5.24.2007

Clay maginzines

I got both my Clay Times and Ceramics Monthly this week. Like most people I just love to sit down right when they come and look through them. I was just telling someone the other day that lately I like Clay Times a bit better than Ceramics Monthly because Clay Times just has more...well pots in it. I do appreciate all the sculpture Ceramics Monthly has in it, but for me that magazine has changed in the last 10 years.

This issue I'm sorry to say kind of got the "gruff" up on my back and I angry about it all night; here is why. It had all these short articles on studio potters making a living for themselves and how they go about there work day, sales and general life. I was very excited to read these but as soon as I breezed through the pages and saw the people who where interviewed, I realized that only one of them was a parents and of course....it was a male who had a wife to help him.( Now I am not sure that Ken does not do a lot of domestic duties around the house but if he's making a living supporting his family and making pots, I kind of bet his wife is dealing a lot with the children..but it could be wrong). Anyways..back to my rant. They seem to have hit all the other type of life styles that most potters have. There was the husband and wife team with no kids. The young female/male pretty fresh out of grad school and so on and so forth. I'm sorry to bring this up all the time but it really bugs me that there are hardly ever any women potters who are trying to raise a family mentioned in the magazines. If it hadn't of been for Lana Wilsons articles (Mud Mama's) I don't think I could count on my fingers how many times this demographic has even been talked about. And yes, I do know we are a very small group in the world of ceramics and I know why. All those people pretty much talked about how they live there career. Pottery is there life and they never venture away from it...they live it. I think Ken Sedberry, the only parent in the article mentioned that he liked coaching his sons soccer team, everyone else I think said or implied they where pretty selfish about there work. We pottery mom's live and breath ceramics too, we just have to put it on the back burning a bit more and I really wish Ceramics Monthly had asked someone like Ellan Shankin or Lisa Orr for there business advice on being successful at doing both. Ok......I got that off my chest.
Onto Clay Times this month. They had some really great articles :
*Going Green" and how potters can help the environment.
*Pete Pinnell said his two sense worth on how rude some people are at NCECA....and I agreed!
* They had some great shows advertised that I can not wait to apply for and see on the web.
And my favorite ( by Lana again) was an interview with Nick Joeling ,which next week I think I put some quotes by him on my blog. Some of his advise I could really use!
I guess Clay Times won once again this month with my vote!

2 comments:

Ron said...

The best thing I did was to cancel my subscription to both of these rags. They just caused me to get ruffled up too. Of course sometimes there is some good info (ie the Joerling quotes, which I look forward to) and show listings, but otherwise I am happy to be without them.
I can see your view on this completely, even though I'm not a parent. How's the mudmamasandpapas forum?
In the end it really doesn't matter who they feature, no one is reading these magazines but potters, the customers and people we want to connect with could care less. An article in Southern Living or Our State magazine would do more for my business anyday than would and article in CM or CT.
Have fun in NYC!!!!!

Jen Mecca said...

Your so right. Linda told me the same thing. The last time I sent my money to CM I knew it was only to get show information and Clay Times I want to support because I enjoy Lana's articals and Pete's but besides that, everything else gets me flustered. Next year I'm useing my $35 bucks I send to Cm on something like....clay.
As for the Mudmamaandpapas forum, no one really posts on there. I had put a few comments and heard nothing back. I check it every now and then but don't find much, which is really upsetting. I guess it just goes to show me that there are'nt alot of us out there and if there are, they have no time to get on the computer. ( Like most days I should not be here on it!!) Your right about Southern Living. I think my whole thoughts on this business or ours and the whole "racket" of getting known is really changing in my mind lately!