Ow, my hands!

So it's time for the very small scale production of some more Golden Grapes, or Bronze Balls. Let me tell you, making these is a killer. After snapping up bits of clay into equal size pieces, the 'rolling' begins. That's the tough part. The palms become so irritable it's unreal. It's an itchy numbness, like when you'd come in with freezing hands as a kid and stick them directly in front of the fire. It's actually what I would describe as a sensation......but an unpleasant one. You couldn't do this all day. No way. After 4 or so you want to scoop out the palms of your hands with a dentist's drill.

The other ball-ache is painting them in 3 coats. That's a lot of coats to someone who hates runny paint. This new glaze we have is just like the cobblers I bought from Homebase to do my kitchen - ended up absolutely everywhere. Imagine having to paint a wall in 3 coats? Considering it's expensive and comes in small quantities, 3 coats is a pain in the ass.

So anything hand-made and/or hand-painted has a right to be have a higher retail price. But that doesn't mean there is any visible difference in the finished product, or any other obvious reason why such more painstakingly created gifts should cost more. There are plenty of fantabulous mass-produce products all over the place, for the price of chips.

If you calculate the hours spent on creating them, even at minimum wage, and then add the other costs, you're talking prices that can't compete with shops like B&M who sell some nice little finished vases and the like. True worth could only be revealed at auction. That's why I for one don't value my time, because the major benefit, were it to happen, would be being able to survive doing something creative without having to punch a clock in a noisy furniture factory or some other bollocks, messing about with dowels and shrink-wrap. Cover costs, make a little profit, that'll do nicely. Start small, think big......

On the other hand, get your big chequebooks out, because art is priceless. And this is art.

I think. It IS, isn't it?

la poverta e la madre di tutte le arti......

(poverty is the Mother of all the arts)

TCD®