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Possible mentors:
Suzanne Babineau (lifestyle/aesthetic)- Suzanne has the life that I would like. She produces a mixture of production and gallery work and also has a farm. I want to know what kind of balance she has in her life, and how she got there. How does she support herself? What kind of markets does she enter?
She has been working as a potter for 13 years.

Darren Emeneau (lifestyle)- Darren had that life out in the woods, a house he built himself, a river that he canoes on and harvests clay from, as well as a production and gallery practice. However, he is now living in St John with a family and I feel like he's given up a lot of that dream for another one.
He has been working as a potter for 20? years.

Ghita Levin (lifestyle/aesthetic/technical)- I adore Ghita's work. It's simple and elegant. She lives out in the middle of nowhere and owns a wood kiln. Her work is very obviously influenced by her environment and the process of clay. I would like to learn about wood firing from her. However, her online presence isn't that established.
She has been working as a potter for 40? years.

Megan MacKinley (emerging artist example)- Already a peer mentor. She is a very good friend and is willing to let me learn through her mistakes. She is powering through the first few years of setting up her business and is where I would like to be in a year or two.
She has been working as a potter for 2 years.

Judy Blake (technical)- I admire Judy's excellence. She makes beautiful, large, smoke fired forms. She could be a very good technical resource for how to create my gallery disc forms.
She has been a potter for 40? years.

Yalda Bozorg - Yalda tackles important issues through her art. She uses philosophy to enhance her art. However, her work schedule seems obsessive and single-minded. I don't know if I want that in my life. I want to be more balanced and rounded. Also, I am intimidated when speaking to her because she is so intense.
She has been a potter for 8? years.

Sarah Maloney - Really academically motivated work that is still founded in fine craft. I want to know how she navigates the bullshit art world without getting too pretentious, without getting too dejected. How do you believe that you have good, valid ideas and how do you run with them?

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Mentors I may need to look for:
A Marketing Mentor - someone to help me with social media strategies
A Business Mentor - someone to help me with business decisions and directions.

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Name for my product line. refers to the line decoration, the geological/geographical aspect of the work. The imperfection too.

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A neat, modern space to do business/tech in. I could potentially see myself meeting a client that I need to impress in the space, but I don't think I would pay a membership fee to do computer work there every week.
However, they do offer some interesting workshops and networking opportunities that could be interesting to attend.

CONSIDER: learning more about their "ARTrepreneur" program

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So altogether it was a good learning experience. The sales weren't as great as we had hoped for a few reasons:
- snowstorm on Friday took away a lot of momentum
- competing craft shows (which was a strength in that the NBCCD show directed customers over to us, but also a weakness in that we were competing).

It was a good experience to go through creating a pop-up from start to finish. I learned a lot from Gillian about some details I hadn't thought about before, like writing a press release, calling into the CBC talk line.

I found I was good at connecting with customers and making some sales, something I definitely picked up from working at Gallery on Queen. In trying to make a sale for Arcassa, I took a picture of her vase and emailed it to the customer who was unsure, following up and connecting the customer with Arcassa via email. I don't know if the sale was made, but that was a tactic I learned at Gallery on Queen.

I would probably rework my display for the next time. Maybe add some more colour aspects to the display, since people were drawn a lot more to Arcassa's bright work. Consider: orange marigolds or something bright to catch the eye.

In addition to making sales, I made one connection. Renee, from Scandimodern approached me about my work. She said it was sleek and could fit very well in her shop. That's a connection I would like to pursue.

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I was skeptical about going to the Chamber of Commerce at first. I thought it would be a bunch of old conservatives talking about business. I was surprised to see how focused the Chamber is on small business. A lot of what they spoke about made sense for me, as an entrepreneur struggling toward a small business. They offer health insurance, and they partner with another company to offer home and car insurance at discounts. They create connections between local businesses to offer incentives to shopping local, which I think is amazing. In addition, they have all sorts of networking events during the year.

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Florenceville - Andrew and Laura McCain Gallery opening

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Florenceville - Andrew and Laura McCain Gallery opening

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Kelsey, Calum, and I travelled to Florenceville to attend the opening of the Small Works Show. I wasn't actually too pleased with the display for the show and the quality of work in the show. There were some very bad pots, unfortunately. The work from the NBCCD students stood out from a lot of the other craft work.

Some interesting connections occurred during that show though. I encountered a journalist, Brigette Marsden, and spoke with her for a while. She ended up quoting me in a small article about the show. I ought to have directed the conversation more towards me and my work. Instead, I spoke to her more about my roles as a student and as a assistant at Gallery on Queen.

I also approached Jennifer, the curator of the show, to thank her. She was really surprised to be thanked and I'm sure, at the very least, I made an impression.

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Wow! I was quoted in an article!

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Exporting and Wholesaling Workshops in Saint John

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Exporting and Wholesaling Workshops in Saint John

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I attended two workshops in Saint John, an exporting one on Monday evening and a wholesaling workshop all day Tuesday. The exporting workshop was more than I needed right now, and I didn't understand much of it. However, it was a good idea to just begin considering all of what might be in my future. There were good points of going for the evening workshop. First, I met a potter named Ralph Seeley, who was very friendly and who will also be attending Craft East in the spring. It was nice chatting to him. I also met the director of the Saint John Arts Centre, Andrew, who took Ralph and I on a tour of the Saint John Arts Centre, including going up into the dome at the top of the building. He explained the history of the building as a Carnegie library and explained some of the architecture. He also talked about the process of applying for exhibitions at the Arts Centre and encouraged me to do so.

I stayed overnight with a potter named Joanna Pottle and it was so so so so lovely. I stayed up late with Joanna, her husband John, and their dog Farley, talking about pottery and art. Joanna said my designs were beautiful, and that is a high compliment.

The wholesaling workshop was a lot more tailored to my immediate needs. I met Fatema from Craft NB, Greg Toole from Craft Alliance, and Vena Carr from Canadian Craft Federation. I have many plans to make regarding Craft East: marketing, banners and catalogs, good quality photographs, booth display, lighting solutions.

After the workshop, I made my rounds to the Saint John galleries: Handworks, Buckland Merrifield, Jones Gallery. When I walked into Handworks, Elizabeth immediately recognized me and chatted to me. I think it's a big possibility to have my work in Handworks in the future.

Finally, I stopped in and visited Amy Ash in her studio and had tea. We didn't talk too seriously about our work, but I was glad I made the effort to keep up that connection.

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I think we put too much pressure on ourselves to establish connections and keep them up. While that is very important, I think simply name and face recognition is valid in networking.

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A gallery needs to be always changing, always evolving, to keep up with the market. The art market is small and quickly saturated, especially in New Brunswick. Keep audience engaged with social media posts on facebook and imgur.

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Hanging Carol Collicut's show "Requiem" was a great experience. This was the gallery's first solo show (aside from Yalda's short installation), and since it was the work of just one artist, we got to make some staging decisions to enhance the artwork. Carol had decided on the order of her work and hung it herself. I removed all the plinths except for four of the tallest, and placed them symmetrically at the front and back of the gallery. The tall, white, boxy shapes echoed the shapes of the graves in Carol's paintings. They also gave the impression of tall pillared gates at the entry to an old cemetery. I placed dried+dying bouquets on each of the plinths which played with the decay in the graveyard paintings and the photos of weather-ravaged fake flowers. I also scattered dead leaves around the bouquets.
The rest of the gallery was cleared.
Right before the opening, we had to decide on which kind of music to play. With "Requiem" the title of the show, my mind went first to intense gothic music. Then I realized these were paintings done of the cemeteries in Havana. We put on Cuban music, Buena Vista Social Club and the atmosphere suddenly changed. The greens and yellows in the work became more vibrant. I have never been to Havana, but I have been to New Orleans, and I imagine the two cities have a similar feel. There's the sense of a wild party going on, a party that's fuelled by the knowledge of mortality. It was such an interesting contrast.
I really enjoyed the choices I was able to make during that show.

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Even though I've finished my work term at Gallery on Queen, Nadia has been calling me in to work on some art fair applications and funding applications. It's a very good learning experience for me but I do feel totally over my head since I've never applied for a grant before.

With one of the applications, Nadia asked Danielle Hogan to come in and give some advice on grant writing:
- Make your grant proposal part of a larger story. If you're able to pull in connections to the community, to tech initiatives, etc (depending on the grant type), you'll have more luck with juries, since it seems like it's more than just you.
- Think of the grant writing like writing an essay. Your project is your thesis. Back up your thesis with supporting evidence: why (the community? the larger implications of your work for you and the people surrounding you), how (be specific with your methods and goals), when (be specific with your timeline), etc
- Be specific. Whenever possible, use easily qualified examples to support and explain your project. (I am going to make three stoneware teapots in this kiln using this technique to explore this. Or, I have already contacted this person to discuss this thing that will help me with this project).

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Peter has offered to compile a list of authors and art-writers for you to read. Since your conversations at the beginning of the semester, you think that the art writing ideas will have to wait for a while.
It's still not a bad idea to read what Peter has for you though. Any further insights on the art world, on creation, on why we create will certainly enrich your making.

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In a recent conversation with Peter, he encouraged your "peer mentorship" with Megan but also urged you to find a potter with more experience to use as a resource. Megan is fantastic because you can see all the difficulties she has been having starting up and learn from her experiences.
A more established potter can tell you (in Peter's words):
1. How they deal with changes in the market. How they follow and accommodate trends, how they shift between market trends.
2. How they are able to deal with their life evolving.

Fair points. Who, then, could be a good fit?
You admire Suzanne Babineau. Her production work is simple and lovely, but more so, you know that she is a homestead potter. She has a farm that she runs mostly off the grid and she makes pottery.

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Trying to find a new glaze colour: Peter suggested that, rather than trying to make a whole new glaze, just add colourants to your regular glaze. This fits with what Megan told you too: it's easier in your studio the fewer ingredients you have to order.

Update: glaze tested and it's lovely: 1% copper, 0.5% iron, breaks brown over sharp texture

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I have been looking at contemporary potters and it has given me a clearer sense of where I want to move with my work. I want to create beautifully thoughtout pieces. Some high-end style production, but at affordable prices. This would entail very carefully designing my production lines. I want to create work that is simple and subtle but has a weight and presence.
I've thought that my production would inform my contemporary art practice, but Peter challenged me to look at it the other way around; focus on my gallery work and get my production forms from there. This would help my production forms be as considered and thought-out as my gallery work.

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- new forms, new products
- create new glazes as well - give people the option of a matte glaze and a shiny, glossy glaze.

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Glazes

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Striking out and setting up my studio:
Pros:
- I get to focus very intensely on my pottery practice.
Cons:
- No financial security. It's expensive to set up a studio and I won't likely be making any money with my business for the first two years. While Megan has someone to help finance her (her partner), I won't likely have anyone to help finance me.

Position at Sunbury Shores:
- Mo Richardson just left her position as events coordinator (?) at Sunbury Shores. (Former) Director Claire Shippett stepped down from her position so I ought to keep a lookout for the next director and introduce myself for a position at Sunbury
Pros: This could be a great opportunity to have a steady income while still working in a creative atmosphere.
Cons: Might fall away from my pottery practice. I don't know if I'm willing to give that up after the momentum gained from this program.

Kings Landing:
- Potential (slim?) to have an in-character potter position at King's Landing
Pros:
- a steady income for six months of the year
- working in a beautiful atmosphere researching traditional pots and pottery techniques
- can spend the rest of the year focusing on my practice
Cons:
- not confirmed yet
- may miss tradeshow deadlines and summer craft sales by working in the summer at King's Landing

I would love the King's Landing opportunity. I can envision working at King's Landing for the summer and saving up money that will tide me over the leaner months of the year when I'm producing and relying on wholesale orders.

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God bless Megan MacKinley.

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Breakfast with Megan. She gave me information about taxes and what I can claim as business expenses. I have to keep my receipts (business receipts only) for 7 years. Keep them in a folder.. maybe keep a digital copy of them. To file my taxes I need a specific self-employment form (ask Megan which one again).

I will ask her about her experience at Craft East: what to expect, what to prepare, how to apply.

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Yalda said she would be happy to talk to you about her process and about your work, if you ever need it. She offered help with navigating residencies, grant applications, working through your current projects, and a friendly ear.
It was a kind thing for her to offer. However.. you feel incredibly intimidated by her. She is an intense personality, a powerful force. You feel like a silly child when you speak to her.
A conversation with Yalda a long time ago had her advising you to be more confident and more ambitious.
Confidence, you think, is something that may only come with more experience, more time. Ambition however...
You don't feel ready to be ambitious. Ambitious actions seem to be applying to competitions, to residencies, to grants. The timing doesn't feel right for these things yet. Or is that just the lack of confidence?

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Teapots: explore lustre to add some light to the teapot. Maybe explore blue glass for a water effect.
Explore high end production. These teapots don't have to all be identical. I can explore different variations with this idea.
"Don't rush into making this design fit into your product line"

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Hello Suzanne,

I'm Joanna, a potter in NBCCD's Advanced Studio Practice. I'm not sure if you recall, but three years ago I came to your homestead and studio with Shelley Bauman-Shantz. I was preparing to enter the ceramics program then and asked your opinion of it.
I really appreciated your advice at the time, and the introduction to some of New Brunswick's potters. Now that I'm finishing my program at the school, I'm looking ahead at how to continue my pottery practice and build up a sustainable business.
Would you be willing to share your experience of entering the world after college with me? I really admire your balance of your production practice and your contemporary art practice, as well as your balance between the studio and your homestead. I hope, sometime in the future, to achieve the same kind of balance in my life.
Please let me know if you'd be willing to chat and if there's anything I can do in return for your time.

Thank you,
Joanna Richardson
Amblyand Pottery

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Hi Joanna,

Thanks for getting in touch with me.  Glad to see that you made it to the Craft College.  Hope you liked your experience there.  I know I learned a lot there.  I would be happy to share some of my knowledge and experience with you and help you on your journey to become a potter.  Let me know how I can help.  If you want to come over for a chat let me know.

cheers,

Suzanne

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Hello Suzanne,

Thanks for getting back to me! I would love to come up to Moncton for a visit. This time of year is difficult, and I'm not sure I can step away from the end of the semester. Might I be able to come for a chat sometime in January (pending, of course, on good weather)?

I hope your holiday sales are going well!

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Hello Joanna,

January would work for me too.  It is usually a bit more quiet around here both in the studio and on the homestead, so I am sure I can find some time for you.

Good luck with your end of semester stuff.  Happy Holidays!  And we'll be in touch in the new year.

Cheers,

Suzanne

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I am looking forward to meeting with Suzanne in the new year. While details will be finalized later, we have discussed me coming up to Moncton to her home and studio to meet. It will be great to see the space she works in. I'm sure that experience will naturally lead to conversation.
I find I'm very comfortable when I've been invited to potters' houses and I can look at their collections and ask questions about their own works and the pieces they've gathered throughout their lives. It's a good strategy to talking about techniques and connections with other potters.

I recently had the chance to see Suzanne's newest line of work, functional wood-fired pieces that play with slip decorations and textures. I would love to discuss that with her and learn more about the wood firing technique that she uses.
Another subject I would like to talk about is the evolution of her pottery practice. Where did she start out? How did she build? What is some advice she could give me on gaining momentum and building up a business? What would she have done differently?
I would also like to ask her about how she finds balance in her life, between running a homestead and a pottery practice.
I feel fairly comfortable with speaking to Suzanne, as we were already introduced once before and she's just another local potter from NBCCD. We will already have commonalities, like knowing Peter and the school. This will be a good start to our conversations.
I think if I had approached someone I didn't know well, especially someone who I only knew from an online presence, I would be quite a bit more anxious. It's okay though, to take small steps. Perhaps after this experience with Suzanne I'll have the confidence to approach someone further removed. And then, maybe one day, I'll contact some of my instagram idols.

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Suzanne,
It was so lovely meeting you and seeing your studio again. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me about your experiences.
I learned a lot from the conversation we had and I am excited to use your advice to grow my pottery practice.

I hope to speak to you again soon.
Joanna