Product Development and Variations of Techniques

Hey there once again.. Been a while as I have been plowing away at my studio and working on some new directions with my Ceramics. August is here, and it seems that everyone except me is on vacation as visits to the studio have been few and given me the opportunity to explore new directions with the work at hand ,to develop new ideas and push the boundaries of the usual techniques that I implement in my work. (Above) you can see a picture of my hand decorated beads which I spent over a day just decorating and glazing. Meticulous and detailed oriented as I am, I sometimes wish that taking my art in to wearable art might have not been such a good idea due to the time spent painting tiny spheres to transform them into jewelry takes a lot of time and focus. It is sometime easier to decorate a large object than a small one. WHY? you ask? Sales is the answer. I have sold my hand painted jewelry and continue to make more due to the laws of Supply & Demand. GIVE the consumer or Art Lover what they are asking for….. In the same vain, I am working at the moment with a wood turner and trying my hand at high-fire firings with some other potter friends. WHY? Curiosity mostly,but also to push my work into different areas of research to try the products out on the public, to see their reaction as new way to generate sales. For Art lovers, there comes a time that as an artisan you need to provide new work in a new direction to continue to generate interest in their creative energy. Many times, too many times. I see fellow artists fall into the trap of ‘boxing themselves in to a corner’ because they think that they will continue to sell. Changing out techniques and diverse styles challenges ones self to “test the market” and to see the direct response from fellow artists, the public and a new group of consumer/art lovers. Believe me it works. I have a couple of pieces that I have done for and International Cup Show and people see it and want to buy it…. It is up to you to switch out materials and techniques once in a while to keep it interesting. DO NOT GIVE THE PUBLIC what they expect. Sales are increased when there is a bit of variety and might attract a whole different set of art enthusiasts. Take it from me who is use to playing monkey in a cage in front of the public. Customers return for the things that they know they can get from you. But do not limit yourself to the usual. Consumers crave to find something new from an artist that they follow. Never limit your creativity,it has no boundaries.You set boundaries on yourself when you become too comfortable with a certain form of creative expression or just plain lazy to push yourself to the next level or out of the usual box. Stay tuned for my new T-shirt designs that will be ready shortly and I will post the new design when they are ready for sale….. All for now.