Listening to Those Passing By

Hello, Friends!

It's been a weird week for me. My Monday was full of entering, packing, and shipping/delivering orders. I took a personal day Tuesday, which is when I normally start writing my blog. Side note; starting it on Tuesday gives me time to think about what I want to add or subtract from what I've already written and publish it on Wednesday. This process typically happens in the shower and I have no idea why, but I go with it. On to Wednesday. I was trying to work on the website but that was halted by behind the scenes maintenance that was required. I spent some time making a fun 'reel' on Instagram for the gallery. Speaking of Instagram, you can follow me and the gallery. Just open the camera on your phone and point it at the QR codes.

I decided to write about statements I used to hear outside of the brick and mortar C2C Gallery on Washington St. We kept the door propped open all summer, even with the A/C on. Summers in Downtown Grand Haven are amazing. Pre covid, the streets were always full of tourists. We had visitors from all over the world. In Grand Haven. Shocking right?! I often heard people talking as they walked by or stood in the doorway deciding if they wanted to come in. Here is what I heard the most:

• "Ohhhh that's an art gallery, we can't afford anything in there."
• This statement bothered me a little but I understood. It IS an art gallery and for some reason art is associated with being very expensive. Our gallery has handmade items starting at $4.25. If only some had taken the chance to stop in, they may have found a piece of art they loved, for under $10. My advice to you, go in the gallery. You never know what you might find. 
• "Nope, that is not a store for kids, we are not going in there."
• NOOOOOOO this makes me so sad. Especially seeing kids that really wanted to come in, walking right by our store. My suggestion is take the kids in, show the kids, teach the kids. Taking your children into a gallery, in my opinion, is an incredible teaching moment. Teaching them about handmade, teaching them to respect property that doesn't belong to them, teaching them self control. Yes we had breakable items, in fact, the one time a piece was broken on my shift, was broken by an adult. 
• "That's just a pottery shop"
• If only they had just popped into the store they would've seen we offered so much more than pottery. We also had: Paintings, Prints (Hand-pulled and Reproduction), Photography, Handmade Jewelry, Handblown Glass, Hand-poured Candles, Hand Painted Scarves, Wood Bowls and Boards and more. 
• "Oh, this isn't the pickle place, I was looking for the toasted pickle." 
• People used to come in through the back door of our building. We had an amazing mural on the back wall that was painted by Cyndi's daughter, Camille. When you look closely at the mural, around the door was a mouth, so that was an easy mistake. I wanted to give the Toasted Pickle a shout out. I used to eat lunch there at least once a week. I have to say, I have saved lots of money since we moved online.  
• 

I highly recommend taking a chance and walking in a gallery or store you've never visited. You never know what surprises hide inside! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week, be safe and well!

Artfully Yours, 

Sarah

C2C Gallery Manager

Let's Seize the Clay

Hello Friends! 

I thought todays blog should be about clay and some of the terminology I learned.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I was somewhat clueless during my orientation. There was a multitude of general art terminology that I did not know. I was embarrassed that I didn't know some very basic information about the product I was selling. I wrote down words and looked them up later or asked Cyndi. She is always helpful when I have questions making it much easier for me to ask them. Nevertheless, I asked, I listened and I learned. 

I would like to reiterate that I'm not an art expert, I am, however, a gallery manager passionate about her job. The definitions below are almost verbatim how I explained processes to a customer in the store. Let's dig in!

• Wheel Thrown - created on a potters wheel. 

• Hand Built - a potters wheel was NOT used, typically made from slabs of clay.
• We have two artists at C2C Gallery that only hand build and do not use a potters wheel. Cory McCrory and Marion Angelica. 

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  Hand Built Flask by Cory

  
  

  

  Hand Built Folded Mug by Marion

  
  
• Kiln - kind of like an oven, but for clay, can reach up to 2400 degrees.
• The most common kilns are electric, gas and wood.

• Bisque Firing - commonly the first time pottery goes in the kiln to make sure the clay is completely dry before applying glaze.
• Side Note: Glaze is a topic that I struggle with. I know there is a lot of chemistry involved and pots going in don't look like the pots coming out. 

• 

  Before Firing - After Firing 

  
  

• Raku - raku is a firing process in which the pottery is removed from the kiln when its fire red and placed in another container full of newspaper or sawdust (something combustible) and covered to finish the firing process. Raku pots are not safe to eat from and generally do not hold water.
• We have two artists that create beautiful raku pieces. Jeff Blandford and Tonya Rund. 

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  Raku Bird by Tonya 

  
  

  

  Raku Pots by Jeff

  
  
• Wood Fired - wood fired is another firing process, typically done in an Anagama Kiln, which is fueled with wood and may take 5 days to complete. Another interesting tidbit about wood firing is that generally a glaze is not applied to the exterior. The finished color and texture is based on where it was in the kiln and if it had been exposed to wind, fire, ash, etc. The exterior of wood fired pots cannot be replicated.
• We have one artist that creates Wood Fired pieces. Julie Devers.

• 

  Wood Fired Mug by Julie

  
  
• Crystalline - a special glaze that produces crystals from a chemical reaction between zinc and titanium. Crystals form during the cooling process in the kiln. (In my opinion, pots with a crystalline glaze look like glass.) 
• We have one artist that creates crystalline pots. Brooks Bouwkamp.  

• 

  Crystalline Vase by Brooks

  
  

This covers the very basic vocabulary surrounding clay. I thoroughly enjoy having conversations about our artists and their art. Being surrounded by, and being able to talk about art every day is good for the soul. I'm still surrounded by art but find myself missing the daily interactions with customers. My hope is that this blog will give me the sense of being in the gallery talking with all of you! 

Have an amazing week! 

Artfully Yours, 

Sarah

C2C Gallery Manager

 

Introduction to my blog

Hello blog world! This is my first blog... 😊

I’ll start with a brief introduction. My name is Sarah, I’m 40ish, I’m a mom and a grammie to a sweet little granddaughter. I live in a small tourist town in West Michigan and I manage C2C (Art) Gallery. 

Today, Cyndi (ceramic artist and owner of C2C Gallery, aka my boss,) asked me if I was still considering writing a blog. I said “yes, I think about it every day.” She told me to start it today, she said, “just start it.” Cyndi regularly encourages me to get out of my comfort zone. Side note: I really appreciate how she has helped me grow as a human. 

I have been entertaining the idea of writing a blog for well over a year. I got as far as making a list of things I’d like to write about. Ideally my blog will be about different aspects of the local art world from the perspective of a gallery manager who has absolutely NO artistic ability or knowledge of art history. Sounds awful right?! 😂 Why would you want to read a blog like that?! 🤔 Well, maybe you don’t know much about art, maybe you don’t understand art, maybe you don’t know how to buy art. I can offer you the knowledge that I’ve gained over the last 7 years working at C2C Gallery. I can share how I grew to love handmade, supporting local artists, a small local business, and art in general. 

A little history about C2C Gallery and how I ended up working for Cyndi. C2C started as a brick and mortar store in Grand Haven, Michigan, back in 2011. In 2014 Cyndi decided to hire a few employees to help with expanding summer hours and give her more time to work in her studio. My mom told me about the prospective job after talking to her artist friend, Mary Kingsbury. Mary’s ceramic jewelry was represented at C2C Gallery and she knew Cyndi very well. I felt fortunate to be hired considering I had no art background. I did, however, have a retail background and the personality needed to be a valuable sales associate. 

I still remember going to orientation and how I felt when I left. Clueless. Clueless about how art is created, how art is presented, how art is sold. I didn't know if a kill was the same as a kiln or if pottery and ceramics had the same meaning. I didn't know what bisque firing meant or what Raku was. Cyndi gave each of us (I think she hired 4 of us) a notebook to jot down all of the info she was sharing. I literally tried to write EVERY.SINGLE.WORD in my book. I continuously added notes after starting my job, using that notebook for months until the info was embedded in my brain. I still have that same notebook. 

My part time, seasonal, summer gig at the gallery has gone on for 7 years now. At one point I was working a full time job (M-F) at another business and working on Saturdays for Cyndi. This worked well for both of us, I loved being there (even just one day a week) and she loved having an extra person to cover hours. We work well together. Cyndi isn't just a boss, she is a friend, mentor and a very impactful role model in my life. I’m so grateful I was given the opportunity to work for her at C2C Gallery.

I hope my future blogs will make you feel more confident when it comes to looking at, understanding and buying art from local artists. I, again, am in no way an expert on art. The knowledge I've gained from working in an art gallery selling art made by local artists, has grown my appreciation for art in general. 

And just like that, I wrote a blog!😳

Have a great week everyone! 

Artfully Yours, 

Sarah 

 Lochlin Smith Earrings