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I think that the artist that wrote this is delusional.

I don't think the writer is delusional, but I think if this doesn't matter to the potential buyer, then it simply doesn't matter.

 

Some people buy a hybrid car not because it's a great economical choice, but because they want (to believe) that their buying choice has a positive ("green") impact on the world. Some people don't give a hoot about the environment and just buy what makes the most economical sense.

 

People who just want a cup to drink out of can buy them at Wal-Mart for next to nothing. People who buy hand-made goods... they aren't doing it because those goods are technically superior to factory-made goods. Many are doing it for the kind of reasons the writer is giving.

 

Though maybe the writer *is* delusional if they think they can convince Wal-Mart shoppers to buy hand-made with a plea to the heart. Nobody shops at Wal-Mart because they want to make someone else's life better. :)

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I would think having this on their Facebook page, website or hanging in their booth at an art fair is meant is to either reinforce the attitude or create it and I would not find it out of place at all.  Handmade pottery is a niche market sold mostly to those that appreciate it for what it is and the backstory of the artist is certainly part of what it is.

 

Doing a blog is also a way to accentuate that the pottery is made by a real person. I think one of the reasons that good potters seemed to have done fine through the down turn is that potters enjoy a nice slice of the art/crafts market as many of their buyers might have turned it down a notch on other types of artwork but kept buying pottery because its both decorative and functional. It's/We're special ;-)

 

Look if I sold pizzas It would be because I was passionate about pizza and they would be made with nothing but the best and most expensive ingredients and my pitch would need to essentially be "come buy a really expensive pizza from me". While I agree with Carl that a perfectly fine mug can be had at target for a fraction of what most potters charge for a mug, I disagree that they are not better, I think they are better in almost every way. However they do not hold coffee any better than a machined mug and if your potential customer does not know the sentiment above then hey it might sway them your way by getting them to read it and maybe open their wallet. Not everyone at the fair, on the Facebook page or website has come over to our side so we have to entice/encourage them to stay and buy something.

 

If this had been called delusional in another area of the forum I might not have responded but Phill posted it in business so I had to challenge his view and hopefully get him to re-think his opposition to using such blurps. In order to sell art I think it is so important that modesty and the need to sound a certain way needs to be well thought out because selling pottery is selling and this blurp on a facebook page I would see as something toward that goal. I think either Mea Rhee or Chris Campbell pointed out in one post how much it mattered to be in an upbeat mood at the worst of shows or what little sales you are getting will dissipate.            

    

I think another great place for something like this is on the bag or box that a customer takes with a purchase because they may well be giving it to someone and we should be trying to market to that person as well because they too may be new to what we do. 

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Guest JBaymore

Also the drama ... "Every single piece I make is ripped from my soul."

 

What Chris.... your's isn't?   Clearly your work process is lacking ;)

 

best,

 

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

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My first reaction was "cute" (but I'd still take kitten videos any day). The more I thought about it, I have to agree with Chris. This is a sign for an insecure person. Buy my pottery because you want to; not because you'll feel guilty if you don't or think you'll hurt my feelings. If you can't see my passion for pottery in the pottery itself, you won't feel it because of some sign telling you. There are enough guilt trips around that we don't have to lay another one on someone.

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Also the drama ... "Every single piece I make is ripped from my soul."

 

What Chris.... your's isn't?   Clearly your work process is lacking ;)

 

best,

 

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

 

My process is indeed lacking John .... perhaps I just need more time stoking a wood kiln!!

Have so much fun with your new 'baby' ... :):D

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As I said above, I don't expect my customers in general to live by the above statement. I think I need to impress them with quality and design, not with sentimentalism. But that doesn't mean the above statement is impossible. Sometimes the handmade story makes a big difference for a buyer. I got this note today from a complete stranger:

 

"I have fallen in love. At [local store] your pottery is displayed right as you walk in and it caught my eye and wouldn't let go. I bought a mug to see if I'd like it as much at home. I do. My new mug and reading about you and your work on your website sparked a change of heart for me. You see, a recent renovation of my house has been a source of some pretty serious bad moods and for the first time in a year, I'm optimistic, hopeful, enthused, and inspired. Funny how that works, but thanks."

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Come back to this thread and am quite surprised by the level of cynicism to the quote.  

 

Everyday in the 'Studio' and 'Technical' threads there are potters experiencing 'hundreds of hours of failures and experimentation' who don't give up 'after days, weeks and months of frustration and the moments of pure joy' that final success brings, we help them, cheer them on and celebrate them.... otherwise why would we persist in further developments and problem solving

 

'Business' thread is full of congratulatory posts when a potter takes a chance at selling their hard won and beloved works.....often after long considerations of 'am I good enough?', 'will people like them enough to buy?' and 'is my display good?'.....if there were no heart and a bit of 'soul' in them, and us as their fellow potters, we wouldn't care

 

...and if there was no buying of the pots we are so passionate about making then what's the point of being in this business (or hobby)....there are MUCH easier ways of making money

 

I don't understand the cynicism when just reading through almost any thread on this Forum supports the sentiments expressed in the quote.

 

 

Phil, you dropped a bomb, but what's your rationale? 

 

Chris, your commitment to excellence completely flies in the face of 'cute' .........and experience teaches there's certainly nothing 'quaint' about a week long anagama firing.....

 

My experience echos GEP in that a bit of the handmade story does make a difference to the buyer.....if not directly with a product sale at the time then with a statement like 'Oh, wow, I didn't realise what it takes to make one of these'..........which is so much a part of the handmade vs store bought conversation

 

Agree, I wouldn't advertise or display such a sign in my workplaces.....it's inappropriate in a 'business' context, but looking at potters websites, profiles, gallery photos and Forum posts the sentiments expressed certainly seem to be the foundational rationale of why we commit to something as complex as pottery making.

 

Irene

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I can only repeat that I would never place this anywhere in sight of a customer ... or myself for that matter.

I choose to do what I do fully knowing buyers do not care how hard I work or how long it takes.

I am not asking for pity because I have to work hard, or implying that every job rips out a part of my soul.

Just me however ... I am a business major after all!!

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Guest JBaymore

I'm with Chris on the "guilt trippy" quality to that formal statement.

 

The problem with that statement is that it focuses on the TIME and effort..... not on the quality of the work itself. 

 

A poorly skilled person takes a lot of time to make a poorly executed object. 

 

The famous Hamada Shoji quote likely comes in here somewhere ; " 60 years and 15 seconds."

 

In the end, for the viewer/consumer it is about the object.  All of the time and failures hopefully moved you closer to making the "good object".  If not, then all the time in the world spent on the work is of no import.

 

best,

 

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

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I didn't take the original quote as being anything more than an expression of one artists private sentiments about their work. It was an anonymous post on the Bailey Ceramics blog, read by fellow artists. Yes, I can relate to parts of it. No, I'm not having it emblazoned across my T-shirt. Since it was posted for other artists I didn't read into it any assigning of guilt. I took it as giving kudos to fellow artists.

 

I feel that the original intent the author had in writing the piece is being extrapolated upon to an illogical degree. If the sentiments were never intended to be viewed by the buyer then there is no guilt trip.

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Guest JBaymore

A lot of what we "put out there" in places like this forum and other online venues gets into the public eye in one way or another.  (One reason I hate the "I play with clay" line so much.)

 

And like Carl said......... the choice of words in the phrasing there is clearly targeted at the consumer.

 

best,

 

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

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A lot of what we "put out there" in places like this forum and other online venues gets into the public eye in one way or another.  (One reason I hate the "I play with clay" line so much.)

 

And like Carl said......... the choice of words in the phrasing there is clearly targeted at the consumer.

 

best,

 

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

Does this then lead to how we talk about pots, art educated or the non art educated?, do we see this notice placed at a small craft fair or street stall or in the Art Galleries of the State or Nation?

Out of context here, but not much different in purpose to many accompanying blurbs trying to influence the viewer of the vessel.

Emotional response usually is involved in a purchase, tweeking the emotional response by written word is everywhere, and this notice may work for some or not. Just as ethical as some more subtle statements.

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We actually like what we do for a living or for a hobby ... That puts us light years ahead of those who hate their jobs ... their learning curve might be just as steep, their self doubt just as real and their failures life changing rather than annoying. Puts us miles ahead of those who just work to make money and live for the weekend.

 

So acting like we have it any tougher than anyone else ... Gotta get over that!

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Think the words "pure joy," and Passionate poss :D ate in the text discussed.

And, what! of course we've got it tough, some of us are driven to spend 24/7 for weeks stoking kilns, use dto be called slave labour, but we are merely slaves of our own brains..

Just give us some medication and we could pass as normal, in some places :D

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