LeeU

Now you've got me thinking I could use some coasters for myself! I have a nice groggy clay in mind.  I like the idea of glazing the bottom/side and having a nice recessed texture on top (perfect for good wood stamps).  I would design the glazed "bottom" so that I could glue on some very small furniture-protective rounds, and they would fit in with the design.  Thx for the motivation-boost.

Now you've got me thinking I could use some coasters for myself! I have a nice groggy clay in mind.  I like the idea of glazing the bottom/side and having a nice recessed texture on top (perfect for good wood stamps).  I would design the glazed "bottom" so that I could glue on some very small furniture-protective rounds, and they would fit in with the design.  Thx for the motivation-boost.

Now you've got me thinking I could use some coasters for myself! I have a nice groggy clay in mind.  I like the idea of glazing the bottom/side and having a nice recessed texture on top (perfect for good wood stamps).  I would design the glazed "bottom" so that I could glue on some very small furniture-protective rounds, and they would fit in with the design.  Thx for the motivation-boost.

Well my local markets are keeping me busy (to busy really) and out of state shows or any show out of my county makes no sense anymore. Also I'm getting up in years and am getting tired of the driving as well.
In two weeks will be my last Anacortes art show. I have been doing this one since early 90s so its been a long haul. Its my best show by far but money is not everything.I love doing the show as its easy for me setup wise  and take down-double booth at main intersection in the middle of street and show. No hassles . Great customers really my favorites and to top it off I get to dive puget sound taking under water photos after the show for days.. I do need help to do this show as it averages for 3 days about 750 customers. My diver friend is also ready to give it up.
I'll miss the show but I will get back my  early summer  for more non ceramic working-like fishing and diving .
I have been in high production for some time now so as to do the show very well.
Looking forward to it but at the same time its the last time. Going to stop and visit a studio from another potter on this board in Portland on my 11 hour hour first drive day to Olympia Wa. Day two is only a 1/2 day drive and ferry ride.
I have done art shows for well  over 4 deacades now and they are coming to an end.

Sending out congrats to @neilestrick for the video he has up on CLAYflicks! (I'm going to use your method of tumble stacking pots in totes for sure.)
Way to go Neil! 
Video snippet below from "Neil Estrick's Efficient Packing for Art Fairs"

Neil Estrick's Efficient Packing for Art Fairs

@GEP you knocked it out of the park, Slugger!  I know I have told you before, but I will say it again.  You are often the voice in my head when I am prepping for a show, checking out a new venue, etc.  And yes, Mea,  I even quote you to others!  Thanks for sharing your knowledge with all.
Roberta

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I was working on this blog post. This is my response to those artists who express confusion or bother when they see my nearly (or completely) empty booth at the end of a show. I am happy to explain exactly what I’m doing. I also point out common mistakes I see other artists making. Buckle in, this is a long post. I tried to be as thorough and honest as possible. This went up yesterday and I’m getting tons of traffic and lots of good reaction to it.
https://www.goodelephant.com/blog/ill-tell-you-exactly-how-i-did-it

I look at it a little differently maybe because I am a sculptor and really only make one-off unique pieces. So I actually would love to have tons of commissions. For sculpting, a lot of commissions are for organizations or companies, or as a public sculpture, so there is something of a formal process for which I get paid (most of the time, unless it is something I submitted a design for and was selected and they have a set stipend/award)  the same way I did as a scientific consultant- with a project fee, paid in thirds at different points. I require in the contract a great deal of artistic freedom and the final say when it comes to most design things. If they are coming to me, they like my style (which has a lot of variety, so is not necessarily something where you can point at something and say, oh obviously that’s a Tauer sculpture- has to do with my ADHD). The main run through my work is that they are what a great sculptor in the paperclay community that I belong to, who is a professor, called Tour de Force sculptures, even when they look nothing alike. And she has begged me to keep making Tour de Force sculptures, keep going larger even though I’m already doing 6 ft tall sculptures! And when I do something medium or smaller, she insists it has to be very technically difficult or look like it isn’t obeying the laws of physics, and her advice was the most flattering things anyone has ever said about my work so I’m happy to follow her advice.
So when I take custom or commission work, which I really love and honestly wished I got a ton more of, I’m often getting the chance to be paid for something very large that I would want to make anyway but am certain I’ll be paid for it instead of making it and hoping to find a buyer. I have some tiny exceptions, like I have a friend who was the first person to buy work from me professionally and paid me over 3 times what I asked for it with a note that I need to charge more for my work, and who has been extremely supportive of my career, more supportive than all my family members. So when he asked me if I could make him a set of 4 mugs, even though I have a hard and fast rule that I absolutely do not make mugs, and in general make just a tiny fraction of work that is in any way functional, and that is only because I particularly like certain shapes like pitchers and I can make really interesting sculptural vases. But I said yes to him because after all he’s done for me I am certainly not going to tell him I don’t make mugs so I won’t do that for him. I also know that with him he’ll give me all the time in the world, and while it takes rather some effort to pull out any ideas from him of what kind of mugs he wants, I know that I really will have total artistic freedom. And that he will pay me far more than they are worth. I also know I can have fun with them and do crazy surface decoration, so I look at it a little like play. But I wouldn’t do that for anyone else. I’m really trying to actually work harder at getting more commissions, but have no problem with other cases of saying no when it isn’t something that I will make or like some others have said copying someone else’s style. I otherwise think commissions are usually a way for me to grow as an artist, there are often some technically challenging things I have to figure out, and much like graphic design it is a good skill to build to learn how to take what the client thinks they want and instead give them what they really want, and to interpret their goals in a way that pleases them but is still your decision as an artist. 
I think if I was a potter, that I would still like and want custom work, as long as it followed certain rules, as it can grow your followers and collectors, and provide challenges and even learning to make new forms that then can go on to potentially become very popular sellers etc. I think it is entirely personal and no one has to justify why or why not they take commissions. From the posts I have read, people do it in quite a few different ways and for different reasons, I don’t think it should be a requirement for anyone. I personally with other sculptors I know tend to see them have attitudes similar to me, but we also have a fairly different business model than potters in a lot of ways, and our training often incorporates the idea of commissions so it is something we learn early and tend to expect and want as a part of our income stream. Potters tend to sell differently and also have a slimmer margin because they are putting out so much at a time, where as most sculptors have a lot lower production. I do subscribe, when possible (depending on the size and difficulty of something, it isn’t always possible) to make more than one in case something disastrous or even just minor but enough to ruin the work happens. Certainly for anything small I make multiples, although they may not be possible to be exactly the same. 

My answer is no, after learning the hard way early on! And I've learned that it's best to not try to explain why. Because if someone doesn't take no the first time, they probably aren't going to understand the explanations. 
However, on very rare occasions, I have said yes to people who are long time customers who not only have bought a lot of my work, but I have spent enough time talking to them to know they understand what I'm doing. These requests are always made within parameters that make sense, because like I said these people understand what I'm doing. For me it makes sense to differentiate a select handful of customers into a VIP category, and to do my best to make them happy.
Here's an example. Some long time customers of mine got married, and asked me to adapt my elephant figurines into a "bride + groom" version for their cake topper. I was happy to do this!

I read this post the other day and thought I should just let my thoughts germinate for a few days. Like Callie says it's not really unbeleafable, root of the issue is having a seed land on your slip and left alone for a thyme and given a leaf of faith it will sprout. I better stop now before I'm blamed for disturbing the peas. 

I can not find it in me to be encouraging of a beginner who is wanting to work in clay to attempt it alone and isolated from other people making ceramic objects. Just the other day an acquaintence said she wants to pay to support her adult daughter (who has ADHD and a short span for the latest interest) to "make mugs and sell them at craft fairs".  Asked me if I think should she buy her that (joke of a used crappy small) kiln on eBay? Daughter has watched some videos, has never had her hands on clay.  Thinks it "looks like fun" and she "can do it at home".  No, mom, do not buy her that kiln; pay for some classes--and I will help you locate the better ones in decent traveling distance in her area. 

I hate rehydrating glaze or reclaiming dried clay. If I catch it early before it accumulates, I'm OK with doing it in small doses--but once the dried glaze/clay began to pile up, I donated it to a ceramics student & a hobby potter who don't mind doing the work to bring it back to life.  I lost the money but considered it a small donation for a good cause and then bought fresh. 

I hate rehydrating glaze or reclaiming dried clay. If I catch it early before it accumulates, I'm OK with doing it in small doses--but once the dried glaze/clay began to pile up, I donated it to a ceramics student & a hobby potter who don't mind doing the work to bring it back to life.  I lost the money but considered it a small donation for a good cause and then bought fresh. 

Depends on the individal glaze and the individual clay body. Like much in ceramics, "it depends". Others with more knowledge can answer you better, but as a generality, it is very iffy. Just because  they can be "safely" fired to the higher cone also does not mean that they will hold their color and look good. The color changes can be undesirable. I fired some  05 glaze on a cone 5 body fired to ^5.  With several colors I got transparent instead of opaque and brown instead of the original  color. In a few cases the color stayed true, but I didn't want to take a chance of other problems emerging  on the pieces, over time, regarding the integrity of the glaze fit on the body, so I trashed it all. and then got myslef some low fire clay to do it right.

Speaking of copying  I long ago in another clay universe was a partner in a press mold ceramic pin and magnet  business we (the two of us which at that time was a girlfriend whom we spent 10 or so years together)
This business was concived as business that could fit in a very small space as the kiln was the only large item. We made the originals from clay and I made press molds and she glazed them. We used a small airbrush and very small compressor for glazing. We marketed zoos and aquariums from BC Canada to Hawaii  to the New England aquarium  and all in-between Places like the San Deigo zoo , Montery Aquarium buildt in 1984. Most of the marketing was personal as we went there and talked to them (Hawaii and BC) east coast was all on the phone and via mail.
I was alaways into fish from diving with them. My brother did the color layup master (a cibachrome) for us (he was a Art Professor at UCSB in Santa Barbara  and did cibachrome all the time back then) and had access to color equipment . Once I had a master I had a company print the color layouts
I have a few left even though this was all over 40 years ago-just a layout no price lists anymore. The  business was good for about 5-7 years and we moved on to other projects. I still have tons of pinbacks and magnets
 Now to the copyright  part of this story
At this time I was doing shows in the west coast callled harvest festivals in the late 70s early 80s and many clay folks where making ceramic pins I learned from them about copyrights.
We choose trhe cheaper copyright  path that many where taking and that is stamp the backs with the copyright logo  on pin backs and hope folks respected that. It worked and we never had any infringement that we know of. Her is that master cibachrome and final  color sales brochure. I still have a few magnets on the fridge of the more durable forms. We had 20 formscan you name them all? My guess is there are a few most do not know
The business was called Coruba Pins named from this rare rum label that I once enjoyed drinking -not much of a dinker past 40 years now.
Man I have done a lot with clay -most of this I had forgotten until this write up.
 

Could you post a photo of the item you wish to slipcast? The answer depends on whether the design has distinctive and original features that would be recognizable as somebody else’s work. For example, is it a simple straight sided cylinder, and you think it’s perfect due to its proportions? Then this would be fine to replicate. Or, does the piece have a bas relief sculpture of an animal? Then this is not something you can replicate and sell. Simply making small modifications to it would not put you in the clear. That’s considered a “derivation” which is just as illegal as a copy. The lack of a manufacturer’s mark also doesn’t matter. You can take inspiration from other person’s work, but only if you incorporate the idea into a substantially new idea. Slipcasting is already a technique meant for “copying” so a copyright violation is far more likely, compared to handbuilding or wheelthrowing where it becomes really difficult to successfully copy. 

I deleted my previous comment here becasue as GEP has clarified directly below, my 2-cents worth was not a good suggestion.  (I had thought doing an alteration of the original & the absence of a makers mark would be OK).  I was wrong!

I can not find it in me to be encouraging of a beginner who is wanting to work in clay to attempt it alone and isolated from other people making ceramic objects. Just the other day an acquaintence said she wants to pay to support her adult daughter (who has ADHD and a short span for the latest interest) to "make mugs and sell them at craft fairs".  Asked me if I think should she buy her that (joke of a used crappy small) kiln on eBay? Daughter has watched some videos, has never had her hands on clay.  Thinks it "looks like fun" and she "can do it at home".  No, mom, do not buy her that kiln; pay for some classes--and I will help you locate the better ones in decent traveling distance in her area. 

spot on. denice!    IFa beginner has found this forum, they have at least found a lot of information that is in the very first section.   start with the glossary.   learn the proper terms for what you want to ask about.   learning to read starts with the alphabet, the glossary has that alphabet for you.   get some old books, the 70s was a time publishers did a good job with what became textbooks.   yes, things they made might not be what you want to make but the basics is what you need and that is covered.
there are posts on here about " What is on your bookshelf?"   if you can find that original question, you will have quite a good list to start with.   see how things are DONE!  ignore the final results that would be something you would never make..     remember you are learning a skill.     do you think those fabulous figure skaters started out throwing or being thrown many feet in the air without seeing a description of how it is done?
and do not ever mistake cone 06 for cone 6!!!   now, go to the glossary and look up what a cone is.
 

I had to reconsider my response-I was deceiving myself!  I do consider glaze as surface.  I came to that realization the other day after making a form, with lots of texture, and immediately started imagining how I would treat it with various glazes--to create an even more interesting form & surface! 
 

@preeta the first set of cups were made by Dawn Candy, who is actually from my neck of the woods. She’s @littlesisterpottery on IG if you want to check her out. Those particular models look like some of her older work.  Her whole process is to draw with a slip trailer and underglazes (I have no idea what brand), and then she layers glazes that run over top. 
The second set are Sean O’connel’s, and he actually has a video here on CLAYflicks on his decorating process. These cups are part of it. 

Not sure what is meant by heating up "too" fast, but with my L&L EZ fire, I can use all the preset settings w/no problem. I'd check w/a Baily tech and/or your kiln-maker's tech for direct feedback.

Two bamboo chopsticks: one is squared with a flat top and a long-ish very pointed tip; the other is rounded with a rounded top and short-ish blunted rounded tip. I can play slap & tickle and get  at least 12 different basic initial imprints,  carvings, and holes  with these two sticks.  I also have larger similar shapes made from regular wood sticks, used "as is" or altered to get the rounded/pointy etc. features/unctions.

Maybe I am missing something, but it looks to me like a simple incised & twisted handle application, so why would it be impossible to (very closely) replicate the style on a new mug? Just curious.

Been thinking (on an' off) 'bout this one, and although I'd like to proclaim that form is first, Min's chicken/egg is where I fall back to, particularly when looking at pots. That the form is first in fact - temporally - well, there's that; for working with pots, form is first for me.
There is, often, something compelling about an oops pot that makes it special, hearty agreement there.
Just over four years ago, found this forum (looking for wheel, then kiln reviews and info); am still finding the topics, posts, personalities ...interesting, thought provoking, informative, compelling.