Making work for many of us is a lifelong pursuit. Asking questions, innovating your practice, and participating in and contributing to the community outside your studio are some of the ways to stay current and engaged.
Relevant, adjective: pertinent, applicable, apposite, material, apropos, to the point, to the purpose, germane, admissible; appropriate, apt, fitting, suitable, proper; connected, related, linked; Latin ad rem; rare appurtenant.1
We have different lengths of time and levels of engagement in our ceramic careers and have devoted significant effort to maintain an active presence as potters, makers, and educators. Our individual levels of success are commensurate with our commitment and the focus of our efforts. While diligence and dedication may contribute to success, staying relevant requires mindfulness. But what exactly does “staying relevant” mean? Of course, it is different for each of us, and it may not be of particular importance. We all want to achieve a level of success and be recognized for what we make. In my thinking, there are two areas within which to achieve staying relevant: first, to yourself, and second, in the field. They both overlap.
Earning an income and sustaining a livelihood through our work is one way to stay relevant. Perhaps this is better expressed as staying active. Being acknowledged for our contributions to the field of ceramics is another matter. These ways of recognition are not mutually exclusive, and each requires its own set of considerations. As our careers evolve and mature over time, we can make choices to help determine their direction. We may choose to let this direction chart its own course, or we can make active decisions that help move our careers forward along a particular path.
An obvious first choice might be gaining exposure through exhibitions and shows. This includes galleries and other retail venues to assess the appropriateness of carrying your work. Trade shows are another avenue to increase presence. While this is certainly a way to have your work out into the marketplace, it requires patience and understanding of the “long view.” Alternatively, a gallery might purchase your work for half the retail price. Craft events are also a way to gain exposure and revenue. However, I would caution that these ways are only a small part of what it means to stay relevant.
The second choice in staying relevant is to continue challenging yourself with new ideas. Sustaining a career in clay and building relevance requires understanding the importance of new ideas. New ideas can be based on older concepts, but will always morph as you work through them.
We can choose many ways to convey our ideas through clay, but it is important to understand that there is a continuum of ideas: how we see our world and the perception of our ideas manifest themselves in a ceramic object. Whether what we make is functional, sculptural, or purely decorative, they become relevant as an expression of our ideas. The paths we follow become individual contributions to the greater field of ceramics. The relevance of the idea or the object may be left for others to validate; the important point is that they generate from your ideas. As a maker, you validate the idea by making the work in clay.
Yet another important way to remain relevant is to contribute to our field. Not just financial, but contributions that increase the knowledge base of ceramics. While ceramics is not only about material and technique, it is also about ideas: ideas are fundamental to making work, and without ideas, our work would be meaningless. Our ideas come from our individual history, experience, and ceramic influences, to name just a few. They mull around in our heads until we express them through our hands.
I work slowly and methodically and have chosen to design slip-cast work that requires a model and a subsequent mold. The process starts with a series of quick sketches and then a full-scale mechanical drawing. From this drawing, I built a profile tool made from an aluminum plate. This profile tool indexes precisely to the top of a steel spindle attached to my plaster turning wheel. The bottom of this aluminum profile tool matches perfectly with a plaster disk that is poured to correspond to the exterior diameter of the model. When positioned correctly, I can turn a full-scale plaster model. Once I have a perfect model, I can then make a plaster mold to slip cast the form.
The definition of staying relevant might be best left for others to determine, but ultimately, it is for you to interpret. If at all. As makers, we don’t exist within a vacuum. How we contextualize what we make is a result of thinking. If the intention of making work is to be relevant, it might be a misplaced direction. Relevance is a concept that happens over time, along with the continued pursuit of ideas.
Ideas span a range of simple to complex, but without ideas, our work becomes vacuous. Successful careers in the ceramic arts develop slowly over time. One does not choose this path to become famous; being famous or being relevant is a misplaced intention for pursuing ceramics.
the author Jonathan Kaplan holds a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. Active in the ceramic field for 60 years as a ceramic designer, potter, technician, educator, and mentor. He is the author of “The Mold Making Manual” published in 2023 by The American Ceramic Society. He lives in Denver and curates Plinth Gallery. To learn more, visit www.plinthgallery.com.
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Making work for many of us is a lifelong pursuit. Asking questions, innovating your practice, and participating in and contributing to the community outside your studio are some of the ways to stay current and engaged.
Relevant, adjective: pertinent, applicable, apposite, material, apropos, to the point, to the purpose, germane, admissible; appropriate, apt, fitting, suitable, proper; connected, related, linked; Latin ad rem; rare appurtenant.1
We have different lengths of time and levels of engagement in our ceramic careers and have devoted significant effort to maintain an active presence as potters, makers, and educators. Our individual levels of success are commensurate with our commitment and the focus of our efforts. While diligence and dedication may contribute to success, staying relevant requires mindfulness. But what exactly does “staying relevant” mean? Of course, it is different for each of us, and it may not be of particular importance. We all want to achieve a level of success and be recognized for what we make. In my thinking, there are two areas within which to achieve staying relevant: first, to yourself, and second, in the field. They both overlap.
Earning an income and sustaining a livelihood through our work is one way to stay relevant. Perhaps this is better expressed as staying active. Being acknowledged for our contributions to the field of ceramics is another matter. These ways of recognition are not mutually exclusive, and each requires its own set of considerations. As our careers evolve and mature over time, we can make choices to help determine their direction. We may choose to let this direction chart its own course, or we can make active decisions that help move our careers forward along a particular path.
An obvious first choice might be gaining exposure through exhibitions and shows. This includes galleries and other retail venues to assess the appropriateness of carrying your work. Trade shows are another avenue to increase presence. While this is certainly a way to have your work out into the marketplace, it requires patience and understanding of the “long view.” Alternatively, a gallery might purchase your work for half the retail price. Craft events are also a way to gain exposure and revenue. However, I would caution that these ways are only a small part of what it means to stay relevant.
The second choice in staying relevant is to continue challenging yourself with new ideas. Sustaining a career in clay and building relevance requires understanding the importance of new ideas. New ideas can be based on older concepts, but will always morph as you work through them.
We can choose many ways to convey our ideas through clay, but it is important to understand that there is a continuum of ideas: how we see our world and the perception of our ideas manifest themselves in a ceramic object. Whether what we make is functional, sculptural, or purely decorative, they become relevant as an expression of our ideas. The paths we follow become individual contributions to the greater field of ceramics. The relevance of the idea or the object may be left for others to validate; the important point is that they generate from your ideas. As a maker, you validate the idea by making the work in clay.
Yet another important way to remain relevant is to contribute to our field. Not just financial, but contributions that increase the knowledge base of ceramics. While ceramics is not only about material and technique, it is also about ideas: ideas are fundamental to making work, and without ideas, our work would be meaningless. Our ideas come from our individual history, experience, and ceramic influences, to name just a few. They mull around in our heads until we express them through our hands.
I work slowly and methodically and have chosen to design slip-cast work that requires a model and a subsequent mold. The process starts with a series of quick sketches and then a full-scale mechanical drawing. From this drawing, I built a profile tool made from an aluminum plate. This profile tool indexes precisely to the top of a steel spindle attached to my plaster turning wheel. The bottom of this aluminum profile tool matches perfectly with a plaster disk that is poured to correspond to the exterior diameter of the model. When positioned correctly, I can turn a full-scale plaster model. Once I have a perfect model, I can then make a plaster mold to slip cast the form.
The definition of staying relevant might be best left for others to determine, but ultimately, it is for you to interpret. If at all. As makers, we don’t exist within a vacuum. How we contextualize what we make is a result of thinking. If the intention of making work is to be relevant, it might be a misplaced direction. Relevance is a concept that happens over time, along with the continued pursuit of ideas.
Ideas span a range of simple to complex, but without ideas, our work becomes vacuous. Successful careers in the ceramic arts develop slowly over time. One does not choose this path to become famous; being famous or being relevant is a misplaced intention for pursuing ceramics.
the author Jonathan Kaplan holds a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. Active in the ceramic field for 60 years as a ceramic designer, potter, technician, educator, and mentor. He is the author of “The Mold Making Manual” published in 2023 by The American Ceramic Society. He lives in Denver and curates Plinth Gallery. To learn more, visit www.plinthgallery.com.
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