The videos here display daily life in a working pottery/ art studio situated on the coast of Nova Scotia.You will see technical help in potters techniques, studio layout, firing kilns, making glazes and selling your work. The artwork shown and made by this studio will include mostly pottery from Vaughan Smith with added content from Jacqueline M. Cohen who works in pottery, collage, painting and mixed media. facebook.com/westcotebellpottery/?ref=pages_you_manage
Wow, so beautiful! I couldn't love that set more! Thank you so much for sharing. I'm so happy to find your channel. I already subscribed. I haven't tried pottery in over 40 years, but, I'm about to purchase a bunch of clay and stuff to give it my best effort. Do you think that as a very beginner, that I should score and slip to join? Or is that actually unnecessary?
It depends on your clay body and the condition of the clay. M litmus test is if the clay feels sticky and can be bent easily then no scoring is necessary. Good luck and welcome back to clay.
I stack them on the green ware to keep the tile flat, then in the bisque firing I keep them on the edges to flatten the tile even more, I bisque to 01 which is when the clay slumps slightly. I use slip for colour with underglaze mixed in 25% so it is not fluxed enough to form glaze which would stick.
Thank you for sharing! I am just finding out what is working the best for me and what I can do for a longer time. And just had my first market, so still learning a lot😊
gosh! what a comprehensive and very helpful insight into a pottery business, many thanks. I am still gasping at your confidence as a teenager (?) going into a Yorkshire gallery with a box of your pots. I am 60 and am going through agonies thinking about approaching a little shop with my stuff!
Yes, potters do love browns… we prefer earth colors… makes sense. And yes, blue sells, much to the chagrin of my former pottery teacher. She hated the blue craze!
HI VAUGHN! How's weather there? Thanks for this video...depending on foot traffic & costs of space sometimes these works, they just tend to be looking for a deal (dont want to pay its worth) at these craft shows By far the best is to get a gallery to carry your work, if possible.
I did shows for 27 years and learned that the shows can vary a lot. You are right about a deal seeking public but you have to stand your ground, that is a slippery slope and word gets around quick, then you are entering the car salesman lane. There are shows where you make enough to buy a car on the way home, do your research. Back in the 1990's I had to buy a bigger cash bag to carry the money, very few credit cards back then, things have changed. My last craft fair was 5 years ago doing Nova Scotia's Designer Craft Show in Halifax, pre Covid, that one was well worth doing. I had over 100 galleries selling my work in the 90's and it was tough getting paid on time, 30days net sometimes ended up being 90 days and once 365days. Then there were the bankruptcies when you never got paid. I set my goal to do retail at my studio 30 years ago, it made a big difference to have three avenues of revenue. Today I refuse to give credit to galleries, they pay on delivery. 95% of what I make sells on site but it took 27 years to get to that point. 13 years in Nova Scotia with increasing sales all but 2020, wonder why. My formulae of on site studio and gallery with public access, magnificent gardens all around, locating in a small village with a bakery almost next door, and it does not hurt to be on the ocean. I searched for this over many years, dream big. Good luck at the shows.
@Vsmithpots Vaughn, thank you for that valuable insight about galleries, there are some things online about art dealers/brokers however they only deal with galleries it looks like. That's a disgrace to treat an artist that way about payment! (You know they got their money on time) 27 years is toooooo long to get established, however it's great you found a good traffic spot in which not only live (at home & produce art) but sell your wares. And if one's not a social butterfly AK sales-marketing person they'd better learn real quick. It is a hard niche to get into..."Art". Having multiple "as many avenues" in which to generate funds & recognition is always a never failed choice. For myself however, I don't believe I could or would want strangers coming to my home/shop.
@Vsmithpots I do, it houses my kiln, but still for a woman not a good idea it's still on my property. My dilemma is I'm still waiting on just a disability decision, approved or not (been over a year) I've got neuropathy that worsened had to quit 8-5 art teaching job problem is while waiting on decision from disability they state you can't work more than 20 hours a week nor make more than 1400.00 a mo, my bills are more than this. So I'm still trying to figure out how to get around all this, its a buracy nightmare. And most folks don't pay cash for art they use plastic, can't even do pay pal for online website because of this disability criteria. I will be 65 relatively soon enough that'll help some. Any suggestions my friend?
Jas, your peacock is so beautiful. Thank you for the tutorial. Your platters are so flat, did you use weight bags while drying? And do you use Alumina Hydrate on your kiln shelf for the bisque and glaze firing?
The garden is so nice and ofcourse your potterie as well. What a great combination those two. The lamp pots are so so pritty. You said it was spring but i see it can snow still. Here too, spring is every year very fickle. You ever made such a snowy scene as shown in the last picture you put up? Greetz Sheila
This is such a great video, lots of ideas but even more so for the beginner getting to observe your efficient and useful techniques. I hope you do more handbuilding videos for those of us without a wheel. Thank you and all best. PS what brand cutting tool do you use, I like the larger handle.
So very interesting to see you Jackie, decorating the bowls. And then the smaller bowl upside down even. The finished pieces are so pritty. Absolutely gorgeous. I can look hours at them and wish i could be in that scene and never come out. Sort of in a dream. Thank you Jackie for showing this. Greetz Sheila 👋
Love your videos and thank you for generosity in sharing your knowledge. I do have a question, how do you weigh the frames down in the kiln? Do you stack them on top of each other in the bisque fire?
thank you so much for these videos. I have learned so many tips and tricks, especially as a new slab builder. One question for you. How do you keep the clay from drying out on the 4 other slabs you rolled while you work on the first one?
Thank you so much! I’m new - I think my first class about three months ago, but I love it and I’m thinking of getting a kiln, so I can’t looking for videos just like this, of how to actually operate one, and here you are. Brilliant, generous, and so very meticulous. Exactly what I needed. Thank you.
@@Vsmithpots Thank you. Patience has never been one of my virtues. In my head I’m already building a full pottery studio in my back yard. I do need to slow down a bit there.
I love your videos, and learned about a new type of kiln shelf today! The studio I belong to uses the thick shelves which we’re very careful to coat well with kiln wash. And since we have lots of students and members who are still learning (like me, lol), in addition to using stilts, we sometimes use thin bisqued clay “cookies” under glaze pieces that have particularly thick or potentially runny glaze.
I asked you a question the other day about reclaim coming out short. As you suggested I got some ball clay. It’s in powdered form. How would you introduce ball clay into the reclaim. I’m wondering if I should mix it in with some throwing slip?
