Showing Your Work - Part 2

Preparing to Show Your Work

Our thanks to Norman Yap, editor of the London Potters Newsletter for allowing us to reproduce his series of articles on the subject of preparing for shows, including advice from some of London's seasoned exhibitors.

This series of six articles was published in NPA Magazine in 2017.  I hope that reprinting here will make them continuously accessible to those who need to refresh their memory.

Work by Jenny Morten. Photograph by NPA at Ceramic Art York 2016

In the last issue, we looked at preparing your body of work, good photographs and your website. This second part will look at applying for shows, what is needed on your part and what typically happens during the selection process for a show.

What shows to apply for 

There are no fixed rules when it comes down to selecting shows to apply for – be as open to possibilities as you can and more importantly, be brave. When I asked our volunteer contributors which shows they preferred, they said the ones they’ve done before and the ones they like. Karen Bunting prefers indoor shows to outdoor ones owing to the vagaries of the weather. Ali Tomlin prefers shows where she can have a booth rather than a table. Lindy Barletta is committed to annual summer and winter shows with the group she works with. 

They all agree though on selecting high-end shows (MADE, Ceramic Art London, Handmade, Ceramics in the City etc). Myths abound about whether these shows are elitist in their selection of makers. The answer is a simple no. Do not limit yourself to what you think you are good enough for. Better to leave that decision to the organisers of the shows! However you may feel you are truly not ready for the deep end and would like to begin at a different level to gain experience and to test the waters.

Craft Fairs and local shows 

All opportunities to show are good sources of experience and publicity. Craft fairs and local shows usually ask for a small fee for showing and most do not operate a selection process. Sharing desks or spaces is usually allowed so the cost can be further lowered and the camaraderie of friends and colleagues may help first time nerves. The publicity for the events may well be local owing to restricted budgets and participants are responsible for publicising their involvement. This is expected of participants at all levels of shows, so is a good foundation for launching yourself to the world. 

The key points to bear in mind with these shows is that the publicity and marketing are relatively low key and the audience reach is therefore equally local. If you are experiencing anxiety over your work, here’s my biggest tip – make sure you take the greatest care when making your work and only take the very best of what you have. That way, you know you made each piece to the best of your abilities and should feel pride in your work. This approach is what I always follow regardless of the audience, the show or the situation.

Which high end show? 

With the exception of invitations to do shows, you may feel you want to take the plunge and try for the major shows during the autumn circuit. The best known organisers are Ceramics in the City, MADE, Handmade, Potfest, Art in Clay, Ceramic Art London, there are many to choose from all around the country. There are the shows organised by societies like the Society of Designer Craftsmen (SDC) annual select show. Here are some salient points to consider: 

- These shows are selected, feel proud if you get through and do not feel dejected if you do not, it’s a tough game. 

- You have to pay for showing but you keep all you sell (the exception are the society shows which take a small commission to cover their overheads). 

- You are provided with a space and must supply all the furniture and decorations you need. Alternatively you could rent these (from organisations who will make themselves known to you) but at a cost, usually far higher than is comfortable. With some shows you are expected to provide your own plinths but there are spares available if you do not have any. 

- The publicity you will receive is significantly greater in scale as the organisers make their money from the entry tickets and they have a vested interest in bringing the crowds in. 

- The Private Views for these shows will bring in collectors, gallery owners, buyers, media, impressarios seeking to work collaboratively or to commission work, interior designers looking for products for their clients, overseas press, celebrities and VIPs from the art and craft worlds. 

As you ponder the above, you also need to think about whether you prefer to show exclusively in the company of other potters or if you prefer a mixed crowd. The dynamics of the two different shows can be harnessed depending on the kind of work you make and whether you tend to attract a niche audience (hence solely ceramics) or a generic one (mixed show). Having said that, you can always use shows to introduce a new body or work or a new direction you are taking in order to assess the audience reaction. 

Ask around your colleagues and contacts to find out from the exhibitor’s perspective what the shows are like. Ask about the sales, the turnout of visitors, the attitude of the organisers, the venue itself, how the private view went, why they are doing the show (or conversely why they have stopped doing them), who shows there and the quality of the work of the other exhibitors.

Applying for the show(s) 

Having selected your show, you now need to fill in the application. These days this is an online exercise, which has its advantages but can also be fraught with problems if you select the wrong image or have found you have mistyped something and then submitted it. So take your time and be very careful with the fields of the form, ensuring that you have read the terms and conditions or requests and have adhered to their rules. Once you are satisfied, take a deep breath, submit and sit back and wait.

The solo or gallery show 

At this point, it might be useful to introduce a variation of the preparation we have discussed thus far by looking at what happens when a gallery offers you a show either with a group or by yourself. Here are some high level guidelines to what happens. 

Generally speaking, the gallery will provide all the publicity and display material. They will discuss with you the work they would like you to show and deadlines for submitting the work so they can set up the show for the private view. You will be expected to provide information about yourself, typically an updated CV, an artist’s statement and high-resolution photos (see how important these images are!) for them to use to publicise the show. They will send out invitations to their private list of clients and you will be able to send your invitations to yours. A lot of our volunteers do solo shows by invitation and they all agree these points. 

- You should always communicate your progress with the gallery especially if you are working to a deadline 

- They are offering you a precious opportunity so the responsibility of delivering good work in time is entirely yours 

- Discuss layout of your pieces (pedestal/plinth/wall hanging/lighting/positioning) 

- Discuss pricing and commissions well in advance of the show 

- The whole objective is to ensure that as much work sells as possible. You need to make the best work you can and they need to present it as best they can to as many people as the show can attract. Partnership is crucial to a good result.

In the next instalment we consider what typically happens during the selection process for a show.

Reprinted with the kind permission of London Potters.

Showing Your Work - Part 1

Stages of Preparation

Our thanks to Norman Yap, editor of the London Potters Newsletter for allowing us to reproduce his series of articles on the subject of preparing for shows, including advice from some of London's seasoned exhibitors.

This series of six articles was published in NPA Magazine in 2017.  I hope that reprinting here will make them continuously accessible to those who need to refresh their memory.

James Oughtibridge at the Ceramic Art York, 2016. Photo by NPA

This article looks at the stages of preparing a body of work and getting your background work ready.

The body of work

The first important aspect of exhibiting is that you need a body of work that has visual and logical cohesion. It should work well either in terms of individual pieces or as a group: visually your work must attract eyes and hands. Once the viewer is engaged and looks around the rest of the pieces, they must be able to discern a theme or a bond that brings the body of work together.

Karen Bunting’s work is an excellent example. Her forms embellished with her trademark cobalt blue inlaid lines might be thrown or slab formed, so each piece is beautifully individual but when viewed as a group, the immediate response is to delve deeper and move that experience from the visual to the tactile.

Ali Tomlin is by contrast a dedicated thrower and a supreme one at that. Her previous life as a graphic designer is her secret to making pieces that delight the eye. When you pick up a piece, the smoothness of the sanded porcelain enhances your enjoyment and soon you’ll be reaching for your payment card. So in summary, prepare a body of work destined to attract attention, which works well on a standalone basis or as a group.

Even if the work looks like the pieces are too different, there is a solution. Lindy Barletta whose work falls into different categories –functional, one off pieces, thrown or slab built – explains. “I split the stand in two if I can, so it looks like two potters’ work”.

Karen Bunting provides more tips. “Think of a mini exhibition, if you make a range of different types of work, and think how best to show them together so it looks unified. It may be better to take only one sort of work to a show, too much variety can be confusing.”

Photographs

All the people interviewed named good quality images of their work as the single most important aspect of a good application. Karen Bunting advises that the selectors may never have seen the actual pieces and only have the images to go on. Ali Tomlin chooses a quiet and calm background and lighting to her distinctive work.

A great many potters know good photographers or are very capable and take their own images. A great many others use the services of a professional. Here in summary are some tips.

Ensure that the images show the work as realistically as possible while capturing the essence of the piece. If surface texture is a significant aspect, make sure the image invites you to touch it. If glazes (crystal, crackle or the like) are key to the identity of the piece, ensure that the lighting draws your attention to that.

As your work becomes more complex in its enjoyment, it demands more specialist or expert skills in manipulating the digital image to bring out the best in the piece. Professional photographers take multiple images with different exposures and lighting and then consolidate the images to achieve the best effect. They need you however to advise them on the final look of the image. Make sure you provide clear instructions, bringing sample photos if necessary to confirm the effect you are seeking. My favourite photographer likes to work with me as we exchange ideas and enjoy the creative discussions that arise from group and individual shots.

When the images are complete, make sure that you have the dimensions or technical specifications asked for by the organisers so your photographer can give you a set of images that comply. Ask the photographer to give you copies of them in high and low resolution versions, so you can use the latter for websites and less demanding contexts. It might also be good to ask for .jpg and.tif formats, the latter being a better format for the image if it needs to be printed.

So now you have a body of work and had it photographed and we still haven’t broached the subject of shows! We should delay this stage yet further for experienced makers will tell you that the next task is the next most important aspect of your identity.

The website

In our digital age, having a website is a fundamental necessity to assure show organisers and prospective buyers that you are a professional maker and a purchase of your work is an investment. If you already have a website that tracks the numbers, origin and patterns of browsing then you will know that visits to your pages rise when publicity of a show is released and that they come from all over the world. You will also see that certain pages are more alluring and others much less so.

In websites as in photography, makers vary in terms of literacy and competence so while some produce their own sites, others rely on professionals to produce what they want to project as a maker.

Whoever builds it, you should have a clear idea of what your website should look like. Generally speaking, the cleaner the pages the easier it is to navigate through them and there is less to distract from the images, which can take centre stage. Visitors to the site want to know about you as well as the pieces so don’t leave out details that make you an individual maker with a personality. Nor should you shy away from the technical aspects of how you make your pieces. These show your expertise and experience and make a more compelling reason to collect your work.

Use those images you have created to display your work to the world. Create pages to explain your practice, your background, your techniques and don’t forget a contact page with information on your studio and how to contact you. Credit your photographer if appropriate. You may want to consider including a list of colleagues and partner organisations/potters with their contact details or website links.

Then do not neglect the social networking sites. Use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and all the similar platforms to relay information about you and your work. Such administration takes a considerable amount of non-making time but do not discount or overlook it as we are now in a world that communicates this way.

The exceptions are very established makers who are represented by their gallery/galleries and have no need nor desire to have a site for themselves. Until you reach these lofty heights of fame, a website remains a means to explain yourself and your work to influential clients and decision makers so take the time, effort and if necessary the expense of this investment in your practice.

In the next article in the series, we look at shows and our interviewees explain which work best for them. We also look at more preparation including public indemnity insurance, how to put in a stunning application, how the selection process typically works and what to focus on if you are selected.

Reprinted with the kind permission of London Potters.

Baby Steps - Exhibiting While Inexperienced

Today’s Topic: What does it feel like to exhibit for the first time? 

“My first ever show came upon me by surprise.  I was challenged by a friend, I agreed without thinking too much.  Seemed like a good idea.  I would have been intimidated otherwise. For me, it was  necessary to prepare but also to keep the expense under control.”

This is a story that I hear often and it may It is an experience shared by many, however far you may have travelled since.

So, maybe there’s are more Potters out there who have questions on starting out...

What were my priorities?

• Make sure of the day, time and facilities (will you be stood in the rain?)
• Does the venue provide tables or any other supports?  If so, what size and how many?
• Most people cover their table with cloths.  My first were black weed suppressant, cut to size so as to hide the space below the tables, for storage and neatness.  
• Good sturdy boxes to transport the pieces and a folder for the paperwork.

I felt like a pioneer, an explorer of my own life, a scared but excited space traveller on my very first outing. I am a self taught potter and still finding my way.  I was talked into bringing my pots to show at the local Village Hall, where a number of other craftspeople and artists were exhibiting. It felt like a huge undertaking. At the time I didn’t belong to any group and felt very isolated and uncertain.

Many Potters come from a much better informed background, some with an awesome university degree in art, some with a teaching background, some with a familiarity with events of this kind.  Each personal experience is unique and all are valid and enriching.

My intense desire is to persuade you that your work is unique and your example valuable to others in the community. Your courage to open your work to viewing a source of strength and of information for future direction. We are social creatures, let’s be sociable!

I set out my work on the usual table on offer in the Village Hall. I remember being very critical of my own display, though I had made an effort, using black weed suppressant for a cloth and some very white pebbles from the garden centre scattered around the pieces. A little plant material from the garden sticking out of a tall pot...

All seemed to be going very well until someone asked if I had insurance. And business cards. And postcards with envelopes.  Panic.

The insurance is necessary and it may be risky to avoid it: Artists’ Newsletter (An) offer the necessary cover for a reasonable rate; (https://www.a-n.co.uk/news)

Business cards are a good way to publicise your work. I bought some blanks from a stationers’s to start with and printed my own.

As for all the other paper based goods on offer by so many colleagues, well, I decided that I am in the business of clay not paper.  To meet the argument that people like your work but don’t immediately want to invest a substantial sum on it,  I opted to make a quantity of small pieces with my mark and email on the back and offer them for a nominal sum. Personal decision...

Despite an amount of preparation, the day still seemed fraught with danger and challenge, excitement and doubt on the morning.  The actual experience was anything but.  I have always enjoyed the companionship of these events.  I was surprisingly grateful, not hurt or humiliated,  by feedback, curiosity and comment from visitors. And I immediately benefitted from the many pearls of wisdom other artists share freely about materials, resources and solutions.

So, GO FOR IT!

Next time I will move on to topics such as The Art Market, Social Media and Transporting, Packing, Planning your Space.