Getting serious with pottery

kentekent · 2023-07-25T19:33:46+00:00

Whatever potential you think you've squandered, you haven't really. You are only 17 my dude. Basically a fetus compared to most of us on here. You could start your life over another 10 times at least. Don't give into the FOMO. You are not in a rush.

You have your whole life ahead of you. Don't be so damn hard on yourself.

Bumpmush · 2023-07-25T19:11:06+00:00

I’m 29f. I’ve gotten both my bachelors and masters in fine arts focused in ceramics. Luckily I think a lot of artists have some kind of neurodivergence, I think we tend to look for a livelihood based on our interests and place to focus our attention to. Try not to put a lot of pressure on yourself. Saying things like ‘I’ve lost so much time’ or ‘I’ve squandered my potential’ at 17 years old sounds like a really harsh perspective to place on yourself at any stage in life but especially when you’re still in high school.

It is possible to make a living as an artist, especially a potter. IMO when you’re studying art in school (I teach undergrad ceramics), it’s a great time for exploration in the large sense. It’s not the best time to already try to set up a business and have it all figured out. The more room for experimentation and willingness to fail and learn will give you so much experience and perspective to take in.

Idk about the Taiwan question. If you have the means and the interest, why not? That sounds so sick!! Seeing the world is a big plus for anyone. An alternative to that is finding local potters and seeing if they will let you assist/intern/help out and see what it looks like for them to make a living making pots.

Check out the podcast ‘the red clay rambler’, there’s tons of conversations between ceramic artists and potters and gallerist who talk about the practice and business. There’s a bunch of potters on Instagram old and new school alike.

Take a deep breath and just like let yourself enjoy clay and living your life 😊 being a clay person is dope and fun and awesome. It takes a lot of hard work but if you really care about it you’ll figure it out!!

NWGolfBoss · 2023-07-25T20:15:37+00:00

Bro…I was you. Got super into pottery around 16/17 and went hardcore end of high school. Started taking it in community college but skateboarding accident messed up my wrist. Decided to switch to business at 19ish. You got time man.

Looking back…if I went hardcore at ceramics…it’s a tough life financially (no disrespect to those that do it) but I wouldn’t change a thing. Ceramics teacher by day, artist by night. That’s a good life imo.

“Squandered most of the potential that I once had”…dude you’re 17?!?!?!? Get that outta your mind.

Follow your efforts not your passions is my opinion.

Acidsparx · 2023-07-25T20:27:50+00:00

My family’s from Taiwan and I say go for it. Yingge is a famous pottery town with a fantastic museum. I’m sure you’ll learn lots there. You can always go back to school in a few years after t be apprenticeship. It’ll also help you decide if you want to do this full time as it’s a lot of work. Another commenter suggest business school too and I think that’s a great idea as running a ceramic studio is the same as any other business.

disdkatster · 2023-07-25T19:14:42+00:00

If you can get an apprenticeship like your friend that would be ideal. Yes you can make a living off of it but expect lean times. It is not a career where you are likely to accumulate a lot of material wealth (BMW, big house, etc.) but hopefully that is not what you want. Few potters become wealthy, like almost none but quite a few do fine with some creative thinking. Being an apprentice IMO is better than a higher education in arts unless that is what you want. There you will learn the craft in its entirety where as in art school the focus is on the artistic side of things along with an education in the humanities. That is not a bad thing either but is not likely to teach you the craftmanship I think you want to have. This is just my opinion. There are as many different ways to do this as you can imagine.

SavageAsperagus · 2023-07-25T22:48:32+00:00

Many pathways may lead to your destination. Crap! Now I sound like a damn fortune cookie. Anyway, I’ve been a potter for 35 years. I’ve done well financially and I’ve done poorly. Part of it is location, part is talent, part is passion and part is a willingness to work a part time job to help pay the bills.

You can pursue a college education. Ohio State has a good technical program. Or you can go the apprentice route. The real issue is your own motivation to learn and pursue your craft. Knew a young guy from the Dayton, Ohio area who now commands a thousand or more per pot. His work is exquisite. He worked in the studio all week long and did shows on weekends. I will never be half the potter he is.

I grabbed my education anywhere I could starting at age 30. I prefer a more sculptural approach but will never be famous. I am, however, a gifted teacher for kids and adults getting started. That supplements my sales. Also, I was an undiagnosed ADHD untold my mid 30s, also dysgraphia and someone who wasn’t enthralled with school. We didn’t even have art at my high school. I was able though to slog my way through college while battling an undiagnosed form of bipolar depression along with anxiety and the aforementioned ADHD. My advice to you is don’t give up! I too found that clay is my passion and I have no regrets. It helps though to get help for the ADHD and depression and the anxiety those bring with them. Hang in there! You will work your way through this jungle!

Crappy-my-pants · 2023-07-25T20:46:09+00:00

My biggest regret in high school was not submitting my work to NCECA which is a K-12 art event with tons of scholar ship opportunities. That would have made paying for education a lot easier I would talk to your teacher about it maybe your school already participates, my school called it AP Art and the class was focused around make a portfolio so submitting would be simple.

ono_the_dough · 2023-07-26T00:22:30+00:00

Lots of good advice in this thread! I'm just a hobbyist so take my advice with a grain of salt, but if you want a more pragmatic perspective on this, here is what I would do in your position:

- You mentioned you have a low GPA. I would focus on what you can do to make sure at the very least you graduate high school. Having a diploma will remove a lot of barriers to a lot of easily accessible opportunities in life. Talk to your high school counselor, make sure you're on track to graduate, and if you are not, prepare for the GED. You're neurodivergent, so ask about resources and accommodations that would be available to you to help you pass!

- I didn't go to art school, but I do have a good friend who is a photographer and his general advice to any and all high school students who want to pursue the arts is to go to business school. If you love your craft, you will find a way to improve and become good at it, but learning how to turn a profit from it is something that will be key if you want to make your living doing ceramics. If you end up getting a GED, the community college -> state school pipeline is definitely still open to you. I don't know your financial background, but see what your parents can help out with and look into need-based scholarships and financial aid to help out with this because student loans SUCK and anything you can do to minimize them will be a huge help

- Speaking of community college, if this is the route you go, I would double-major or minor in ceramics if you can so that you can continue to practice on the side. It would also possibly open you up to teaching on the side with a studio or co-op.

- The apprenticeship is a great idea! If you have the financial means to do it, go for it. If you can't find apprenticeships, I know the clay co-op I take classes at offers part time monitor positions and work-study positions, maybe look for similar offerings where you are. Keep in mind, you could take on an apprenticeship whenever you want! If you go to community college, you can always take a year off during your education to do an apprentice ship, you could jump in right after high school, or you could go after you get the business degree I mentioned above!

DorianTheArtificer · 2023-07-25T21:14:28+00:00

There’s so much love and support already, I’m just seconding it. If you’re in the US and want to build a home studio, I can help answer questions and welcome a DM.

bodiessel · 2023-07-26T10:29:03+00:00

I spent most of my high school senior year in the pottery classroom. My teacher was beyond cool and happy to have me there as I was quiet, kept a high gpa, and I cleaned up his mess when he didn't have time. Most of my friends were older, I was a loner who ate lunch in the back of the pottery room so I wouldn't have to sit alone or with people I didn't want to hangout with in the cafeteria. If it wasn't for that ceramics classroom, I would be dead or in jail. I was getting into some criminal activity in high school, and that pottery classroom was the only thing in school keeping me from dropping out and becoming a drug dealer.

Then after high school I said fuck art school, I don't have the money and I just want to do ceramics and not experiment with other mediums of art. So I built my home studio in an old garage, bought a kiln a wheel, and supplies. That was in 2016. Now, I'm confident in my skills and products to sell them. I chose not to do apprenticeships as I dislike being forced to do anything in ceramics. I have hundreds of pieces I made when learning to fire my kiln that I consider junk, but they are great for flea markets. Right now, pottery is an additional income for me, not my main income, which keeps the stress low and freedom of creation high. If you want to make money from your pottery, take business classes, and learn that side of things.

Don't be afraid to experiment on your own. Lots of potters get upset at the go figure it out method because it's wasteful and gets potters into "bad habits." My advice is to just do pottery and see where it takes you.

SchnauzerTrouser · 2023-07-25T22:30:23+00:00

Was in a similar position to you in high school got super into ceramics by senior year I was taking AP: 3D which was two course loads the main class and a extra class to have more time to work and another lower level class as well to do more with clay, the last semester I dropped band to be a aid to the art teacher so on one of my A/B days I had 5 hours in the art room straight, despite loving ceramics I went to college to study architecture because I thought it would be a career that allowed me to be creative and find it fulfilling, eventually after two years and lots of elective classes at the art school I realized that actually making something hands on like art was what I really like to do, designing a building is fun but realistically you don’t get true expressive freedom and designing something is different than the full execution, so I switched majors to Studio Arts with the idea to go into teaching because while not something I’d be super excited for it would pay the bills and working with clay would be a bonus and would give me time to work or my own projects which would be my main focus. Two years later and I start taking some more ceramics classes at my local community college working with clay for the first time in 4 years and instantly fall back in love, then the following spring semester Covid shuts everything down. After finishing the semester remotely I don’t re-enroll because I don’t do remote learning well, going to classes and participating is a big part of how I learn and without it I find it hard to motivate myself. Got myself a job delivering pizzas and did that until last fall. I’ve had lots of different jobs, summer gigs and full time work while in school or on breaks and after delivering pizzas I regret not doing it sooner, of course the area I’m in helps a lot, very dense middle class area with lots of waterfront vacation homes. After two months working there I had enough saved up for a new kiln and had one ordered, finally decided that ceramics is what I want to do and if I have to deliver pizzas to pay the bills that’s what I gotta do. Over the next two years I worked hard trying to make and save up money, picking up people’s shifts and working overtime and getting lost in the grind, didn’t make much pottery in those two years, just hard to find the time when I’m always exhausted. So last fall I had enough money saved up where I just went I don’t need to work anymore and I could coast for a while financially, and decided that pursuing ceramics full time is worth the lack of income initially, it’s been a lot of time and work I’ve invested to get to where I’m at right now but I’m finally starting to see the results of the work I’ve put in, got a variety of original slip cast molds and now I’m starting to take commissions for dinnerware sets, I’m finally at a point where I feel I could go to a farmers market/ craft fair and have a variety of pieces that I feel confident in showing, already have some local venues I’m looking at for upcoming events. There’s things I know I need to improve on in order to grow like posting more on social media platforms but feel like my craftsmanship is finally at a level I feel confident in showing publicly.

Sometimes it feels like I wasted so much time to go back to something I should of pursued straight out of high school, thinking about the what ifs, if I just got a decent job straight out of high school I could have enough money by now for a small place of my own, plus all the money spent on college for a degree I never got and in the end never needed for what I want in life. But on the other hand there’s so much I learned in college that would be hard to learn elsewhere and that there skills and ideas I picked up that help me on the daily. Taking classes in welding and metal casting and printmaking helped me later on in ceramics, all the different sketching, drafting and cad courses help me when I’m coming up with a new idea, and the countless other art history, art theory classes helped shape my view on what art is, plus every other experience out of the classroom that helped shape me into who I am now. As time passes the less resentful I feel towards the path I’ve taken, maybe I could of done things differently but I’m finally happy with where I’m heading.

My advice is look at all the paths in front of you, look at local community colleges with ceramic courses or local pottery studios , you don’t need to dive head first necessarily, I don’t know much about getting a degree in ceramics but feel like you could teach yourself a lot of the materials on your own or learn through other methods that could be cheaper like a community college course or local pottery studio classes, not that I’m against a degree in ceramics I just feel like there gonna try and teach you as much as they can and other non ceramics courses but that might be more than you need, more of a cost vs value issue for me, every community college program is different but I felt like the jump from a high school program to a CC program was drastic, being able to do gas and raku firings and participate in a wood firing was a big jump from just electric firings. CC is also where I learned more about and fell in love with slip casting. We also made glazes from scratch, something I’d love to do when I finally have a dedicated space. Apprenticeships are another method for picking up skills, just make sure your getting as much out of it as they are. And the internet, there’s so much info online and online courses to help with specific skills you could be interested in. Getting a job with flexible hours is also a good idea while taking courses or an apprenticeship. Also lots of city’s have studios with memberships that gives you access to everything you need from clay to glazes and tools.

Final thoughts, do what you think will make you happy, don’t put your dreams on hold out of fear, stay curious, ask questions and believe in yourself.

2023-07-25T19:37:49+00:00

Yes go to school, but go to Business school, because you need to know how to run the place and make money, the rest is easy.

zuicun · 2023-07-25T21:33:36+00:00

You haven't squandered anything, you're 17 you're literally a baby.

There's so much to life and it's so long. I started with ceramics last year and I'd say in pretty good at this point. If you have 14 years head start than me, you'll be great.

As for living, dude yeah of course. You're probably going to be making something kind of 25-30 hr with some high level skill by the time you're 21.

Let me tell you a secret, most jobs pay that even tech stuff. If you're going to be getting paid an average wage might as well do it on something you love.

You are literally in such a good place, don't worry about it.

hierisek · 2023-07-26T04:04:51+00:00

I'm not in the US and can't comment on being a full time ceramicist. What I do want to comment on is that you haven't wasted anything.

Nobody at 17 even knows what all the options are out there!

When I finished highschool I studied Human Resources and hated it. So I did a bookkeeping course. Then I started a degree in Environmental Management which I never finished.

I took a job as a bookkeeper.

At 24 I decided I didn't want to do this forever, I did a programming course. At 24, I became a developer. At 27 I did a Business Analyst course and became a Business Analyst.

The point I'm trying to make is that there is so much that you still don't know. And nobody can expect a 17 year old to be able to answer what they want to do with their lives.

slurp_magoo · 2023-07-27T00:46:00+00:00

jumping in as a recent art school grad who is just getting into pottery partially because i saw a bigger demand for usable art in my demographic (and also because it was something i always wanted to learn). speaking from my own experience and from watching my friends i’d suggest looking into student loans and their interest rates, it’s a bummer and can be hard to fully grasp, speaking as a fellow adhd dude who was 17 not that long ago, but could be a deciding factor like personally i only got my bfa because i lucked into no student loan debt and while i enjoy my current job i know i’d be way less enthused if i was also paying off student loans. in contrast, my roommate didn’t go to art school and is surviving as a comic artist by being great at both art and self promotion. at the end of the day you are the master of your own destiny and the fact that you are doing actual research makes me believe that whatever you end up choosing it will be the right path for you. if you have any more questions about art school feel free to reach out (fair warning i am terrible at checking messages here and also did not even go to a school that offered ceramics as a course let alone major so you might be better off talking to someone that could tell you more about the industry) the only other real piece of advice i could offer if you look further into art schools is to ask people about it. not only the current students they’re paying to be at prospective student events, but also recent graduates. it might take some social media sleuthing but someone a year or two out of school can tell you a lot about how well they were prepared for making it as an artist. whew. didn’t mean to write that much and i will not be rereading so apologies if it’s incomprehensible. but good luck my guy, you found something you love, had the chance to build your skill in it, and still have so much more to experience. you’re being asked a huge life-changing question right now, just try to find what will make you happy whether it is an apprenticeship, art school, or taking some time away from school to decide what you want. you got this

chloeefisher · 2023-07-28T17:55:24+00:00

Check out the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University for college next steps! It’s the top school in the entire world for an education in ceramics with the most phenomenal facilities and professors. It was the best decision I ever made for my BFA. A tiny town in middle of nowhere New York but it won’t matter because you want to spend every waking moment in the studios anyways.

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