Author: Penny Smith
Source Location: Australia / TAS
Date published: 13 MAY, 2003
Copyright: Penny Smith

How to balance 'earners' and 'learners'. Penny Smith has juggled a rich professional life of working in education and now as a full time ceramic artist.

Introduction

Penny Smith is a ceramic artist who lives and works in Hobart, Tasmania, where she runs a design based practice with partner, John. Smith qualified as a furniture designer in the UK, and emigrated to Tasmania in 1970. Since then, and being self-taught as a ceramist, she has built a number of kilns, a couple of workshops, is currently building a second residence and received an MFA in ceramics in 1983.

She was a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Ceramics Studio at the University of Tasmania for many years, resigning in 1999 to concentrate solely on University and Government funded research and on her own studio practice. She is represented in numerous national, international and private collections, is a current member of the International Academy of Ceramics and a regular author of articles for a number of international publications.

Her work as a crafts-person sees Penny primarily using ceramics for limited edition products, one-off exhibition pieces, public and private commissions. Often this practice involves working collaboratively and with other mediums.

Marketing and audience development

My living depends on marketing and audience development!

For many years, I was Head of the Ceramics Studio at the University of Tasmania, Hobart where my responsibilities where for teaching undergraduates and supervising post graduate students. The job also involved a lot of admin., community work, research, plus the expectation of keeping up a professional profile. In 1999 I gave this up to concentrate on my own studio practice and University research. My 'audience' profile changed from students and the public, to concentrating on the public only.

To survive by one’s own practice, the 'public' audience needs to be broad, and for me, represents: the commercial and public gallery, individual collectors, corporate collectors, curators of Museums, exhibition and competition coordinators, magazine editors, conference participants. To cater for all these audience types, one has to have an outgoing personality, or if shy, employ someone who isn't!

Marketing strategies

Strategies for marketing my own work have been developed over a number of years and comprise of the following:

• developing a range of speculative products (learners)
• developing a range of commercial products (earners)
• placing work into competitions and group exhibitions
• organising solo shows at least once every two years
• creating methods of production to keep stock in hand for outlets (earners)
• getting people to write about my work - reviews, articles, book inserts, etc.
• writing for publications

Work types – ‘earners’ and ‘learners ’
The type of work I am interested in ma king is primarily driven by the medium of clay and the ceramics process (my favoured process is slip-casting) very often in conjunction with other materials and techniques, depending on whether the outcomes are 'earners' or 'learners'.

'Earners' are best described as those products I make for limited edition for regular sales to specific outlets for example, ‘Australian Aspects’.

Given that many galleries try and claim exclusive 'rights' to an artist's work, it is best to have specific products for particular outlets if you hope to survive. Unless of course
that gallery commits to providing you with an annual salary from which you can live off!

Therefore, 'earners' can emerge as limited edition production work (that includes souvenirs, tableware, gift ware); private commissions; public commissions.

'Learners' on the other hand are the R & D (research and development) side of ones practice for example ‘Dialogues’. In my case, this work takes the form of the speculative production of work, usually one-off type pieces, where I can explore a particular idea or theme that I find engaging, it can also take the form of technical experimentation, where failure may well be the outcome, but lessons can be learnt for future work.

'Australian Aspects' - slip cast stoneware lidded boxes in recycled packaging depicting themes of Australian geographic regions through visual texture. eg. The rivers, forests, reefs, mountains, beaches, deserts.

I'm in the fortunate position whereby my position as an Honorary Research Associate with the University of Tasmania enables me to develop a lot of speculative ideas in a supportive environment with use of their facilities, and to be able to submit research grants to support this. However, these are very hard to come by, and require a helluva lot of work to obtain.

The audience

The audience/client is always important if you expect to make a living from your work. In some instances, I will tailor my work for specific audiences. With the 'earner' production work, I supply specific outlets, eg. Handmark Gallery in Hobart, the Design Centre in Launceston and a number of mainland outlets. I deliberately try to develop different products for different galleries to avoid the difficulties of being 'owned' by any one gallery, and have them determine where I can or can't sell my work. We have a lot of tourists through these areas - and this is my prime target, as well as locals looking for something that is not too expensive.

For the more speculative work, I will work specifically towards an exhibition on a regular basis at a good gallery, and hope that Museum curators purchase for their collections (always include them on invitation lists) plus private collectors (working with a good galle ry here is worth the commission they take if they can guarantee sales - a good collector is worth a lot to the artist, as they often keep coming back for more of your work to build up their collection.

Other audience's include architects - and these are targeted through arts@work who run the Arts Tasmania's Art for Public Building Scheme here in Tas.

Getting exhibited

Choosing where to exhibit work is more difficult for those who work in clay in Australia at the moment, as there are not as many galleries nowadays as there where say in the 80s. In the past, I have exhibited at Distelfink in Melbourne, which specialised in ceramics and glass (they have now since closed), Haeccity Arts in Melbourne, also ceramics (also closed) - Dick Bett Gallery, Hobart; Arabia Gallery, Finland (as part of a residence I did there in 1995) - to name a few.

In most cases, I approached them with a folio of work. 'Dialogues' - series of slip cast porcelain vessel forms, clear glazed interiors, polished exteriors. Depicting aspects of animated abstract expressions of communication.

Issues that need to be negotiated when exhibiting include:

• What work is to be exhibited - what is to be made, and how etc.
• How it is to be freighted - who pays for what (make sure all your costs are
  receipted)
• How is it to displayed/presented (ie. What are you trying to say with this work - presentation is important in this respect as it can assist with whatever
  'messages' that you are trying to convey with the objects)
• Who pays/is responsible for invites, catalogue, documentation, opening night expenses, media coverage, article writing, return of work
• What rate of commission
• Level of gallery ownership rights on your work - current and ongoing.

Collaboration

I have been involved in collaborative projects through the Arts for Public Buildings Scheme, run by Tasmania’s arts@work via the State funding body, Arts Tasmania.

The scheme itself has been running in Tasmania for the past 20 years, with great success. It entails a 1% of building costs towards the purchase or commission of local artists’ work to be incorporated into new buildings in the State. This has not only resulted in some very interesting and lucrative opportunities for artists, but has broadened the scope of understanding public art to a broad audience. This audience includes schools, (staff, students, parents) hospitals, cop-shops, museums, libraries - just a few of the clients in this scheme.

An example of a collaborative Art for Public Buildings project was one I recently completed for the Howrah Primary School (the client) with my partner, John, for a series of pre-cast concrete wall panels for a walkway between two school campuses. This entailed adopting and adapting ceramic mould making practices to a large scale, and working at a concrete factory to cast pre-cast units that were later delivered and installed on site.

With a project involving working with architects, builders, factory workers, management, government departments, one has to have a thick skin and a sense of humour…

Branding and profile

“Branding” of craft works can be a great ploy if it works for you. Within the field of ceramics, I only know of one name - Gwynn Hansen-Pigott. She is a mature age potter, who has an international reputation that has been acquired over several decades of committed and consistent work. She can now sell at some of the best galleries in Australia and overseas as ART, thereby asking art prices for what some regard as a craft practice.

My profile has been developed through constant application of my practice (ceramics). One has to be passionate to continue to work in one's field of choice - working in ceramics has afforded me many luxuries: a tenured academic position for many years; the opportunity to travel and meet like minded souls and finally, to make a living from what I design and make.

I have not really had any grand plan - just a passion - that has kept me going for the 30 or so years I have been practicing my craft. The profile that emerges from this has come about through pushing this passion to those that can make a difference - ie. Gallery directors, Museum curators, funding bodies, magazine editors, agents. All these people have to be wooed into believing what you believe about your own work - this means that one has to listen to their responses in many instances, and swallow one's pride when it comes to criticism.

I prefer not to write about myself, but will do so depending on the situation - for example, the magazine Ceramics:TECHNICAL http://www.ceramicart.com.au/ct3.htm is a technical publication about technique, and so one can write about one's own work in an impersonal style. However, I prefer to have qualified people whom I can trust to write with authority about what I do when ideas and context are required.

Primarily, one needs to build up relationships with people who you respect and can understand your work for them to write about your ideas. Read plenty of articles, talk to those people who have been written about and understand the difference between a 'critic' and a writer (one person can obviously do both - depends on how you want to be seen).

Pricing

I adopt competitive prices for limited edition production - eg $30 wholesale price per unit for 'Australian Aspects' - higher prices ($500-800) for one-offs – and negotiated prices for commissions ($10,000 - $20,000).

Getting the work out there

I have an agent, Steven Heath who has an excellent website www.haecceityarts.com.au. I met Steven when he ran a gallery in Melbourne, he knew of my work and writings. He has since shown my work in his gallery, written about it (very well), is currently showing my work on his site with a small select group of artists. He has a regular client for my work and recently secured a large private commission.

A number of outlets that always take my work, exhibit in galleries whenever I can, continually enter competitions and group exhibitions, try for as ma ny public commissions as I can.

Grant funding, Sponsorship, Partnerships

I have received a number of grants over the years from the Australia Council (VA/CB), Arts Tasmania and special research grants from the University of Tasmania and through the Australian Research Council. These are usually for specific projects (such as making a new, experimental body of work with packaging or for research travel. Overseas research and development travel in one of the Australia Council's studios have proved very beneficial in terms of recharging tired emo tional and creative batteries. On returning to studio practice, new ideas have emerged, often generating new processes etc - ideas get all fired up and the excitement and the passion is maintained.

Technical venue/s requirements

I have worked in my own custom designed and built ceramics workshop (in partnership with furniture maker partner, John) for the past 30 years. This workshop not only has ceramics facilities, but woodworking, metal and plastics equipment.

Networking

I don’t tend to network so much these days, as studio work has taken over completely. For emerging artists, networking is all about going for broke - entering competitions, showing people your port-folio, going for grants, introducing yourself to curators, organising a solo show, writing about your work or persuading others to write about you, attending conferences, speaking out.

Associations

I am a member of the following organisations:

• arts@work (a bulletin produced (more so for Tasmanians) that covers a wide range of opportunities and contacts)
• Craft Victoria
• Arts Tasmania

i Bibliography - Magazines:

• 2003 ‘An Australian Diary’, Rose-Marie Goulet, Espace 63 Printemps, p30 and 32.
• 2002 ‘Less is More/Less is a Bore’, Kirsten Fitzpatrick, Craft Arts International, no. 56. p.p98-102.
• ‘Unstill Life: The Dialogues of Penny Smith’, Steven Heath, Ceramics: Art & Perception, no. 47, pp 23-26.