Name dropping, sounds rather unpleasant or perhaps even vindictive. But what if you could say " Oh yes, The Queen Mother herself was quite delighted with the ceramic I made for her" Now I'm not talking about just saying something that isn't fact based. What if you could say the the Queen of England, or The President of the United States, or the Pope, or some famous celebrity like Stephen King, Michael Jackson, Johnny Depp or Oprah Winfrey had one of your ceramics in their home or office? It becomes a real "wow" moment. Now if you think you just paint up a stylin' yard gnome, throw him in a box and mail him off to Buckingham Palace or Obama care of the Oval Office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, guess again. There is an extensive amount of protocol and procedure that must be followed prior to the gift being accepted. But it is not impossible. The big question, "Are you good enough?" The question begs two answers. The first from you. . . Do you think you are good enough? The second is from a few serious ceramic art critics . . . Do they think you are good enough?
Most of you reading this will NEVER even attempt to go beyond the first question. But if you do, be prepared for a new level of acceptance of you as an artist. There is the possibility that you will have your gift rejected. But if it is accepted imagine having a card in your portfolio like the one located at http://www.ibuss.com/imdesign/html/queen.html . Now when you go there, poke around. This belongs to the site of Igor Mintch, master sculptor, mold maker and ceramicist. Igor is a wonderful artist, and his story is very impressive.
Igor's story goes beyond just receiving a thank you for his sculpture he presented to the Queen of England, The President of the United States and the Pope. His is a story of survival and commitment to his love of the ceramic art. I hope you will drop Igor a line after you read it. He has some wonderful pieces and his mold line will definitely help you produce bisque that will sell in your shop.
You can also see his delightful Country Chess Set featured in the "Down on the Farm" edition of CERAKANVAS on Feb 1. 2010.
I personally would have to get past the first question. I have to be confident in my level of talent first and for me that means more practice, and doing more and more weekly, monthly, yearly and being open to teaching and advice. I have seen some pieces in Galleries that I would not really consider at a level of "great" and have seen kids pieces that are truly inspiring and am in awe of. I think level of talent of not an art piece of any medium is like beauty...it is in the eye of the beholder. What works for some may not work for others. But I Am willing to put myself out there and take the criticisms and the praises and learn from them so that I can reach a level that moves me past the first question.
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