Kathy Forer on fri 25 nov 05
All that's needed to do a studio-by-studio, state-by-state, country-
by-country listing of artisans is a database and a "front-end" or
user interface. The Clayart frappr map goes part way by mapping
people by locale and giving pictures and links to their site.
A tonne of art registries already exist. The specificity here would
be that it's an "artisan" registry.
http://worldartistregistry.com/
http://www.ohioonlinearts.org/
http://artistsregister.com/
http://www.handmadeinamericacraftregistry.org/
A comprehensive database would have a form for the artisan user to
fill out, something like:
name/s________
studio name________
place or address________
forms________materials________styles________
price range________
photo________(up to 3 photos)
You would create an account so that you could edit it at any later date.
The end user or buyer would come to the site and choose work by any
one of the above, pretty straightforward. You could select Texas
potters who make urns and the database would match the data request.
Or a Belgian potters with first name Roger who makes bowls. Or you
could use a map interface to search visually.
See http://www.frappr.com/clayart for a standard map interface
Be the 100th clayart member to post!
Register as a user and you will now have a lot more options, the
programmer must have passed his mid-terms and the software is nearly
out of beta
A database is just the engine that makes a site work. A site also
needs a nice front end interface, something clear and well-designed,
and an administrator or two for when things don't work as they ought.
Some of the database things already exist off-the-shelf or they can
be cobbled together using various component modules. I am not a
programmer though I can hack enough perl to fake it, but there may be
some php or RoR programmers here who could help get this moving. Once
it's designed, it will pretty much run itself.
It would also be nice if there were a way for it to take advantage of
the existing frappr map and Clayart Yearbook, though the yearbook may
be more for "inside" clayarters, do we really want our mugs* shown to
a buyer of plates? And some may not want their locations revealed so
explicitly. But it may be an option to cross-reference those sources.
Kathy Forer
*mug is slang/lingo for face, also for Manhattan User Guide :-)
www.foreverink.com
Kathy Forer on sat 26 nov 05
A registry could also include links to existing resources such as
http://www.seagrovepotteryheritage.com/se_map_p2.html -- from a Nov
17 thread.
Possibly also gallery listings if they're closely affiliated.
But it's important for something like a registry to be clean and
smart. Not everything to everyone.
Kathy
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