
http://studio.box49.com
Thanks!
Jocelyn McAuley on thu 6 jan 05
A very curt website review (only because I'm up too late and know it- I
hope you don't take my abruptness the wrong way...)
Viewed in Firefox
text size of your navigation is a bit too small
if you want, you could play with mouseovers on the upper parts of your
navigation to help further elucidate what the categories mean (clay,
threads, photo, prints). What you have isn't bad, it just seems somehow
clipped short, I can't quite put my finger on why they strike me as not
quite "there" yet.
having consistent navigation on all of your pages is great! As is having
the "web" naviagation heading open in a new window.
body text on "About Me" is way too small. Also, center alignment on
larger bodies of text is difficult to follow (more eye strain). Cute
photo though!
Having your logo in the bottom right hand corner be a linked image to
your "home" is an action that most users will expect.
Bargin bin as a navigation category is cute.
in "commisions" (text too small, but you knew I was going to say that...
also, get rid of the center alignment for readability's sake) this is an
area you don't want to be void of examples! SHow some commisions you've
done, and set the scene. Tell us the story of what information your
client gave you and how you created from it. Customers would love to
get a glimpse of the inner workings of an artist in that way (which is
really why Bob Ross is soo popular, but that's another story). This
could also be good stuff to put in a bio section. Also, pictures of
your studio/working enviroment are great to include in a bio section-
get a friend to take some action shots of you making a piece from start
to finish (I really need to do this on my site as well!).
on your clay gallery page,
http://www.box49.com/2studio/e107_plugins/coppermine_menu/index.php?cat=2
1) the gallery headings (for your pet, etc) should be grouped in close
proximity to the picture they describe. [For example, "For your pet" is
closer to the photo than the correct heading "for your home"... decrease
the space between the heading and the picture it refers too.
2) Also to be really picky have your text "5 pictures..." fall in line
with the top of the picture it refers to. But that's just a picky
comment that has to do with how much I like clean layouts.
3) Try a phase other than non-functional. A non-potter, but potential
customer might get confused about that one. How about "sculptural"?
http://www.box49.com/2studio/e107_plugins/coppermine_menu/displayimage.php?album=3&pos=4
1) beautiful sake set photo... though I wonder about the chopsticks
being such a dominant part of the picture. I don't use chopsticks to
drink my sake :) One of the reasons this is a great photo is the lack
of shadows.
2) Go thourgh your code on your gallery images and change your img alt
and title atributes to something more meaningful, such as just the title
of the piece. As a customer/viewer of your gallery I don't want a
mouseover that tells me the pixel dimensions of your photo. -the name of
the work I do expect.
3) showing where in the navigation (the Home > Clay> For Your Home
nesting)the gallery has me nested is good .
- Taking photos is tough work. I recommend paying for a professional
session at least once, and hang out to see how they set up and take the
photos. Pay close attention to how they set the lights, how they
diffuse the lights, how they deal with glare, etc.
- Also, gobble up the pictures in ceramics books and magazines. Look at
the details that make a photo work (ie is a graduated background what
you crave?).
- Check out the photo work at Guild.com. Sign up for their catalog (the
free ones). Note how they can sell an item by putting it in a context
(ie a set table) with out the item to be sold getting lost in the details.
- In taking my own photos, I use a soft box to diffuse my lights. This
provides a nice overall white glow, and doesn't leave concentrated shine
spots on shiny work. (send me an email bugging me to tell you what
photo books helped me learn how to take pictures of pottery and such if
you're interested).
Your website is a great start to being really polished. It sounds like
you've had a lot of fun getting to where you are today. I look forward
to watching it grow!
MudPuppy wrote:
> I am hoping for some input, particularly suggestions on how to photograph
> and present my pieces, as well as how I might improve my bio.
>
> Any input would be greatly appreciated...
> http://studio.box49.com
Best of luck,
Jocelyn in Eugene
--
food: http://worlddomination.net/browniepoints
art: http://www.LucentArts.com
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