view from the dining hall

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

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.  

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

first cups for Take Out Project

No, I'm not suggesting you order a pizza for Christmas or have your holiday dinner delivered in little paper cartons.  Just the opposite.  In 2012 I will be launching Take Out Project, a way to build community through handmade ceramics.  This project will be a way to ask people to slow down and be more conscious about what they put into their bodies and to think about the vessels that hold that nourishment as it sits on the table or is cradled in your hand.  You can read more about the project and sign up for our newsletter here.

Several people will be participating in a small trial run of the Take Out Project over the holidays.  In the next few days I will be delivering platters, cake stands and cups to people in the community to use at their holiday gatherings.  I have created a Facebook page for the project so you can stay informed and see what we are doing in the community.  Please LIKE our page and share with your friends.  We will soon be putting together a fundraising campaign and we would love for you to be a part of our community project.  If you would like to help by becoming a volunteer, please send me a message.  We appreciate your support and hope you have a wonderful holiday season!!

Julie

It’s that time of year again.  The holidays are upon us already.  I spent most of Thanksgiving weekend finishing up the last batch of work for my annual Open Studio & Sale.  Everything has been bisque fired and I’m ready to glaze (then fire again) and decal (then fire again).  Then the house has to be cleaned, the yard work done, poinsettias purchased, cookies baked, cider mulled, and sigh, we’re ready!

I can’t help but panic thinking that I don’t have enough work ready.  I’m not sure where the year has gone and today I had to look back at the goals I set for myself for 2011 to see what has been accomplished. 

1.  Design new work.  Well, this definitely took longer than I had anticipated and I’m still working out some bugs. Just today, I took two pieces out of the kiln that had major cracks so it’s back to the drawing board once again.  All in all, I’m really happy with the direction my work has taken although each time I come up with an idea, it seems to add on time and labor and difficulty instead of making my life easier.  I guess the goal wasn't to “design easier work”.

2.  Apply and get into three large craft fairs.  Done.  In 2011 I traveled to Chicago, Austin and Atlanta and met lots of great people, got some good feedback and sold lots of pots.  I also ate a ton of good food but that’s just a bonus.

3.  Get my online shop up and running.  This was accomplished but next year the shop needs much more of my attention and shop maintenance needs to be added to this goal. 

Add these business goals to my personal goals and I’d say it’s been a busy year.  So I’m not going to feel guilty about not having enough product at this year’s Open Studio & Sale.  I am going to bask in the glory of sharing my home and studio with my best customers.  I am going to be excited to tell my local community what I have in store for next year: starting a ceramics lending program that builds community, expanding one line of work into a separate business, and potentially hiring a part-time employee in addition to my intern. Look out 2012!

Yes, you could use it as a pencil jar.  You could put your make-up brushes in it.  But why do we need to come up with another use for a cup?  I think we are so used to buying things in multiples or sets that we just can’t fathom owning a one-of-a-kind cup and actually drinking out of it. 

Personally, I LOVE taking my afternoon break with my Birdie Boone mug (my new favorite) and some hot tea.  It is a lovely ritual and even though I am alone since I work from home, why not treat myself to a moment with something that tastes good, nourishes my body and feels good in my hand.  Plus, I just love looking at that cup and trying to figure it out (but that’s probably just the ceramic artist in me).

When you are at your office you don’t need a whole set of cups to drink your coffee.  Just one beautiful handmade cup will do.  And I guarantee it will make you feel better about your workday when you wrap your hand around it.  No one else will have the same cup.  I promise it will make you feel special.   

In case you’re in the market for a new cup, there are two cup shows opening online this week.  They are both fantastic.  Cup:  The Intimate Object VII will go live Monday, October 31^st at Midnight at Charlie Cummings Gallery.   Interpreting the Cup:  Process, Influence and Intent, curated by my friend Jason Bige Burnett, is opening at Crimson Laurel Gallery November 5^th and runs through December 31^st.  I will tell you that both of these shows will sell fast so go immediately and look at all the fabulous cups that are being made by some really talented ceramic artists.  I have my eye on a Gwendolyn Yoppolo, or a Deborah Schwartzkoph or ……hmmm...it'll be really hard to decide.

birdie boone mug with kari radasch plate and cookies by my friend beccasee more of Kari Radasch's work here.

Austin unpacking Take Out Project's first cups at Green Peridot Salon.

I am so excited to announce the very beginning rumblings of something new I’m working on.  The Take Out Project is a ceramic sharing program that makes it’s debut today at Green Peridot Salon right here in Tallahassee.  Green Peridot Salon always makes their clients comfortable by offering tea or water to drink while they are enjoying their salon experience.  For the next two months, their clients will experience drinking out of handmade ceramic cups. 

I designed these cups specifically for the salon.  They are a shorter version of my tumblers (I call them Stumblers).  I thought they would be less likely to get knocked over by dryer and flatiron cords.  Although I have spent the last couple of weeks making these cups myself, I hope to have national ceramic artists participate in future Take Out Project events. 

More info coming soon about Take Out Project.  Stay tuned….

Step One (printing on the slab)

Step Two (forming the cups)

Step Three (adding the bottoms)

Finished!!

Yep, that’s right.  I have an intern.  Last year in my university ceramics classes a lot of students were asking me questions about pricing their work, maintaining a studio after graduation, marketing and promoting.   I knew that the art department already had an internship program set up with a focus on linking students with Graphic Design companies in the community and I thought, “Why not have art students work with Fine artists in the community as well?”  

Ask and you shall receive.  Kaylee was a student of mine at Florida State for two semesters so we already have a general idea about how each of us functions in the world, which is a plus.  She knows that I’m a somewhat dorky, rigid planner whose house is generally pretty cluttered. (Kaylee also did some house-sitting for me this summer)  And I know that Kaylee is a responsible, soft-spoken, funny, tolerant person who shows up on time, doesn’t complain and loves monotonous activities. 

So far, those monotonous activities that Kaylee has performed are:  entering 120 new e-mail addresses into my list, weighing out clay balls for nesting bird bowls and keeping me calm when I thought a glitch in the system wasn’t going to let us enter 120 e-mails into my list. 

Even though the backyard construction isn’t going quite as quickly as I had planned and things seem a little chaotic, I know that two days a week Kaylee is going to show up as scheduled and do whatever it is I need her to do for the studio that day.  Even if she’ll be doing it on the front porch instead of the studio!

kaylee the intern

I've put most of the inventory in the online shoppe away but you can find it all in Chicago this weekend!  I'll be documenting my trip on the Julie Guyot Studio facebook page if you want to play along.

paper template, clay cut-out, building the form

silkscreened slip transfers, two sisters drying together

finished "Sisters", detail with photo decals

corn detail, the sides are a platt map of my dad's home county.

Oh yeah, one more thing...

this guy was made the same way

--Julie