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I think this is sort of something you wade into as you get to know what you need to make.

If you have a show coming up, you get an idea of what you  n e e d in your inventory to sell.  And that kindof dictates your timeline.  The same with inventory and sales goals if you have a webstore, or whatever.  You get to know what sells and what to do when.

So, really, you just set realistic goals for yourself along a timeline and create a schedule around that.  

If I want X number of pieces ready in Y amount of time, that means a, b, c, and d need doing.  And then you've got your scheduling skeleton.  Add in time for cleanup, prep, R&D, and whatever else, and you have a schedule.

 

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I guess it depends how many hours a day you're going to spend in your studio.

I find that having a combination of making / trimming  every time allows me to have a good flow. I like to keep the sanding / glazing for a different time though since the studio needs to be clean and it's not worth it taking everything out for just a couple of pieces

Mark, your schedule looks great

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My schedule the past two weeks has been this -throw-monday am-wenesday-trimming while I go

Wens I also load  and fire bisque-thursdays -delivery pottery in am to outlets-unload and wax kiln load in afternoon-make glaze

Friday glaze and load both kilns-saturday fire both kilns

Monday pm unload glaze pots in pm throw in am

Tuesday back to square one repeat

This schedule is not for the weak of heart

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Here's my normal schedule:

Make for 4 days, take 2 days off.

Make for 4 days, take 2 days off.

Glaze for 3 days, take 2 days off.

17 days total.

Loading and unloading kilns is ongoing.

Repeat.

 

On those 4 day making stretches, I follow to-do lists that are based on the thinking that @Tyler Miller mentioned above. 

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Go into studio and work every day. Even if you don't feel like it, don't feel creative, etc. once you can do that it's easier to look at your to do list of forms that you need and simply start tackling it. For me it's my job and I treat it as such and go to work everyday unless there is a medical appt or something but even then I go in the studio for a few hours. I count teaching private lessons as well as group classes and art center time as work as well even though I am not in my personal studio for all of that it's all part of my clay journey.

I like to work in lots or groups of forms. A couple dozen mugs, a dozen bowls, a few dozen spoon rests, etc. I set the studio up for that form and get to work until I have the number I am aiming for before moving on to the next form. I fill up rolling racks with pieces drying then fill Bisque from that selection. I like to wax everything at once then get the glaze ready and glaze everything the same color at a time. In other words if I am doing Blue Rutile pieces I glaze several dozen forms that need that glaze all at once. It's faster and easier than glazing this color then that color then back to this color etc. I fill the kiln as soon as the glazed pieces are dry enough to handle and fire immediately. If I have festivals coming up I will fire pretty much back to back bisque, glaze, bisque, glaze until I have a nice amount of stock ready.

Since  I use my Extruder a lot as the base form for many of my items I'll Extruder several hundred pounds of forms at once, fill all my damp boxes up then get to assembling them in those lots I mentioned. I have found that thinking in groups rather than single pieces makes it easier to accomplish.

T

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I make a list of what I need before a show ends-also what sold best at that show.

I get lists from galleries and outlets and merge that list with other list

I see what are the best sellers from a previous show list that I have made for the upcoming show or shows( I make this list as soon after the show to remember them)

I work from these lists on whats needed and work from the slower drying forms to the speediest forms near the end (bisquing)

The time line depends on the show schedule and orders

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Guest JBaymore

When our students kind of hit the "block" business......... not producing work... just sitting thinking........ don't know what to make........ our advice is always to just go into their work space (in your case "studio") pick up some clay and make anything that happens.  That almost always leads somewhere.  Which leads somewhere.  And so on.

best,

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

 

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Guest JBaymore

I share this one a lot also............................

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that's almost never the case.”
Chuck Close

 

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What John posted above is how I feel. Searching for inspiration is just an excuse not to work. Make stuff and be inspired.

I like Mea's schedule personally because those 2 days off give your body a break and allow you to take care of other weekly task that matter. I will probably do something similar now that I am back working to sell again.  

 

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I like Mea's as well it just does not work for me. I really like the day off. Mine tend to happen around tuna fishing  trips like this Tuesday or last Monday.

I tend to try to spend at least one day a week mostly out of studio,especailly this year as I'm tying hard to slow down a bit.

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While I agree with John and how important it is to just go to the studio and make, I think it is also important to take a break sometimes to get fresh ideas. For me, it means going to exhibitions for example, or reading crafts magazine. For me it's important to have both 

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I am currently going through a stretch of about 2 months where I am taking fewer days off, due to inventory shortage. My neck is stiff and my left wrist is hurting. 

I did one too many shows this summer, and I think I'm doing one too many this fall. Live and learn. I pledge to plan this differently next year. 

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  • 1 month later...

Wow thank you all so much! i can hardly wait to put these to use!:) My studio has been taken over by spiders and all creepy crawlers :angry:so I got some diatomaceous earth spread it all around then went out side and did the same I actually threw it up on to the eves and in crevices of the vinyl siding where there were all kinds of critters :ph34r: in a few days I'll go see what's happened, hope there will be lots of dead spiders! They really try to scare me & thought they won ha!!! Seriously these spiders are evil visious things! :blink: I will probably mist and sweep gently to remove it all then wash everything down I don't want to contaminate anything. Thank you all I really appreciate you kind advice :wub:

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On 9/2/2017 at 12:54 PM, Mark C. said:

Throw pots on Monday-trim pots on Monday

same on Tuesday

same on Wednesday 

load and fire bisque on either Thursday or Friday 

make glazes while firing.

next day unload glaze and relaod

next day fire

Monday start again

I am a pretty hard worker. I have had a full time job AND a side gig for almost 20 years and regularly work 70 to 80 hours a week.

Just looking at your work schedule makes me want to go lie down. 

:) 

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