Handmade vs Limited Production

Molly Hatch mugs from Anthropologie.
I got the green one hanging to the left!

As GLAM (more about what this is in a minute) approaches and the sense of urgency requires participants to create with a production-style mentality, I find myself thinking about the balance between mass production and handmade objects. Oddly enough, last week I recieved an early birthday present that seemed to crystalize the argument. The present was a mug from Anthropologie designed by Molly Hatch. Who, in case you don't know, is pretty awesome. I mean talk about dream job! This cup represents a huge achievement for her and a rather distant feeling goal for me, not totally out of reach but very very far away......I realized that my admiration for her accomplishment also meant something about me and my relationship to mass production. I think that it is a complicated thing to navigate for artists. I want my designs to be recognized and admired, I want to be able to support myself through my work, but I also feel that making things in huge quantities lowers the value of the work overall. So now I find myself wondering if I still truly feel that making things en masse, and the financial benefits that it would bring, would make my work any less personal or significant to me. And if it doesn't change anything to me, do I even care if it makes it less valuable to the art world at large?  As I sit here holding this object that has startled my world view into re-visioning itself, it doesn't really seem all that bad. Maybe mass production on a limited scale is alright. I mean who doesn't like thinking that something they designed is in thousands of homes throughout out the world, I think that's pretty cool.

And back to GLAM, which is Gainesville's local indie artist's market. Held once a year before the holidays. This year it is December 4th (also, my birthday!) 12pm-5pm. Check out their website here. 

*poof*gone

Today I had to deal with one of the most frustrating and enlightening aspects of making pottery, the unforeseen catastrophe. A beautiful little coffee pot had its bottom blow out in the bisque. I don't remember that exact thing ever happening before, but it was a big, sad, surprise. I'm assuming it was an air bubble that I didn't catch, but wow, what a lot of work *poof* gone. I guess, based on my level of dismay when I found it, that I must really like what I'm making right now. Which, if you look at it from another perspective, is actually pretty cool. I'll probably still glaze the piece just for kicks....

November 2011

So my pottery show was a huge success. Thank you to all my friends and family who put up with me during the week leading up to that. I got to leave my show up an extra month as well. A friend of mine also asked me to exhibit in his gallery for the month of November which is great. The gallery is called Circle Square, they kindly made all my display shelves for the show as well, find it here!

Right now I'm working on two projects. The first is the GLAM show that C&B Designs is in this holiday season, coming up on December 4th. We're super excited about getting to do a little holiday shopping for ourselves while we're there. Check out GLAMs of the past here. 

The second project is my Etsy page which should be up and running soon! I'm a little nervous about it especially because timeliness is not my strongest suit, but ultimately I think it will be an extremely positive thing for every one involved. 

Finally I would like to leave you with some pictures of work by an artist that I have just become familiar with ( don't know how I haven't seen her work before). Her name is Gwendolyn Yoppolo. She has an amazing ability to create super organic forms (inspired by images from a scanning electron microscope no less!), and pair them with super streamlined precise functional parts in the same pot. The combination of two seem almost mystical to me. Check the pictures out below and enjoy!