Jug of the Month - August

A souvenir from Hatfield. Very controlled of me. Surrounded by pottery for four days and only one purchase. Bought this from Julie Turner on the last day. It's porcelain, about 3" tall, heavy with a delicate extruded handle.

http://www.julieturnerceramics.co.uk/

"In a fast moving, disposable society where paper and polystyrene are common place the ceremony of tea and coffee drinking and the ceremonies surrounding food are increasingly lost. I seek to preserve and revive our interest in the ceremonial aspects of drinking; my work is designed to hold small amounts of very rich, expensive tea and coffee. They are deliberately delicate to force the user to slow their actions and savour the experience of drinking."

Kaleidoscope On Tour

Many Kaleidoscope moments to report. Potter Roger Cockram chatted to me about it and then stood back and gave a round of applause. Big smiles. One lady said it made her feel very sick. Another wanted a picture a me and her mother next to it. A child dribbled his melting cornetto into it. A woman suggested I hang a disco ball or curved mirror over the top. A man thought using two way mirrors add to the illusion. (Where can I buy those?) Best moment was when a woman shouted at herself because she'd got her camera the wrong way round and photographed her own face rather than the kaleidoscope. 'Bloody stupid woman.' Her words, not mine.  

Commission

Got my first commission from a gallery to make 20 small jugs in time for their Christmas exhibition/shop. Bury St Edmunds, here I come! Very very very excited.
The gallery manager was really helpful and talked me through prices, delivery notes, invoices and pro forma payments. The Gallery looks lovely...

http://www.smithsrow.org/

"Smiths Row, formerly known as Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery, operates from an elegant and historic, Grade I listed building in an area of the town known as The Market Cross. This building was remodelled by Robert Adam, a leading architect of the Georgian period who commissioned leading artists of his day to create works of art and design for his architectural projects including Angelica Kauffman and John Flaxman. Smiths Row has continued this tradition by commissioning leading artists and designers to make works of art responding to the architecture of the space and furniture for our visitor library, the Art Lounge. The Gallery building was designed as a theatre in the 1770s and has retained its high ceilings, Georgian façade and elegant arched windows. At the centre of the space is a pair of magnificent Venetian crystal chandeliers.

Smiths Row is a great place to see new, thought provoking work. Visit us and share ideas with artists and designers from Britain and abroad and take part in our wide range of workshops and social events.

The Market Cross is also home to the Smiths Row Shop. We sell high quality craft and design by some of the region's and the country's most interesting ceramicists, jewellers, printmakers, textile and glass artists. Whether you're looking to buy a special gift or simply treat yourself to something unique and British made, drop in and have a browse."

Home From Hatfield

Home from Hatfield. I sold lots of my little jugs. Thankyou to all of my customers - it was lovely to meet you all and you've made me feel like a proper potter who sells pots at a ceramics show. Got my first commission too.

Steep learning curve. Pricing my work was tricky - compared my work with others and worked out what to charge per jug. Some thought the price was fine. Others thought they were too cheap. I spoke to a gallery owner who thought I was selling at trade price. I decided that I was happy to be selling and predict a future when my work is much pricier and people can talk about the day they bought my early work and how affordable it was. "I've got a Jo Corbett. Look at the price of them now."

Here are the jugs that came home with me. Time to make some more and sort out a few more places to sell them.

Art in Clay 2011 Hatfield

17th Pottery and Ceramics Festival

5th, 6th &; 7th August 2011

Hatfield House, Hatfield, Hertfordshire

10am - 5.30pm Friday & Saturday

10am - 5pm Sunday

Come and see me at the Bath Spa University stand next week. I'm taking the Kaleidoscope if it will fit in the back of the Ford Focus. And I've borrowed my Mum's tent which may well be the biggest tent in the whole world. You can also look round Hatfield House and see the Rainbow Portrait...

...and a Henry Moore exhibition.

If I could work out how to attach a PDF I'd add the two for one ticket offer. But I can't. Email me if you want me to send it to you.

For sale

Sorting out the jugs to sell at Hatfield. And thinking about pricing. Nervous because I'll be surrounded by proper potters. I like to be opposite a woman who sells knitted dogs, wedged between a table of homemade marmalade and the tombola. If I'm the only ceramic artist in the room my work looks brilliant.