mel jacobson on mon 13 mar 06
joe koons and i have been talking about the theory
`what do you bring to the pottery party?
what do you control in your own studio and what
does your vendor control?`
i like to think i control about 95 percent. clay, glaze, pots and kiln. then
sales.
i was standing with joe in the laguna booth, with coat and tie.
a person came up to me, thought i owned laguna. you know, i had
the funniest costume on at nceca.
she said.
`i love those crystal glazes...really love them.
make a lot of them, sell them...but, i hate that
sorta purple brown one...that one, on the card...you
should change that one so i will like it.`
i said.
`are these the only glazes you use?`
she said.
`yes, and i use your clay, your glazes and i use the ramp
system that you have written for the glazes. i have a new
skutt auto kiln.`
at this time joe had a grin as big as nebraska. he knew where i
was going.
i said.
`i bet if you ask this man here, he will tell you that the white
glaze is a base, and you could alter it to make almost any color
if you just added some simple oxides.` he is the chemist that created these
glazes.
she said.
`oh no, oh no, i would never alter anything i buy.`
i said.
`who makes the pots?`
she said.
`oh, i make simple slabs with a slab roller`.
i said.
`oh, you mean all you have to do is push the button to `on`
to start the automatic kiln?`
`she said.
`i don't understand what you mean?`
i said.
`well, you could hire a kid to make the slabs, then you
would only have to push the button to start the kiln.`
she said.
`oh no, oh no...i like to make my own work`.
i said as she walked away.
`do you enter a lot of shows?`
don't think she heard me.
mel
ask yourself the question, `what do you bring to your
clay party? and how much is in your control?` increase that
number every year.
it is like `institutional ceramics`. you pay to attend.
you get the clay in your hand, someone shows you the ready
made glazes, you make it, weight it, pay 20 bucks to fire it..someone
else loads it in, fires the kiln, and then you want to win first place
in the next national show or send your slides to cm.
"Luck is prepaid."
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://my.pclink.com/~melpots3
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