The Chain Interview Continues...Part 2

When I left you last time, Hollie Mion had answered a question from Lindly Haunani about her collection of polymer clay work, and how she went about building that collection. Now it is Hollie's turn to ask a question...

Question to Maggie Maggio, from Hollie Mion: I have long enjoyed your color tutorials. My first exposure was when you and Lindly would generously share your knowledge and ideas at the Shrine Mont Retreats back in the mid 90's. How did you get started with it, and where did you obtain your knowledge of color theory?

I'd like to say that I have always been interested in color theory but that's not the truth. I've always been interested in color mixing. The teacher of my first high school art class taught color theory by giving us a batik assignment with only four pots of dye – red, yellow, blue and black. That experience was pivotal for me. I tore up a cotton bed sheet and made close to 1000 color swatches using different combinations and different strengths of three dye colors - a pink red, golden yellow and bright blue.

The first thing I did when I found polymer clay was to buy one each of all the primary colors and start mixing them together. Soon I started documenting the mixes. Then I started teaching how to mix colors. But it wasn't until I began writing color articles for the PolyInforMer in the mid-90's that I brushed off my college textbooks and looked at color theory again. I relearned all the traditional theory just so I could share it in those articles. That's when I found out how little I knew, and how much of the theory just didn't make sense to me. I decided to start testing color theory and soon discovered that polymer clay is the perfect medium for color exploration.

So how did I obtain my knowledge of color theory? By playing with the clay. By reading color books and then experimenting in the studio. By teaching and then finding out that theory is not the same as reality. By observing nature. By talking with other colorphiles. By researching for the book that Lindly and I are writing, and by writing the blog. Color is so complex that I learn something new all the time. It's a bit of an obsession. I just want to know! Recently my daughter called me a "color detective" because I am always trying to uncover the facts about color. I love the searching. And that's the truth. -Maggie Maggio

Question from Maggie Maggio to Cynthia Tinapple: Interest in polymer clay is growing all over the world. The National Polymer Clay Guild just changed its name to the International Polymer Clay Association and your blog, Polymer Clay Daily, plays a huge role in connecting the global polymer clay community. What are some ways we can reach out and network with our fellow polymer enthusiasts in other countries?

I've been surprised that 40% of the PCDaily audience comes from beyond the US borders. I'll attach a list of the countries in the order of their participation.

What can we do to increase and improve that participation?

U.S. bloggers may want to be careful of their use of idioms so that readers who are translating can better understand the content. Putting a translation widget prominently on your blog will make it easier for your international guests as well.

Remember that a picture is worth a thousand words. Make those pictures good and self-explanatory.

More video tutorials, webinars, other online video meetings, virtual guilds will be in our future. Beyond that, face-to-face in classes and conferences will continue to cement our bonds to each other and spread techniques around the globe.

The barriers to cross-country sales will become less problematic. Already, online galleries like Etsy and Dawanda have helped promote the exchange of polymer clay art to a wider international market.

Extend your reach...comment on foreign blogs, join the European guild, link to foreign sites that you like. The best part of this is that when you're stuck in a rut, there's no cheaper travel or richer source of new ideas than crossing a border online. -Cynthia Tinapple

Question from Cynthia Tinapple, for Laura Timmins: You've been making your living at polymer clay for a few years. What suggestions do you have for integrating the accountant and the artist in you? How do you keep your left brain and right brain in such good balance?

Like most artists, I MUST make art. It's not optional. No external motivation is needed. It's easy. The business side of things is a whole different story. Previously, I had to fit my art making around my day job. Once I made the commitment to combine the two activities (earning money and making art) I found that I had many more hours every week for making art. I still feel that the business of selling my artwork interrupts what I really want to be doing, but the trade off is absolutely worth it. Keeping the perspective firmly in mind that what I've done is trade working for an employer to earn a living, for working on marketing my art to earn a living, keeps me motivated to do what can feel like drudgery at times.

But staying motivated is only part of the equation for me. There are so many possible business directions to take that it's very easy to get side tracked, especially when I'd rather be thinking about other things! I use two methods to help keep myself focused; goal setting and discipline. I set my business goals in outline form. My top level goal for the business side of things is obvious: Earn Income. I then detail specifically how I plan to accomplish that goal for the coming year. Category headings are things like Art Shows (applications, displays, fee deadlines, ordering supplies), Website (photography, maintenance), Galleries (new contacts to follow up, special shows that will need artwork, reminders when to check on stock at each), etc. I also include all the tasks involved for each heading and deadlines for each task to help keep me from becoming distracted from the goals I have set. I revise my outline every few months. With a detailed outline of my goals in place I have a concrete way to evaluate whether or not to pursue any new opportunities that present themselves.

Discipline is harder for me than organizing, which probably means it is the more important of the two. I try to set a work schedule and stick to it (which only works some of the time). The first thing I do each day is check my outline. If there are looming deadlines I work on those first, usually and hour or two each day but sometimes more. I reward myself for getting those business tasks done by making art for the rest of the day. - Laura Timmins

What I love about the questions and answers is how often they are directed at something that the person is truly passionate about. That passion and interest comes across in their answers. Plus I am getting lots of good information to think about in my own approach to blogging and managing my business. I love Maggie's story about her high school art class. Didn't you?

Stay tuned for the next installment....

Using Your Camera as a Design Tool

When I am working on laying out a new piece, particular if it is large, involved, or a new design, I find that it is a process of simmering, tasting and adjusting. I start out with a general idea, and begin to layout the components for the design. I will get to a certain point and feel like it has to sit with me for awhile. I don't feel certain enough about where I am going to move ahead without some time and space. Time for things to simmer. Some things end up sitting for months! Never getting to a point where I feel like I have a clear direction to resolve whatever it is that feels unresolved for me.

Sometimes I will ask the opinions of my husband or kids, but that rarely helps me work out those ones that just feel "off". I think it may be they don't always have a vocabulary to express why they like or don't like something. It is usually a yes or no, or they respond to an area that I feel more certainty about already.

Recently, I have begun to use my camera to evaluate a piece. I have found that I see things in a photo that are not as apparent to me when I am working with a piece on the table.

While these two photos show essentially the same necklace, there is a difference in how the pods are aligned on each one. The piece on the far left was my first attempt. I wasn't really satisfied with it, but I couldn't tell you why. But after I took a picture, I found I was not happy with how the beads that are on the inner part of each pod seemed to create a line, that to my eye, detracted from the pod forms. When I have arranged them this way, and they were all the same color, it has worked better, but here, I was not satisfied with the outcome. After playing around with the piece, and realigning the pod components, I found it was closer to my inspiration, ....the ocean. It had more of the feel and energy of waves and tumbling water....at least to my eyes! Design is subjective. What appeals to me, may be less appealing to someone else. But in this case, I knew I was less satisfied with the first arrangement than with the second. But it wasn't until I took a picture that I could clearly see what it was that was bothering me with the first attempt.

Similarly, I was planning on creating a collar style necklace with the shibori beads. I began to select colors and beads, and lay them out on my table. The top picture is the first iteration.

I took a picture, and then rearranged the beads so that the ones that were towards the back came to the front, and the ones in the center front went back. After looking at the pictures, I decided I didn't like either one. In the second arrangement, I found that the beads in the center were too drab and flat, especially for the position. But the two areas of light yellow beads about collarbone level in the first arrangement bothered me as well. The created a sense of discontinuity for me. My eye would be drawn there, and get stuck.

Plan B...or perhaps C? I got rid of the drab beads, and added more of the lighter colored beads. Both lines of beads were going from light to dark now, but the end point has less contrast in value and color. I abandoned the idea of a collar style necklace, and decided to create a kinetic shibori bead necklaces, that would be more wearable.

It is now a long strand, about 36" total length, but joined together so that the wearer can decide which color will lay where. Perhaps the lighter colors towards the front in the warmer months, and darker in the cooler months. Or in between for those hard to decide days! The beads have a small blue lace agate bead as a spacer.

Chess Anyone??

It is my youngest daughter's birthday today. She is 12 years old, and she is a terrific kid. She is a voracious reader. Some of her favorite books are about dragons, or about fantasy. Tarmar Pierce's books, or the Dragonology books. She is currently reading Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series.

This summer she learned to play chess, and was pretty good at it, and enjoyed it. So when I went away for a week long retreat in August, I decided to take these two interests, and create a very special chess set for her birthday. I finished all the pieces, but one king, and one queen, while I was there. I tried to make a board for her, but it did not work out as planned, and will need to be revisited when I have a bit more time. But I have a beautiful wood chess board that my dad had made. He never made the pieces to go with the board, so this works out nicely.

I have not done much sculpting with polymer clay, so the task was a little bit intimidating at first. But, since this was not something I was selling, and I knew no matter what I did, she would appreciate it, it took away a lot of the pressure.

If you ever decide to do a chess set, I can share a bit of what I learned. Some of it along the way, and some of it from the wisdom of Maureen Carlson, who has made a few chess sets, and is a whiz at sculpting with polymer clay.

1. Figure out a design theme, or concept. Your pieces can be figures, or abstract. In my case, with fantasy as the theme, I knew right away that I was going to make the knights as dragons. The bishops became wizards, and the pawns were either toadstools or cauldrons, depending on if it was the side of dark or light.

2. Figure out how you are going to distinguish one side from the other. You can go with the classic black and white, or other contrasting colors and/or tones. I decided to make one side black, white and grey. And the other side colorful.

3. Size matters. there is a hierarchy to the sizes of chess pieces, and you want your pieces to conform to that hierarchy so that a player will not be confused as the pieces becomes scattered on the board in play. The king and queen are the tallest pieces, followed by the bishops, knights, rooks and pawns.

4. Balance and Space. The pieces are moved around in play, and for that to happen easily there are two things to consider. The pieces have to be well balanced so they do not easily topple over during play. I found making a base on many of the pieces helped with the balance, and the ease of sliding a piece on the board in play.

The pieces also need to stay within their own geography, vertically. This tip from Maureen was a huge help. You need to consider the size of the squares right from the beginning, and then make sure that your pieces do not extend outside that space, not just at the base, but extending vertically upward.

5. Make all of a particular pieces at one time. If you are making the bishops, work on all of them together. This will help you make sure they are uniform in size and in construction. I did find that my abilities to sculpt improved as a worked through a series of pieces. The last wizard I sculpted is the one both my daughters fell in love with. Even though I did not finish the last king and queen until nearly two months later, I made the basic body form and head at the same time as the completed ones. I knew that they were going to be the right size. I saved some of the clay used for the head to make my arms and hands so that they would match the face. So when it came time to finish, I just had to make the robes, hair, crown, arms, and base. All things that were either easy enough to replicate, or had room for variation.

6. Break a few rules! This is my own personal rule. My pawns are different designs on each side. And the cauldrons break the color rule by having a yellow green brew bubbling inside. But both sets are similar in size, and each set of pawns stays with the fantasy theme. In the end, it works. If I had forced myself to come up with an idea that would work in both black and white, and in color, I doubt I would have been as satisfied with the end result. And that lime green brew is just so perfect!

It was fun to go outside the work I usually do, and play with sculpting a bit. Most of us start out with this sense of play and exploration in our medium, but we can sometimes lose touch with that. Making a gift for family or friends is always a way to play again, and go outside our usual comfort zone. And the hug I got this morning was worth all the time spent on the project!

Reading Tea Leaves

I don't know if it is reading tea leaves really, or being hit over the head with a mallet! But my current approach to retail shows is not working. Looking at the numbers, the average cost per show has increased, and the average sales per show has decreased. I am approaching a dangerous intersection.

I am not sure exactly where the problem lies, or if perhaps it comes from many places, but I know I need to rethink my approach. The show this weekend in Providence was a beautiful one. The work that was on display was a visual feast. There is so much amazing talent out there. And yet, many artists at the show struggled to cover their show expenses. Lately, I feel like I am making more of an investment in the business of the show promoters, and the collections of the craft buyers, than I am in my own business.


Is the overall craft market in need of a new model? Look at the radical transformation that has occurred in the music industry in the last decade. Does the world of craft need such a reformation? Will craft shows be replaced by Etsy and the Guild.com? There are fewer and fewer shows that have the following, and buyers, to sustain the $1000 or more booth fees that some of the "better" shows are charging. Perhaps two day shows, rather than three? Perhaps more affordable venues? I am not sure. I do know that I am not alone in my struggles in the retail craft world.

In the meantime, I know I need to reform my approach at a show. I have to rethink my merchandising strategies. My knowledge in retail merchandising and display is very limited and needs some rethinking. This is my Achille's heel.


I had the input of a good friend, Sandra McCaw, this weekend about problems with my display. She helped me start to see some of the pitfalls of my current set-up. Buyers need to be able to assess things quickly and easily, or they are on to the next booth. I had grouped things by color. I thought that people would be drawn to certain colors and could gravitate to that area of the display and focus in on that. The order I thought I had created felt chaotic to others. Different styles of jewelry here and there. When I rearranged the work by style, rather than by color, I saw the difference. Light bulb moment.

One of the things that you learn with interior design, and I had also been told was true with booth displays, was to have things at different heights. It helps the eye travel. But, when you have a pedestal and case display for jewelry, things are displayed more or less on the same level. The variations in height are more subtle. But, it works. Perhaps the process of shopping for jewelry is one that needs a more quiet and studied reflection. The levels might work better for larger objects. I am going to be going away from my current booth set-up, and look into cases with pedestals, or hanging my work on the wall in framed shadow box type displays. Cleaner and more elegant. Likewise, Elise Winters made the suggestion to rethink the background for my work, moving from black, to a white background.


The craft market is soft. There is no room for anything less than being spot on in this business, right now. I have not hit the mark. I am rethinking everything right now. Will I continue with retail? Where and how? Will I continue to make and sell my vessels? And of course, where am I going with those displays??



I had scaled back on retail shows this past year. I will cut back further still this coming year. My wholesale business has more than doubled this year, and is looking better all the time. I will spend more time nurturing the development of that part of the business. Right now, the retail side of my business is on life support. Changes are in order. Stay tuned......

Head Down, Butt in the Studio

If I have been absent from blogging lately it is because I have had my head down, and my butt in the chair the last two weeks. The Lyndhurst show is this weekend, and I have made some modifications to the pod designs I have been working on all summer. I was happy with the designs, but not so happy with the Ultralight clay I was using. There were several things about it that were bothering me, and I decided to rethink using it for these designs.

I am happier with how these new pieces are coming out. I am playing with mica shift, and enjoying the subtle pattern I can get on the surfaces with that. And I am playing with color.

It has been a big push to get enough work together for this show. But I wanted to have enough work to gauge response to these new pieces. And the more I did, the more excited I was about where things were going. I could use another week or two to be as prepared as I would like, but I don't have it. And I always feel like I could use more time as I head for a show. But I have learned to accept that as the norm. I will not be in the studio much today. I need to get pictures taken, and start organizing and preparing to load up the car.

If you are able to get to the Lyndhurst show this weekend I highly recommend it. It looks like the weather will be agreeable, and there will be lots of beautiful work to see,....and buy! Among the polymer clay artists who will be there are Loretta Lam, Louise Fischer Cozzie, and Karin Noyes. And of course there are many, many other very talented artists in a wide range of media. If you stop by, make sure to say, "hi!"

So Many Lessons...

In my last post I had a list of things I was going to try to notice or play with at the Guilford show, and see what happened. And then I left you hanging! It has taken me a few days to recover from the show, and to get back in the groove again. But now it is time to report....


1. Mixing it up was a good idea. I had initially set up with my vessels in the front of the booth, and the jewelry on the back table. Cranes were in between. The displays were nice enough, but there was the risk that people may have been missing the jewelry all together as they wandered past my booth. So on Friday morning I shifted things around. I organized by color, and displayed jewelry and vessels together.


I don't know if it had anything to do with the change directly, but my sales the last two days were better than the first. The vessels got people to stop and look at my work. But the jewelry was what they were more likely to buy. Making sure that they saw some of the jewelry up front made it more likely they would come into the booth to see what else I had. And I think the mixed up displays were visually more interesting.


2. Wear your work, if you can. I had a few artists stop by my booth one morning because they saw my earrings and where curious to see more of my work. I sold two necklaces right off my daughter's neck! It is one thing to see the work displayed in a case, on a table, or a bust. It is another to see what it is like on a person. Be a walking advertisement for your work, if possible.


3. If someone seems to be interested in your work, be sure to share something about your work that may not be obvious but will often be critical to people buying the work. We have been trained from the time we were little to not touch. In general this is probably a good idea, but we often need to touch things before we will buy them. And there are somethings we cannot know just from looking.


Half my sales this weekend were with the new work. I think in part it was because when someone was seriously looking at the work I would hand them a pair of the earrings to hold. I wanted them to know how lightweight they were. You could see the surprise on their face. Any concerns about a piece being too big.....thus too heavy, were eliminated. Now they were deciding what to try on.


When people were looking at the cranes I might mention how I had some cranes packaged two together, and how this was because the cranes were a symbol of fidelity. I would add what great gifts they made for anniversaries, showers, etc. That the single cranes were terrific teacher or hostess gifts. You could often see the gears begin to turn as they mentally reviewed who they might need to buy such a gift, and they began moving boxes looking for just the right crane.

4. The other thing that has helped sales of the cranes is packaging. The clear cube boxes offer a terrific presentation of the crane, and they also allow them to be easily wrapped. The insert which tells about the symbolism of the cranes means that the giver can be assured that the recipient knows the story behind the crane. This is often part of the reason a purchase is made. Make it easy for the buyer. Easier to decide. Easier to give as a gift. Easier to explain.


5. What color someone is wearing is a good clue. It doesn't always apply, but nearly always. Even with the vessels, the color they were drawn to was often complimentary to the one they were wearing. This is also why I like to group my work by color. Making a transistion from one color to the next. I mix it up a bit, but in general it makes it easier for people to find the work that would most appeal to them when it is group by color.

6. Be flexible. Be willing to take the extra little step to help someone out to make the sale. I had someone try on several pieces of jewelry, and then purchase a pendant and a pair of earrings. The pod on the pendant was sewn together with red seed beads. On the earrings, they were coppery. She wanted the red beads for the earrings as well. Not a problem. I assured her I could make her a pair with the red beads, and ship those out to her. She wanted them in time for her son's wedding in two weeks. No problem. They would move to the top of the list. Today I made up those pods, and tomorrow I will create the hoops, and get them packaged and mailed. In the meantime, the original pair of earrings sold to a later customer at the show. By offering to make the new pair for the first customer, I was able to sell the pair on display to someone else.

Similarly, I made a new crane to go with one from a pair at the show. And I will convert them to hanging cranes. A necklace will be shortened for someone else. Small things that make the purchaser feel more satisfied with their purchase, and more willing to recommend your work to someone else. Know that you can say no, and sometimes it is the right thing to do. But be willing to make those little accomodations to help complete the sale.

All in all, it was a great show. My sales increased significantly from last year, when I could not have my jewelry there. My daughter had a great time. I met some terrific artists. And I learned a lot. The market continues to be tough. But there are plenty of opportunities to refine your work, and your sales process. There are few laboratories better than a show to work on those things. And maybe, just maybe, going into the show with goals beyond sales will create more opportunities for success.

Mother's Day bouquet

What is the first bouquet most mothers receive from their kids? One that came from them....not one that Dad bought to give to Mom.....but one that came straight from the kids?

If your kids are like mine it was a fistful of dandelions. The dandelions are presented as a most wonderful treasure in the world, waiting for the big smile and hug from Mom. I remember one daughter telling me how they looked like sunshine. I can even vaguely remember picking a handful of dandelions myself as a kid.

My yard has had dandelions bursting into bloom all week. Bright yellow blossoms. I see neighbors out spraying, digging, mowing.....attacking those yellow blossoms. My kids don't even seem to have noticed them. I can't help but wonder.....When do we make the shift? When does the dandelion go from sunshine to enemy?

The next time you spy a dandelion growing in your yard, see if you can relax about it for a minute. Try and put your childhood head on again, and remember when it was sunshine. Or maybe instead attacking them with a vengance, pick a bouquet to bring in the house and remember the first bouquet you got from your kids. Or if you don't have a yard, or any dandelions, you can go here, and get a virtual dandelion for your computer screen.

Happy Mother's Day! And the next time someone gives you a fistful of dandelions, give them a smile and a hug in return, and see it for the fistful of love that it is. You never know, it might be your last dandelion bouquet.

Abundance

I am sure you have heard about the proverbial grandmother who can't seem to believe that you are full. When you come to dinner, the main conversation from her is "Eat!", as she spoons more food onto your already full plate. Right now, I feel like I have just visited that grandmother.

Yesterday I had two more wonderful opportunities fall into my lap. One is the largest wholesale order I have recieved yet. I am feeling thrilled and worried all at the same time. I have sold less than this much work at some shows. It is wonderful, but the timing is scary. Breathe, Judy. Just breathe,....and get into the studio!

I also received a phone call last night, with a wonderful invitation. As much as I wanted to say "Yes!!" on the spot, I knew I needed to talk with Dave about it. It would mean spending a good chunk of money, and time away from the kids....which affects his schedule. When he got home, he was nearly as excited about it as I was. And said, "You are going to say yes, aren't you?" Have I mentioned lately what a great guy he is?

My head is spinning. My plate is full. But so is my heart and my spirit. I will truly try and enjoy each and every bite of this experience. Who knows when it will come this way again.

Here are a few new pictures for you. The pendants are samples for the wholesale show. The pear vessel reminds me of a cross between a pear and an artichoke! I am happy with how the leaves come up and around the curved form of the pear. The color shifts in the drawings I do under the translucent clay are dramatic in some cases. The rosy color on the pear was dark purple when I did the drawings. The change is dramatic, but I like the way the rose tone goes with the leaves.

Back to work!

Blind Spots

I am, and always have been, better at the big picture than the details. My husband conversely, spends his days carefully reviewing the fine points of contracts. He spends his days at work immersed in details. I would die in that job. It would be sheer torture for me. Yet he excels at it. There is nothing sexy or glamorous about the work he does. But it is work that has helped his company save millions of dollars. For that they are grateful. And when we have a detailed project to work on, I am grateful to have him around.

So it should not be surprising that it was a detail really that escaped my attention. Yet, details do matter. The details can create balance or disturb it. Small details can make a big difference. I was unconsciously just skimming over this detail. Not looking at the effect that it had on the finished piece.

When I began making my pear and apple vessels, I was focused on the process of creating an organic form that was also a vessel. I was focused on the surface design and technique. I was still learning a great deal about that process and making many choices and discoveries with each new piece. I was disciplining myself to really pay attention to finishing. The sanding. The line of the opening of the vessel. But the very last step, was one that I did not pay enough attention to. When it came to putting a stem on the vessel I did not explore many options. I just made a stem to look like a stem, and put it on the piece. My biggest struggle was in engineering the design of the stem to withstand the handling it received at a show.

Then, about five or six weeks ago, another artist shone some light on the stems. She observed something I had never even considered. The stems did not fit the rest of the piece. It was as if I did them as an afterthought. I had these pieces with this fantastical surface, and then a stem that was very ordinary. In her opinion it detracted from the rest of the work. Another person there agreed. Hmmm. This was something I had never even thought about. It was as if I was blind. I was spending many hours on the piece, and then at the very end, I just finished it without really thinking about the impact of my choice on the piece.

I began with the peppers. I started making some new stems for them using wire. I had to agree. It added a life and energy to the piece that the old stems subtracted. These pictures are not great for seeing the detail of the new stems, but I think you can get the general idea of how much the old stems were NOT working, and that the new stems are a definite improvement.

This week I was busy making some new vessels, and finally was faced with putting the stem on a new pear vessel. I had played around with a wire stem for an apple earlier, and it did not work as effectively as it had on the peppers. I decided I would stick with the approach I had with the rest of the piece. The shape would be literal in translation, but the color would not. It was like someone turned on the light in the room. Was I so focused on "being done" with the piece that I did not spend enough time thinking about this detail? Did I not want to think about it much because it was a detail? Whatever the reason, I now could see what Sara saw so clearly. I spent a little more than a day re-stemming vessels. And I have to say the more I did, the more I liked the outcome. Here is a picture for you to judge for yourself.

Doesn't that old stem just look out of place? There is something about the new stem that makes me want to create this whole new story about these vessels. They now look to me as if they were grown by Alice in Wonderland from seeds she brought back from the other side of the looking glass. Alice's Garden.

I am busy taking pictures, and will eventually update my website with the new images. And I am going to sign up for the critique sessions that were in the new catalog from the local museum school that just arrived in the mail. We all have blind spots. I may not be ready to acknowledge all of mine. But I am grateful to Sara that she shone a light on this one. Thanks Sara!

Behind the Curtain

A turning point in The Wizard of Oz movie is when Dorothy and her crew find out the wizard is really just an ordinary person hidden behind the curtain. The power they had bestowed upon the Wizard was really just imagery filled in by their imaginations. They wanted him to be great and powerful, so he was. Looking behind the curtain can remove some of the mystery and the artifice around an image or idea. But it can also make the inaccessible, more accessible.

This idea of looking behind the curtain keeps bubbling up in my head lately. I guess part of what I am trying to do is to pull back the curtain so you can look around. The life of an artist/artisan is surrounded by a sense of wonder and mystery for a lot of people. It is one thing to be creative and make something for yourself or for your family. But how do you get from there to where your work is on display in shops or galleries, or your work is on display at shows? This is where all the mystery and questioning seems to begin. “What makes them different from me?”

Aside from the fact that I was now running a business, I now had to think about creating a cohesive collection of work. I had to consider the process of making my work. Is this the best way to make this piece? What else could I do with it? Is my finishing as good as it could be, or needs to be? How can I change this design to reduce my price? Or can I? Some of these questions were raised by feedback I got as I began to present my work to potential customers.

It sometimes takes a thick skin to be able to stand up to the scrutiny of others. But it also can help you see things about your work you might never have noticed. Good and bad.

I am a color junkie. I love to play with color. And it is one of the things about my work that draws people in. But I have come to understand more specifically what it is about the colors I use and the variations in intensity that people react to. Somehow, when I am immersed in making a piece, I have lost the view of the forest. I am focusing in more and more on the details. When I create a vessel, I may spend many, many hours over the course of a week working on a particular piece. I develop a relationship with it almost! I know each piece with an intimacy that no one else could. I know every detail about how it was created. So when I look at a group of vessels together, I am seeing them as the individuals they were for me. But someone seeing my work for the first time is seeing the collection. They are getting struck by a general sense that I could no longer see. What they feed back to me, helps feed me, and helps me grow in understanding my own work.

I used to focus my energy on my favorite steps in the process of creating. Other steps were just done to get through. Not really engaging me fully. Or I struggled with them. I couldn’t wait for a particular step to be done, as I fought my way through. But in the end, my lack of attention showed. I had to learn to pay closer attention. Refine and hone my skills in those areas, or the whole piece did not live up to its potential. Some of that feedback was difficult to hear, no matter how nicely it was delivered. But it was valuable information. I look at where my work is now, after working on those issues, and where it was before….and I can see the improvements. They matter to me. They may not be noticeable to someone who was not previously familiar with my work. But I see them. I know the struggle that went into it. I know what I have learned. And I know where I still struggle.

This intimacy with the material, the process, and the work is what is gained when you dive in with the commitment of making a career out of it. You learn the limits of your material, and you learn how to push those boundaries.

Color Travel

When I start to create a new piece, I nearly always start out with the question, "What is this one going to be?" I am surprised at how often a color, or color scheme that is my launching point for a piece. This is especially true when I am making cranes. But it also true with the vessels or the jewelry at times.

After my oldest daughter was born, I began a business making custom window treatments at home. I had been in the corporate world for about 13 years, in sales and marketing. But I hated my job, and traveled way too much. So I left that all behind. And began my journey into the entrepreneurial world.

There were several valuable things I got from the five years I spent doing window treatments. First off, I gained confidence in my ability to launch my own business. Secondly, I expanded my color vocabulary, and absorbed lots of patterns and designs. Color was so essential to what I was doing. And I was working in palettes that were not in my personal taste. But I had to "make it work". And I did. I began to fully appreciate the nuances of color when I began to try to find just the right fabric to go with someone's room.

I saw color combinations in fabrics that I never would have imagined, but that worked. It gave me courage to experiment more with color. I learned how colors interacted and played off of one another. And I learned how to distribute color in a room to give it a balanced feel. I found out that I was good at seeing the subtleties of color, and educating my customer about these undertones of color.

One of the other things I absorbed in this journey, was how often colors have associations. They may bring to mind emotions, or seasons. But I also believe they can evoke a sense of place. The cool blues, beiges and silvery grays of Scandinavia. The dusty, muted tones of an old English estate. Red, black and gold often bring to mind Asian art for me. Think tropics, and you may think of lush greens, vibrant reds, pinks, yellows. When I think of saffron, fuschia, teal and gold, I think of my friend's beautiful embroidered silk saris.

This can help me come up with inspiration at times. All I need is a color to begin the process. From there, I may think about a place to create the full palette and the tone. And then pattern or design follows suit.

Try a little color travel in your play some day. Think of a place you want to visit in your imagination, and bring that place to life in a color palette. You'd be amazed at the places you can go in an afternoon of color travel.

If want to know and understand more about color, check out the new blog by Maggie Maggio....Smashing Color. http://www.maggiemaggio.com/color/ I am learning more each time I visit.