Hey Mr. Kotter....

view from the dining hallI just returned from spending a week at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina.  I had the opportunity to be a visiting artist during Kathy King’s Spring Concentration.  While I was only there for a week, Kathy’s students were lucky enough to be staying for eight weeks in this inspirational place.  During their concentration, the students will be hearing lectures, seeing slides and watching demos that focus on the history of ceramics.  They will also be touring artists’ studios and visiting area galleries which feature ceramic art. 

The opportunity to be immersed in this studio environment up on a mountain while having all your meals prepared for you is pretty incredible and I was feeling a bit envious that I was not a student in this class.  I have taken a workshop at Penland before and had such a great time that I literally cried when I pulled into my driveway at the end of the two-week workshop.  It was a fantastic experience.

the pines dining hall
While I enjoyed my time last week demonstrating and participating in discussions about professional practices, after it was over, I felt a big sad.  I thought how different my experience as a student and my experience as an instructor had been. Yes, it was a great opportunity.  Yes, all my meals were prepared for me too.  Yes, the students were fun and I had a great time working with them.  But I wanted inspiration too.  I wanted an opportunity for my studio practice to grow. 

And so on the last night I returned to my room a little sorry to pack up my stuff.  I put in a David Sedaris book on tape.  I got out my journal and a funny thing happened.  Ideas just started flowing and I started sketching.  I stopped listening to David and filled up five pages with ideas for new work.  Where had this inspiration come from?  I had been teaching all week.  How did this happen? 

There is just something about being in a place where everyone “gets” what you do.  How often do I get a chance to take a break from my life, from the news, from my meetings, my dog, my house and studio and just “be”?  Student or teacher, I was still immersed in art and craft.  I was surrounded by makers and people who support makers.  I ate, I danced, I walked up some serious hills, I saw some amazing ceramic art, I talked with great people and I drank a lot of Gingeraid.  I connected.  In short, I was inspired.  Teacher or student, it really makes no difference.  We are the same.

view from upper clay studio

Marketing 101 Julie Style

my new Justin Rothshank mug!

Someone recently told me that I am really good at marketing and promoting my work.  This is nice to hear since I’ve never really considered myself to be good at this.  I can promote the hell out of someone else but when it comes to my own work it is a bit more challenging.  I was raised in the Midwest in a culture where it is considered impolite to talk about yourself and when you do, it is called “bragging”.  So when I started my business 2 ½ years ago I had to re-program my thoughts about shameless self-promotion, the first being there is no shame in it at all.

Here are the most important things that I have learned

1.  Be authentic. 

Know who you are and what you stand for. When I was growing up I was always the girl who mediated arguments between friends and gave advice when asked, (and I was asked a lot).  If a friend liked a boy, I was sent over to negotiate their “going steady” since I was the quiet girl who had good judgment.  In high school I hung around with a group of 10 girls and I was the one who said, “For the record, I really don’t think we should do this.”  I was the voice of reason.

In short, I am the glue.  When my friends started Lucy & Leo’s Cupcakery and they found the perfect location but were concerned about the rent for a start-up business, I introduced them to my friends at Textures Handmade Market who were looking to move their established business to a new location.  They have now been in business for the past 2 ½  years while sharing a space and rent together and becoming super successful.  Glue.

2.  Build relationships.

So, how does this character trait of being the glue help me in my own marketing and promoting?  Well, my business coach, Elizabeth Barbour says we should think of networking as “relationship building”.  In building relationships by being my authentic self, I am promoting my work without even trying.  Luckily, I love meeting new people and I also love helping people out with whatever I can.  If this comes back to me in the form of a sale, that’s great.  If it doesn’t, who cares because I love to be the glue and being the glue leads me back to #1. 

3.  Surround yourself with good people.

I am choosing to spend my time with people who support me and have my best interests in mind.  This doesn’t mean they tell me what I want to hear but they do listen to me and offer suggestions and really get excited about my successes and share in my disappointments.  I am not interested in competition but I am interested in sharing and if this is you, I would like to go back to #2 and build a relationship with you.

4. Channeling my perfect customer. 

If you are not a good human being, please don’t buy my work.  I said it.  I want my work to be out there in the world bringing beauty into your home and helping you to put healthy food into your body.  (and if you occasionally eat a Five Guys burger, I’m right there with you)  But my authentic self doesn’t want to deal with you if you are not spending your time putting good out there yourself.  Because if you’re not a good person I cannot have you in my space and I certainly cannot build a relationship with you. (see #2 and #3)

My friend and potter Justin Rothshank fits all of these criteria.  He recently told me that he gives away as many mugs as he sells.  Does he do this as a marketing ploy?  No, he loves giving gifts to his friends and people he meets.  If someone sees one of his mugs in the world and likes it and buys it then that is great but his authentic motivation is the act of giving.  Knowing Justin and building a relationship with him makes me want to promote him and his work and in turn I know that he will do the same for me.  Because he is pretty freaking awesome!  And I only surround myself with awesome people.  And that lovely human being just sent me a Justin Rothshank Lincoln mug that I’ve been coveting for years!  Which means one of my cups will soon be in the mail on it’s way to him. 

And this folks, is how the world should work.  

Feels like the first time (I attended Arrowmont)

Ceramic Surface Forum I crew

Yesterday I had this feeling like I was running even though I was sitting still.  There was a buzz around me and occasionally I felt like I might either burst into tears or spontaneously combust.  It was a distant, familiar feeling that I couldn’t quite place until I figured out when I had felt it before.  It was the same feeling I had upon my return from Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts 13 years ago after taking my first workshop.

The first time I discovered Arrowmont I was in a difficult period of my life.  My father had passed away the year before, I was dating someone who was all wrong for me and I had a job that was sucking the life out of me.  I came home from that first workshop in Tennessee and gave six months notice at my job so that they could find a replacement and I could formulate a plan.  My goal was to re-focus my life on making art and I was willing to give up a salary and health insurance in order to make this happen. 

My boyfriend’s parents were not thrilled. They said, “What are you going to do, go work at McDonalds?”  Smiling, I said, “Well, yes if I have to.”  So I left the boyfriend behind and got myself a job at a health club where I worked the front desk from 5-8 a.m. and then drove the half hour to substitute teach from 8:30-3:30.  This allowed me my evenings and weekends for art making.  I turned my living room into a studio and began selling my artwork at the local farmer’s market.  These meager sales allowed me to save enough money to attend workshops at Arrowmont about every two years.

Fast-forward to January 2012 when I attended Arrowmont for the sixth time but this time I was invited along with several other ceramic artists, not as a student but as a peer for the first Ceramic Surface Forum.  It was a full circle moment, working alongside people I have admired and respected in the field of ceramics for a number of years. At times I was paralyzed when I saw the talent in that studio but now that I’m home, I am buzzing again.  Armed with inspiration, fresh ideas, new friends and a sense that I officially belong in my field.

Attending Arrowmont has truly been a life-altering experience for me, not only because I re-discovered my need to create, but because this need led me to quit my full time job all those years ago.  Back when I was working at the health club I met a woman who befriended me and one day she said, “I think you should meet a friend of mine.”  That friend of hers turned out to be my husband, the most wonderful man in the world who loves that I am passionate about making art.

Thanks Arrowmont for all that you bring to the world.

Julie