Someone pointed out to me recently that I talk about mugs a lot.
It’s a fair assessment. I mention them in blog posts. I talk about them in IGTV videos. I take pictures of myself holding them. I used an image of one for my new class, Sell Without Shame.
Apparently I have a thing for mugs.
Now, you might be wondering why that is.
It’s clearly not because I make mugs.
Truth be told, I’ve never made a mug in my life. I only took one ceramics class and I never need to revisit that experience. I mean, why is clay so squishy? What are you supposed to do with that? I need my material to fight me back (I’m looking at you, steel) not give up in a heap.
And don’t even get me started on the possibility that the thing I worked so hard on could explode in the kiln! My little control freak heart couldn’t handle it.
So why the hell do I talk so much about mugs?
Because my goal is to help you think more about the ways people experience your art. I want you to get inside the minds of people who buy art for no other reason than because they love it.
And when it comes to mugs, I am that person.
I’ve been a collector of mugs (and cups and bowls and plates and planters and other ceramic goodies) for a long time now. When I used to do retail shows, I always made a deal with myself that if anyone paid me in cash, I would turn around and spend that money with other artists at the show. And those artists were usually ceramic artists.
And even though I know longer sell at retail shows, my commitment to buying ceramics hasn’t stopped.
Last year, I took a day trip to Brooklyn from my house in Pennsylvania just so I could go shop at Renegade. I let myself buy ceramics with reckless abandon. (Seriously, I carried BAGS of amazing pieces out of that show.)
And since the pandemic started, I’ve made it a point to buy as many pieces of ceramics as possible. (I haven’t been keeping an official count, but my best guess is several planters, a couple of teapots, a pitcher, a plate, and yes, quite a few mugs.)
When it comes to ceramics, I have no skin in the game as an artist. (It’s been over twenty years since my less than ideal ceramics class experience.) My only role is as passionate collector.
Which is exactly why I spend so much time talking about mugs.
So many artists and makers I talk to feel so disconnected from the customers that buy their work. They struggle to picture them as individual people or worse, think that anyone who can actually afford to buy their work is a rich, snobby jerk. (And if you read those last three words in Leslie Knope’s voice or immediately thought “Eagleton,” we are now friends for life.)
When it comes to the ceramic artists I love, I am their ideal customer. And I can assure you, I’m not a rich, snobby jerk. I’m a regular person who has a passion for art. And when it comes to spending my money on art (a core value for me), I’m happiest spending money on art that I could never make for myself.
Which isn’t to say that I don’t buy other art as well. I buy prints and paintings and textiles and sculpture. It’s just that, when it comes to collecting, my passion is ceramics.
And I talk about it a lot because, as a collector but not a maker of ceramics, I have valuable insights to share that can help all artists when it comes to marketing and selling their work.
When I talk about how people don’t buy art to solve problems, I speak from experience, because I’ve never bought a mug to solve a problem. I buy mugs because I like the way they look, the way they feel in my hand, or because I feel connected to the person who made them.
I buy mugs because drinking my tea every morning from a mug made by a real person, mugs that have personality and soul and vision and texture, makes me happier than any commercially made mug ever will.
And for every person like me, there are plenty of other people out there who feel that way about buying paintings or prints or jewelry or textiles. People who want nothing more than to fill their homes, their wardrobes, their offices, and their lives with works of art that they love.
As artists and makers, we often recognize how what we make makes us feel good. We make art because we NEED to make art. We see the value to ourselves.
But where artists and makers struggle, particularly when it comes to their marketing, is seeing the value of what we do to others.
But I see that value.
So when I talk about mugs, it’s because I want to show you the other side. I don’t want you to just see me as someone who makes and sells art. I also want you to see me as a passionate collector of art. Because when you see me in that light, it makes it easier to empathize with your own customers.
When you see me in that light, it makes it easier to understand that people are happy to spend money on the art that they love.
And so I’m going to keep talking about mugs. Because despite cabinets filmed to the brim, I’m going to keep buying mugs. But also because my hope is that, in hearing a passionate collector talk about the work she chooses to spend her money on, you’ll recognize that there are people out there who will happily spend money on your work as well.
You just have to be willing to go out and find them.
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As a teacher, I’ve always prided myself in the fact that, as a fellow artist, I teach strategies that I actually implement myself. But I honestly think that my real super power comes from being both an artist and a passionate collector of art. I see both sides of the relationship, which means I’m able to share insights on what really motivates someone to spend their money. And I’m sharing all of that insight in my new class, Sell Without Shame. But more than just listening to my experiences, Sell Without Shame is all about guiding you through a process to discover and articulate the value of your art for yourself. Head to sellwithoutshame.com to join.