LeeU

@Callie Beller Diesel my sales at my big show were about the same as last year.  However, I made a conscious decision to make more small items.  That worked for me.  Lot of ornaments and small dishes and small cups were sold.  A few larger pieces but not very many.  Our community is being faced with the closing of some large enterprises and groceries have doubled in cost.  My heart goes out to younger families with kids.  There is still the push to buy local and for many, the desire to purchase handcrafted.  Just a lower price point.  As one of the organizers of the local market, I will be able to see sales numbers in about a month as the sales taxes roll in.  I will be able to do more comparison then.
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Sculpture, as for art, was mentioned. Sculptors-in general-are not a group that earns lots of money.  I have a sculptural approach to my work that is basically a vibe, an essence, a thought process, and which is counter to commercial refinement.  I found out within two years that standard commercial retail sales, would only lose me money. Additionally, the daily grind of sustaining and advancing the marketing/production/constantly changing the items to feed the hungry consumer is a full time job (unless you hire a company to do all of that, which reduces control). Those who do enjoy the making & selling process, and thrive on that energy flow, I believe make out very well. But, as Mark said, it probably needs to be a passion and one coupled with rigorously sound business practices, as Callie & others note.  Seven years since start-up, I have stopped selling completely.  I'm back to using other gigs to pay for the studio overhead/materials and nothing for my time. What I make now I mostly donate to selected non-profit organizations (those providing mitigation of domestic violence/addiction/homelessness). I give them certain ceramic "scupturally functional" items for home and office, which they use for their auctions/fundraisers. It's quite satisfying, recipients seem to like my work, and I'm gaining a bit of local name recognition as a ceramic artist, but even if these were sales, it will never pay the light bill!!

Sculpture, as for art, was mentioned. Sculptors-in general-are not a group that earns lots of money.  I have a sculptural approach to my work that is basically a vibe, an essence, a thought process, and which is counter to commercial refinement.  I found out within two years that standard commercial retail sales, would only lose me money. Additionally, the daily grind of sustaining and advancing the marketing/production/constantly changing the items to feed the hungry consumer is a full time job (unless you hire a company to do all of that, which reduces control). Those who do enjoy the making & selling process, and thrive on that energy flow, I believe make out very well. But, as Mark said, it probably needs to be a passion and one coupled with rigorously sound business practices, as Callie & others note.  Seven years since start-up, I have stopped selling completely.  I'm back to using other gigs to pay for the studio overhead/materials and nothing for my time. What I make now I mostly donate to selected non-profit organizations (those providing mitigation of domestic violence/addiction/homelessness). I give them certain ceramic "scupturally functional" items for home and office, which they use for their auctions/fundraisers. It's quite satisfying, recipients seem to like my work, and I'm gaining a bit of local name recognition as a ceramic artist, but even if these were sales, it will never pay the light bill!!

Sculpture, as for art, was mentioned. Sculptors-in general-are not a group that earns lots of money.  I have a sculptural approach to my work that is basically a vibe, an essence, a thought process, and which is counter to commercial refinement.  I found out within two years that standard commercial retail sales, would only lose me money. Additionally, the daily grind of sustaining and advancing the marketing/production/constantly changing the items to feed the hungry consumer is a full time job (unless you hire a company to do all of that, which reduces control). Those who do enjoy the making & selling process, and thrive on that energy flow, I believe make out very well. But, as Mark said, it probably needs to be a passion and one coupled with rigorously sound business practices, as Callie & others note.  Seven years since start-up, I have stopped selling completely.  I'm back to using other gigs to pay for the studio overhead/materials and nothing for my time. What I make now I mostly donate to selected non-profit organizations (those providing mitigation of domestic violence/addiction/homelessness). I give them certain ceramic "scupturally functional" items for home and office, which they use for their auctions/fundraisers. It's quite satisfying, recipients seem to like my work, and I'm gaining a bit of local name recognition as a ceramic artist, but even if these were sales, it will never pay the light bill!!

Sculpture, as for art, was mentioned. Sculptors-in general-are not a group that earns lots of money.  I have a sculptural approach to my work that is basically a vibe, an essence, a thought process, and which is counter to commercial refinement.  I found out within two years that standard commercial retail sales, would only lose me money. Additionally, the daily grind of sustaining and advancing the marketing/production/constantly changing the items to feed the hungry consumer is a full time job (unless you hire a company to do all of that, which reduces control). Those who do enjoy the making & selling process, and thrive on that energy flow, I believe make out very well. But, as Mark said, it probably needs to be a passion and one coupled with rigorously sound business practices, as Callie & others note.  Seven years since start-up, I have stopped selling completely.  I'm back to using other gigs to pay for the studio overhead/materials and nothing for my time. What I make now I mostly donate to selected non-profit organizations (those providing mitigation of domestic violence/addiction/homelessness). I give them certain ceramic "scupturally functional" items for home and office, which they use for their auctions/fundraisers. It's quite satisfying, recipients seem to like my work, and I'm gaining a bit of local name recognition as a ceramic artist, but even if these were sales, it will never pay the light bill!!

Well, I make my living from it, so, yeah. It’s possible! Easy? That’s a different question entirely.
The methods to entry do vary depending on how and when you start. Tools and approaches that were available 20 years ago maybe aren’t now, but there are tools available now that weren’t here 20 years ago.
The thing that helped me the most was making a business plan. It doesn’t have to be the same kind of plan that you’d take to a bank in order to obtain a loan, but you should lay out for yourself some goals and projections based on research. Figure out where you want your income streams to to come from. Some folks love teaching, some don’t. Some folks love doing in person shows a lot, and some prefer online sales and marketing. And keep track of whether or not a given venture is profitable. Just because you took home $1000 from a show (random number) doesn’t mean you made bank. How much did it cost you to get there? And are you getting paid for your time? All of your time?
I don’t think it’s a great idea to just quit your day job and jump in at this point. Spend some time building your skills and building an audience. Start an email list! Even a small one of 100 people can net you a few sales every time, and that adds up. I know so many artists who were only doing in-person shows that had their businesses saved over the covid shutdowns because they had an email list.
Build up your studio and supplies with sales from your pots over time. I didn’t start off my business by owning all my equipment from the outset. I did buy a wheel and some shelves, and just fired at a community centre for years. It took a long time, and was interrupted by life a LOT, but I outfitted my studio slowly and with cash. Keep your overhead low.
Take the time to visit shows the year before you apply to them, to see whether or not they might be ones that fit your work. Make “show friends” with the other artists you work with, so that you can talk shop with them and trade intel. Those show friends will also be a source of support and encouragement, and community like that is necessary.

Hard work usually pays off  they say. Most folks are not focused enough to go thru the lean years and keep at it.It takes a long time to gain traction in this field and it takes a long long time to become a professional at all things needed to make it work.If you think its work you are in the wrong field -it has to be your passion I feel.

our guild holiday show was last weekend, the saturday and sunday after thanksgiving.  we set our stuff up early on saturday instead of friday as in the past.  started at 7, all of a sudden there were strangers all over the place.  i asked another potter where they came from and she said it is 10:15.  doors opened to the public at 10.   i left through a crowd.  got down the road a little way and realized my wallet was under the table so i returned.  
crowd at the front door, i went to the side and a customer let me in after a dozen of them pointed to the front door.   the crowd was thick and i had to squeeze through .   my purse was 10 feet away and i must have answered 10 questions before i reached it.  our customers mostly know what they see and what they want.  if not, they know that if they ask they will get a full discussion if they like.   and yet, there was some young girl who looked at my display while her mother asked a question.  the daughter's eyes opened at some point and she said  "you made all this by yourself?"   
i want to think she just realized she could do stuff on her own and her mother would let her.
 

I took a long break from selling pots about thirty years ago. Now I’m back at it and things are different. 
It was so difficult then, I had a lot riding on each craft show and I was learning as I went. As far as how savvy customers are, it feels about the same now as then. 
My experience interacting with people the last couple of years, after jumping back in, is completely different. I sell a lot more with less effort and stress than when I was in my twenties trying to make it work. 
I have a lot of fun now talking to people about pottery, gauging the conversation as I go. Most know a little, a few know a lot. My work attracts people with a certain aesthetic, and it doesn’t always correlate to how deeply they know the process. We just talk. It goes all over the place. From the best shape and size for a tea bowl, to geology, fire, or chemistry, to the fond memories someone had in high school pottery class. 
My crude guess about folks who buy my work is 5% are clueless (“Oh, wait, you actually made this?”), 85% know a little, 8% know a lot and 2% appreciate what I do in a pot. All of them appreciate something though, and it’s not always what I expect.
I had some plates without a foot ring and thought they felt unfinished. It was a good weekend though, so I pulled out everything. One lady said, “Finally, someone who makes plates without that ring on the bottom.” She could have cared less about most anything else. They looked nice and didn’t have that darn foot!
Two kinds of sales bring me heartfelt satisfaction: 1. When a potter buys my work. 2. When someone, between me telling and them looking, becomes so engaged they see through new eyes. They start examining the pots differently, turning them over in their fingers. It’s like they’re thinking, “I didn’t see that before. How could I have missed it?”

Doing workshops and teaching classes are two different animals. Workshops are a good way to make some extra money, but you don't get the chance to do them until you're fairly famous because it's your name that's the draw. There may be others out there who make work that is just as nice but no one is going to pay money to go to a workshop if they haven't heard of them. It's also not something that you can do every week all year long. There's just not that kind of opportunity, and it'll eat into your studio time. One of the nice things about the internet age is that you can do online workshops, however you still need the name recognition to get people to sign up. The vast majority of potters do not do workshops on a regular basis, but they're great when you do get to do them. You can make a few hundred bucks for a day's work, plus sell some pots and meet a bunch of other potters. They're a great ego boost, too!
Teaching pottery classes does not pay much. Many people who teach are paid in studio use, kiln use, clay, etc. If they are paid actual money it's not usually very much because they're paid for contact hours, and classes are usually only 2-3 hours once a week. Even as a studio owner you have to offer a lot of classes for it to be profitable. My classes cover my monthly expenses plus a little more. It would not be profitable on its own to a degree that was worthwhile unless I offered 3 times as many classes as I do (I currently have 4). That many classes would require hiring a couple of helpers, and working all day on Saturday, which is why it's never been the sole focus of my business.
College level teaching is a sweet gig if it's an environment you enjoy. Time off, benefits, etc. Personally, I would love a college job, but when I got out of grad school I was burned out on the academic world and didn't pursue it. After a time is was simply too late to start that career. Most college jobs will require you to move, because there are only a handful available each year and chances are they're not in your town.
My business survives because I have 3 income streams- teaching, selling my work, and kiln sales/repair. It was the best way for me to get the business going and now I'm settled into it. With some changes I could make a go at any one of them on its own, but I really don't want to. It fits the way I like to work, and works really well with my home life. The downside is that kiln repair and studio time can fluctuate a lot. Repair work has been crazy lately, so studio time has been virtually non-existent for the past few months. Financially it all works out just fine- money is money- but I do wish I had more time to make pots.

In my experience, teaching is not a good way to supplement your income as a potter. Teachers get paid very little! Even if you are a star who can teach weekend workshops that command a high fee, the ceiling on income is very low compared to how much you can earn for making/selling pots at a good quality art fair or craft show. Teaching is also very time-consuming, if you care about a doing a good job that is. I did one workshop near the end of the pandemic, only because there were no shows to do at the time. I enjoyed it, just to be around people again. But the amount of work and the pay involved is not something I would choose over doing shows. 
The pay for teaching weekly classes to recreational potters is even worse! When I reached a point in my pottery business where I could no longer teach weekly classes AND keep up with demand for my pots, it was a no brainer to drop the classes. I can see how it might be worth it if you OWN the classroom studio and also teach the classes, but not if you are just an employee.
These days I produce video lessons and sell them online. Once a video is finished, the income is almost totally passive. It’s the only way it makes sense for me to do it within my schedule. 
I don’t have experience teaching college level ceramics. I can see that the income/benefits/stability would actually provide a meaningful living. But I suspect that this is more about being an academic than a potter. Not better or worse per se, just not the same. I taught college level graphics courses a long time ago, and I found the academic environment to be very unpleasant. And the amount I was being paid to teach those classes was much less than I was making for my design work. 

I have four words on this subject: Advancers or Thermal-Lites. Unless  hyphenated words are really one word, in which case I have three words on this subject.

As a friendly reminder from my front yard--

My middle school, H.S. years were in the late 50's early '60's and the only things girls could take were typing & home ec. Sewing was taught by the moms & art classes were fairly lame-I taught myself in terms of most hands-on art materials/processes. Where I lucked out was that my dad wanted a boy-no secret in our house-and got me instead. So, since I hated the rigid box for females, I pestered him until I was a full-fledged member of his Scout Troop & did everything the boys did, indoors & in the wild, and just as good. That earned me the privlege of being able to go down to the basement to my dad's shop where I got to do everything from manual & power equipment for wood/metal/plastic to working the Morse code for him (as a Ham radio operator) on his brass key pad. I didn't go to university art school until the '80s and by then things were much, much better--we women could & did the same things as the guys-no restrictions. So I learned a lot more in terms of dexterity , motor control etc, via ceramics, cold glass,wood, sculpture (lite welding), textiles, some manual typesetting, & pre-computer graphic arts...cut and paste was real different ha ha.   

My middle school, H.S. years were in the late 50's early '60's and the only things girls could take were typing & home ec. Sewing was taught by the moms & art classes were fairly lame-I taught myself in terms of most hands-on art materials/processes. Where I lucked out was that my dad wanted a boy-no secret in our house-and got me instead. So, since I hated the rigid box for females, I pestered him until I was a full-fledged member of his Scout Troop & did everything the boys did, indoors & in the wild, and just as good. That earned me the privlege of being able to go down to the basement to my dad's shop where I got to do everything from manual & power equipment for wood/metal/plastic to working the Morse code for him (as a Ham radio operator) on his brass key pad. I didn't go to university art school until the '80s and by then things were much, much better--we women could & did the same things as the guys-no restrictions. So I learned a lot more in terms of dexterity , motor control etc, via ceramics, cold glass,wood, sculpture (lite welding), textiles, some manual typesetting, & pre-computer graphic arts...cut and paste was real different ha ha.   

I think "making a living"  is perhaps not the best way to look at it. Making it "your life" might be more congruent with what it ultimately takes to bring home the bacon in such a tough field and especially in such tough times.  Another important aspect is whether or not one is going for production that sells fairly readily, or is the focus more on higher priced, less quantity, fine art pieces? The markets & marketing are so different. There  are so many ways to generate income from ceramics, but in any circumstance a solid business plan, and an overdose of perseverence, are essential. 
 

I think "making a living"  is perhaps not the best way to look at it. Making it "your life" might be more congruent with what it ultimately takes to bring home the bacon in such a tough field and especially in such tough times.  Another important aspect is whether or not one is going for production that sells fairly readily, or is the focus more on higher priced, less quantity, fine art pieces? The markets & marketing are so different. There  are so many ways to generate income from ceramics, but in any circumstance a solid business plan, and an overdose of perseverence, are essential. 
 

Would a tarp over the kiln and secured (circled around it) with bungee cords work?  Update-this is what I did at first with my kiln. I took the inner carton that it was shipped with, removed the bottom, and cut down one corner so I could wrap it around and also remove easily. I covered the carton lid with a synthetic tablecloth. It got worn over time but still served me well for several years. The water stains on the box are just from drifting/melting NH snow (the kiln is on a back porch with imperfect sealing). The light snow melt never pooled, it got wicked up by the cardboard. I use a tarp w/bungees now.

I think "making a living"  is perhaps not the best way to look at it. Making it "your life" might be more congruent with what it ultimately takes to bring home the bacon in such a tough field and especially in such tough times.  Another important aspect is whether or not one is going for production that sells fairly readily, or is the focus more on higher priced, less quantity, fine art pieces? The markets & marketing are so different. There  are so many ways to generate income from ceramics, but in any circumstance a solid business plan, and an overdose of perseverence, are essential. 
 

My middle school, H.S. years were in the late 50's early '60's and the only things girls could take were typing & home ec. Sewing was taught by the moms & art classes were fairly lame-I taught myself in terms of most hands-on art materials/processes. Where I lucked out was that my dad wanted a boy-no secret in our house-and got me instead. So, since I hated the rigid box for females, I pestered him until I was a full-fledged member of his Scout Troop & did everything the boys did, indoors & in the wild, and just as good. That earned me the privlege of being able to go down to the basement to my dad's shop where I got to do everything from manual & power equipment for wood/metal/plastic to working the Morse code for him (as a Ham radio operator) on his brass key pad. I didn't go to university art school until the '80s and by then things were much, much better--we women could & did the same things as the guys-no restrictions. So I learned a lot more in terms of dexterity , motor control etc, via ceramics, cold glass,wood, sculpture (lite welding), textiles, some manual typesetting, & pre-computer graphic arts...cut and paste was real different ha ha.   

I think "making a living"  is perhaps not the best way to look at it. Making it "your life" might be more congruent with what it ultimately takes to bring home the bacon in such a tough field and especially in such tough times.  Another important aspect is whether or not one is going for production that sells fairly readily, or is the focus more on higher priced, less quantity, fine art pieces? The markets & marketing are so different. There  are so many ways to generate income from ceramics, but in any circumstance a solid business plan, and an overdose of perseverence, are essential. 
 

I think "making a living"  is perhaps not the best way to look at it. Making it "your life" might be more congruent with what it ultimately takes to bring home the bacon in such a tough field and especially in such tough times.  Another important aspect is whether or not one is going for production that sells fairly readily, or is the focus more on higher priced, less quantity, fine art pieces? The markets & marketing are so different. There  are so many ways to generate income from ceramics, but in any circumstance a solid business plan, and an overdose of perseverence, are essential. 
 

Would a tarp over the kiln and secured (circled around it) with bungee cords work?  Update-this is what I did at first with my kiln. I took the inner carton that it was shipped with, removed the bottom, and cut down one corner so I could wrap it around and also remove easily. I covered the carton lid with a synthetic tablecloth. It got worn over time but still served me well for several years. The water stains on the box are just from drifting/melting NH snow (the kiln is on a back porch with imperfect sealing). The light snow melt never pooled, it got wicked up by the cardboard. I use a tarp w/bungees now.

Would a tarp over the kiln and secured (circled around it) with bungee cords work?  Update-this is what I did at first with my kiln. I took the inner carton that it was shipped with, removed the bottom, and cut down one corner so I could wrap it around and also remove easily. I covered the carton lid with a synthetic tablecloth. It got worn over time but still served me well for several years. The water stains on the box are just from drifting/melting NH snow (the kiln is on a back porch with imperfect sealing). The light snow melt never pooled, it got wicked up by the cardboard. I use a tarp w/bungees now.

My middle school, H.S. years were in the late 50's early '60's and the only things girls could take were typing & home ec. Sewing was taught by the moms & art classes were fairly lame-I taught myself in terms of most hands-on art materials/processes. Where I lucked out was that my dad wanted a boy-no secret in our house-and got me instead. So, since I hated the rigid box for females, I pestered him until I was a full-fledged member of his Scout Troop & did everything the boys did, indoors & in the wild, and just as good. That earned me the privlege of being able to go down to the basement to my dad's shop where I got to do everything from manual & power equipment for wood/metal/plastic to working the Morse code for him (as a Ham radio operator) on his brass key pad. I didn't go to university art school until the '80s and by then things were much, much better--we women could & did the same things as the guys-no restrictions. So I learned a lot more in terms of dexterity , motor control etc, via ceramics, cold glass,wood, sculpture (lite welding), textiles, some manual typesetting, & pre-computer graphic arts...cut and paste was real different ha ha.