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Rant: My stubborn solo studio ethos shattered over a wedging table conversation
I used to think that managing my own ceramic studio meant avoiding all input, fearing it would dilute my artistic vision. This belief was ABSOLUTELY entrenched until I overheard a discussion about reclaim clay efficiency at a community studio where I was renting kiln space. Someone mentioned a method using plaster bats that cut their waste by half, and I was skeptical but intrigued. After trying it myself, I not only saved material but also discovered a smoother consistency for my hand-building projects. That single exchange opened my eyes to how isolated I had become, clinging to inefficient habits out of pride. Now, I schedule weekly drop-ins with other potters just to troubleshoot issues like glaze fit or kiln loading patterns. The collaborative energy has TRANSFORMED my productivity and even sparked ideas for a new texturing technique. Letting go of that rigid self-reliance was the best career decision I've made in ceramics.
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aaronwebb15h ago
Honestly that's great it worked for you but tbh I've seen the exact opposite happen. Too many voices just water down a unique style into something safe and marketable, a sort of groupthink glaze. Solving your own problems through pure trial and error builds a deeper, more personal craft language. That stubborn independence might be inefficient sometimes, but it protects the weird spark that makes an artist's work actually theirs. Relying on weekly committees sounds like a fast track to making pleasantly bland pottery.
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kim.nina14h ago
Weekly committees sound like my worst nightmare... like trying to design a garden with a homeowners association that only wants identical rose bushes. All that feedback just sands down the edges until you're left with something inoffensive and forgettable. No room for wildflowers or interesting textures, just... safe. No wonder everything starts looking the same after a while.
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allen.cora13h ago
The real issue is how we're taught to see efficiency and uniqueness as opposites. Stubborn isolation might protect a style, but it also locks artists into inefficient methods that hold back their growth. Constant collaboration can indeed sand down edges into safe, marketable mush, which is why the skill is in curating input, not avoiding it entirely. We see this in every field, where balancing personal vision with shared knowledge separates lasting work from forgettable trends.
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