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.

The Dark Arts of Exhibiting your Ceramics

(Above Top, Bottles and Container by David Wright; Below, Making Waves, Olinda Everett)

WHAT IS THIS BLOG ABOUT?

This is the first of a series of blog posts aiming at those who are starting out exhibiting their ceramics. It is planned as a live, developing, continually accessible resource for all.

I express my views and opinions and not a universal truth, but I will try to make blog titles explicit so that themes are easy to find and edit.

If you are experienced, maybe you will find some of it obvious, maybe you disagree, maybe you have better and more creative solutions.  If that is the case, please give us feedback.  We are eager to edit and improve this resource over time and build it into a useful point of reference.

IMPORTANT: DISCLAIMER

The editors will try to credit everyone whose contribution has been used;  the contents of this blog is intended as guidelines only and this information is bring published in good faith; therefore, the editors clearly and firmly reject any responsibility for loss or damage linked to the advice/opinion here published.  So, in other words, if you are consulting these pages, think carefully about your own situation and know that you are responsible for the outcome of your decisions.


STARTING AT THE BEGINNING

Setting out on a journey...

When I first thought about making ceramics, uppermost in my mind was learning, sourcing, finding suppliers, organising my space...

And then, little by little, the mud bug took hold and I started on that journey of finding out what I really would love to make...

Very soon, the idea of showing off started to surface and eventually it became important to find ways of showing my work.

Each potter has a personal set of ambitions and an individual way of driving towards those goals.  It may be that you perceive your work as having to fulfil certain criteria: it is not unusual to hear potters say, "My work has to have integrity.  A container has to work as a container"; or "I will never be caught making a pot!" or "Ceramics are to be used, to eat from, to drink from and to store things in" "My ceramics are about delivering my deeply felt message: I use it to promote a cause". And so on endlessly.

Whatever your belief, there is always the need to share, display, sell... and there are countless ways of doing that.

BABY STEPS

Maybe like me you started by sharing a table top sale on May Day in your local Village fundraiser.  Maybe your vision of yourself as a maker of fabulous table top wares you tried a Food and Drink Fair.  Maybe you found the perfect gallery for your artwork.

Whatever you do, you need to consider the way to present and deliver your work to he point of sale.

We will start in the next post looking at the various exhibiting options available and finding a good fit for your work.