Wednesday
Nov092011
Shame, shame
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 9:35AM
I made some cookie cutter Christmas tree ornaments this year. I know to many people this is no big deal and all well and fine. But to some in the clay community it's a bit of heresy.
Honestly I made these and didn't intend to advertise them much. But I put them in my Etsy shop and posted on Facebook. Soon after the FB post I got messages saying I'd gone over to the dark side and that my Mingei card had been revoked. Ha! Of course I know the folks writing these comments and I didn't take them personally.
Some of you may be asking, What's the big deal about a few ornaments? Well in the art/clay/whatever world there is sort of this hierarchy of what one can make and still be seen as a reputable crafts person. (Now in truth that is totally, complete bull sh*t, but the perception is real).
So in the clay world that I've sort of set myself up in it's okay to make mugs, teapots, plates, jars, etc. But not okay to make soap dispensers, apple bakers, Christmas ornaments, deviled egg plates (oh that one would KILL me!!), (really I can't stop laughing now).
Anyhow, it can get a bit tricky too. For instance, I said it's okay in my circle (?) to make plates and teapots, but if I raku-ed them then I'd be ran out of town by Brandon and some others.
So I wonder if I made Christmas ornaments and fired them for 3 days in an anagama would that be okay? Hum....could be. Of course they would be priced at $100 each and I wouldn't sell any. On the other hand if I raku-ed them then they would be worthless in the eyes of my peers but the public would eat them up!
As I see it there's room for everyone, and we should all feel comfortable to make whatever we want. I do admit that I made these ornaments purely for financial gain. Gasp! I want an iPad dammit! and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get one. The funny thing is is that I took these ornaments to show this past weekend and didn't sell any (I gave my mom a few!)(yes, it was that sort of craft show). So this whole thing may not work out for me and I should stick to working for hours on end decorating jars and platters with rabbits and flowers and stars and moons. (At some point in the future we'll discuss why it's some how okay for me to put a rabbit on a pot).
Okay, enough of this. If I get out to the studio right now I should be able to crank out a couple dozen deviled egg plates by the end of the day. Look out Apple store, I'm on my way!!
Honestly I made these and didn't intend to advertise them much. But I put them in my Etsy shop and posted on Facebook. Soon after the FB post I got messages saying I'd gone over to the dark side and that my Mingei card had been revoked. Ha! Of course I know the folks writing these comments and I didn't take them personally.
Some of you may be asking, What's the big deal about a few ornaments? Well in the art/clay/whatever world there is sort of this hierarchy of what one can make and still be seen as a reputable crafts person. (Now in truth that is totally, complete bull sh*t, but the perception is real).
So in the clay world that I've sort of set myself up in it's okay to make mugs, teapots, plates, jars, etc. But not okay to make soap dispensers, apple bakers, Christmas ornaments, deviled egg plates (oh that one would KILL me!!), (really I can't stop laughing now).
Anyhow, it can get a bit tricky too. For instance, I said it's okay in my circle (?) to make plates and teapots, but if I raku-ed them then I'd be ran out of town by Brandon and some others.
So I wonder if I made Christmas ornaments and fired them for 3 days in an anagama would that be okay? Hum....could be. Of course they would be priced at $100 each and I wouldn't sell any. On the other hand if I raku-ed them then they would be worthless in the eyes of my peers but the public would eat them up!
As I see it there's room for everyone, and we should all feel comfortable to make whatever we want. I do admit that I made these ornaments purely for financial gain. Gasp! I want an iPad dammit! and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get one. The funny thing is is that I took these ornaments to show this past weekend and didn't sell any (I gave my mom a few!)(yes, it was that sort of craft show). So this whole thing may not work out for me and I should stick to working for hours on end decorating jars and platters with rabbits and flowers and stars and moons. (At some point in the future we'll discuss why it's some how okay for me to put a rabbit on a pot).
Okay, enough of this. If I get out to the studio right now I should be able to crank out a couple dozen deviled egg plates by the end of the day. Look out Apple store, I'm on my way!!
Reader Comments (36)
You are funny. ;)
On the other hand I am a firm believer in selling small things that people with no money can buy...so they have a small token of your work. If they happen to be Christmas ornaments? So be it.
When these fans come in to big money they will be back. :)
Ron, I don't think you should feel bad about making these AT ALL. This is a tough, tough, TOUGH business we're in and if making a few ornaments helps you do that, than I say go for it. Who knows what something like this will lead to? It could be the start of an interesting new direction, you never know. I'm all for doing what you need to do, and hopefully that will allow you some time to do things you most enjoy.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post!
I have never been big on doing things just to make other people happy. What is really sad is that there probably are some people who just mentally knocked you down a peg for making ornaments. Screw em. Do what you want/need to do to get it done. Good on you Ron.
This post really hit home with me.... it's like you're reading my mind, Ron.. a little creepy, but ok because it's so damn accurate. I realize that my buttons or pendants aren't high up on the 'art food chain', but they're my equivalent to your ornaments. The knitters eat up the buttons, the trendy 'I bought my necklace local' crowd loves the pendants and for the cost put into making these things, the profit is something like 95%. I feel a little like a schmuck making them because it's not a wonderfully thought provoking piece of artwork that all the other potters will swoon over... but dang, I'm trying to make a living here. I only have so many sources of income to depend on. SO, I say make your ornaments and be proud of them. You're making pottery for a living instead of sitting in front of a computer in a cube somewhere processing mortgage payments.... and that's worth something. :)
thank you for a good laugh this morning... i have also considered going to the dark side and making ornaments for a quick buck... and i was considering raku firing them!
i am curious as to why your "circle" feels raku fired work is worthless... they must not think much about Paul Soldner!
I think your ornaments have a "Pennsylvania Dutch" look to them... i bet they will sell on Etsy
Sometimes my RaKu ornaments are all I sell at a show, where people can't buy a $200 barn but they can buy a $15 ornament. Of course I'm tired of doing those shows but my Raku ornaments put money in my pocket and money in my daughter's college fund. Quite honestly I'm pretty much over this snob factor that runs rampant in the clay community, art is art, clay is clay, make what the hell you want, people just need to get over themselves! And my ornaments are really nice, I just made a dozen yesterday :)
ha ha...quite funny. I think my Mingei card got revoked when I started calling my rabbits "buns" and gave them smiley expressions :)
Brings back memories from way back in the day when my husband (a recovering potter now) and I did craft shows together and we almost couldn't bring enough match strikers. His pots always sold better than mine, so I often made these for him to keep up inventory. A number of times this bread and butter item saved our behinds at a poor show.
I think ornaments for iPad is a worthy goal.
My wife makes really really good deviled eggs, she would probably get you a little closer to your ipad, and whats better than a hand made ornament,
Your comments always make me smile. Thanks....hope that you get that iPad soon.
I think you should make what YOU want to make as long as you do it your way. Why is a xmas ornament any less significant than anything else?
I think the purpose of friends jabbing each other about these things is to make sure that they're owning what they do. I like the slip trailing you did on these but the cookie cutter shapes...well, men will do almost anything for women and apple products. No shame ron.
I made a run of bottles for soap pumps awhile back...haven't fired them yet though. I'm ok with it.
It feels good to get all these comments esp. after I've been absent from blogging for a while. So thanks everyone for participating.
I feel pretty happy that I'm at a place in my head that I can actually do this post. Some years ago I wouldn't have been able to do it. It's also cool that I can take a bit of jabbing from my friends like Brandon and not feel like I need to go out and lash myself 100 times (one time for each ornament!) Ha.
As far as the whole raku thing goes, I don't mean to offend anyone who makes raku or for that matter anyone who makes deviled egg plates! Those are just things that fit into my story, my history as a potter. Coming from that place where blue pots were shunned as well. etc, etc. It's all up to each of us to do what we want for whatever reasons.
I do tend to see much of the ceramics world as a hierarchy. It's something I should look into and why. Some examples are obvious, like how I put Hamada waaaay up there along with a few others who are my heros, both living and dead. Then there are the current ceramic 'rock stars'. And on down the ladder to the raku people. JOKING!! Just joking people. Ha. Wanted to see if you were paying attention.
Really, like many of you all have said, we are each doing this because we love it and as many of us are doing it for a living or for some extra income then we often make things that we know will sell. And that's fine. I agree w. Brandon in that we can each do it our way and we can own it.
Most of you who have been reading this blog for any number of years know that I often write about my personal struggles and the junk that I have in my head. This is no different. It's good for me and it's fun to have you all participate in the discussion. Go make some pots, have fun, and be true to what you love.
I starting out making cookie cutter ornaments as test tiles; some turned out so nice I brought them to a show to see if they would sell. Folks loved them and told me they were so unusual and beautiful. Perhaps these are the folks who buy an ornament and later might save up some money to buy a piece of handmade pottery which is more costly. They appreciate something made by someone by their hand and not made in a factory or poured into a mold, (now there's another topic), even if a cutter was used. The inexpensive items bridge the gap and can lead to sales down the road. Plus if sales are slow at a show, it helps pay for the booth rent. With the economy the way it is, it is nice for folks with less money to be able to buy a little something they can cherish. Also they are great fillers for odd empty spaces in the kiln. Oh now I need to make a few to try with raku.
but i'm still keeping your mingei card ;)
Right on Linda.
BTW, some of the coolest clay ornaments I ever saw were made by Kyle Carpenter. That was 8 or more years ago. They were small spheres, slipped and decorated with the palette he uses on his pots and salt fired. I'll have to ask him about them.
You're going straight to potter's hell, buddy. Don't try to talk your way back out of it. The kiln's been fired and the gods have spoken. I don't make this stuff up. It's intractable theology. Like science. And other stuff.
Spoon rests and apple bakers here in western PA. Like Barb said, some things are your bread and butter...or your ipad. I started making spoon rests this year. So far, so good. Last year I made 100 mugs thinking I'd make a killing for the holidays.....well let me just say I still have about 58 of them a year later.
No need to go to confession. Oh wait, you just did!!!
Good for you Ron. They say the same thing about people who selli blue pots, as though color has or doesn't have some sort of social status. One of the arguments, is that blue is easy, which always made me think that don't these people think oribe, temmoku, white, etc. aren't easy. LOL
So go for that IPAD and make what you think will sell - Christmas ornaments, business card holders, deviled egg dishes, chip and dip plates, garlic pots, brie bakers,apple bakers, soap dishes, lotion dispensers, olive oil bottles, wine coolers, magnets, or whatever else comes to mind; and if you run out of ideas, just spend an hour on Etsy. :-)
Hope that Ipad will be in your possession very very soon!
Thanks for the giggle John. I figured I was doomed after Brandon told me he was keeping my Mingei card.
Hey Christy, I make spoon rests too!!
June, I used to make a killer chip and dip plate. Man I forgot all about those. The little dip bowl was even glazed in place on the plate.
Dang RON !!!! did you have to say DEVIL EGG PLATES were WRONG !!! I spend so much time on them with the little cameo chickens or heads that even at $80 I am giving these things away.... ;o) I am soo devastated now to hear you disapprove.... ( ROFLMAO)
now I make olive boats and napkin rings to stuff my kiln extra full as it helps my pots get that " LOOK" and it also serves as a booth fee payment and gifts for folks looking to get a little something from a hard working potter if they cant afford a high end piece.
My hat is off to those that find it demeaning to make things priced under 20 dollars and are committed to never doing them again. IN the mean time I will continue to make pots that make sense to me and hope that I can continue to sell to more and more regular folk that love hand made in america and support the ARTS... please come buy devil egg plates from me LOL....
Hey Cat, I bet your deviled egg plates have Style!! I'll be sure to check them out this weekend. And if they are $80 then I know for sure they are a hell of a lot nicer than the ones I've seen that are made from a puny slab of clay plopped down on a plastic form from the Dollar Store.
This brings up an important point. All the pots I'm putting down can certainly be made in ways that lift them up from all the bad ones that are out there. I've seen some really bad chip and dips but my friend Ronan Peterson makes this killer version of one that is like a basket with the dip bowl up on the top of the handle. I've seen super nice soap dishes, they could even double as a sushi plate they were so well done. The napkin rings that Cat makes, they aren't just a measly ribbon of clay joined at the ends and left to dry out of round. Cat's are classy.
This discussion we are having can lead off into many different tangents. One being: Why are some pots regarded higher than others?
Does it matter what the object IS? or can it be elevated through careful, thoughtful craftsmanship and innovation?
How does one come to a place of making such pots? And does it matter? There's room for everything? "Good" pots and those not so good?
oh my god! I needed a laugh- thanks- and call me anything you want to, keep my card drum me out of the league I am a make anything you want to potter- here we have cornbread pans- who bakes cornbread in anything but cast iron- but they love them-(the customers) so who I am to roll my eyes at what you make?
I say put a rabbit on it!
You've done gone opened another can of worms Ron... Thanks! I needed the chuckle too.
Ron, how about doing some of those ornaments using your signature animals - running rabbit, owl, goat, etc etc. I think your fans would love them. I know I would. hint hint. :-)
Oh, yeah. I was going to mention those thrown ornaments I made years ago. They were kinda sweet, but too heavy. I have since moved away from having the urge to make anything like that. I'd rather make a bowl for some smelly potpourri. I think the only thing I would say is that these ornaments don't look like ronware. The cookie cutter shapes feel much separated from your 'touched' work. I'm referring to how you often mention that you like seeing throwing lines and marks from the maker. These don't reference that. This may be related to Brandon's comment, 'owning it.'
Sent from my iPad.
What a fun, delightful post! It had me tracing back in memory to your blog years ago when you demo'd pouring glaze over large platters in true Japanese style and then all those sketch-book posts of silly animals…and look where you are now! Great post--look at all the comments it has provoked. Fun. Thanks.