clennell on mon 18 jul 05
A while back I reported another Black Hawk down. A young potter formerly of
Clayart Julie Milazzo had written me to say she couldn't keep at pottery
since she was working too hard and not making enough to keep going. She sent
our her resumes BA in Psych minor in ceramics and found that all she was
qualified for was the service industry at wages below $8 an hour. She is
happliy back at pottery because she can make more money there and she loves
her work.
Of course, it is always best to pay cash. That however is not the reality
for most people. Our 4 kids live in Toronto where the average house price is
over 300,000. they have to save a 20% down payment- $60,000. that would buy
you 6 houses in northern Saskatchewan. they are career oriented at this
stage in their lives. Would you suggest that I tell them to take other jobs
till they can pay for the houses cash?
My advice to the Sheridan students- work in anything that has to do with
clay. Use it or loose it. Make things, get dressed up, call on stores, use
your computer to find stores. Get involved in a cooperative studio and
gallery. Stay in clay!!! The alternative will suck the life blood out of
you.
Cheers,
Tony
Tony and Sheila Clennell
Sour Cherry Pottery
4545 King Street
Beamsville, Ontario
CANADA L0R 1B1
http://www.sourcherrypottery.com
http://www.sourcherrypottery.com/current_news/news_letter.html
Andie Plamondon on mon 18 jul 05
I had a similar situation. Mel will probably call this a blog and delete it,
but hey.
Having a baby meant unpaid maternity leave for a month before and two months
after. We watched our debt and bills pile up. Then, in January, my husband
got laid off & had to start not just a new job but new career. He went to a
trade school for six weeks, and then found a job he loves making alot less
money that the old one he hated. I had been playing around with my studio,
but we decided I needed to go back to work. Because I had a BA in Biology
and a few graduate courses started, I found the highest paying job in my
rural area, at a local hospital. I put my son in on-site daycare at the
hospital, for a discounted employee rate. It was awful - we both were in
tears every morning, and he went on a hunger strike and wouldn't eat unless
I ran over on my 1/2 hour break with a bottle. I started on a Wed.
Exaughsted, Friday I picked up my check - I had worked a total of 24 hours
(8 hours a day), and with drop-off and pick up times, his daycare hours came
to 27 hours. After the daycare costs & taxes, I picked up a check for
$69.75. I said forget it, and started concentrating on my studio. I really
work at it, and work at promotion, market research, and devote a lot of time
to visiting stores and schools, and trying to sell, sell, sell myself & my
work. It's not easy. But - I am now working from home, doing something I
love, and as my classes start to fill up, it looks like I'll be making more
from that, teaching three days a week for a few hours at a time, than I ever
have in my life. Once the class money starts coming in, we'll be doing
better than we ever did, pre-baby, with 2 full-time incomes, and will be out
of debt completely (except our mortgage) pretty quickly.
Now, to be fair - one of my kilns was bought used and rebuilt, we're
building my second wheel, and I can't afford to play with pre-mixed glazes
too much or to waste a scrap of clay. We live in an 1885, ramshackle,
never-quite-clean house that (in theory) we are gutting & renovating room by
room (the kitchen is done - but that's it - and we didn't have water for the
first three months while my husband re-plumbed and wired the whole house
with a Time-Life book.) We used to drive 1980's Volvos, but my dad insisted
upon gifting us two 2000 Fords when the baby was born (at $2500 each) for
the sake of having more dependable cars. I buy baby clothes on eBay & am not
too proud to take the neighbor's hand-me-down toys. We rarely go out to eat,
and our main entertainment revolves around the State Parks & zoo, both of
which I bought memberships to. I feel blessed to have a husband I adore, a
baby I cherish, a home I own, and all the basic comforts of life. I even
have a couple of fancy handbags. My husband and I both have jobs we love,
and my son will grow up with me home.
My best friend, however, was one of the most talented glassblowers I ever
saw. She wanted an SUV, an enormous, new house, to live in a cosmopolitan
area, and to shop at the mall and eat out almost every night. She got it
all - by giving up her glass work, taking a job she hates, and putting in
almost 80 hours a week. She also has constant strife with her husband she
never sees, not a penny more in her savings than I have, and the stress has
triggered some permanant health problems that will eventually be the death
of her (literally.)
A new potter just starting out should think about what they want, long term,
out of life - I think money can be made being a potter, but not right away,
and not without effort and passion, and, in some cases, not at all - there's
a lot of potters out there, and not everyone makes much. A potter who wants
to jump straight into a fancy car and home and brand-spankin' new equiptment
should probably get an office job and keep it a hobby, at least for awhile.
Just my opinion -
:) Andie Plamondon
Laurel, DE
Handful of Earth Pottery
www.handfulofearth.com
| |
|
