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Research Says That The Bigger Your Signature On Your Art The More It Sells For


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I thought folks who sell their work would be interested in this research article I just found. The article is attached but basically it says the bigger your signature the more narcissistic you are likely to be and the more money you will get for your art.

 

 

Lawrence Weathers

Narcissistic artists sell more art, for more money -- ScienceDaily.pdf

Narcissistic artists sell more art, for more money -- ScienceDaily.pdf

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My signature on wheel thrown vessels, is small..the signature on coil built vessels is a little larger due to the sand temper in the clay body, then afterwards, covered with clay. I'm getting to the point where I tell strangers that the pottery is found in the Elmore county pottery cave near the front. The boxes the pottery is stored in is labeled Elmore county pottery cave. I don't sign for myself...its more for the buyers, I guess. I also put the lbs it took to make it and the cone temp the stoneware was fired to. And when possible, any pertinent information is added. I saw a signature in about 1993 on a vessel that covered the entire bottom, and thought, "what an ego!"

See ya,

Alabàmà

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Very interesting!!

 

I have read several books on graphology (the study of handwriting) and something very interesting about signatures: If the initial letter of the signature is very large, and the rest is small, that means the person presents an extremely confident front but they think very little of themselves. If the initial letter is small but the signature behind it is large, that means the person appears to be humble but in reality thinks they are the cat's pajamas. People whose signatures are scribbly and illegible want to remain a mystery and people whose signatures are clear and legible put emphasis on communicating well with other and really want to be understood. 

 

I adapt my signature of my work depending on how much room I have. If I've cut a foot ring I'll usually carve or oxide my initials and the year pretty tiny. If I have more room I'll adapt to the size, but usually my signature is pretty small. Guess I need to make it bigger!!

 

I wonder how pieces would sell where the whole entire decoration was just my signature? Thoughts to ponder. Definitely easier than the way I decorate now and if I'd make more money for it ... ;) 

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I think the link here is that the more positively and confidently you present your own work the more others are going to appraise in a similar way. That is, others use your assessment of your work as their baseline assessment. In other words, strut your stuff, whether it be as a signature, your description of your work or how fancy your display booth is.

 

I think I should rethink my own practices here. I generally don't even sign my work.  I just scratch a number in iron oxide on the bottom, which corresponds to a record number in the database I use to keep track of my stuff.

 

I'm trying to reform my ways. Notice the size of my name in my original post.

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I wondered if graphoanalysis could be applied to incised pottery. Seems when your examining 1000s of 18th century shards, some marks are bolder, intense and deliberate than others. Is a stroke of a stylus in clay the same as a stroke of a stylus on paper? Can the same interpretation be applied to both? I'm thinking yes!

 

I prefer my vessels speak for themselves, and not have to rely on some mark known as a signature. I have yet to be contacted by someone who said, I found you from the signature on the vessel! But since I go thru the trouble of incising my name on stoneware I think it should be visible, and that's why its stained. I've seen signatures where they had to held up to the light at an angle, only to say, well its signed, but I can't make it out!!

 

As for the Indian pottery I make, I think a signature might hurt than help. So its there...somewhere, maybe just not so obvious!... :). Its usually inside the vessel, upside down, and covered with a thin film of mud. :).

See ya,

Alabamà

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I think the link here is that the more positively and confidently you present your own work the more others are going to appraise in a similar way.

Agree with this whole-heartedly. And I also agree there are many ways to express your confidence, not just with your signature. I wish they hadn't used the word "narcissistic" because "confidence" and "pride" are the real factors here.

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We have talked frequently about signatures on work, some do, some don't, some only use a chop. At one time, there may have been no need as there were a limited number of potters. Now days, I wonder. Is signing your work on a finished bottom narcissistic, or is it one final finish to a well finished piece. In the last few years I have gone through several ways of finishing the bottom of my pots. Some of these seems to be overly ornate, but take only a few seconds to do. Others are simple and yet take the same amount of time. I do believe that decades later, signed work will be easier for collectors to identify, and for those that come after you to remember who you were, even though you may be great great great grandpa!  :unsure:

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alabama, i had the pleasure of being contacted by a young man who found one of my pots in an estate sale and he contacted me.  it was delightful to find that the vase i had done years ago still made an owner happy.  he only noticed my last name, not the initial.

 

still wonder how that little vase survived all these years, probably 20 or more, and wound up in Georgia.

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First, there is nothing bad about a healthy narcissistic personality. I'll recommend the website for Psychology Today for anyone interested in more. An excellent resource for your people problem questions in general.

 

My grandparents keep saying I should sign my name instead of using a chop. But if you look at my signature it is fairly obvious that I wish to disappear into the ether.

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lol.. i just sign my initials in a really awkward manner and add 3 dots, one for each member of my family. maybe i should start writing FIREBORN 

 

il_570xN.918532666_hzqd.jpg

 

I agree with Mea, they chose the wrong word, but I think that word is probably click bait for the article, thus they picked it. editors are terrible about that sort of thing. 

 

I think signing your work is pretty important, I have gave gifts to people who asked for a particular pot to be made for them after coming to my house and then when they turned it over, I forgot to sign it, they were not very happy.

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  • 1 month later...

well, doc, i tried it.  the sale at the virginia arboretum is happening this weekend.  i used your suggestion and not only darkened the signature i had carved into the bottom of the pots but added with a sharpie "Original Art".  the two large most expensive pots sold first to a single buyer and others went off with new owners all day.  maybe tomorrow they will all be gone.

 

and the other idea that if something sells fast, raise the price.  yep, that will be done when i offer the big ones again.

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A while back I started a thread on this, sort of.  I was convinced that a small stamp was more beautiful than a scrawled signature... and I still feel that way.  However, a lot of the glazes I like are thick and fluid, and can completely obscure a stamp.  And many of the brightest minds on the forum argued that a stamp was not sufficiently recognizable as an indication that the piece was made individually by me... that a signature made the piece more collectable and more identifiable.

 

Since beauty is my primary reason for working in clay, I stuck to my stamps faith for a while, but eventually I decided that I was wrong, and everyone else was right.

 

So now I have a signature.

 

gallery_65900_888_45303.jpg

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well, doc, i tried it.  the sale at the virginia arboretum is happening this weekend.  i used your suggestion and not only darkened the signature i had carved into the bottom of the pots but added with a sharpie "Original Art".  the two large most expensive pots sold first to a single buyer and others went off with new owners all day.  maybe tomorrow they will all be gone.

 

and the other idea that if something sells fast, raise the price.  yep, that will be done when i offer the big ones again.

If you weren't female, the next step I would suggest would be wearing a large codpiece.

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  • 3 weeks later...

On this topic does anyone sign their work in an oxide stain, like an iron oxide brush mark or something. I can't figure out what I like most, a stamp of my initials, carving my initials in there, or writing Fireborn in iron oxide stain. 

 

I would really like to write Joseph Fireborn on my pots, but its nearly impossible without a stamp. I have terrible handwriting as well, so my writing looks nothing like Ray's nice signature. 

 

I am going to start selling my pots at a local place that wants me to bring in large bowls to put on their sellers tables. So I wanted something that would have my entire name so that if the customer bought the pot they could google my signature and find my pots. I can't figure out what to do though. I thought about brushing my name with sumi ink and then scanning it and sending it to a stamp maker, and getting it about 1.5 inches wide, but I am sure it will be filled in by a lot of my more reactive glazes! Another though is to just use some type of iron wash inside of my foot ring and stop glazing it, then using a 1'' round stamp that has my name and some type of artwork in it. This would work for a lot of detail and probably not look terrible, but I haven't tried it yet. 

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though I have not gotten beyond using iron oxide and a drafting to write a number on the bottom of my pots and steel art, I'm looking for some way to put the URL of a web gallery on them. My theory is that until I become a world-famous artist, which of course will only happen after I'm dead, the most important information is how others can get back to me if they see some of my work that they like. I am trying to find some kind of stamp or stencil that I can use to put that information on my junk.

 

Actually, a drafting pen with iron oxide works quite well if you just want scribble something on the bottom of the pot.

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The thing for me is, my name is so unique(thanks to my son, wanting to change it), that I am probably the only person in the world with the name Joseph Fireborn(so cliche), so I can just put that on the bottom of my mugs then people will find my shop instantly in any search engine. Currently I put my initials on it, which is great for looks, but no one will ever be able to find me from that. So I have been thinking on ways to incorporate my name. I think I am just going to write in sumi ink on rice paper until I get a version I like, then scan it and have a stamp made about 1.5 inches wide and in circle form, since that will always fit in my footrings. Designing it is crucial cause it will be the look of my brand going forward from this point in time, so I have to make sure it looks professional at the same time as what I want to represent. meh.

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Remember that handmade pottery is a very small industry. The name Fireborn should be enough, because if someone googles "Fireborn Pottery" they will find you in no time.

 

Most of my pots are stamped with a tiny elephant, less than 1/4 inch. I've had customers who bought a pot in a gallery with no trace of my name attached, google "elephant pottery" and find me.

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joseph, just a warning about your intended plan to sell at a "local place".  keep track of what happens to your large bowls.  i have seen them being used in a gallery to hold smaller items  that are for sale.  nobody knows that the large bowls are also for sale.  i could not believe that would happen in a gallery devoted to handmade goods but there it was, wooden trinkets piled into several bowls.  you had to search for the price tag on the bowl.

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