[Nelly]

TJR, on 24 July 2012 - 10:08 PM, said:

Nelly, on 24 July 2012 - 07:06 PM, said:

bciskepottery, on 24 July 2012 - 05:42 PM, said:

The quality control hammer strikes again . . .

Dear All,

My pile has just started as my studio is just under a year old. So far, I have simply been putting the shards in buckets. But I have been thinking about doing some sort of random garden edging with them. Not sure how this will work out but I am thinking it would work in the some way as river rock if I do them small enough. Not sure yet?? I have both bisque and glazed shards so I am not sure what I will do with them.

Here is another idea that I encountered at a studio I worked at in Manitoba. Once a year, at Christmas usually, all the potters donated their second to a Christmas sale. Kids were given the option to shop for their parents as this sale once per year. Mugs went for $1.00 for example. Really cheap prices that the kids could afford. Often these pieces had only slight dents or chips. Nothing drastic was wrong. Given that most of the potters were students no signatures or telling information was on the pot. Thus, it was a good system. As I recall, my mark at the time was the end of a pencil--the eraser head shoved into the foot. Somewhere out there there are mugs living in peoples homes (hopefully they are still there) will this no tell tell sign of the mark of the potter:) It was a great system. The small community really looked forward to it every year. They sold tickets and the kids lined up for the event.

Nelly

Nelly;
You are aware of course that I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I don't know this studio, but I will keep my eye out for your mugs.
TJR.

Dear TJR,

It was in Brandon. The art gallery studio. I wonder if it is still there??

Nelly

[Nelly]

Nelly, on 26 July 2012 - 02:25 PM, said:

TJR, on 24 July 2012 - 10:08 PM, said:

Nelly, on 24 July 2012 - 07:06 PM, said:

bciskepottery, on 24 July 2012 - 05:42 PM, said:

The quality control hammer strikes again . . .

Dear All,

My pile has just started as my studio is just under a year old. So far, I have simply been putting the shards in buckets. But I have been thinking about doing some sort of random garden edging with them. Not sure how this will work out but I am thinking it would work in the some way as river rock if I do them small enough. Not sure yet?? I have both bisque and glazed shards so I am not sure what I will do with them.

Here is another idea that I encountered at a studio I worked at in Manitoba. Once a year, at Christmas usually, all the potters donated their second to a Christmas sale. Kids were given the option to shop for their parents as this sale once per year. Mugs went for $1.00 for example. Really cheap prices that the kids could afford. Often these pieces had only slight dents or chips. Nothing drastic was wrong. Given that most of the potters were students no signatures or telling information was on the pot. Thus, it was a good system. As I recall, my mark at the time was the end of a pencil--the eraser head shoved into the foot. Somewhere out there there are mugs living in peoples homes (hopefully they are still there) will this no tell tell sign of the mark of the potter:) It was a great system. The small community really looked forward to it every year. They sold tickets and the kids lined up for the event.

Nelly

Nelly;
You are aware of course that I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I don't know this studio, but I will keep my eye out for your mugs.
TJR.

Dear TJR,

It was in Brandon. The art gallery studio. I wonder if it is still there??

Nelly

Dear All,

I forgot that another thing I have done in the past and forgive me if I have mentioned it before is to simply leave pieces where no-one expects to find them. For example, I have left vases. cups, plates etc. in the middle of a path or concrete street. Once I took some of my left over Christmas ornaments and put them under a tree in a shopping mall for anyone to pick them up. There was a busker close by at the time. I asked him to watch what happened when people made the discovery. Interestly he told me no-one picked them up. To this day I do not know where these pieces are but hope they are being used. Remember, I am not a big name potter as some of you.I am a hobbiest who has to ensure my supply does not get too overwhelming. I still use the eraser as my signature mark but also use my last name with glaze pencil from time to time. Sometimes I use a Chinese imprint piece with my name but all and all, I am not obsessed too much with my name being tarnished by the finding of these pieces. It is, in my mind, similar to the passing a long a book idea. You know, leave it for someone to ponder and discover.

Nelly

[nancylee]

I use my pieces for mosaics. I am making a mosaic around the door of my art cottage!
Nancy

[TJR]

JBaymore, on 24 July 2012 - 08:43 PM, said:

Nelly, on 24 July 2012 - 08:06 PM, said:

.............all the potters donated their second to a Christmas sale. Kids were given the option to shop for their parents as this sale once per year. Mugs went for $1.00 for example. Really cheap prices that the kids could afford.

Nice sentiment........ however in my opinion, if this is going to be done it should be done with first quality works....not seconds. Kids are the future of the world. Why teach them that second best is OK when it comes to artwork? When I do stuff with kids they get the same pieces that anyone else gets.......they just get them way cheaper.

best,

..........................john

Bingo!
When we send art materials to third world countries, we don't send our used pencil crayons, we send brand new sets.
TJR.

[TJR]

Nelly, on 26 July 2012 - 02:36 PM, said:

Nelly, on 26 July 2012 - 02:25 PM, said:

TJR, on 24 July 2012 - 10:08 PM, said:

Nelly, on 24 July 2012 - 07:06 PM, said:

bciskepottery, on 24 July 2012 - 05:42 PM, said:

The quality control hammer strikes again . . .

Dear All,

My pile has just started as my studio is just under a year old. So far, I have simply been putting the shards in buckets. But I have been thinking about doing some sort of random garden edging with them. Not sure how this will work out but I am thinking it would work in the some way as river rock if I do them small enough. Not sure yet?? I have both bisque and glazed shards so I am not sure what I will do with them.

Here is another idea that I encountered at a studio I worked at in Manitoba. Once a year, at Christmas usually, all the potters donated their second to a Christmas sale. Kids were given the option to shop for their parents as this sale once per year. Mugs went for $1.00 for example. Really cheap prices that the kids could afford. Often these pieces had only slight dents or chips. Nothing drastic was wrong. Given that most of the potters were students no signatures or telling information was on the pot. Thus, it was a good system. As I recall, my mark at the time was the end of a pencil--the eraser head shoved into the foot. Somewhere out there there are mugs living in peoples homes (hopefully they are still there) will this no tell tell sign of the mark of the potter:) It was a great system. The small community really looked forward to it every year. They sold tickets and the kids lined up for the event.

Nelly

Nelly;
You are aware of course that I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I don't know this studio, but I will keep my eye out for your mugs.
TJR.

Dear TJR,

It was in Brandon. The art gallery studio. I wonder if it is still there??

Nelly

Dear All,

I forgot that another thing I have done in the past and forgive me if I have mentioned it before is to simply leave pieces where no-one expects to find them. For example, I have left vases. cups, plates etc. in the middle of a path or concrete street. Once I took some of my left over Christmas ornaments and put them under a tree in a shopping mall for anyone to pick them up. There was a busker close by at the time. I asked him to watch what happened when people made the discovery. Interestly he told me no-one picked them up. To this day I do not know where these pieces are but hope they are being used. Remember, I am not a big name potter as some of you.I am a hobbiest who has to ensure my supply does not get too overwhelming. I still use the eraser as my signature mark but also use my last name with glaze pencil from time to time. Sometimes I use a Chinese imprint piece with my name but all and all, I am not obsessed too much with my name being tarnished by the finding of these pieces. It is, in my mind, similar to the passing a long a book idea. You know, leave it for someone to ponder and discover.

Nelly

THE NAME OF THE GALLERY IS ; THE ART GALLERY OF SOUTH WESTERN MANITOBA. IT IS A LONG WAY FROM WHERE I LIVE, BUT IS A GREAT GALLERY.
crap. Caps lock on again.
TJR

[spring]

Pretend I'm an Olympian and practice my shot put!

[Laurarose]

nancylee, on 26 July 2012 - 10:14 PM, said:

I use my pieces for mosaics. I am making a mosaic around the door of my art cottage!
Nancy

could you put a picture of it on here? I would love to see it.. Laurarose

[Surubee]

Many years ago, when I was just starting out, the method that was used to use to get rid of unwanted pottery was to toss it as far out into the nearby river as possible. I'm sure that there are many sub-standard pieces still out there, covered with silt, just waiting for some future archeologist to come along and rediscover these 'treasures'.

[foodie ceramics]

Carolyn Dorr, on 24 July 2012 - 07:48 AM, said:

You may sell seconds, you may not, but surely you don't sell "thirds".

What do you do with the pieces that just don't make it?

Do you smash 'em, trash 'em, bash 'em or stash 'em? Whether you destroy, recycle, or hoard, we want to see pictures--email them to editorial@ceramicsmonthly.org or attach the picture here.

Looking forward to seeing your pics and responses on what you do!!!

[foodie ceramics]

I break my oopsies into bits. My husband and son mix cement, adding Elmer's glue to their mix. I collect aluminum pie tins or buy them for a dime each at thrift stores. We pour the cement into the pie tins and top with broken ceramic. I have about 30 stepping stones in my garden punctuated with shards of color from god knows what went wrong.

[Idaho Potter]

There's an old joke about this.

A potential buyer asks a potter about the exhibited pottery: "So, do you throw all of your work?"

Potter: "Yes, and sometimes I throw them twice."

Buyer: "Twice? How is that possible?"

Potter: "All of them get thrown on the wheel. After they're fired, some of them get thrown off a cliff."


I didn't say it was a funny joke!


Shirley

[Erin Pfeifer]

Our editorial staff are putting together a short article about these "thirds" for an upcoming issue of Ceramics Monthly so if you have an image, send it our way!


Email photos to: editorial@ceramicsmonthly.org

[Lucille Oka]

I have decided to nip this in the bud as best as I can. I had examined some of my greenware, if it was too thick, if it was too thin, if the foot was too thick or the entire vessel was not really 'upto snuff', it has been broken for reclaiming and starting over; they have been busted up. Many of them were much too large for a test piece. I have decided it is better to do this while in the greenware state rather than after the permanency of the firing. By the way, I do this when my daughter is not around she freaks out. I was going to bust up one small vessel that just irks me and my daughter yelled, "NO!!" So I have kept it. But I still look at it from time to time with one eye closed.

[Pres]

Carolyn Dorr, on 24 July 2012 - 07:48 AM, said:

You may sell seconds, you may not, but surely you don't sell "thirds".

What do you do with the pieces that just don't make it?

Do you smash 'em, trash 'em, bash 'em or stash 'em? Whether you destroy, recycle, or hoard, we want to see pictures--email them to editorial@ceramicsmonthly.org or attach the picture here.

Looking forward to seeing your pics and responses on what you do!!!

Over the years, I have come to realize that what I have made in the past and sold, I would consider seconds today, actually they would not even be fired. A friend of mine that has been collecting chalices of mine for over 20 years showed me his collection a while back. I was rather embarrassed by the first of these, after seeing them. It brings to mind the questions-when is something a second, when should you decide to sell, how good do you need to be to sell? Will something from your early years come back to bite you even though at the time you might have been proud to have produced it? All a matter of relativity.

[JBaymore]

I think there is a difference between "seconds" and "thirds" and what might be called "subs".

To me a "second" is a perfectly good piece aesthetically that has some sort of technical imperfection that renders it non-saleable. A "third" is an instant "smash in the shard pile" piece due to significant technical or aesthetic insufficiency.

To me, a "sub" is a technically sound and OK piece that is aesthetically below my CURRENT standards. One that "should not have been born". Yeah,.... we all screw up from time to time! Subs head right to the shard pit too.

In my philosophy, eelling seconds is not a good way to make a career. Seconds are OK for commodities..... not so good for artwork

While older work may not be up to current aesthetic standards...... it was the best of the objects at the time. Looking back with the current eye... they would be "subs". But back then... they were the best of the objects made. Yeah... they can be enbarrasing when you look back at them.... but they mark the development of the artist over time.

HOPEFULLY there is an obvious progression there over the years in skill of execution as well as aesthetic merit! If not, well..... you've got some other issues to address.

best,

.................john

[Lucille Oka]

JBaymore, on 11 September 2012 - 08:01 AM, said:

.........While older work may not be up to current aesthetic standards...... it was the best of the objects at the time. Looking back with the current eye... they would be "subs". But back then... they were the best of the objects made. Yeah... they can be enbarrasing when you look back at them.... but they mark the development of the artist over time.

HOPEFULLY there is an obvious progression there over the years in skill of execution as well as aesthetic merit! If not, well..... you've got some other issues to address.

best,

.................john

This is assuming all things remain the same. If you change the clay building techniques, and the clay body is not being used in the way your use to, and your designs have been changed then any of these factors can reveal the rudimentary skills that have yet to be developed for the new techniques.

Vessels that are being produced in new techniques are ok to keep for a while (unfired) and if the work continues in a new technique your skills will increase; you will know when you have a keeper.

[JBaymore]

Lucille Oka, on 11 September 2012 - 01:28 PM, said:

This is assuming all things remain the same. If you change the clay building techniques, and the clay body is not being used in the way your use to, and your designs have been changed then any of these factors can reveal the rudimentary skills that have yet to be developed for the new techniques.

Personally I am talking about work that "makes its way into the world" here. As in gets sold or given to people in response to Pres's thoughts. If you are making "techincal" changes to your work like you describe... hopefully your aesthetic standards have developed such that you would not decide to release any of that stuff until both aesthetic as well as technical standards are up to the previous level of your work.

To do otherwise would be a severe detriment to your career.

Work in progress on the shelves in the studio....... if it is a "sub" or a 2nd...... poof... its gone. Til it "makes the grade" commensurate with the prior bodies of work you've been doing .... it is not formally shown.

best,

...............john

[Pres]

JBaymore, on 11 September 2012 - 12:58 PM, said:

Lucille Oka, on 11 September 2012 - 01:28 PM, said:

This is assuming all things remain the same. If you change the clay building techniques, and the clay body is not being used in the way your use to, and your designs have been changed then any of these factors can reveal the rudimentary skills that have yet to be developed for the new techniques.

Personally I am talking about work that "makes its way into the world" here. As in gets sold or given to people in response to Pres's thoughts. If you are making "techincal" changes to your work like you describe... hopefully your aesthetic standards have developed such that you would not decide to release any of that stuff until both aesthetic as well as technical standards are up to the previous level of your work.

To do otherwise would be a severe detriment to your career.

Work in progress on the shelves in the studio....... if it is a "sub" or a 2nd...... poof... its gone. Til it "makes the grade" commensurate with the prior bodies of work you've been doing .... it is not formally shown.

best,

...............john

These days, a work in progress that doesn't work out, no matter how many hours are into it, just doesn't get fired. It may sit around for a while, til I figure out what went wrong, but then it gets slopped. Hmmmm, I guess that is one of the benefits of being retired, its my time, no money involved.

[Lucille Oka]

With age and longevity comes discernment. I am no longer eager to commit pieces to the fire. Now it must be exceptionally beautiful.
As a new potter I said, “Oh wow, look at what I made!!!”

As an older potter I say, “I made that?? Wait, let me try that again.”