Judge my pots - 3rd batch

[Pres]

All too often those rejects/duds will come back to bite you as you improve with skill and knowledge. To let something out there that tarnishes your rep is not a good idea in the long run. Short side of things is a bit of extra cash, long side is that bad habits are kind of hard to break. Acceptance of mediocrity is a bad habit. All of this in my humble opinion as I have had it happen to me, and it has hurt.

 

best,

Pres

[shawnhar]

Point taken, but I'm not sure that is the way she would look at it. More like she runs an art show and I am the vendor that never shows up, and somehow costs her money.

My other hobby is literally putting money into a black hole, and I don't mean that in an 80's "I don't know what this word means" kind of way, I mean literally.

 

[Stephen]

The only thing I would add is that if you want to eventually actually make money doing this, as you have indicated, building a $5 a pot market might not be a good thing. When your work improves and you want to start getting market value for your work, your one best option for getting some traction may well be a bad fit because her customers who like pottery are likely to balk suddenly seeing $30-$50 pots. I'd just toss, keep or otherwise get rid of them. We have let close call 2nd's build up and at a slow day market put a box out with everything $5 and they all disappear fast but these are pots that are really pretty close to being inventory but have a small defect that holds them off the shelve, never a heavy or badly formed pot.

I think inventory control is what really keeps a relative new potter like me selling pots as I constantly walk around at shows and cull pots when its slow. I do this all along as well so really bad ones go into the trash right off, marginal ones after glazing and then when I am in my booth with my pots on display I can see what my customers see and make sure its all good. That final cut is the one I think gets it right because they have to be able to pass the look, hold and buy test in my mind.

If someone is going to pay 2 or 3 times what they can buy the same pot for at a big box store it really needs to strike them as special. When I sell that pot to an excited person who is beaming while they hand me the dough is when I make the circle in pottery from ball of clay to wrapped in tissue paper in a bag on the way to someones home.  

[oldlady]

it seems that you need to resolve the issue of "is it a business or a hobby?"

[Rae Reich]

I like your little cups and their glazing. 

My advice is to mark the obviously flawed as seconds so that the low price doesn't preclude higher prices as you improve. (Seconds have flaws but can still be used for their original purpose, thirds can no longer be used for their original purpose but might be re-purposed (this is that gorgeous pot with the blown out bottom that would still look great in the garden among the ferns).

Please yourself when making things, for now, and be glad if you can get this obsession to pay for itself. You're very lucky to have a built-in and enthusiastic marketer/market! 

[Rae Reich]

12 hours ago, shawnhar said:

Point taken, but I'm not sure that is the way she would look at it. More like she runs an art show and I am the vendor that never shows up, and somehow costs her money.

My other hobby is literally putting money into a black hole, and I don't mean that in an 80's "I don't know what this word means" kind of way, I mean literally.

 

Gasp! That's beautiful! Did you photograph it! What is it? Wouldn't that be a great glaze effect?

[shawnhar]

Thanks Rae, it is my image with my equipment. I built an observatory in the backyard, that is the Jellyfish Nebula, a supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini. It is a popular target for amateur astrophotography.

It's funny you mention the glaze, I have wondered if/how I could incorporate  my love of the night sky with this new endeavor.

[LeeU]

Have you looked at Glazenerd's crystalline glazed pieces? Amazing --& some with a  very atmospheric vibe, to my eye.  I have wondered how far one might take a commercial cone 6 crystalline-like  glaze (not a true crystal glaze, similar to how a commercial cone 6 celedon is not a traditional celedon, but can still have a lovely appearance), if willing to work at it (I'm not !)

Just a note about selling a planter with a  crack in the bottom.  The piece may well break apart when subjected to freezing temperatures and thawing. To my mind it is risky to let even hairline cracks leave the studio. Also, not all clay bodies are suitable for outdoor use, even when intact. If you have a clay reference book, look up vitrification and thermal shock if not familiar with it.

[LeeU]

Found this online-the potter used Obsidian,Blue Rutile, and Smoky Merlot. In that order, 3 coats of each. Applied heavy. Wonder if there is potential for a night sky with the addition of the white stars/gases etc. Maybe different colors, techniques, and some fine line brush work could approximate an interpretation of the  Jellyfish Nebula.

[shawnhar]

Thanks, that looks very interesting. The crystalline glazes have been pushed way back on the "try this" list due to the high rate of failure and I have no control over the kiln at the studio. Your'e spot on about the clay bodies, of of my big planters  cracked in the bisque fire and B-mix5 with no grog is a poor choice for large planters, painful lesson, also, none of the youtube videos say anything about having to be careful when drying large pots, creating stresses and micro fractures that propagate in firing....sigh...so much to learn!