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Thinking about Selling Pt. 2

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The show I signed up for got me thinking about this stuff again.  That and the fact that the checkbook was dying.  I thought, I need to sell some pots at this show.  What would sell? See now that's a sure sign of going down the wrong road and I recognized that.   But it did get me to thinking that my lowest priced item right now is a small flat bottomed bowl that retails for $22.  It's made from 1.25 lbs of clay and it's decorated.

I honestly don't think I want to  make anything that is a knick knack that would sell for less or be less work (with the drawing and glazing).  Why should I?  I hate that my mind even went there.  I can take my current line of work to this show and sell some pots.  Hopefully.  It may very well be that I don't.   But chasing the market has never really gotten me anywhere.  It's best to make what I want, what I'm excited about and to make that work the best I can.  Also to find the right places to sell that work.

I admit that this show is a last minute consideration to try to get out there and sell some pots when we are in need of some income.  Maybe I'm going against what I just wrote in the previous paragraph. Ah, it's tough right?  Still I can justify it by saying it's 10 minutes from home and the fee was $60.

Believe me I see that some of my reasoning in this post has gone haywire.

I did have another point to make along these lines but I think I'm gonna stop now and go out to work.  Thanks for reading.

Thinking about Selling

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I signed up yesterday for a small art show that's happening in town in a couple weeks.  It's been awhile since I've participated in it.  I'm hoping to make a few bucks.  I woke up this morning to the sound of our check book thrashing wildly upon the counter.  I think it's because the checks we wrote to the government must have went through the bank, and the poor check book is having terrible withdrawals.

I was thinking just now about how in the past I'd make certain pots that were really likely to sell when I was hard up for money.  One such pot was a spoon jar with blue decoration.  Back in my early and mid salt glaze days I abhorred  blue. (It had to do with my Leach brainwashing).  So I'd make these 3 lb. cylinders with a flare out at the top.  I'd dip them 1/2 from the top in white slip and add a couple blue ovalish dots on opposing sides.  I'd make 8 or 10 and mark them at $18 and sell everyone.

This was as bad as I let myself get.  I certainly could have made a bunch of little blue jugs and sold them for $9.  That would have been easy money indeed.

If I've offended you because of this relationship I had with blue glaze or my snobbish attitude please know that that was quite a while ago.    My motto now is, "To each his own".   You can certainly see that I'm using blue glaze now (even pink).   And not for reasons of selling pots.  I'm doing so because I like it.

Right, so there is more to say about this but I do like to keep my posts short so you'll have to check in later for the next bit.

Opening

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It was great to see all of my pots at the NC Crafts Gallery on Friday night.  I even had some red dots in place already.  Sara Gress ,the gallery owner, did a wonderful job exhibiting the work.  Thanks to those who came out.  I met some really nice folks.  The show runs for the month of April so if you are in the area stop by. (Sorry for the poor quality of this photo).

Sarah and I had a great time in Carrboro and Chapel Hill.  I'll post more about it later with some images.

Good Thursday

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Feeling much better today.  Look at that magnificent yard.  Nothing like riding the mower to wash my worries away (Yes, we finished our Taxes.  Now we have no Money.)


Oh well.  The apple tree is bloooming.  Yay!!  When Life gives you lemons, get ready for Apple Pie.


Handles...


Something funny going on here...


Heading up the road to Chapel Hill tomorrow.  Show opening at the NC Crafts Gallery.

It's just started to rain.  So long Pollen.

Ton of Fun

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This is majority of the  ton of clay that arrived earlier in the week.  I'm set for a while, which is super nice.


I'm under the weather this morning.  I have a mild fever and I'm all congested.   Hopefully I'll feel better soon.  I'm fairly caught up with things in the studio. I am working towards the ClayMatters Pottery Sale which is in May and also a show with my pals Jennifer Mecca, Amy Sanders and Julie Wiggins.  That is in late May.


Well that's all for the moment. Check in later, maybe I'll have something Exciting to share.

Teapot and Taxes.

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I got this teapot from Brandon Phillips last week.  I really love it and  it's become the pot for my morning and afternoon tea brewing.  I think Brandon and I really have a lot in common when it comes to clay and pots. He also sent me a yunomi with the same glaze. It was in the dish drain so I didn't get a photo.


Sarah and I got going on our taxes over the weekend.  We never get an early start even though we have intentions to do so.  There are 3 calculators on the table!


This shot is from this morning,when I wasn't being a very nice person due to my incompetence, frustration, and embarrassment.

I made a mistake on my retail sales tax in the last quarter and I just didn't want to deal with it.  Sarah was asking me questions and getting on fine putting her materials together.  I was a jerk and pretty much ruined the morning.   Too bad that the tea I was drinking didn't have a calming effect.  Anyhow I got my mistake sorted out, along with figuring the penalty.   Hopefully when Sarah gets home all will be forgiven and the evening will be better.  This money stuff just really puts me in a twist sometimes.

Coming Home

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I had several boxes come back from a gallery that was consigning my work .  It didn't seem to be a good fit in that my pots did not sell well there so I was ejected. Not really! I had a  good relationship with the owners and I feel like they represented me well.  It just didn't seem to be the right place for my work.   It's a drag when something doesn't work out but really I can't expect my pots to fly off the shelves just because they are out there. (Or should I??  Come on city people buy those rat pots and those laundry lines!!!)

I had forgotten about some of these pots. It's fun to see them again.  At the time  I was doing simple line drawings and some blocks of color with patterns.  It's neat that in just a few months things changed and I am where I am now.  I like that I'm putting more work/detail into the drawings at the present.   Sometimes just a little more thought and effort can make a huge difference.

A lot of this work is still nice and I'll certainly put these on the shelves in the showroom and list some on Etsy.

I'm hoping for a big day of making tomorrow.  My clay didn't arrive Friday, but I've got about 200 lbs in the shop.

I'm planning on sending out an E-Newsletter this week.  So if you'd like to receive one please be sure to sign up over in the right hand sidebar.  Thanks for visiting!

Wet Slip. Horse Eye Dishes

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Here are a couple of the serving bowls that I slipped yesterday.  I went ahead and did some wet drawing through the slip.  I've always loved the Horse Eye plates from the Seto kilns and this rim deco is my homage to those dishes.  I'll probably draw an owl in one of these and I'm not sure yet about the other.

I got my truck back from the body shop today. It looks good as new.  I didn't really blog about it, but a while back my step mother accidentally backed her car into mine.  I had a pretty big dent in the passenger side there for awhile.  It's nice to have it fixed now.

All for today.  Bisque kiln loaded.  See ya on Friday!