Holiday Open house update.

Been distracted lately, or busy not sure which.  With the upcoming Holiday Open House in December we decided we needed to refresh the studio/gallery/basement before too many people saw it.  I mean we have had a few people over to purchase pieces, but it was not pretty with the holes in the walls, dingy lighting. 

Well we started by recycling some old barn siding from my Grandparents barn that was torn down about 20 years ago to give a real rustic feel to the wall separating the kids area and the studio.  Gives it a separate feel.  I got the idea from the recent home builders parade of homes, and it was used in a very high end home that was the feature home this year.

I then put us white masonite on one wall in the studio behind the drying / slab rolling table.  Its not that this wall got that dirty, but there were several holes in the drywall, and this way it will be easy to clean.

In the actual gallery area, we moved all the pieces out, and then the shelving, repaired one wall and covered the others with drywall, so instead of looking at framing studs there will be a wall.  It already looks better, and it is only mudded, no paint yet.  Speaking of paint....found plenty at the reuse store for free!  Once the walls are ready, i'll prime and start painting. and get everyting back to normal.  Since we realized we need more pots for winter.

Our gallery in Bemidji, MN nearly ran out of pieces, so we sent a shipment this week.  I am happy to report for the 1st time everything arrived as it was shipped no breakage.  We switched to Fed Ex, not only less expensive, but higher survival rate.

We do have a shipment ready for Piper Gallery here in Sioux Falls, so be checking there soon for fresh inventory.

saggar firing 9-20-11

This week worked on getting a quick firing for the piece I was planning on using for the Paint the Night Pink event here in Sioux Falls.  The deadline is this Friday.  the 20" platter/low bowl turned out AWESOME, it did exactly what I wanted it to do.  Got it home and washed up with all the others so I could start sealing today so I can photograph it and write an blurb about.  When done today and there was a chip in the rim!  I don't think I did it, and the kids were not in the studio, I blame the cat.  She has been hiding down there a little too much lately.  Anyhow, I have other pieces for the benefit, and Kiesha will get another broken piece for her wall.

Sidewalk Arts

Could not have asked for a more beautiful day for the Sidewalk Arts Festival in our "hometown" of Sioux Falls.  Sales were roughly double last year, had two different sales of mulitple (3) pieces each.  WoW, I believe it was the addition of accepting credit cards.  Thank you Sioux Falls.

The frames tiles did not get touched much, one got petted a couple times, but that was it.  Not nearly the reception they recieved in Luverne two weeks ago. alas back to the crate.

As the weather gets cooler, kids are back in school, getting back to regular sleep schedule, I now find myself with time to play on the wheel again.  Will have roughly 1-2 days per week , plus some odd times here and there.  This week spun 50#, I realize it not much, but that is more then I threw in the month of June, July, and August combined.

Next on the horizon for us is the annual Paint the Night Pink event, which is a benefit for Breast Cancer research, I need to let them know next week what pieces we will have there, we give 50% of the retail price to the cause.  The same day we have the kids raku workshop at our youngests school, which I just spun all the pencil cups they will be firing.

Have no updates on the two winter/indoor shows, but still working on having our holiday open house.  currently scheduled for Dec 10th, but that may change.

popularity of old work

It was very odd last weekend at ArtRocks and I have been thinking about it all week.  The pieces that created the most buzz and got "petted" the most were from a couple years ago.  They were foil saggar'd tiles in wide wood frames I had made from scrap wood.  Even a couple of fellow artisans who see at many festivals over the summer commented on them.  I had these in a box for the last year or more, never even crossed my mind to grab them, but I did for ArtRocks to save space.

I will bring them again next weekend(Sept 10) to Sidewalk Arts, but it was just odd how pieces from a few years back, and didn't go over very well then, made and impact now.  Here is a photo of a group of them.

I remember reading a post on Ceramic Arts Daily from Chris Campbell regarding the sensation of people asking for her old work.  I guess I know what she meant, not that I totally understand it.

Also its that time of year to look at expanding our gallery representation, which is something i've neglected over the past year or so.  We would like to keep within a 4-6 hr radius from Sioux Falls, but may consider elsewhere.  So if you know a gallery looking, or would like to see our work locally where you live, help me make a connection.

ArtRocks

Another year is done, and finished. Wanted to thank all the people behind the festival. The Artist reception was great, I noticed much more advertising this year. Crowds were light, so artists were never overwhelmed in their booths, but there were serious buyers in the crowd.

This year I personally scored a couple great pieces of artwork to adorn my studio walls. (at least when I have walls) One print from Jennifer White, and a couple small canvases from Chris Francis. Speaking of Chris if you are in Sioux Falls this weekend, he has an opening at Eastbank on Friday, His work is fabulous.

As for the update regarding credit cards, less then 20% of the sales from the weekend were on plastic. Doesn't help the Pro credit side.

Two weeks to Sidewalk Arts, and I'm already preparing.

Updates

ARTROCKS in Luverne, MN is a few days away. Not nearly are ready as I'd like to be. Don't worry it will all work out. I realized last week we had thrown away all our shredded paper we pack the piece in for shows since it was sopping wet. My 3 junior assistants did not have time to shred with all the final getting ready for school stuff. Still have not replaced my literature holders, that will be done tonight hopefully during my sons football practice.

Also we are upgrading vehicles, hoping to find one that can haul kids plus hockey bags, or kids plus show booth, is all wheel drive or 4 wheel drive, is not a tin can, and a few other bells and whistle may good. Our 1994 transport, has served its purpose, but it needs to be moved out our mechanic's assisted living program. Once the replacement vehicle is here I will be able to better judge what i need to pack for the show.

Anyway, ARTROCKS is this Saturday, it is a Awesome little show, its our 4th year here. I heard this year is heavy on the pottery, which I enjoy, wondering around and seeing what else is out there. I will be bringing a piece that is near and dear to my heart. I have used the piece for many photos and festival entry forms, but now it time to move it on out. This will be the 1st show it will be out at. Come check it out.

Google +

Was invited to join Google + this last week. I joined. Has some nice features, but I cannot see it ousting facebook or twitter. I am in a couple circles, and basically it is 2 people who fill up my wall. The others that are on it that I know and have circled haven't posted anything.

Does anyone have any experience or feelings toward Google+? I am still surprised by Linkedin and the number of people I know on there and am connecting with, so my feelings on Google + are still in the air.

If you want to find me on google+ we are listed as up in smoke pottery

If you want to find me on Linkedin it is Chad Dykstra.

Holiday Show

It is August, our typical show seasons wraps up in 6 weeks. We have not found a winter/holiday show falls in line with our goals. there is one that is relentlessly badgering us to pay the $300-$400 to partake in theirs. I gone as a customer, I would never make the money back. We are looking at one in a new market, but waiting for a little more, we may do it just to have a show to do.

Which has led us to do our own holiday open house/ open studio. For those of you on FB you are getting this twice since this will post to the FB account as well, but for those in webland, if you'd be so kind to offer your input as to the hours we should be open.

The poll has been up for a couple hours and have gotten great feedback, much different then we expected. And a few great messages/IM/ comments/ emails on the subject.

Thank you in advance for your input.

professional potter?

Last night, I thought occurred to me that I may have met one of my life goals, on a technicality. For about the last 20 years, I have always said I wanted to be a professional potter when I grow up. Thinking back to the definition of professional in terms of athletics, you were considered a professional when someone paid you to do it. Well I have sold pots for over 3 years now, someone is paying me for my work. I guess by definition I am a professional and have met my goal.

The technicality comes in, when I said that goal, i always meant that would be my profession, and I supported my family on that profession. I never stated the goal was to be a self sufficient potter, just a professional potter.

I don't feel like a professional. What does a professional potter feel like? I know I have people come to me for help with their pottery. Our website is doing well, even thought the search engines ignore it, (i'm working on it). I have been taking more and more custom orders for stoneware, a technique I'm don't do regularly.

I know when I was a manager of restaurants, I considered myself a professional and many of the same things applied. Was it that I reported to someone and they told me I was a professional? Or did I just act the role of the professional because of the title?

In my current night/day job the infamous W2, I am regarded as a professional. Once again not sure it is because someone told me I was or the prestige of a title. I do enjoy my W2 job, it is very satisfying knowing you did make a difference or an impact nearly everyday. On the other side, I have found out things and learned things about people I can never forget and somethings are better to be naive about.

I know I now need to amend the goal. It just feels weird to put professional pottery behind my name. I realize by definition I have obtained that right, but not certain if it appropriate yet.

Website

totally rewrote the home page and working on redoing some of the others. The processes page has been changed to an overview of atmospheric firing , the sub page of pit firing has been re written with lots more detail, and more detail to come, the education and contact have been separated. I will add a book list and links as well as a description of each of the work shops.

Anything you'd like to see? let me know.

Anyway, tomorrow is the trip to Omaha with a few platters and our "Sun." I'm withholding pics until after the show opens. For those of you who were in Bemidji, you got to see it's sister piece in our booth, it received several compliments, but the real sun didn't shine long enough for anyone to take our home with them.

Still mentally hashing out studio redesign...do I us money to make the studio pretty, or do i use it to make the antechamber look better for the open house....still have to think on that one.