This puts me in mind of a famous story about my other profession, one that
pays slightly less than pottery: writing. Legend has it that a very
celebrated Canadian novelist, Margaret Laurence, was at a gala and was
engaged in conversation with a neurosurgeon. At a point in the conversation
he confessed that he had always wanted to write a novel and was thinking he
might do it when he retired. At which she exclaimed, "What a coincidence!
I'm planning on becoming a neurosurgeon when I retire!"
Perhaps on overstatement, but it speaks to the disregard many people have
for the complexity, artistry and brute skill/training involved in the act of
creating something. Our ability to acquire so much, so many mass-produced
things, leads to a certain arrogance, as if my ability to pay for something
somehow raises me onto a par with someone who makes something: creating and
purchasing are very different things.
Anyway, I'm actually shocked at how little pottery sells for. Spectacular
centrepiece bowls that you know are going to be the focal point of an entire
room routinely sell for $80-$200 around here. A painting? $700-$5000. And
with pottery discussions of cost almost seem to come back to discussions of
the time involved, or the cost of materials, which to my mind are totally
irrelevant - an object with aesthetic value, one that triggers a response on
an aesthetic level has value beyond its functionality. If I were pressed on
the subject, I would say that beauty is often undervalued - not something
you can kick the tires of.
Solution? I don't know. But I'm always proud of potters who stand by the
value of their work, who charge what they believe it is worth rather than
what they think they can get. Not necessarily practical, you can price
yourself right out of business. But threads like this, discussing the value
it plays in our lives and others is probably very important, if nothing else
to bolster each other in our work.
Thanks to all the posters - I've actually been checking back daily to read
this thread, because I find it quite inspirational.
Simon

"wayneinkeywest" wrote in message
t...


This is so true. I made a lamp. The base was wheel formed and hand
built, then wood fired. The shade was my own design--executed by me
in stained glass. I did all the design work, glazing, hours on the
wood kiln, glass work, and wiring of the lamp. I paid for the
materials, time in the studio, and firing fees. I have a degree in art
from a good art school, plus I've been studying beyond art school for
years. Someone at work asked me if my lamp was for sale. I quoted a
price of $400, and this person was visibly shocked. I work with
mathematicians who would think nothing of charging 3 or 4 times as much
as that for the same amount of hours that they invest in one of their
research projects.

I think people have an idea that art doesn't need to be valued because
they think that anyone can do it. Or maybe that it doesn't have any
value in our fast moving technological world, where the bottom line
rules. Art represents the humanity in all of us, and that seems to be
an undervalued commodity all around.

Of course, the big question is, how do we turn this around?

Deb R.

I'm not the first to have done this, but it works every time. We all run
into people for whom the bottom line is tantamount. Cheap as possible,
and
no more. Won't pay top dollar for anything. Have more money than God,
most
of them. what i call "tire kickers". what Brad mentioned as the
"entertainment seekers"

When they ask if I would go any cheaper, I hand them a lump of clay and
tell
them to go
make it themselves, and wish them a nice day, and tell them to call me
once
it's done
so I can buy it for less than it cost them to make. Doesn't get me a
sale,
(they wouldn't buy anyway) but it might make them think.
And if it ****es them off, tell them to try getting a cheaper price from
their lawyer, or doctor, or auto mechanic, and see how far they get. You
can't educate the ones that don't want to learn, the rest buy gladly.

Wayne Seidl