Lessons from the Sabbatical

 As you may know, last session I took a break from classes at Portland Pottery - my first since I started teaching there in 2001. In fact, it was the first time since I left school that I have been just a potter! I’ve always had some other job. Early on, I had service jobs, then office jobs; when I started teaching, that position kept my mind in clay, brought me community, and allowed me to share my joy and passion. It was a good fit.

Nevertheless, I sometimes looked at full time potters and wondered: what have they got that I haven’t got? I know now, I think: the answer is nothing. Or maybe the answer is time, or the money to buy a little time. Because it was working. Just not fast enough to sustain. I like this answer better than "I guess I just suck at this" although the distinction has not yet had much practical effect. 

One of the reasons I started this blog was to share what I've learned with other potters. From my time on sabbatical, I learned that you can make a living selling pots, if you have enough of  a cushion to buy you time to build. I went from one or two online sales a month to three or four a week - still not enough but an enormous increase. I increased my Patreon income by about 30%. I don't know that this growth would have continued, but I do know one thing: the second, the very instant I stopped banging that drum constantly, it stopped. Last week, the week I went back to class? There were zero orders and zero subscriber growth. It's a bit discouraging, but it's also good information. 

Marketing, it seems, takes as much time as making. I was trying to post to five platforms, four times a day - a lot of copy/paste, but sometimes with slight alterations in each post tailored to each platform. I sent newsletters and targeted snailmail. Plus the occasional Youtube video.  I posted longer tutorials several times a week to the Patreon page. It was a lot, and even at that I could have been doing more. While maybe somebody out there is making pots that simply fly off the shelves, of their own accord (sure, Jan) I feel like I may have discovered the secret, at least for me: promote the holy hell out of the work & the page. However much promotion I am doing, I should be doing more! In fact, what am I doing spending on this non-income-generating blog?? 

See where this leads? I now know - or think I know - that I could be a full time potter...but is that the work I would want to do? If I could just make stuff, and then the fairies would come in the night & exchange it for cash, well, I'd take that deal! But that's not how it is. So, would I even want to do that, if that's the trade-off? I don't know that I would, but I do know that I like all of this better than: maybe I just suck at this.

Anyway, blah-blah-blah, check out the Patreon if you haven't already, there's a new post about slip decorating techniques up today. 

Travel Mugs at Last!

 

So excited to have these travel mugs finally available! I've been working on this form for awhile, trying to iron out the functional requirements, which are quite different from those of a household mug. The travel mug needs to: fit in a cupholder; insulate the hand without a handle; have an opening large enough for ice cubes that still minimizes sloshing; hold a substantial amount (can't really refill on the go!); accommodate a straw; and still be easy to wash. I made 10 of these, only 5 of which survived the bisque (I'll have more on that at Patreon). One sold right out of the kiln, which leaves four. 
They happened to be in the part of the kiln that reduced perfectly, so they are all the goldy-tan that is my favorite soda result. 

I'm particularly pleased with my solution to the hot-coffee problem: without a handle, stoneware, being very dense, transfers the heat readily to your hand. These have a hollow band about 2" wide where you can grip - the air layer prevents that uncomfortable heat transfer. (Downside, but only for me: these are pretty labor intensive to create. Or to do it neatly, at least, so it looks nice. I can make things look like crap as fast as you like.) Similarly, the drinking hole had a couple of challenges: the circular opening allows it to be large enough for an ice cube while still keeping the liquid from sloshing out of the cup. You can read more about the making here. You can shop here! 

October Giveaway: Locking Lid Teapot

 I've been working on a seated lid with a lock for pouring vessels. The first one I made was...not great. Worked, kind of, but you know: not great. The second one was much better: it functions just as I hoped it would. Look: 

It does what I intended it to do, but the visual of the mechanism needs some work. It's just a strip of clay across the bottom of the lid, that fits into two slots cut in the gallery. In one position, the lid lifts off; turn it 90°, and it catches under the gallery and won't come off. You can tip the pot well over, and the lid stays in place. 

It works, but I'd like it to be more elegant, more integrated. The teapot itself is beautiful, if a little more austere than my usual look; I didn't want to spend a great deal of time on decorating until I knew the mechanism would work properly. So, simple and rustic. Because it doesn't fit in with my usual body of work, it looks out of place in a store display. What to do, what to do...? I know: I'll give it away! 

Every other month I do a giveaway for paid subscribers at Patreon. If you'd like a chance to win this teapot, join any tier (starts at $1.50/month) before the drawing on October 11th. Since only paid subscribers are entered, your chances are pretty good! 

Last month (and still) I was working on a travel mug design that would be suitable for both hot and cold drinks, and protect the users hand from heat in the absence of a handle. After getting some feedback on the prototypes, I made the cups bigger and the opening smaller, but round rather than half-moon-shaped. I got the first of these new, improved travel mugs out of the last firing and I am absolutely delighted! I hope to photograph these and list them on the website this week. 

Calling All Kiln Nerds

 I had an unexpected (but not unappreciated!) result in my most recent firing. Though I fired it (I thought!) as closely as I could to previous firings, there was a noticeable difference: the upper half of the kiln was well-reduced, creating a beautiful golden tan color on the ware. The lower half of the kiln was more oxidized, with pale bone & peachy surfaces. Though not as pronounced near the front of the kiln, you can somewhat observe the effect in this video:

https://www.patreon.com/FineMessPottery/posts/mud-potters-and-170790351

I discuss why & how this strange oxidation pattern happened over on my Patreon page - free post. In the meantime, here are some of my faves from the firing:

2026 Cat Dish Fundraiser

The 2026 Cat Dish Fundraiser is underway! As in previous years, for every 10 dishes I sell, I will sponsor a cat's adoption fee at Kennebec Valley Humane Society. We're already humming along; in the first day, enough dishes sold to sponsor one cat, and we are halfway to sponsoring a second - I even listed additional bowls this morning. Shop at the link & help a cat find a home.

 

Pots By The Pound

Maine Craft Weekend is coming up! I've missed the last couple of years, but I'm back with Pots By The Pound, a studio-clearing sale. Every second & demo, every pot I am tired of looking at, all will be given a per-pound price - some as low as $2 a pound. Choose your ware, weigh the pile, take home your bargains! 
I'll be here on Cony Street, trusty scale & calculator at the ready. For obvious reasons, this has to be an im-person only event, but if you can make it, I'd love to see you there. :)
 

Lace Bowl

 My favorite piece out of the last firing was a lace-patterned bowl with sliptrailed blue flowers - so naturally, I made another one. 

Happy Birthday to Me

It was my birthday on Saturday. It was a great day, thanks - a coastal hike, a roadside stand for dinner, a fire in the backyard - but that's not the most significant thing about this birthday. It was my 62nd, which technically qualifies me to start collecting Social Security. 

I  will not be doing that, not this year, not next. The one after is not looking good either. You can probably guess the problem: I've been a potter & pottery instructor most of my life. I had a couple office jobs here & there while I was building momentum, but overall? I did not make much money. There was always enough, even if sometimes it meant my house was 55° all winter, but never much. Whatever extra I had, I saved, so I have a little built up now, but it might...might... carry me a year. So I work. I keep working. 

I know how very lucky I am: I love my work. I get a lot of satisfaction from both aspects of it - the making and the teaching. I don't intend to stop doing those things while I am still physically able, but it might be good to do somewhat less of them now that I am older. That's the unfortunate part: doing less is probably not going to be possible, not for a long time. 

All this is by way of explanation & a little bit apology. I know I used to post a lot of content here, available free to whoever happened to show up. I also know it never feels good when you're asked to pay for something that used to be free, and that's sorta what happened when I started doing most of my posting on Patreon. I can tell you being the one to have to ask for money sucks, too, and I wish I had enough to never have to ask, but that's just not the way of it. I'm sorry if it's annoying! I'm trying to build it up to a point where I can afford to dial back the more physically demanding parts of my job to a point that I can do without being exhausted & in pain all the time. 

At the same time, I fully understand that many people here will simply not have money lying around for this! We're all kinda in the same boat. 

If you want to follow me for free on Patreon, you can do that at this link. The free teri doesn't have an official name but in my head I call then (you?) "Friends of The Mess." If it feels like it's worth $1.50/month to you, subscribe! If not, don't - I'm still delighted to have you there. I'm still doing my thing, still excited to share what I learn (often the hard way!) There will still be content here from time to time, but more over there. 
Wishing us all joy & abundance in the coming months & years. 

Oh wait, almost forgot: did a surprise drop yesterday! 1 bowl, 4 mugs, 5 lil sippers.
Check em out here.

Shop Update!

 Spent most of yesterday photographing pots, processing photos, & writing descriptions for posts. Today I'm getting those links out there! Lota of great pots in this update! Here are a few of my faves:

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Really love this lace-embossed bowl. I briefly considered keeping it, but as you can perhaps imagine, I have a lot of bowls. Click here for the listing. 

I can picture this utensil holder in a sunny kitchen, adding a casual touch. 

I have come to prefer ikebana to conventional vases. They allow for a more naturalistic floral display -  not a stiff, tight arrangement, but more like the way the flower grow in your garden. This one has a soft shine that almost glows. 

I had fun posing these bears in and around the garden - borrowing from my husband's collection of Maine minerals to use as props. See more fat bear pics here and here. 

One last sales day - I think - before I can turn my attention again back to the making. 

And The Winner is...!

 It's time once again for my...bi-monthly? semi-monthly? idk, every-other-monthly giveaway drawing for patrons! This month I'm giving away a set of soda-fired salt and pepper shakers.

If you want in on the next drawing, head on over to Patreon & subscribe at any of the four tiers: Earth, Water, Air, or Fire to get your name in the hat. Next drawing will be in October.

Bowls for Lisa

 Hi Lisa! Thanks for trying this work-around with me. Here are two pics each of the bowls I thought best matched the bowl you are trying to replace. They are about the same shape, size, & coloring, although there is always variation with handmade ware, and I'm never even trying to make exact duplicates. 

The first two images are one bowl (we'll call it Bowl A); the second two are another, Bowl B. Each is $43 plus shipping - I don't know exactly how much shipping will be, but probably between $8 & $12. If you decide you like one of them (or both of them! 🙂), let me know & I will send an invoice & then get them shipped out to you. I can hold these for a week. 

I Suck at Capitalism

 Hi everyone,

I wanted to take a minute to talk about Patreon and why it matters to me, in case you've been considering a paid subscription. The truth is, I suck at capitalism, and I’d do all this for free if I could. All the knowledge, the experimentation, even the pots themselves! Unfortunately, that’s not an option for me.

Running a pottery studio means a lot of costs that aren't always visible from the outside: clay, glaze materials, kiln firings (propane is my biggest cost!), tools that wear out, and just the time it takes to make each piece by hand. Patreon support directly helps cover those costs and gives me a little breathing room to be creative instead of always in production mode. And we all know how much I love to make stuff that won’t sell! Or at least is harder to sell; those wonky pieces that take over my brain sometimes for weeks at a time. Those inform my larger body of work. Without them, the rest would become staid & dull.

I try to make it worth your while. Depending on the tier, patrons get things like early access to pieces before they're publicly listed, process videos and photos, glaze recipes, and tips you can use in your own work. (Although I admit, when I discover a new technique, even a small tip, that works or is just super fun, I’m probably gonna share that to the free tier, too, because I love clay, I love clay people, and it brings me joy to help people on their clay journey.)

If you shop for handmade pottery, your subscription could pay for itself with discount codes alone! 

If you've enjoyed following along with what I make, even a dollar and a half a month – the lowest tier - genuinely makes a difference. Your support adds up, and lets me keep doing this. And if an upgrade isn't the right fit for you right now, that's totally okay too! Just having you here following along means a lot. Your time & attention has value, and I appreciate you spending it with me.

If you wish to subscribe, free or paid, you can do that at this link.