Thoughts on Making and Craft Fairs and Self-Esteem
by Fun 'N 'Fiber Functional Ceramics and Handmade Jewelry
This past Saturday I bought a table at a small local arts & crafts fair. I am always hesitant to do this for several reasons.
1) I am a hobby potter, NOT a production potter. According to Wikipedia, "production pottery refers to systematically producing wheel thrown pottery that is identical to each other. It perhaps might be considered to be mass production pottery." I am going to add that potters that hand-build their ceramics can also be production potters. I know potters who make multitudes of hand-built trays, mugs, bowls, etc. Generally, production potters make a living solely by making pottery, so they need a lot of product.
Some examples of production pottery:
photo sources: International Journal of Arts , Joel Cherrico Pottery and Terradolus Pottery.
Hobby potters, or small batch potters, by contrast, don't usually make many multiples of their work - at least not as many as production potters do. This is where the distinction between production and hobby potters blurs, because some hobby/small-batch potters do make multiples of items to sell, just not on as large a scale.
When does small-batch pottery become production pottery? I am not exactly sure. But I do know that I am NOT a production potter. I don't want to be. This is a hobby for me. Something to do now that my kids are off (and almost off) to college. And, craft fairs get me thinking about volume/quantity. You need to have enough to fill your table or booth and attract customers to that table/booth. And that makes me feel pressure, which I don't need or want. This is one reason I hesitate to "do" craft fairs.
2) I want pottery to be fun for me. When I start feeling pressure, I get stressed and then it isn't fun anymore. That can happen when I need to make a certain quantity of items (as for a craft fair) or a number of items to fill inventory at the local gallery shop that carries my ceramics. I have found that when this happens, I need to take a step back, breath deeply, and just play with clay.
The last time I did this, I decided to hand-build something large. I ended up with this:
Which now looks like this (the octopus "cap" cracked during the bisque/1st firing):
(I apologize for the terrible photography. These are just studio shots to document my progress.)
I am unclear how this will turn out. I plan to put some gold luster overglaze on it. It will be what it will be. But it was fun, and the next day I was back making items that I "normally" make.
Keeping it fun and not putting stress on myself is a big reason I hesitate to "do" craft fairs.
3) But the ultimate reason I hesitate to participate in craft fairs, might be dubbed "self esteem," for lack of a better word. All artists put the whole of themselves into their work. They put their heart and soul, their entire "being," into their craft. So when someone doesn't buy it, it can feel like a personal rejection. The logic goes like this:
Don't buy my "product"
⥥
Don't like my work
⥥
Don't like me / Don't like who I am as a person
A lot has been written on this topic. Gwenn Seemel wrote a great blog post about this topic in 2011. She discusses how she has to seperate herself from her work. She states that she had to stop "looking at [her]... paintings as an extension of [herself]...and [start]... seeing them more as objects with their own lives to lead" in order to not be almost "paralyzed by a sever lack of self-esteem." Seemel states that keeping this separation intact is important because it:
- "keeps the more vulnerable parts of [her]... safe
- "criticism of ]her]... work doesn't feel like criticism of [her]"
When she talks about criticism of her work, Seemel is talking more about critic's reviews of her work that are "out there" for all to read. But for me, not having a lot of (or any) customers at a craft fair is my biggest fear because customers not buying my work IS a critique my work, and, by association, a critique of me. They would buy it if they liked it/me, therefore, they aren't buying it because they don't like it/me. I am "deathly" afraid of being that table at a craft fair that nobody is standing in front of!
I really need to work on taking Gwenn Semmel's advice, and separate myself from my work.
My solution?
Only sign up for a few small craft fairs.
I live in a small town in Northern New Mexico. Luckily, we have some small groups who, as fundraisers, sponsor craft fairs, mostly around the holidays. The one last weekend was sponsored by the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary. I forgot my table cloth, and my set up was far from the professional set-ups you see at large craft fairs, but you can (apparently) get away with that at small, local craft fairs, because I actually sold quite a bit!
Photo of my table at last weekend's craft fair. photo credit Maire O'Neill/ladailypost.com
We do have regular/large art/craft fairs in town about 4 times a year, but I have yet to sign up for any of them, mostly because of the reasons listed above, but also because they only provide a tent. Each artist has to fill their tent with their own tables, shelving, etc. I have none of that stuff. I don't even have a sign with my business' name on it! And, I am not planning on being one of those makers who travels from fair to fair, selling their product, so I really don't want to invest in those things.
Scenes from past "large" craft fairs in my town:
photo sources: Fuller Lodge Art Center and Los Alamos Arts Council
Still, I am seriously considering participating in the 2018 Los Alamos Artist Studio Tour which will take place October 13-14. AND, I need to get my act together and make a decision ASAP because the registration deadline is May 15, which is exactly 15 days away!
Although the filling-a-tent-with-furniture-and-signage obstacle is not an issue for this event, the don't-stress-making-a-lot-of-product, keep-it-fun, and self-esteem issues are still present. I am seriously leaning towards participating. But just writing that last sentence sent a cramp through my stomach! Yikes!
I am going to "bite the bullet" and fill out the form later today or tomorrow. (But I still might change my mind!) 😜
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