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.
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| 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.
