So I made the resolution and already people are going to hold me to it. Damn it why did I post about it on the internet….okay here’s some initial pics of some playing around in the studio. I’ve come to a few realizations this week. First, that when I was a grad student and developed this work:
My approach was to start with an idea, a concept and then find the voice through form and aesthetic to communicate that underlying structure of the work. It was grad school, you had to justify everything (and with good reason), but does that float in the “real world”?
So i’m at a point in my career where I have to accept that money pays the bills and conceptual baggage attached to work doesn’t pull on the heartstrings or pocket book of the consumer that will allow me to eat. Does that mean I’ve lost all my idealism about art and it’s values and my role as an artist to engage all of the senses, and most importantly engage the mind? Does the almighty dollar mean that i bow to the masses and create a version of what sells the best on etsy?
Sigh…i don’t want to go there. But I also realize that there is a difference between making art that is marketable and art that you could care less if it is marketable. There has to be a grey area that incorporates the two. no?
So I find myself working on creating some pieces that I feel (hope) will be more marketable, but then I feel like I’ve lost my distinct voice that I worked so hard to achieve through my grad project. I tried so hard to develop a form that wasn’t seen here and there and everywhere. But maybe i kid myself in thinking that the work was that unique. I’ve never been one to believe in original thought, only watered down and altered versions of what already exists….anyhow, this has led me to decide to continue down a path i began last year with these forms:
which in essence were a more sculptural approach, yet still a derivative of the more functional porcelain work of earlier. So we’ll see where that goes. There is a very large version sitting drying right now in the studio which i’ll try to show you in the next few days.
In the meantime below are some attempts at something else in the functional vein. I’ve long avoided any surface imagery as I’m a poor illustrator and I’m trying to avoid using decals (not that I don’t love them, just don’t want to go there yet.) But after recent chats with a local potter and good friend of mine whose work has color and imagery on it, i’ve come to realize that imagery is a way in for an audience. They can easily relate and they are more often compelled by a single object out of the collection of your work that speaks to their own personal narrative. Is it manipulative for me to think of this and to try to take advantage through incorporating some imagery into my work? hmmm. Anyway I’ve got some pencils sharpened and some tracing paper at hand to work and rework ideas so we’ll see where that goes as well. The following are more for glaze tests so be kind, they are a world apart from my other work i know; but thoughts and criticism is always appreciated.
Hi Carole,
I absolutely LOVE the bowls in the first image. Secondly the dilemma of making the choice between the work that resonates with one's spirit and making a living is probably one of the most challenging things we face as makers. I certainly do not know how to begin addressing it for myself. I know that for me the work I am making is the only work I want to be making and I have to consider every avenue of marketing it.
Find the new surface exploration you are doing intriguing, quite a departure and look forward to seeing some finished work incorporating these surfaces.
All the best, and thanks for sharing the images.
Carol, I've come upon this dilemma more recently as well. Since being in academics, there is no real pressure to sell to support oneself and thus there is a freedom to pursue what is in your heart, a big plus. The downside is there is no need to connect with an audience and work can end up solipsistic.
My wife works in business and she has to brainstorm as much as I do in the studio – it has been a real eye opener to try and make work that I want to bring out to the public. Marketing is just another problem we have to solve.
As to your work, I like both the drawings and the stampings. You have a great eye and I am sure the decisions you make will be perfect! Good luck!
All your work looks pretty darn gorgeous to me, but in my own case, I decided this is the year I say FORK the customer with their bizarre orders and requests and concentrate on making only what I want to make. Yeah.
Hi Carole, Do I ever get what you're saying. After giving the 'public market' my best go for over ten years, I'm convinced it's more aesthetically and personally challenging to design for the market than to follow a more ethereal path of expression. Which would I rather do? The latter to be sure – but there is a lot to be said for successful design made honestly, from the heart, that still feeds your soul – and your vacation budget!
hi carole, i've come to think of this as a trap. when i have a table full of finished work and someone is perusing it, in my mind i've already ranked the pieces from best to worst and correlated that to most likely to sell to least likely to sell. not only am i always wrong but many times the least likely one is the one they pick and many times they don't even give the most likely to sell item a glance. after this happens a few times, i get to feeling that i have no idea what anyone would want so how could i possibly try to make it. in addition, i also believe that someone will like almost anything (this becomes obvious when you look through pottery on etsy and see things you don't like and notice also that that seller has sold 100 times as many pots as you). so when i add these things up, my conclusion is that i have to just make the best pots for me and get them in front of the most people i can. obviously, this is easier said than done but i tend to think that it's a marketing problem and not an aesthetic one. the pieces you've shown are wonderful and i'm sure that whatever the direction you take, the pieces will end up being great because they will evolve with the same aesthetic sense that created all the wonderful pieces that preceded it. not sure if you saw the discussion on "style" at kristen kieffer's blog but some of it is pertinent to this discussion… http://kiefferceramics.com/2010/01/05/signature-style/
Carole, Your work is gorgeous! I'm so excited that your blog will have more of a focus on your work! (but excited that you'll be still posting announcements!)
No matter what, you should make what you love. But there is the reality of money. It can be a fun challenge to design a "line" of work that is aesthetically yours, but is a bit easier to sell on Etsy. But it's also important to keep doing the other side- the side that drives you to work in clay. This is an important conversation for anyone trying to make a living by making.
Your work is truly beautiful! I am a ceramics student at the moment and have sold very little so far. My program focuses very much on technique and very little on conceptual work. As a student, its interesting to follow your process because I know I will have many of the same questions. I feel like I want to move towards conceptual work but don't know if I will be able to because I will have to earn a living.
When I looked at your work, I couldn't help thinking that I could imagine it at a boutique in Montreal. Here is the website http://www.atabletoutlemonde.com/
The site is in French. I'm not sure how much French you speak/understand. You can DM me on twitter @chickaboom67 if you need a hand.
Gorgeous work, Carole, and a very thought provoking post. I consider a lot of the same issues in my work. Lots to chew on.