management of your teaching studio

[Pyewackette]

..... This is because I believe that people starting out should be able to produce a lot of work in order to improve their skills. I then encourage them to critique and only choose the best to glaze. This creates a big re-cycling stage for me but I feel its important to me philosophically not to make a profit from materials. .....

 

 

And that is an attitude I wish more instructors had. I've had a couple who tried to get me to fire every single hideous lopsided lumpy blob that came off my wheel, here since I started wheel throwing again, and then try to lecture me on my "poor self-image".

 

I don't have a "poor self-image". I have a GOOD self-image - I KNOW I am capable of doing better, and don't see any reason to waste perfectly good, reclaimable clay on sub-par work. I'm not an 8-year-old making Daddy an ashtray for Xmas, LOL! It took me FOUR MONTHS to throw a bowl as good as the first bowl I ever threw almost 20 years ago, and in that 4 months I squashed and reclaimed more pots than you could shake a stick at.

 

It's like they don't see the value of practice and experimentation. I was into my third class before I willingly fired a bowl. I fired one at the end of my first class because I got tired of fighting with the instructor over it, but I never bothered to pick it up - he had insisted I dry it with an industrial heat gun so it would make it into the last kiln load for the class, and - understandably, since it was totally wet, straight off the wheel - it started to crack. He went ahead and fired it anyway, but it was not worth firing even BEFORE the heat-gun-induced cracking.

 

And absolutely you should not allow a student to take advantage of you (and inconvenience the other students) and run production out of a class room. But, again, I'm not concerned with full production; or well, I WOULD be, but that's not the issue as I understood it. That clearly is unreasonable in a class room setting. But the odd piece here and there should not be causing a short-circuit.

 

I think it would be better if there were more instructors out there with the produce-lots-keep-next-to-nothing attitude. There's no other way to learn something like this, and with clay, unlike many other mediums, you don't lose anything by wadding it up and putting it back in the reclaim.

 

"I don't need you to remind me of my age. I have a bladder to do that for me."

-- Stephen Fry

[teardrop]

Sad and amazing, sojourner. I'm not even sure how I'd react to such BS from someone I WAS PAYING to "teach" me....especially if this was going on in front of the entire class.

 

Depending on the set up...I'd be finding their boss and letting them know what happened. If that wasn't possible, we'd probably have to have a "serious"....um....."talk" to get the message across that such a (insult) criticism just >isn't< gonna be tolerated at any point in time.

 

I'm passing the asbestos undies yer way....here come the flames!

 

teardrop

[trina]

Wow that sounds like you have had some bad experiences soujouner. I am going to start a new thread, What do students really want, and what keeps you motivated. Trina

[Pres]

Sad and amazing, sojourner. I'm not even sure how I'd react to such BS from someone I WAS PAYING to "teach" me....especially if this was going on in front of the entire class.

 

Depending on the set up...I'd be finding their boss and letting them know what happened. If that wasn't possible, we'd probably have to have a "serious"....um....."talk" to get the message across that such a (insult) criticism just >isn't< gonna be tolerated at any point in time.

 

I'm passing the asbestos undies yer way....here come the flames!

 

teardrop

 

 

Another side on this side issue here. Over the years at the HS we would hold various sales, auctions, and fund raisers using student work. These were not required of students, sometimes the sale was to the student benefit etc. Whenever we had a showcase we would let folks know that items were for sale after asking the students if they wanted to sell anything. At times we would have ceramics students sell pieces to teachers or others that wanted them. I remember one fountain-with pump and all assembled that went for $125, the student was overjoyed that someone wanted it at that price. Many times though the ceramics students would not want to sell their pottery because of the time, effort, and themselves that was invested in them. A characteristic that some of us should learn from when we sell that item so cheap that we really aren't making a profit from it.

[Madmingei]

..... This is because I believe that people starting out should be able to produce a lot of work in order to improve their skills. I then encourage them to critique and only choose the best to glaze. This creates a big re-cycling stage for me but I feel its important to me philosophically not to make a profit from materials. .....

 

 

And that is an attitude I wish more instructors had. I've had a couple who tried to get me to fire every single hideous lopsided lumpy blob that came off my wheel, here since I started wheel throwing again, and then try to lecture me on my "poor self-image".

 

I don't have a "poor self-image". I have a GOOD self-image - I KNOW I am capable of doing better, and don't see any reason to waste perfectly good, reclaimable clay on sub-par work. I'm not an 8-year-old making Daddy an ashtray for Xmas, LOL! It took me FOUR MONTHS to throw a bowl as good as the first bowl I ever threw almost 20 years ago, and in that 4 months I squashed and reclaimed more pots than you could shake a stick at.

 

It's like they don't see the value of practice and experimentation. I was into my third class before I willingly fired a bowl. I fired one at the end of my first class because I got tired of fighting with the instructor over it, but I never bothered to pick it up - he had insisted I dry it with an industrial heat gun so it would make it into the last kiln load for the class, and - understandably, since it was totally wet, straight off the wheel - it started to crack. He went ahead and fired it anyway, but it was not worth firing even BEFORE the heat-gun-induced cracking.

 

And absolutely you should not allow a student to take advantage of you (and inconvenience the other students) and run production out of a class room. But, again, I'm not concerned with full production; or well, I WOULD be, but that's not the issue as I understood it. That clearly is unreasonable in a class room setting. But the odd piece here and there should not be causing a short-circuit.

 

I think it would be better if there were more instructors out there with the produce-lots-keep-next-to-nothing attitude. There's no other way to learn something like this, and with clay, unlike many other mediums, you don't lose anything by wadding it up and putting it back in the reclaim.

 

"I don't need you to remind me of my age. I have a bladder to do that for me."

-- Stephen Fry

 

 

Sojourner, thanks for the comments and sorry to hear all that but it sounds like you have good goals, a great level of self-awareness and know where you are heading - good on you! I do find that role quite difficult as a teacher - ie how to encourage high standards without putting people off! Each student should be sussed out individually to discover what they want. I find people are often scared of self-critiquing until they develop the skills - its not that easy if you don't have an art background - so you might be rare student. I find most students want to keep everything at first!

Just to clarify something, yet again (because I seem to have hit on a soft spot!) even though I make it clear about my policy of no selling stuff made in class, I DO encourage people, absolutely positively, to aim to sell their work if they want to and there are exceptions of students who do so within my studio. Usually they are making things that are quite individual and they have developed their own language and they do not abuse my generosity. Its not a matter of me tapping them on the shoulder in an all-powerful way but rather, it is a natural discussion that arises. There are times, like Claylover, when I have bought my student's work too. And I agree with Claylover that studio sales and exhibitions are a great introduction. So, no, it is not a blanket rule, even though they initially sign up thinking it is, but I feel that to articulate the terms up front has been helpful to avoid problems I've mentioned. That is the context I mentioned it in the thread. There may be a better way to spell it out, given I'm expanding into a more commercial space and you have helped me think through this, thanks.

Another problem I dont think anyone's mentioned yet is that of students mimicking their teacher's work - mostly inadvertently - but often just because they are using the same clay, glazes, firing and techniques/methods the teacher has developed! Its just natural and often sub-conscious, and we all have influences of our teachers and others we admire - I can trace my own! But sometimes it can be too close for comfort and takes time to work through!

Trina, the new thread sounds like a good idea!!

 

 

[clay lover]

I have no fear of compition from my students, if they're that good, it's because I taught them well.

 

How ever, I don't need to go the extra mile ( which I do for my students many times over) for someone who wants to compete with me for sales, while using me for inspiration and tech support. What my students pay for lessons doesn't begin to cover what it has cost me to set up and maintain the studio. I am a sweet deal for them. I will not support potters who want to do local shows and sales from my studio.

 

MY HOUSE, MY RULES.

If you want to lay out more that $28,000 on your own studio, figure out all that goes into running it sucessfully, then YOU can do whatever YOU want in YOUR studio.

If not , then you're not ready to be my compition.