I’ve been having these fleeting thoughts lately (fleeting due to my lack of time to focus on the matter) that I need to seriously sit down and rethink/reevaluate/reconstruct my marketing plan. Not that it’s a good one to begin with, really more of a “post some work and pray for people to find you” sort of approach. I find it’s always a cart and horse dilemma for me. Make more work, or try to sell the work that’s piling up in my studio, basement, office…and being that I produce two fairly distinct bodies of work, at which point do I for sanity’s sake say enough is enough to one of them and focus all my attention to the other. My husband has really been pushing me lately to work at branching out of the “clay” arena to get exposure for my sculptural work. I’m at odds with this work. I get great feedback on it and the odd show with it, but it’s not the type of work that sells well. But is selling really the important thing here. Well in the big picture, no, making the work is, but in the daily picture I have bills to pay and a growing child to feed, so somethings gotta give and priorities need to shift.

Recently after an exhibition in Toronto I had a fantastic chat with the gallery’s curator and she gave me some feedback on how people responded to the work. Seems that “older” collectors are quite turned off by it, and the “younger” audience who liked the work aren’t collectors yet due to education or finances. So my market that is impacted by the work is broke or buying iphones instead. But seriously there’s got to be a market. I often wonder how much time other artists spend trying to find just the right niche market for their work or does it simply seem to present itself? I want to be taken seriously and the works are one of a kind that take for ever to complete so I can’t cut the prices really in order for sales as then it’s just not worth my time. Urgh the never ending pricing dilemma….

Anyway in listening to the ever so wise advice of my husband I’ve been looking more at non ceramic blogs and magazines to get the work out there. Ceramic magazines cater to other clay artists and we can only buy so much of each others work right? Time to branch out. So yesturday I was pleased to have my work showcased on the blog I want your Skull. It was a first step in trying out new avenues of marketing. Still web-based and my jury is out as to whether or not that’s better than the old proposal writing to galleries and print mags, but it does seem somewhat more time effective….or maybe not…could I be more indecisive for a friday?

Anyway… what originally lead me to the skull blog was the work of Brian Morris, which I think is fantastic, and again part of that whole world of artists without a thorough ceramic background engaging with the material and it’s historical references in a very contemporary, designer, kitsch sorta way. I ran across his ceramic pieces in INKED magazine recently. Check out his site here and his blog here.

So here’s a definite “must go to” workshop, I know I would if I could. How about you go for me and then tell me all about it…. (cathy…i’m talking to you since you’re in Nelson go and meet these girls please! : ) )

Printing On Clay with Laura McKibbon and Jasna Sokolovic
Learn the basics of a variety of direct transfer printing techniques. Students will explore stenciling, drawn transfers, photocopy transfers, silk-screening, decals and how to effectively use their own imagery in surface decoration. This is a hands-on workshop and experience with clay required.
$300 + $25 Materials- 4 classes
Aug. 7-10, Fri. 7-9 pm, Sat. & Sun. 10-4 pm, Mon. 9-11 am.

To Register Call: 250-352-2821
Or drop in to:
Kootenay School of the Arts at Selkirk College
606 Victoria Street Nelson BC V1L3K2

Check out more of their work here:
www.culdesacdesign.com
www.jasnart.com

Studio Potter has just posted the sad news of the passing of potter and instructor Tom Rohr. Please visit their website for more information. My thoughts and condolences with the family. I met Tom once years ago quite early in my learning of ceramics and was quite taken with the beauty of his work and the knowledge he so generously shared. I have a beautiful cup of his I cherish and am drinking my morning tea from today.