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Guest JBaymore

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!

 

Bingo!

 

best,

 

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

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I guess we can all interpret this our own way. When I read this, I did not detect anyone saying "poor me." I detected a person who was dedicated and proud of himself/herself.

 

I'm with you Mea.  I didn't read it as "Guilt Trippy" at all.

 

 Puts us miles ahead of those who just work to make money and live for the weekend.

 

 

 

Now I've got the song "Everybody's Working for the Weekend" in my head.

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Sorry I've been busy. Wow this topic exploded! Great!

 

Not much to add though. Seems like everyone hammered good thoughts out about this already.

 

In short, a while ago I probably would have agreed with this more so, but now I see it as a very sappy sales pitch. Work is work is work, and if something has thousands of hours behind it or just a few seconds, time invested has nothing to do with how good or valuable an object is (talking art here...and yes there are probably a few and strange outliers as well). And because the message is to a buyer, the last statement in the paragraph is the silliest of all. Expecting someone to care about giving you extra time to do your art is absurd. Hahahaha, "most importantly"!!! Oh man oh man oh man. 

 

Maybe most importantly could be something like "the customer liked the object and I got paid."

 

This being said, just because I disagreed with the article doesn't mean it is disqualified. No one had said much on the forum and I severely disagreed with it so I said something. Everyone is different; it makes the world a cool place. 

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I think part of this quote, "your buying the artist more time," is very true for me.  But... I would never verbalize this information to a potential customer.  I am often embarrassed to admit to friends the number of hours I work at making the same cup or bowl, over and over, only to throw it into a bucket.  I had a friend stop by one day and see my reclaim bucket.  She thought a tragic accident had occurred.  I told her that sadly it had, I had found pottery.

 

 

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When customers ask how glazing is done or how long does it take -I say for me its taken 40 plus years to get here. 

The orginal statement really is one I would not like my customers to see as its not about that.Folks just see the pots and if they like them they buy them-its only about that really.

Mark

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  • 2 months later...

What bothers me is the "Guilt Trip" feeling of it ...  "Buy this from me because I worked so hard on it."

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

 I think a sign that said, "Do you know how long I had to push to get this thing out of me?" would also be effective.....

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I like that the statement explains the time aspect of making pots. I have people all the time ask me how long something took to make. It is hard to explain the hours perfecting technic and form, the kiln accidents, the breakage during transport, the time spent wedging, recycling clay etc. that are taken into account when coming up with a price that is more than just the time spent on construction of the one vessel the shopper is asking about. I like that it hints at attachment that potters have for our wares. The last line is just too sappy for me tho. But i have a sent similar but slightly different blub off to people seeking donations from me to explain that perhaps they should go ask walmart for a donation instead of me because i can't afford to part with yet another pot.

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The pitch (which is what it is) struck me as if it should go with some crafty-cutesy patchwork baby blanket..don't care for it at all. I also don't much care for the "artist statement" trend. If I write something about a piece or a series, I want it to provide some food for thought, or educate by conveying factual information one would not readily know, such as historic or technical attributes of the piece or the tradition it is part of. For some work, a description of the clay/glaze/firing etc. may be appreciated by whoever purchases/receives the piece. I did that with some of the little slab pieces from the anagama firing, which I embellished and gave to some friends who know nothing about clay. They loved knowing "what" they were getting, what process was involved. I usually put significant thought into a title. If someone is interested enough to wonder why the piece is so named, they could always ask and I would be glad to expound. If not, I'm still happy that I sent it off into the universe with some sense of identity.   B)

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