Copyright © 1999 Doug Browe
Ceramics Monthly, June/July/August 1989    

                 
MAKING POTTERY for a living is a progression, a continuing evolution, a layering of experiences, techniques and inspiration, always building upon itself. Like a spring garden, the studio is a natural and fertile environment for creativity to flourish. Jan Hoyman and I have been potting together for over ten years now. We met at a California studio she was working in. I had crossed the country to visit that studio because of reports of its self-sufficiency -- mining clay and glaze materials, and wood-firing in a six-chamber climber. Since then, our strongest bond has been commitment to tradition.

Early on in our work with clay, we felt the need to be with people who were making their living from functional pottery. So with the offer of studio work in Ireland, we were off across the ocean. We spent that next year working in various potteries across the British Isles and pouring over the U.K's great ceramic collections. At the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, we first walked past all the traditional European and Islamic pots to embrace historic Asian and contemporary English pots. I still love the quiet aesthetic of those works, but eventually we were overpowered by the humanity and honesty of those early European works.

We were treated with such kindness everywhere, and were always surprised by the path opening before us. One morning in Ireland we met a gentleman who took us home to see his pots, a veritable who's who of contemporary ceramics worldwide. It is one thing to see a 50-year-old Cardew bowl, but quite another to hold it, feel its contours.

By good fortune, we also had the opportunity to visit the studios of Clive Bowen and Nick Chapman, two North Devon slipware potters. Working with Nick gave us our first experience with earthenware. We were charmed by the warm, bright colors and the homey, cozy feeling of these pots, and were excited by the process.

BACK IN THE UNITED STATES, our fate was sealed when we found the only indigenous clay being mined in Michigan was a red earthenware clay-shale. Our first supply run was in a I0-ton dump truck -- completely full. We then started to investigate and experiment with the slip-decorated earthenware process we use today.

Originally, decoration consisted of coating the red earthenware with a fireclay slip, wiping through with fingers and ribs, then slip trailing on top. Next, the pots were covered with a rich amber glaze. As we were learning and expanding this process, our lives were changing also. Gardening, which started as a way to supplement our pantry, was quickly becoming a passion for Jan. Those green thumbs led us to California. The more hospitable climate not only had its effect on our gardening, but also on our work with clay. The format, tools and patterns of our decorating evolved with the use of brush and color to express our new surroundings.

The separation of decorator and maker has been the typical avenue in earthenware production. Too often, forms became weak and lifeless at the command of decorator or designer. We feel that the strength of our work lies in the reunion of form and decoration conceived as a whole and executed in collaboration.

COLLABORATION for us starts in the idea phase -- a monologue that grows into a conversation. The ideas generated individually are developed into drawings on paper to be shared, then to sketches in clay -- mock-ups which may or may not be fired. New decorations are rehearsed on old pieces of bisqueware, on the table top, and on paper, with more discussion clarifying and distilling the idea.

After a decade together,we've found much of the communication has become intuitive. Because of that, the spontaneity of creating a new idea is not hampered or slowed. It is that intuition that ensures creative freshness with the advantage ofa bipartisan view.

Process keeps us on track, as the distractions of 100 other studio and business chores are always in the way of the important work of creating. The drying pots demand to be slipped, pitchers to be handled, plates to be decorated, kilns to be loaded, and more ideas to be explored.

Our production flow now starts with custom-mixed, pre-pugged clay. The clay formula, developed over the years, is still changing as we search for the best balance between plastic working qualities and fired porosity. We battle porosity not only with a body frit, but also by keeping the particle size and body grain fine.

We throw to weights and sizes for dinnerware, mixing bowl sets and other repeat work, which by its nature needs to stack and/or have cohesion on a table. Most of our work, though, starts with just a weight measurement. This keeps the pots fresh and allows the form within each ball of clay to emerge.

IINDIVIDUALITY is enhanced by brushwork. Because we fire two of the three electric kilns every day, decorating is an ongoing process. Our underglaze patterns are very impressionistic and watercolorlike. For more fluid or lively color, additives (Gerstley berate, whiting, bentonite, base glaze, etc.) are mixed with Mason stains or oxides. While we use a lead bisilicate base glaze, the following pigments (measured by volume) should work well with any Cone 03 clear glaze.

Black Underglaze
Black Stain ................... 6 tspS.
Bentonite .............. 2 tspS.
Base Glaze ................. 3 tspS.

Brown Underglaze
ManganeseDioxide ......3 tspS.
Bentonite ...........1 tsp.
Base Glaze .............. 3/4 CUP

Peacock Underglaze
PeacockStain .......6 tspS.
Whiting ............ 6 tspS.
Bentonite ...............2 tspS.

CrimsonUnderglaze
Crimson Stain...............3 tspS.
Whiting ................. 3 tspS.
Bentonite .............1 tsp.

Pansy Purple Underglaze
Pansy Purple Stain.................. 6 tspS.
Whiting 6 tsps.
Bentonite ...............2 tspS.

Vanadium Yellow Underglaze
Vanadium Stain ...................2 tspS.
Bentonite ..............1/2 tsp
Base Glaze ..................2 tspS.

Blue Underglaze
CobaltOxide ...........11/2 tsps.
Base Glaze ................3 1/2 cups

OVER THE YEARS, our marketing took on many manifestations before we hit upon present methods. Some are quite normal; some a bit different. When we decided on earthenware (a full dump truck is a definite decision), we built a small wood-burning kiln, contacted local wineries, then started making wine bricks with each winery's logo sprigged on. The glaze and slip were developed and refined, while the unglazed ware paid the bills.

After developing our tableware, we established a route to deliver to about eight shops. On the return trip, we would fill car or truck with materials. We employed this strategy again in California. The drawbacks are obvious. Long hours on the road, bigger and bigger rigs needed.

In 1984, we decided to try the American Craft Enterprises (A.C.E.) wholesale/retail show in San Francisco, and we liked it. Wholesale is not for everyone, as the A.C.E. shows aren't for everyone. The positive points include contact with hundreds of gallery owners and networking; it's great to spend a week with so many old and new friends.

On the negative side, the shows are time consuming and expensive -- a minimum of $2000, often more. The show fee is not that much, but by the time you fly there, ship pots, build your booth, rent a room, eat out three meals daily, etc., expenses add up. In time expended, we figure the whole month of the show belongs to that show. By the time you organize your display, pack and ship pots, spend a week at the show, come back home, chin out, then
regain studio momentum again, it's a month down the road. Also, these are juried shows. So there's always a possibility you will not be accepted the next time you apply. If you're depending on such shows for your income, you may find yourself washing dishes.

The most important part of marketing any work is targeting the people who desire your skill, and finding where these people go to get it. This is different for each craftsperson and there is no shortcut.

The marketing methods we now rely on most are reorders and word of mouth. We have a strong local retail following and try to work with gallery owners and operators toward an end that serves us both. I miss the contact/interactions at the shows and will probably resume doing them -- perhaps when our new daughter is two years old, so she can tend the booth.

Finally, the work is priced as it is made, collaboratively. Jan goes low, I go high. In the middle is the right price. (It must be the right price -- it has always worked.) Factors to consider in pricing are material cost; overhead; length of training, apprenticeship or schooling; difficulty of process or attrition (loss rate and things thatjust don't work out); what the market will bear. We do strive to keep our costs/overhead down to keep the work at a modest or reasonable level. I once read a six-part craftsperson's code of ethics written by a coppersmith; he said, in part, conceive a product with love in your heart, ask an honest price for honest work, and you'll be successful.