Closing remarks from Rebecca Deans and emiko oye

And we are a wrap! Thanks to everyone for joining us today!

Just a reminder, the content posted here today is as close as I can get it in the time allotted.  Please do not take anything here as written in stone.  If you have questions about anything you’ve seen, please contact the presenters!  I am only human, so I apologize for anything that might not be 100%.

Thank you! ~ Tara J. Brannigan, aka ‘Kind of Strange’

http://www.kindofstrange.com

http://www.facebook.com/KindofStrange

http://www.facebook.com/Tbrannigan

Question: “Do you draw the line somewhere?”

Garth: “Recently one of the things I put up was a Scottish brewer that’s making beer that’s 70% alcohol, and decided to bottle this beer in a taxidermy squirrel” “I was all about that” “I certainly would never make fun of anything like the Penn State tragedy”

Question: “Have you ever met John Waters?”

Garth: “I have never met John Waters.” “He’s an intense collector of erotic craft that was toe-curling and beautiful”

Question: “When and how did you know that you are an extreme crafter.  That you have a passion for extreme craft”

Garth: “When I was an undergrad with these sort of stick in the mud professors and I really liked to do these things to kind of make them mad” “I used to throw these really awful pots” “I kind of have dumb hands, but I love making them do stuff” “I think it’s the idea that Craft which is tradition and history can also be subversion.  I think that when I started out I had certain ideas about subversion and craft and I felt pretty transgressive, but my mission as a grown-up is to promote diversity” “If stuff like this coming out of art school were to choke out traditional craft that would be a great tragedy” 

Presented by Garth Johnson

emiko introduces Garth Johnson

“Garth gave this amazing presentation on Extreme Craft. Garth has this blog, ExtremeCraft.com” “he curated a show at the museum of contemporary craft and pulled works from their collection to curate a show ‘Error Messages’ editor note, not 100% sure on that name, will look up later

“I wanted to show you guys a different side of craft and DIY that’s a little different”

“A lot of these people he finds are really good craftsmen”

“This is what I see as the future of craft and how we can really break some boundaries”

Garth:

“Wow, so Dale Dougherty is a major hero of mine.” “I’m so excited to go up and talk after all that Maker Faire stuff, I feel like I’ve been there and it’s rubbing off on me”

“I’m going to start with a video that’s been kicking around the craft world”

He shows a car commercial about making – the Jeep Grand Cherokee

“I’ve been taking this lecture around the country around the world in various forms for the past 6 or 7 years” “I give it to art groups, to community groups” “whenever I give it to craft specific groups is how no one loves crafts, and how our world is shrinking, boo hoo” “And I always ask them if they’ve ever been on ravelry sp? “ It has over 1 million members and is growing all the time”

“There’s something strange about why I do craft” “Craft runs deep in my family” “I went to art school, and I think there are a lot of people in here that went to art school.  I started ceramic as a way to piss off my professors who thought craft was this lesser thing”

“I like to think about craft as the metaphor of the Trojan horse” “People love craft” “So you can take Craft as a thing and a lot of the people in this lecture are taking what they do and what they’re passionate about and sneaking it into what they do as something of a Trojan horse”

“I go to a lot of academic conferences and there are a lot of people who think that we cannot advance the field of craft unless we know what craft is”

“I’ve got to say that I don’t want to be involved in the world of craft unless the world of craft can encompass a wide range of craft types” “I don’t think we’re ever going to be able to get that ‘what is craft ‘ toothpaste back in the tube”

“I like to think about the story of the blind man and the elephant. You get the 7 or 8 blind men around the elephant and each one is telling you a different story”

“I grew up on a farm in Nebraska.  My father made all of the knives in the kitchen”

“To talk about the artwork that I make, I make a lot of things out of porcelain.  Like Harriete, I’m a little obsessed with plastic bottles and their impact on the environment”

“Also very recently I’ve started to tinker and hack and use an easter egg engraving decorating robot to engrave onto small pottery”

“Speaking of our house, I love extreme craft so much that I married the most extreme crafter I know”

“My wife Claire is a glitter painter.  This is nothing more than a 4’x4’ panel of elmers glue and glitter” shows image of a painting done solely in glitter

http://www.extremecraft.com

Talks about a post on Extreme Craft about (may 21^st 2008) in which there’s a post card about making architectural models out of rendered pork and beef fat

“There’s a chopper by Arlen Ness that’s been redone in the 1980s, and all of the chrome parts have been very intricately engraved”

Shows a quick video of San Francisco cast in jello by Elizabeth Hickock

“Another favorite Bay area extreme crafter, is Eric Scollon.  He’s a very handsome, gay crafter.” “This is an exhibition that Eric did in a bathroom of a gay club”

“Anna Maltz conceived this project while she was in the Bay area.  She makes these very realistic Mohair people suits and dresses people in them and just sort of sees what happens”

“One of the threads that has run through this conference is crafting a community.  People who think the craft field is shrinking really need to look a little out of their sphere of influence”

Talks about Booze & Yarn in NYC

“I also mentioned the idea of Wravelry.com”

Talks about Etsy.com Virtual Labs ‘Shop Live’

“So I started Extreme Craft kind of on a lark.”

He talks about beginning Extreme Craft while working at an architectural firm

“Go back to Judy Chicago, going back to the 1970s and venerating these goddesses from throughout history through craft”

“Ghada Amer embroiders. So this is a large scale painting that is all embroidered.  She’s mashing up hardcore pornography and somewhere in here is Snow White”

“This is Gelatin.  They created this giant pink bunny on the side of a mountaintop”

“And then Tracy Emin. She’s just had a big retrospective.”

“This is sort of where I come in, Craft Masquerading as Art.” “Interested in doing geeky things with materials”

“Judith G. Klausner – She makes these amazing carved cameos out of Oreo cookies.”

“Here’s another one of my favorites, Tara Bursey, and this is her shrimp lace.  She buys these very pungent dried shrimp packages and turns them into these intricate doilies and lace”

“Jason Mecier – the renaissance man of pasta art”

“This is me imparting life lessons on you guys” “I’m betting there are plenty of classic overthinkers in here” “A ceramic artist named Mark Burns came to visit me while I was in grad school and said ‘I want to tell you about my philosophy of life, and that is following the whim of iron’. The whim of iron is having an idea that’s so crazy, so cockamamie that you’re unable to not pursue it”

“Going after that is the pure, undistilled stuff of creativity”

“Joanna Lopianowski-Roberts – She had one of those moments and decided she needed to make the entire Sistine Chapel out of needlepoint.  It took her 10 years.  In true DIY nature, she created patterns of it”

“This is a sea captain by the name of Rob McDonald.  He’s made a full scale replica Viking ship out of popsicle sticks” “He got these popsicle sticks the hard way, he didn’t just go to the popsicle factory and get them” “A lot of children in Europe have diabetes for this project!”

“Craft extending its middle finger”

“patricia Waller – she creates these cute, cuddle stuffed animals that behave more like animals in the wild”

“Karin Frank – A master woodcarver that really enjoys the human body and the things that the human body does, and what comes out of it”

“Katie Pell – She goes to the thrift store and finds old appliances and gives them this whole other world around them”

“There’s a potent metaphor around ‘the cozy’.” “So there’s this human impulse to swaddle things in fibrous materials.  Yarn bombing is a great expression of that.” “This is a Bay area group that does this (streetcolor.wordpress.com)”

“This is woman named Theresa Honeywell that created a cozy for an entire motorcycle”

“This is Marianne Jorgensen and she created this knitted cozy for this tank”  as an antiwar sentiment

“So the scale of these is advancing a little bit”

“I hope you guys know Olek.  Olek created this amazing piece of yarnbombing of pink camouflage on the wall street bull”

“This is another piece by Olek.  She’s a little obsessive! These messages on the wall are all obscene text messages by ex-boyfriends”

Elizabeth Demaray – Giant quilted stain cozy for a missile

“Craftivism is one way to get your craft out in front of the public.  Just as importantly, you’re sharing what you do with the public”

“The patron saint of man craft is Rosey Grier. He’s a 300lb ex football player and after a hard day of crushing skulls, he liked to unwind by doing a little needlepoint” “He was a huge permission giver for men who wanted to do craft”

“Dave Cole is a gentleman who has embraced knitting.” Talks about his efforts knitting a giant American flag using three cranes

Cory Fogel – “A Bay Area drummer that has combined drumming and knitting” “the genius thing about his work, is that he will sell you a CD, and the cd comes with the swatch of cloth that he knit while he was making the cd”

“I think that that’s another thing that runs through a lot of this extreme craft work.  Choosing the thing that you like to do and taking it to its logical conclusion, or perhaps several steps beyond”

Here he talks about a metalsmith that created an enameled doggy butthole cover for her roommate’s dog.

“This is Laura Splan.  She creates these amazing crocheted doilies that are in the shape of human viruses”

“Thinking of jewelry as an affliction” talking about Lauren Kalman

“A lot of this is about imparting my life lessons on you, dear audience, so this is the ponderous part of the discussion”

“Craft can have amazingly positive effects”

“Here’s a guy you might feature for your next symposium, Ray Materson” “He was on death row in Michigan” “He was eventually released from prison and he talks about the transformative effects of his embroidery” “He makes a lot of money from his embroideries” “He wrote a book called Needles and Sins”

“So there’s a village named Koniakow in Poland where the best lace in the entire world gets made.  So all the vestments for the Pope get made here” “In steps an entrepreneur who stepped in and created a line of impeccably made lace thong underwear” “the Catholic church threatened to excommunicate the little old ladies who were making these things” “I want to ask you guys to question just how much you guys want to make the things that you make.  Would you risk your eternal soul?”

Here he talks about craftivists creating sweaters for penguins who were affected by the oil spill, which prevented the penguins from dying of hypothermia

“This is a woman named Julie Green who took thrift store plates and created china plates with food porn images” “Each of these plates represents the final meal of a person on death row, just before they were executed”

He talks about Michael Strand, making a hundred Japanese inspired teacups and placing them on the doorsteps of the citizens of a town. (artstimulus.org)

Gabriel Craig – did a pro-bono jewelry experience (conceptualmetalsmithing.org)

“Craft can also be a weapon” “Lacey Jane Roberts – created knitted cozies and snuck up in the middle of the night and replaced the & crafts portion of the signage”

419eater.com – talks about how people scam the scammers into making craft projects

“So Harriete gave that great discussion on Professional Development and how important it is to get your stuff out there on the internet.” “that’s a double edged sword.  Once you have you work out there, there’s no way to control what happens to it” talks about Regretsy.com

“This is the most heart-rending example.  This is Camille Allen.  She makes these tiny premature looking little babies out of polymer clay.  Unfortunately, some asshole out there went and wrote something how they’re made out of marzipan. (they’re not)”

“Similar to Regretsy, this is http://whatnottocrochet.wordpress.com/ “

“Cross-pollinated craft, very briefly” “Think about ways to mash it up in different ways”

“The Institute for Figuring – No matter what you like, there’s something out there for you”

garth@extremecraft.com – everything I’m showing is sent to me by other people.  I want to hear from you!

Shows a clip of Martha Stewart on Thanksgiving food costumes for infants.

“If I have one sort of message to distill down to you guys, it to think about the role of play in your work.  Craft like you mean it.  Craft passionately. And above all, Craft Hard!”

Engaging Community and the Next Generation of Makers, Presented by Dale Dougherty 

emiko introduces Dale Dougherty

“How do we attract people from outside of our bubble?  Because it is easy to be in the studio and forget all about the outside world”

“This Maker Faire just blew my mind. it’s set in the suburbs in San Mateo, and thousands of people come out for it.  By now it’s maybe 90,000 people and still still growing!” “The key for us to survive in the field is by including them into our field and getting kids excited about making things again”

“He was co-founder with Tim Reilly for the O’Reilly Media Incorporated” “He is the maker of this Maker Faire”

“What’s really exciting is that last week, Dale was invited to the Whitehouse as a ‘Champion of Change’”

“We need that next generation to be working with their hands and to be thinking in creative ways”

Dale:

“Good afternoon everybody! How’re you doing today?”

“Industrial arts has basically disappeared from the educational landscape” “I wanted to talk about that” “My vision for Maker Faire is that it’s a learning event, a place for people to be exposed to the makers and the way of doing things”

“This is our local high school, and this used to be their tech room / shop room.  The teacher passed away two years ago, and they never hired anyone to replace him.  They just took all that equipment and pushed it all into the back and, converted it into a regular classroom”

“ITE programs have declined over a third in the last 10 years”

“Both the number and quality of the programs available has declined significantly”

“At least it was an alternative.  It was there for someone who said ‘I want to do something diffferent’”

“And I don’t know if you can read this, but this is ‘Proper Care and Use of a Microscope”  It talks about using a microscope and shows you all of the steps on having to use it, assuming that you’ve never used one.  This is on a quiz”

“We take those that get the answer right and say ‘You’re stars!’ and those that don’t ‘there’s something wrong with your’. And that’s wrong”

“So I think we’re living in a time wherein there’s a great opportunity to create new ways of thinking and open participation” (Play & experimentation, Open Participation, Democratization of Technology)

“I think of You as knowing things, of doing things in our community that really matter”

“An intelligence is the ability to solve problems, or to create products that are valued in one or more cultural settings” – Howard Gardner

“Feew of us think of ourselves as inventors” “To learn is to invent, is to make connections between things.  To make these relationships that didn’t exist for us”

Dale shows a Maker Faire video about making robots from old typewriters

“Lead the child to construct for himself the tools that will transform him from the inside – that is, in a real sense, and not just on the surface.” – Piaget

“To understand is to invent”

“To transform yourself, that’s what I think is possible here.  I don’t mean from something bad to something good, just that life is that process of transformation from one thing to the next”

He shows a video here of children playing with electronic maker’s space on the museum floor at the exploratorium

“Isn’t that beautiful, to see kids and adults mixing together, interacting?”

“I think we’re seeing authentic learning there, real learning there.  What’s important to me there is that everyone is learning, not just kids”

Cultivating the experimental mind:

“to understand is to discover, or reconstruct by discovery”

“an experiment not carried out by the individual himself with all the freedom of initiative is by definition not an experiment but a mere drill without educational value”

“Making creates evidence of learning”

“I think there’s really something important in the act of making” “It’s something you share with others and you talk about it in interesting ways”

“That badge is something that means something to him, that he can share with others” on a boy at the Detroit Maker Faire soldering a badge

“I wanted to focus on what people were playing with, rather than just what they were producing” “I wanted it to be fun”

“In some ways there’s a tradition here that I wanted to connect to, and that is Tinkering.  Of figuring things out because you wanted to do that, you wanted to learn that”

He talks about learning from magazines like Popular Mechanics and Mechanix Illustrated

“What I learned through all of this is that people really love making projects, of being involved in making something”

“The hackers are sort of a new group”

“{He} had grown up with a specific relationship to the world, wherein things had meaning only if you found out how they worked. And how would you go about that if not by getting your hands on them?” – Steven Levy’s Hackers

“Today we use that term (get your hands on), to mean grasping it, getting a sense of control.”

“I just loved going down to the Homebrew Computer Club, showing off my ideas and designing neat computers. I was willing to do that for free for the rest of my life.” – Steve Jobs

“They needed to know that there were other people like them out there”

“Makers are Playing with technology” “It’s really how we present this to kids, as play, that opens it up to them to participate and learn in a new way”

“I mentioned democratizing computer technology and how it’s changing things”

Here he talks about 3d printers such as the Makerbot and others

“So there’s another thing in education that I think of as the garage band social pattern.  And it’s one of those ways that we learn that’s really interesting.” “there’s not formal education requirement, you can start on your own” “The idea of practicing, of playing together”

“You’re artists, when you take that first step to show your work in public, that’s a big risk!  But you learn a heck of a lot out of it!”

“So this is Maker Faire.  We just finished our 6^th Maker Faire in the San Mateo area”

“I wanted to do Detroit, because people sort of ascribe it as this Bay Area thing.  But I thought, hey, we could do this in Detroit” “there are creative people there.  There’s a 100 year history of industry there” “This creative work is in every community”

“I had some people show up from Kuwait yesterday and they want this sort of thing for Kuwait.  Why? Because most of the people in Kuwait are employed by the government.  They want to promote this sort of way of learning”

“No boring stuff, I like that!” from the Maker Faire video

“I just want to end with this, it’s from HowToons” “I work with my hands and my mind. I pursue beauty in what I produce. I see art in science and science in art. I value skills”

Question from the audience: “Are you taking this to local elementary schools and helping them start programs and create kits where the parents can come in and do this sort of exploratory hands on work?”

Dale: “I’m actually in the process of starting up a foundation to handle some of this sort of thing that I really endorse and believe in.” “I started a project with our local high school called Project Make” “I’m interested in all of these levels… it’s a big challenge!” “Most of it and the way the Maker Movements is DIY is getting more people involved” “We just sort of help share the recipe for them if they want to do it” “We have a young makers program which will also start in January, to start small clubs”

Question from the audience: “Where do the people who are demonstrating find the amount of materials they would need to start a project, to do an activity?”

Dale: “We try to work with them on it” “We have an open application policy and ask you to tell us what you need and sometimes we’re able to help with that sort of thing” “We try to work with you and see if there’s a way we can contribute to a budget for tools and that sort of thing”

Question from the audience: “I just wanted to thank you for featuring Detroit as one of your cities for this.  My question is a funny one and maybe a little simple one: why do you have the e at the end of Faire”

Dale: “From the get-go, we wanted to do a family oriented event.  We wanted people to show up and to have fun” “Today we don’t have the same sorts of faires that they used to”  “The verb ‘to make’ in French is Faire”  “I didn’t know that at the time, but it’s a nice coincidence”

“On your point about Detroit: I’m not from there, but I went there and I got a feel for it and wanted to be a part of it”

Question from the audience: “What kind of barricades have you come across in trying to set these up in various places?”

Dale: “Actually, you know, it’s a really interesting question.  We’ve done Maker Faire in Austin, Tx and Detroit and it’s really community organizing in some places. “ “what’s kind of interesting is that they kind of don’t know each other” (with regards to different kinds of makers) “Basically we’re all Makers” “Seeing how we are all part of something much bigger is really important” “The creative people sort of get this, it’s more when you go up against some of the corporate or educational”  “My worry is that someone could take a great project and put it in front of kids and say DO IT THIS WAY and really take away from the excitement of that” “Helping kids match up with the resources is really important” “What’s happening here is exposing kids to this while their parents are around really exposes them to the idea that this is something their kids enjoy”

Question from the audience: “What would the impact be in having something along the lines of a Maker Faire tent over at Occupy Oakland and how it might be translated into something of a larger social nature”

Dale: “We’ve had some of the locals come up and try and get something started up there” “there’s something happening on a cultural level that I’m not sure I can completely articulate, which comes down to this idea that we really want to limit our influence from these institutions” “There’s a sense of moving from being powerless to doing something about it” “We are trying to make change” “We’re trying to do something that’s positive”

“Thank you all for coming today, and I really appreciate it!” 

We have a quick break and then we’ll be back for Session 4: The Maker Faire Phenomenon - Engaging Community and the Next Generation of Makers. 

Presented by Dale Dougherty: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Dougherty

Professional Practices: Conversation, Questions & Commentary with Andy Cooperman and Harriete Estel Berman

emiko introduces Harriete and remote-Andy, who is attending via Skype:

“It’s kind of an Oprah moment, we’re Skyped in with Andy Cooperman”

“We are going to kind of piggyback off of the last discussion and the meaning of success”

“Anyway, introducing Harriete!  You all know Harriete as she’s a very active MAG member!”

“Has anyone gone to a professional development seminar?” show of hands in the audience

“What’s so great about MAG is that we’re willing to share information with one another.  It’s not like the fashion world where you have to be all super secretive and have your own thing hidden away”

“Dispelling the myth that the artist is the flakey person, not to be taken seriously”

“So without further ado, we want to start with Andy”

Andy: “I want to apologize for not being there in person.  I have this sort of retina situation unfolding and I need to be on my side for two weeks, yesterday was week one”

“Well whatever success is, there’s a lot of ways to define and achieve it.  There’s a few keys in my eyes, one of which is perseverance. “ “The other thing that I’ve learned through the years is to look outside of the field and see what other opportunities there are out there” slide of making crowns for dental work

“I tried many a get rich quick scheme.  When I moved to Seattle I started making these silver slugs and figured how could I lose… and of course, I did”

“The way to sustain a career in this field is to diversify.  So, I see my career as a pie.  In this case, a cherry pie.  All the different slices contribute to the general well-being of the pie, which is my career.  I don’t think I’d be happy only doing custom work, or gallery work.  I really need all of it”

“So this is kind of one of the slices of the pie, which is custom or commission work.”

“Production work: I don’t do a lot of production work anymore, but when I do, it’s usually earrings like this, or these limited editions.”

“Another part of that pie, of course, is one of a kind exhibition pieces” shows a piece that’s currently on display at Velvet da Vinci, as well as Pucker and Coeur

“As things change, so do the slices of the pie.  The economy changes, interests changes.  So right now teaching is a much bigger portion of the pie”  “The one slice that I left out, and that I feel is crucial in studio practice is to Play.  To make the time to play and create in a way that has no set goal”

“And that’s it, for me! That’s the end!” photo of Andy’s (jeaned) butt

Harriete: “So briefly I’m going to tell you who I am and what I am about.”  “So we all have to start somewhere.” “My current studio is a packed little space in a two car garage” “I’m not really a tool person, but this space is packed”

“As far as my pie goes, I also diversify and do silver repair.  I’ve done that for years and it’s

“I also make jewelry, tea pots to tea cups, sculptural pieces, all out of recycled materials.  So that’s the one thing I have as a common thread, I use all recycled and repurposed materials”

“I have some commentary about the impact of plastic on our environment.  We see these bottles in the grocery store and don’t really thing about it, but they have a huge impact in our environment.”

“Microplastic waste”

“I also recently made a piece that’s 28 feet wide and 20 feet tall that’s all made from recycled pencils.  It’s about the impact of standardized testing on our educational system”

“One of the projects I’ve been working on since 2001 is the Professional Guidelines.  Andy has been working with me for at least 6 or 7 years working as an editor” she thanks additional people here, I just couldn’t keep up, apologies for that

“emiko helped me design the brochures”

Editor note: will include link to the Professional Development Seminar brochures here

“I also write a blog called Ask Harriete, where I write my opinion and/or answer people’s questions on professional advice” http://askharriete.typepad.com

“The Professional Development Seminar provides valuable information and is available at the SNAG conference.” “this year we’re going to offer a talk on shipping”  “We’re also going to put together a comparison of various shippers for shipping within the United States”

“the PDS also provided, last year, a fabulous program of the audio and PowerPoint of the seminar which you can find online for free”

“One of the things that all of these programs have in common is the absolute #1 thing for your success: Professional images”

“I’m going to show you a quick tutorial on how to improve your images if you’re doing it yourself”

“People really affect their professional image and success by having poor quality images of their work”

Harriete talks through Philip Cohen’s process of photographing a piece of her work

“Use pieces of foam core to bounce the light onto the piece in subtle ways to enhance the reflective qualities of the piece”

“If you need a sharp point of light, you can use aluminum foil on cardboard to create a metallic reflector”

“All of this information is available online”

Editor note: I’ll add links in here

“By being a better advocate for your own work in your business practices, you can find more success in your development”

Here we transition over to Q & A with both Harriete and Andy Cooperman

Question from  Martin: “We have craft shows, brick and mortar galleries and the internet: how are these working together and how do you see these evolving going forward?”

Andy: I think it’s really hard right now, because over all of this, we have a really crappy economy.  One thing we can’t ignore about the web is the juggernaut that is Etsy.  That’s not necessarily competing with the galleries per se, but it’s definitely competing with the craft shows.

Harriete: “It’s interesting to watch in the antique market the impact of eBay on the market.  I remember going to an antique market and seeing this tiny little booth and it’s for eBay.” “  eBay has had a profound impact on the antiques market” “I don’t think there’s any easy answer right now.  The real impact right now is on the galleries, which now have to have a brick and mortar presence AND an online presence”

Sienna: “I don’t really sell online, but I have a presence online.  And you know, Facebook is another I think.”  “when I sell something and represent an artist, the intimacy and contact I have with that person is a big portion of it”

Harriete: “It’s practically a requirement now that artists have their own website.  I know there are some artists who don’t, but it really surprises me.  I see it as a presence I have for myself, something that I can control, something that I can change at any time I want”

Andy: “Another thing Harriete, is that your website is just your work.  A gallery site is showing only what they’re selling”

Sienna: “One of the things I do with my galleries, is that I offer my artists their own presence on the web”

Andy talks about galleries validating the presence of the artist’s work

Question from Janet Underwood: “What I might do to get the sort of response that other jeweler’s get at craft shows?” after discussing a craft show in which a jeweler across the way was doing really well

Andy: “I mean, what is she doing?  What is she doing that’s making a difference?”

Shows images of Janet’s booth

Harriete: One thing I’d say is that your booth really need to represent your work” “If you’re making hand-made work that’s  made to look like an artist made it, why are you displaying it on commercial displays?” “I feel like it’s somewhat of an anomaly in our society that we’re making anything by hand” “The only thing that we’re really selling is a unique identity or style that you cannot get anywhere else” “We’re selling a lifestyle and a branding that many people aspire to”  “that idea is very romantic and over idealized, that’s what we sell”

Andy: What I think is even a more basic question is ‘Are you choosing the right venue?’ I really think that whether it’s a gallery, a store, or even a craft show, you have to look at your work and say ‘is this the right venue for my work? Does it compliment it?’

Harriete talks about having conviction around your work and overall style affecting the perception of your product by the customer

Andy: I think a really useful thing someone told me a while back was to take 10-12 pieces and lay them out on the table, and then step to see what the common thread is between the pieces.  To see what that thread is and to pull it.

Discussion around the perception of visual display

Harriete: You want to suck people into your booth somehow.

Sienna: If you don’t want to spend time learning how to make your booth look good, you’re in San Francisco.  Find a student that’s studying display and would be willing to trade.  Then you can just work on pulling the thread like Andy said.

emiko: There’s something to be said about not doing everything all of the time.  I’m a bad example, because I don’t’ sleep. Don’t be like me!

Andy: Everything plays a part, and you can’t forget that

Harriete: I remember talking to Amy Tavern and she was talking about how she went to her first NY gift show and people knew her work from her website and from online social media. 

Question from the back: Can you show us an example of a good booth layout?

Harriete: I can show you some other time on Ask Harriete, but I didn’t bring any with me for this usage.

Question from the audience: Would either of you mind sharing your advice about the stickiest situation you’ve in professionally and what you’ve gained from it?

Harriete: “I’ll tell you why I started the professional guidelines.  I would try my best to be professional and send my slides in beforehand and have everything lined up, but I’d still run into situations in which there were misunderstandings or issues.”  “So many places, especially galleries, will expect you to send them your work and then send you their contract”

Andy: “I had a series of rings in Arizona, and somebody bought one of those rings.”  “I had that person contact me online and ask if I would make another ring for their partner in the same style”  “Prior to that I had always sent them back to the gallery, and I lost 6 sales that way” “So I made a pact to myself that I wasn’t going to lose another sale to that, so I said sure  I’ll do that!” “So I did it, and then I sent a check to the gallery for 20% to be aboveboard with the gallery”  “About a week later I get the check back from the gallery with a note saying that they had nothing to do with it and couldn’t take a cut, though they appreciated the honesty”

“Make your own decisions and stand up for yourselves” “It’s only one person who’s got your back and that’s you (and your family)” “Be open in your transactions”

Harriete talks about several instances in which the ‘artist price’ got people into trouble, as there wasn’t allowing for the right cut for those involved

Andy: I don’t believe in auctions.  I really feel they damage the value of the artists.

From the Susan C: “I think there needs to be a differentiation between artists who are representing themselves out in the world and those who are working through galleries.” “Andy, in your earlier example, why didn’t you try to work with the gallery first? Instead of putting yourself in a situation in which you might have damaged the relationship?” “I also feel that auctions are needed to value the work in the market.  We need to support people who do auctions that establish the free market value”

Andy: “I think that is the policy now, and if I were to enter into another gallery situation like that it would be part of the conversation” “I agree with you about the idea that we need to set an objective price or value for the work, but I don’t feel that auctions are the right way to do that”  Andy talks about the secondary market and how it helps establish value on the broader market

Question from Mike Edwards: “Could you address getting liability insurance in teaching workshops?”

Harriete: “I haven’t yet talked to a person about liability insurance”

Andy: “I teach a lot.  I guess I always assume that the venue is carrying liability insurance, and maybe I shouldn’t be.  That’s a really great question”

From the audience: “If you are running a business out of your own residence, you’re going to need to have a license.  You need to check with your city and your county.  I almost started a workshop without liability insurance, but then thought better about it.  Because they can come after you, your business.” “It’s not cheap, it’s in the mid-2000s a year, but it gives me up to $2million in coverage” “there’s kind of an elephant in the room, is information about safety” “You can go to OSHA and the EPA and get details on the kinds of safety issues you may have” “When we’re teaching and where we’re teaching, needs to include reasonable standards of practice and safety”

From the audience: “I’m a teacher over at the Crucible and we insist on every student signing a waiver, even though we have liability insurance.” “That does help to a certain extent” 

Question from the audience: “How do you develop a web presence while still maintaining a relationship with the gallery?”

Andy: “I’ve thought for some time that what we really need is a summit of galleries and makers to have a real conversation around some real guidelines” “We have to get together and have some sort of summit”

Susan: “I think that’s an excellent idea Andy.” “I feel this field has never really developed a great online model”

Harriete: “I want to debate this idea of the relationship with the galleries” “There are galleries that represent their artists, but there aren’t that many” “They’re not representing the artist or the maker when they’re representing 100 other artists” “How much is representation going to generate in revenue”

Andy: “Just do the math: If that gallery is representing 100 artists, they’re not going to be representing you with much attention.  It’s not really a sustainable model”

From the audience, Carol: “I sell through the Artful Home and I have images online with them that a customer emailed me about.  He wanted to buy the necklace from me directly, rather than go through the Artful Home.  I said that he needed to go through the Artful Home.” “It comes down to honesty” “You have to establish in your mind what you’ll do and how you’ll work with your galleries”

Andy: “I feel like you can facilitate that sale” “The idea here is to not lose that sale.  You don’t win, the Artful Home doesn’t win, the customer doesn’t win”

Question from the audience: “How do you know what galleries to go to? How do you ensure that you get what you deserve? Are there techniques or tips for not getting screwed in the end?”

Brigitte Martin: “You can do two things: You can ask other artists the gallery represents what they think about the gallery and how they’ve been treated.

And then, quite frankly, ask for a contractual agreement.  If you have any questions about it, just ask.  Do it in a professional manner.”

Andy: “I think you need to keep that relationship open that you don’t just park your work there and wait for checks to roll in. You need to be proactive on the phone, on email, and maintain that personal contact.  Ask what the clients are saying about the work”

“A good gallery looks at you and says ‘I like your bones, I like what you’re about’, and signs onto it” “I don’t think most galleries are like that now.  There are some, certainly that do that, but many are just retail outlets with your work now” “Is the gallery interested in the details and the story of the work” “Those little stories are what sells the work” “its gives another depth to the work that the client can chew over and take back out of it”

Comment from the audience, Deb: “No one in the studio / art jewelry world is making a ton of money off of our work.  Galleries are not taking a ton away from us”

Harriete: “there aren’t really a lot of galleries now, nice ones that is”

We return from break to the first session of the afternoong:

Professional Practices: Conversation, Questions & Commentary with Andy Cooperman and Harriete Estel Berman

If you have questions, ask them now!  Either here or @kindofstrange on Twitter

I’ll be back in approx. 1 hour for more of the Metal Arts Guild Symposium!

Q from Sarah Turner: So I was wondering if you could address for a little bit, the power that you have in that role? And your ability to have that sort of power, to give feedback to artists and influence their work in that way.

Brigitte: I think for everybody that it’s important to show integrity, and that when you give feedback to really be totally honest with that person.  I don’t feel like you do anyone service if you sugarcoat things, not that you have to be rude, but to speak as though this person was a really really good friend of yours and you have the best intentions.  That’s how I would view it.  And yes, there’s some incredible power in it, but I’m not afraid to speak my mind and help in that way.

Lola: I had a few professors that I would say had some very strong agendas.  It’s kind of like after I graduated from school that I had to take some time to remasticate that and see where I really stood with all of it.  In the end what’s most important to me is that I am a facilitator and that I help that person to become the best artist they can become.

Sienna: I do try to take that responsibility seriously.  But I actually agree with Lola.  Part of what I do is to be a conduit between the artists and the rest of the world.  My job is to make it look good to everyone else, to sell it and to help facilitate an artist to continue in their work.  When you first started talking I was think ‘sometimes when I hate what I do and I just want to stop, I think about my responsibilities to my artists’.  Whatever it is, it’s not so much power, but responsibility between people and to be honest.

When I found out that people didn’t think I was nice and I was trying so hard, I thought ‘screw it!’.

Lola: I have a similar experience.  I’ve heard from my students that they think I’m a hard-ass.  And I don’t think I’m that way, but I do have really high standards.  My students largely seem to appreciate it.  I don’t care about their excuses.  The work has got to be on the table and if it’s not, we can’t have a conversation about it.  I scare the shit out of them, and then they perform.

Q from Sarah Turner: I wondered if the three of you could talk a bit about critical attention and financial success and how you view them?

Sienna: It’s easy for me, because my job is to sell it.  I’m successful if I do the thing I’m supposed to do, and that’s to sell the work.  It’s how I choose to sell it.  If I wanted to make a lot of money, I’d do something else.

Lola: It’s interesting for me because I’ve really diversified myself.  And that keeps me interested and engaged.  I don’t view my art and my life as a separate thing.  So basically money for me and the financial success I’ve achieved I view as a tool, as a way to make the work that I want to get critical success with. 

Q from Sarah Turner: Could you three give recommendations or instances in which you’ve worked with artists in living up to the expectations you have.  When you talk about high standards, what are those?

Brigitte: As a goldsmith, I like well-crafted work.  I like work that is well crafted and that’s really my goal.  I don’t honestly care if you went to this great school and have an MFA.  None of that matters to me.  The only thing that is critical is the work that is out there, and whether it is well made.

Lola: I think for me, especially with regards to my students, I want a continued engagement.  I want my students after they go out in the world to continue to be thirsty, to keep asking questions and to stay in contact with me.  Frankly, I can’t keep track of them all myself, so if they’re not maintaining their connection with me, I can’t really pass along information to them.  Being able to see them and have some visibility is, to me, really important.

Sienna: That’s a big question for me.  I know one of the things I want to see when I’m looking at work or talking to artists, I want to see that your idea goes through the whole group of work.  I assume it has to be well made.  I want to see that you’re a thinking body, that you’re looking at your work and that you’re thinking about it conceptually. 

Q from the audience: Having been involved in this field for a long time, the question that you asked about critical attention and success: I was wondering if I could ask the panelists to describe a bit more about that, as I don’t think that this field has been particularly interested in that critical dialog.  Where is it that you might look for that if you were trying to find it?

Sienna: Well the Art Jewelry forum will be publishing a book about that shortly.  I think it should be pretty interesting.  I’m hoping it’s not all agreeable, as I think having different opinions is really valuable.  You’d be amazed how we criticize within our own field, without having a real critical dialog.  I would like to take the work that’s happening in this field and compare it or bring it to other fields. 

Sarah: I think is not so much where I look, but an opportunity that I see in the realm of critical dialog.  … I feel like I’m in a position, in part because I  , I can start to see people that would be great voices in that area.  I do think that a lot of those players move in and out of that network.  Pay attention to who they’re bringing and how they might be engaged. 

Sienna: I have paid writers an arm and a leg to writers who have experience outside of the field .  It is really hard to find people to write about jewelry who aren’t in it.  Instead of inviting artists to come and talk about their work, invite scientists to talk about their work and where it’s headed.

Lola: Inevitably when you put together something like that (Exhibition in Print), you’re going to piss people off.  We can invite all of these people in to observe and to put this out there, but if no one in the field is willing to have this conversation amongst ourselves, how are we ever going to get it out there?

Q from the audience: I have a question about the idea of passivity… what’s your take on the idea of passivity and how you can fight it?  (being passive in the way that you approach your whole idea of being an artist)

Sienna:  You know, the hunger thing!  If you want it, go get it.  As my grandma says ‘shit or get off the pot’

Brigitte: There are certainly different artist personalities.  When you put your work out there, you are marketing yourself with everything you do and everything you say.  Just be true to yourself and if you are more of a quiet person and don’t want to be out there, then don’t.  But unfortunately, you do have to kind of market yourself.  And do it consistently.

Sienna: Not all artists I know are like Lola and as outspoken and assertive as she is.  At a certain point in maturity, you have to know that if you don’t ask for something, you’re not going to get it.  If your work is really good, it doesn’t matter.

Brigitte: If I see something I really like, I’m going to bring it to the forefront.