All About Ceramics

Open Studios Tips for the Artists by Trish Tunney

2010-04-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

What is Open Studios?

Open Studios is a unique event for artists to exhibit and sell their artwork directly to the public, inviting visitors into their studios and in many cases their homes. Unlike in a gallery, the artist can exhibit anything they want, as much as they want, the way they want, to create the atmosphere and truly showcase their vision to the outside world. Some Open Studios events encompass an entire city, like Artspan’s original San Francisco Open Studios which takes place every Fall. While other events focus on neighborhoods dense with artists, like Spring Open Studios in the Mission, SoMa or out at Hunters Point. An open studio can also be a single building, or a handful of artists that get together to throw their own the event. Whatever the scope, Open Studios is an excellent opportunity for artists and collectors as well as art fans looking for an inspired weekend.
Here are a few tips for the artist who may be getting started from the tenured artists who have been participating in Open Studios for years.

Build Your Following – The Guestbook

Getting the word out about your art takes time as does building a following. Open Studios is one of the best opportunities to build your mailing list. Meeting potential patrons, sharing your thought process and creative methods has the tendency to build loyalty in your customer base. They have to know you are there year after year, they will send friends and family, be sure to ask them to keep an eye on you and your work until the next open studios. Your guestbook should have columns for email and postal address. You can include a column for “comments” or “where did you hear about this show”. If the page is brand new, get a friend to add an entry in the format you’d like to see. People often follow the format of the first entry on the page.
I find a dish of chocolate near my guestbook can sometimes help folks find the book.

Promotion and Invitations

Postcards - Mail them Out and Hand Them Out
We all love electronic marketing. It’s free, no trees are killed, and we can do it in our pajamas. However, nothing takes the place of a physical card and face to face contact. I was a drummer in a surf rock band and learned from my guitar player the power of an invitation at the ready. He was never without a stack of fliers for our next show in his back pocket. He would invite everyone he knew and anyone who looked like they’d enjoy a punk show. He went to rock shows and invited everyone there as well. We weren’t extraordinary musicians, but we always played to a crowd.
I hand out between 100-200 cards before open studios. The rest are mailed to my mailing list. I don’t do a mailing for every show, but I always mail Open Studios postcards. Your art fans are most likely receiving postcards from other open studios artists so the impact of the whole event is much larger. You want them to have your studio and artwork in mind when they decide to visit their favorite artists. A quick hand written note on each (“hope to see you” or “excited about my new work”) helps convey your gratitude that they took the time to sign up on your mailing list.
And even if they don’t come to your studios, your card may spend a year on the fridge of your admirer. This is an excellent $.50 investment in your future relationship.
What's On Your Postcard and Email Invitation

A good image that represents your current body of work
your name
event date and year
event times
location including city
your website
a map if it’s difficult to find, parking or public transport tips if helpful
info or branding about the larger event (e.g. springopenstudios.com, mau logo, etc)

Electronic Marketing
Having an active online presence is important for any visual artist. If you are not already blogging or active on twitter, facebook, flickr, or any of the other social media sites, it can be overwhelming to even think about starting. Try to pick just one avenue that sounds like fun and endeavor to share something interesting about yourself, your artwork or art in general at least once a week. Get one of your geek friends to set you up with a blog. It’s free and surprisingly easy to update. Fresh content goes a long way to adding legitimacy to your online image.

Tips From Mission Artists

The Mission boasts more working artists than any other neighborhood in San Francisco. You may view a catalog of their work at missionartistsunited.org, a site dedicated to showcasing this fabulously diverse Arts District. I asked a handful of seasoned Mission artists to offer tips to artists considering participating in Open Studios.
“Be careful not to over stock your exhibition space with salon style displays of everything you've ever done.” – Robert Reed of Workspace Ltd.
"Remember to set your intentions to have fun for the weekend. Be proud of what you’ve created and have a good time.” -- dk haas, encaustic artist
“I always start by asking the visitor if they've seen lots of great art today, or if they're just getting started... Is this their first Open Studios? Or are they a regular? From SF or just visiting? I usually get a laugh if I ask "So, you look very creative, are you an artist as well?" - -Sevilla Granger, of 1890 Bryant Street Studios
"I always re-invent my space...making it into a mini gallery... sometimes the floor is black sometimes white - one time it said 'trust' 7 feet wide across the floor and I let everyone sign the floor with a sharpi..." -- Lucky, 17th Street Art Explosion
"fabulous snacks and a fancy looking wine bottle...and a fabulous outfit..." -- Aximillion Helga Duson, a Mission artist
“Since I work in a medium that is mysterious to many visitors I leave one work table set up and give casual demos. It's a great icebreaker and sure beats trying to explain a visual process in words only.” -- Charli Ornett, Encaustic Painter
"I greatly enjoy all the interesting conversations that happen on those days. I have the best time meeting new people. I also collect feedback and test out new work. My most important accessory is probably my email sign up sheet and I encourage everyone to sign up. I've done it since my first show and got a strong mailing list together that way." -- Katja Leibenath, 1890 Bryant
“Talk about anything besides your artwork at first. Ask people how their day is going or find out how they heard about Open Studios. Once you've engaged them, THEY will probably bring up the subject of your art.” -- Paul Morin, portrait artist

Open Studios Preparations Timeline

Holding an Open Studios event may seem like a daunting amount of work. Having a plan can really take some of the stress away from the preparation. With the stress gone, we can focus on what we do best as artists. Create something spectacular. Here’s a timeline that may help with your planning.
8 Months Before

Will you be advertising in a printed magazine or event catalog? Find early-bird specials.

6 Months Before

Are there registration deadlines for the event?
Any PR opportunities? Write an article or a press release.

3 Months Before

Consider any major changes you’d like to make to your studio. Open Studios is a great excuse to dream and manifest magic in your workspace.

2 Months Before

Gather Marketing Information
Has your artwork been imaged?

Are you showing with other artists?
Will you be marketing as a group or individually?
Will you be having a preview party Friday? What time?

Artwork Preparation
- Do you know what you’re going to show?
- Have you finished any work that may need to dry?
- Do you need to order any finishing or framing materials?

6 Weeks Before

Get postcard designed and printed early to avoid rush charges.
Go to art openings, talk to people. See if they know about Open Studios. Give them a postcard.

One Month Before

What’s left to get the artwork ready?
What’s left to get your studio ready?
Go to art openings, talk to people. Bring your postcards.
Email your list - Save the Date!
Go to First Thursdays downtown. Talk to people; see if they know about Open Studios. Give them a postcard.
Exchange postcards with your other artist friends. It’s nice to have a stack of other artist’s postcards in your studio to give to your visitors.
Mail your postcards to your mailing list.
Facebook, twitter, blog about it, etc.

Monday Before

Email your list - Invitation to Open Studios - include small jpg of your postcard

The Week Before

Finish, frame, paint walls, hang, clean and de-clutter.
Food, beverages, and flowers.
Invite your neighbors. If they’re not home, leave a postcard in their mailbox.
Don’t have a sandwich board? Make one!
Print bios, artist statements, pricelists, and labels.

Friday – Preview Party [optional]

Email your list - a reminder: “It’s this weekend!”
Twitter, blog or facebook pictures of your studio all set up and fancy-looking.
If you’re not holding a preview party, go visit the other studios in your neighborhood.

Saturday – Day One!

Go out for coffee in the morning and bring your postcards.
Sandwich board out front.
Arrange for a friend to relieve you during the day for a quick break. Don’t forget to eat!
Downtime? Twitter or facebook post about the day so far. If you’re too busy, awesome!

Sunday - Day Two!

Last day! Go out for coffee again and bring your postcards.
Arrange for a friend to relieve you during the day for a quick break.
Enjoy your guests. Breathe. Be brilliant.

The Week After

Email a thank you to the people who signed up on your mailing list.
Add new contacts to your main mailing list.
Make notes of what worked and what didn’t for your next Open Studios event.
Compile any data you may have gathered about how people heard about your Open Studios to use in planning your next marketing effort.
Start making more art!

Making Clay Modern

2010-04-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

Caroline Hannah Lecture "Making Clay Modern: The Decorated Pottery of Henry Varnum Poor" from GHPottery:
Making Clay Modern

THE ART OF TEA

2010-04-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

Great video from 9th WORLD ART EDUCATORS WORKSHOP

Kusakabe Cube Tea Bowl demonstration by Euan Craig and Masakazu Kusakabe, coordinated by Steve Tootell.
And if you will be in Tokyo May 29-June 6, 2010, Steve inviting everybody for his opening reception party at French Restaurant “5 Watts” just 3 doors up from the gallery. He hopes to create a street party atmosphere with great wine, great food and great pots, I wish I could be there!
His functional pottery was created during winter break and then fired in Mashiko in the Euan Craig wood kiln during spring break. For the first time Matsuyama Norinao-formulated glazes were fired in the Craig soda kiln and the results are spectacular. Pots for every day use, primarily bowls hence the title of the show: “Steve Tootell-Bowled-out in Mashiko” . The results from soda and reduction with ash from the wood fired kiln along with the introduction of igusa (tatami straw) have taken these Mashiko glazes to a new level.
Please take a look at Steve Tootel work at this link:
http://gallery.me.com/s.tootell#100194

The Journal of Modern Craft

2009-12-08T23:21:00.000-08:00

The Journal of Modern Craft offers academic perspectives on all aspects of craft within the condition of modernity, from the mid-19th century to the present day, without geographical or disciplinary boundary. The journal is published 3 times a year by Berg Publishers

Sergei Isupov

2009-12-08T23:01:00.000-08:00

Sergei Isupov's porcelain sculptures are figurative, surreal, and often autobiographical. Sometimes combining both animal and human aspects, Isupov's sculptures contrast detailed black and white renderings of people and hybrid animals with colorfully glazed sections.

Natalya Pinchuk

2009-12-08T22:43:00.000-08:00

"I am continuously enlivened by the roles adornment plays in mediating bodies within social interactions. Each time I become bored with this body of work or feel a bit silly about the pursuit, I encounter jolts of inspiration in the media drama of American sexual scandals surrounding conservatively clad politicians."

Natalya Pinchuk

A Gathering of the Tribes

2009-12-08T22:34:00.000-08:00

A Gathering of the Tribes is an arts and cultural organization dedicated to excellence in the arts from a diverse perspective. Located on the Lower East Side of New York City, Tribes has been in existence since 1991.

Rosemarie Benedikt

2009-12-02T22:36:00.000-08:00

Rosemarie Benedikt ceramic made my day!
Please, take a look at her joyful creatures.

2009-11-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

Great resource for ceramic on Etsy: Etsy Mud Team

Fong Choo, miniature teapots.

2009-11-12T16:26:00.000-08:00

Very interesting video from Fong Choo's workshop by the canderso

Be ready to spend some time, there are four volumes in real time videos, but it is worth watching them all. You will find great tips for working with porcelain.
Singapore-born american potter from Louisville, Kentucky, creates miniature sculptural teapots reminiscent of the Yixing style pottery, dating to the 14th Century.
I was so inspired by his work, that I made my own little porcelain teapots and here they are!

Workshop at Taiwan Ceramics Biennale

2009-11-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

Workshop by Chien-Chih WU at the Taiwan Ceramics Biennale 08.
Some of Linda Mau's student from De Anza have experimented using a similar technique for her sculpture. Of course we do not have 3D modeling software in our studio, but otherwise this video will be very helpful.
Chien-Chih's work depicts stages of a fall of an invisible water bottle. During this process, he captures the instantaneous dynamic states of a liquid in a closed vessel at different moments in time in order to reproduce the bottle's outer form. By this means he provides the viewers with another angle for seeing things.

WIND OF ZEN

2009-11-07T12:46:00.000-08:00

Presentation and workshop with Shoko Kazama

Shoko Kazama is the official calligrapher of Zen temple Kencho-ji in Kamakura, Japan. Kenchoji ranks first among Kamakura’s Five Great Zen temples and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan, dating back to 1253. This is Ms. Kazama's second exhibit/tour in the United States.

Saturday, November 14, 2009
2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
4:00 to 5:30 p.m.
(same event repeated twice)
Palo Alto Art Center

Studios A/B
1313 Newell Road
Palo Alto, CA, 94303
Free admission
Supported by the Consulate General of Japan
RSVP and questions to Yoriko Kishimoto at ykishimoto@earthlink.net.

2009-11-03T21:52:00.000-08:00

Every year in the middle of summer in a tiny village of Filimonovo near Tula the Polyana Ceramic Festival is held. Translated from Russian, "polyana" means meadow, and what a beautiful and peaceful place that is. But since the village doesn't get a lot of visitors throughout the year, there is not even a paved road that leads there. But in the good old days, nearly a century ago, Filimonovo was very famous for its potters. Today, Konstantin Kehadi, a local ceramic artist and the festival organizer, is trying to revive the old craftsmanship by bringing together potters from other ceramic centers across Russia and passing the love for traditional crafts to children. Picturesque meadow by the river glistening under the summer sun - one couldn't find a better place to meet old friends and learn about traditional Russian folk art.

Children are wedging clay for the pit kiln.

Old fashion pit kiln. Ceramic toys are piled on the metal grate (there are 4 chambers in the ground underneath for the airflow). Firewood will be stacked directly on top of the ceramics, and everything covered up with about 20 layers of paper soaked in the slip. Finally, the tall chimney will be build on top of the kiln. On the second picture Konstantin Kehady is unloading the kiln.

Filimonovo ceramic toys

Visit my Flickr. to see more photos.

Exhibition at Works, San Jose

2009-10-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

My sculpture "Ancient Fish" is on display at the Works Members Exhibition "All for One… "

Closing Reception is next week on November 6, 2009!