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Getting Started As A Potter


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I am in my senior year of high school and I now need to figure out what comes next.  I have been taking ceramics classes for the last two years and I have my heart set on becoming a production potter, but I am not sure how to go about doing that.  I would like to get an apprenticeship instead of going to college so I could spend all my time learning more about ceramics and running a studio instead of also having to take academic classes, but I am not sure how realistic that is.  

 

I would like advice about finding an apprenticeship or what colleges are a good idea or really anything that could help.

 

I have this vague idea that I could get an apprenticeship with a studio and then get an actual job with them and then someday I could have my own studio, is that at all realistic? Would I have a better chance of finding an apprenticeship if I go to college first? 

 

I believe I at least have some skills that I would need to be helpful, I am the teacher's assistant in the ceramics class at my school and my teacher is pregnant so I have been doing most of the kiln loading and unloading and moving around heavy stuff along with cleaning and pugging clay and whatnot,  I would say that I have good basic throwing skills as in I can make a lot of things fairly quickly and pretty centered and I'm good with larger forms and whatnot but I have a lot to learn with making things a consistent size and different shapes. 

 

Is that enough for me to get an apprenticeship?

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Guest JBaymore

First of all, welcome to the forums.

 

There are TON of existing threads in the various forum sections that relate to the "life of the potter" and what it takes to make it all work.  So you can find a LOT of reading here to help you get a feel for the whole idea.

 

The route of an apprenticeship will train you to be a studio potter, and a bit also to be a small business-person.  The training will focus on clay processes more heavily than what you would get in the typical under-grad college program.  Some of the business related skills will be transferable to other professions.  As will the serious work ethic you will develop (or fail).  It will give you no particularly useful "paper" credentials should you later decide to not be a professional in the ceramics field.  Depending on WHO you apprentice with, it will establish some "connections" within the ceramics field relating to their connections.

 

A college degree in ceramics will give you skills as a studio potter (but likely differently focused than the apprenticeship route), a decent general education, some light business skills education, and a formally recognized degree. Should you decide later that you do not want to continue in studio ceramics as a profession, the "piece of paper" is often still useful for other employment (a huge number of people work in professions different that that in which they got their degree).  That degree could also open up the path a graduate degree in another field (even non art related). Depending on where you go to school, it will establish some "connections" within the ceramics field relating to the faculty's and the schools connections.

 

As to getting the apprenticeship question....... VERY hard to generalize.  The more experience / skills you have... the more opportunities open up to you.  So each step in your life is advancing you in some direction.  An apprenticeship at the most desirable situation possible with Famous Potter?  Likely that is a highly competitive position... and people will be applying with lots of existing credentials and even college degrees.  Apprenticeship with a small local firm..... far more likely.

 

You'll likely get lots of advice here.  Good luck with the decisions.

 

best,

 

..................john

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Hi, sounds like you are well on your way in your ceramic skills. But don't be too quick to decide against college. Many colleges, even junior community colleges, have more advanced equipment such as wood kilns and multiple instructors so that you could learn more techniques than you might have available at your high school.  Taking sculpture, design or even art history can help build on your ceramic skills. Plus all knowledge, whether literature, foreign language, science or whatever helps work and expand your brain and adds to creativity.  I had a liberal arts undergrad education and Its amazing how this seemingly useless knowledge comes back to help later in life. I am now a  full time ceramic artist but that was after retiring from a business career. 

 

So I can only suggest you research all you can and keep your options open. All the best.  Rakuku

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Here is what I will recommend:

 

Get a working holiday visa to New Zealand and go to Wellington. The Wellington Potter's Association costs $140 to join for a year with a key. You will have to buy your own clay ($44 for 20 kg) and pay for your own firings ($30-50/kiln or $3/kg and $5/kg for bisque and glaze). Rent costs about $100/week with flatmates and food costs another $50 if you are cheap.

Getting day by day casual construction work is easy enough and will pay $15/hr (minimum wage). So you need to work low end jobs about 20 hours a week and get the rest of the time to make pottery.

 

Do you get a guiding influence? Sort of, there are enough experienced potters around that will help enough. The association will let you do what you have the time and experience to do.

What will you learn? All about clay and just how hard it is to squeeze money from it. There also could be some poverty, despair and feeling of being destitute that go a toward character development.

What is the worst that could happen? Meh, you will get kicked out of the country in a year. So maybe some extra debt to carry is the worst possible outcome.

 

I did it so it must be possible.

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I would  approach it from a school perspective that is go to collage and learn all you an about clay while getting a degree-there is more than clay to learn to be prepared for your life ahead. You can learn Clay and other things to that will help you even  if clay is what you want to do later. Thats a path I took over 40 years ago and recommend it. It will expand your opportunities is all directions not just in clay.It will make you a better person even if clay is all you want to do. Start with a JC and work your way up-it can be on the  cheap if that what it takes.You can work clay on the side while in school as well. I vote the school route. I'm a full time studio potter past 40 years and thats my 2 cents.I have a degree in art and use it every day.Its good to get some business skills in school other wise you learn thru the school of hard knocks.The truth be told you still with clay will learn from hard knocks as its not easy.

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@aspiringpotter,
It is good that you are looking at your options and good that you are on a forum with a ton of people who understand what a growing passion for clay means.  If your plan includes sticking around the forum, adding additional information to your profile might help people respond to your inquiries. Where you live can have an impact on the availability of internships and/or apprenticeships.  Adding images to your personal gallery might give people a better idea of directions to turn next.

 

It is not to early to begin building a network of people in the arts and crafts arena.  Most potters are happy to spend some time with aspiring clay artists to let them know their personal journey.  You never know when such a contact becomes the connection to an opportunity that you might not otherwise discover on your own. So, starting close to home isn't a bad idea...but make sure you do your homework first and make good use of the time you spend with full-timers.

A couple of summers ago, I met an intern who came directly from high school and spend her summer as an intern at Arrowmont (Gatlinburg, TN).  It was more like a camp staff position that involved a certain amount of maintenance/kitchen duties in exchange for the opportunity to participate in a workshop and to have facilities to work around other aspiring artists. Just being around others who are serious about their art/craft can help you with your decision making...not ot mention further expanding your network.

Peace,

-Paul :)

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I have this vague idea that I could get an apprenticeship with a studio and then get an actual job with them and then someday I could have my own studio, is that at all realistic? Would I have a better chance of finding an apprenticeship if I go to college first?

Becoming a potter means self-employment, which means there is no prescribed infrastructure for you to get there. Unlike other professions, where following a well-established path leads to a good paying job. Self-employment has more to do with you as a person: your talent, drive, work ethic, risk tolerance, perseverance, etc., and there are many ways to get there. I am adding myself to those who think you should go to college. College level instruction will open your eyes and expand your vision of the ceramics world, while giving you time to develop your skills. If your familiy is offering to send you to college, and support you financially in the process, you should take advantage of that. Yes you will probably gain access to better apprenticeships and/or residencies with a college degree. I wouldn't talk you out of those opportunities, but just caution you not to expect them to automatically deliver you into a career. Your drive needs to carry you in the years beyond your education.

 

I have a degree in Design from a large state university, and I don't remember it as a bunch of useless academic classes (well except for paleontology, that was useless). My program was focused almost entirely on design and art, and it was great. I use my design training in my pottery work everyday.

 

Edited to add: I like that you are interested in production pottery. It indicates your work ethic, and how much you really enjoy throwing. Good signs.

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Going to college and taking all of those courses you might deem worthless right now can be a invaluable to you as a potter.  You can take business, geology, art history, English, math, design, painting, sculpting and I haven't even gotten to the ceramic courses.  Go to college explore the world of academia.  Denice

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if you read the forums for very long you will see that many of the people here have been working in other fields and potting "on the side" for a long time.  making enough to support yourself is a very hard thing to do.  follow the advice given above and consider that a long lasting love of clay will still be there after office hours or after whatever other working hours you might have.

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What does your family think?   Do your parents expect you to go to college?  Could you live at home for a while after you graduate? 

 

Do you have a kiln or access to one?  If you have support, think about taking a "gap" year.   Throw and make.  Do the back math and see just how many pots you have to make to make a living.  Find a few shows or sales outlets.    What you can learn from the internet and U Tube is boundless.     You might even take a few core college courses.   You might eventually want to get your degree.   You might have to get a part time job to support your clay work.  But as long as you don't take on a lot of financial obligations and can continue living at home, you could take that time and find out what you really wanted to do.

 

I think education is always good.  But you don't have to start it the day after you graduate from high school.  I took a few gap years before graduating with my B.S. and do not regret it.

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I took a gap "year" at 16 and got into the work habit and never went back to full-time education.  Did lots of courses at night-school and through work though. 

 

Lots of entrepreneurs skipped college and are doing OK.  Don't burn any boats, especially with your family, but consider all options.

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Not going to give you any advice either way, but will make an observation. You are a senior in high school that is showing more maturity and forethought than many people twice your age. Your cognitive skills are good, the ability to rationalize and reason are balanced. Most seniors would have made rash decisions without weighing or investigating options and worried about the outcome later. Regardless of the route/s you choose- you will make it over a period of time. The mere fact that you acknowledge that you will have to put in some time before you make it on your own says a lot about your reasonable expectations. I will make a prediction however: at some point in the future, and that will come sooner than later: you will become a very successful production potter.

Nerd

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Personally I don't love the idea of an apprenticeship.  I think you can teach yourself pretty much anything, and what you can't you can probably find out right here.  Others will disagree (passionately, I suspect), but I taught myself pottery by buying a bag of clay, a kiln, and a few books.  Later I got a wheel (and some more books...).  If you have the luxury of spending a lot of time at it, you will learn fast.  Certainly I made mistakes that someone looking over my shoulder might have been able to save me from, but making mistakes is a good way to learn.

 

Of course, you should do what feels right to you, and if it's an apprenticeship, cool.

 

I will add my voice to those who say you should get a college degree; if I were you I would study something other than pottery or even art, and take whatever pottery and art classes you can fit in as electives.  That way you have something to fall back on.  Right now you're young and pretty much invincible, but pottery is physically demanding, and you could wake up with a bad back or some such one day down the road a decade or two.  And I agree completely with those who suggest a year or two off before college -- why not, especially if you're not entirely sold on the idea.

 

Good for you for asking for advice here.  And for thinking seriously about what you want to do with your life -- so few people ever do, at any age.

 

Finally, I will add that all this advice could be wrong.  If Picasso and Jimi Hendrix were asking similar questions, telling them to go to college and then pursue painting and guitar in their spare time, or after getting a degree, would be a bad call.  In the end you have to decide for yourself.  Good luck with it, and let us know how it's going from time to time.

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"I would like to get an apprenticeship instead of going to college so I could spend all my time learning more about ceramics and running a studio instead of also having to take academic classes"

 

I would say you have answered your own question. I wouldn't put yourself in college debt until your ready for the academic classes. If you are going to college, you have to be prepared to pay the bill when you graduate. If you have a nice college fund or a really good scholarship this may not apply. You may in time desire the academic end of the education, and when you are ready you will do better in school.

 

That being said you will certainly learn things in college that you will not learn on the job as an apprentice. College will help you find yourself by exposing you to various methods and design. You'll have a broad skill set of tools that you will need to specialize in a particular field. It's then up to you to pick a field that best suits your interest and specialize in that field.

 

As an apprentice your exposure will be narrower, specialized and more focused. There will be more limitations on what you may be able to do outside of that box. If you have found what you want to focus on, this is a quicker way to get there, but your world will be a lot smaller. If someone wants you to have a Bachelors degree to run a pottery studio, it's going to be a lot harder to get your foot in the door.

 

Whether you go to college or get an apprenticeship an education is never ending, take as many seminars, read as many books, scour the internet, network with fellow potters, and take business and marketing classes when ever you can.

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Guest JBaymore

...........but will make an observation. You are a senior in high school that is showing more maturity and forethought than many people twice your age. Your cognitive skills are good, the ability to rationalize and reason are balanced. Most seniors would have made rash decisions without weighing or investigating options and worried about the outcome later. Regardless of the route/s you choose- you will make it over a period of time. The mere fact that you acknowledge that you will have to put in some time before you make it on your own says a lot about your reasonable expectations.

 

Speaking as a college ceramics prof...... Amen to the above sentiment.  Well said, and accurate as far as I am concerned.

 

best,

 

....................john

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Here's a point to consider, perhaps.

 

Most of the great contemporary potters have been academics.  They were nurtured, to some extent, by the university system.  That gave them an income, and allowed them the freedom to develop their work without the constraints of making a living from it. 

 

I say this as a complete autodidact.  I taught myself everything I know about making pots.  I've never taken so much as a workshop.  But I think that if I had my life to do over, I would have gone back to school, studied clay, and become a teacher.  The pay is not great, the hours are long, but you have stability, which, judging from the amazingly high quality work done by academic potters, is very important to developing a strong artistic vision.

 

I think the advice you've been given here is very good.  There's no reason not to take a year off and get a job working for a production potter, if you can find one who is willing to hire you.  That will give you a much better insight into the realities of being a production potter.  And at the end of the year, you will be in a much better position to make the decision.

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Being a potter/ceramic artist is more than just throwing pots. No matter what field you want to go into, there is a knowledge base, a long history and many ways to go. This is certainly true of ceramics. It has a long history, many styles, many famous potters and so many ways you could develop in the field.

The value of a college degree is that it exposes you to things you don't even know that you don't know. It's pretty hard to see that value when you are 18, but taking courses in art, art history, studio art, design, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, etc., will become the foundation of how you grow as an artist.

Don't close that door. Life is about keeping your options open, adding to your knowledge, expanding your skills.

I have a mathematics degree and a long career in finance, but now I work in ceramics full time. My education and life experience have certainly shaped who I have become and thus, how my art has developed.

I suggest that you take classes, workshops, learn everything you can about ceramics. If money's an issue, start at a JC, transfer to a State U. Major in anything you like. Doesn't need to be art. Just keep learning.

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