We’ll start this blog post with a link to the go fund me page we have set up. We also accept donations or tips on Zelle, PayPal, Venmo, Cashapp as well as cold hard cash or even check. I appreciate anything that can get me closer to having a kiln so I can continue to put art out into the world. Every little bit helps and if you’re thinking “I wish I could help, but I don’t have money to spare” then just sharing this with your friends and family and getting the information out into the community might reach someone that can and will be able to help out. I feel like such a beggar asking for help like this, but I’m out of other options.
I could (in theory) rent space in a kiln and let them fire my pieces. In reality, the closest kiln I have access to is over an hour drive away from me and I fired pieces don’t travel well. One little bump and they shatter or crack and are scrap. Beyond that, the cost is prohibitive at $70 per kiln load of wares fired. And everything has to be fired twice…bisque firing and then glaze firing. So if everything worked out absolutely perfectly and nothing cracked or blew up or got damaged during transport from me to the kiln (an hour of driving, 2 train track crossings, at least 4 speed bumps that I can remember, and a dirt parking lot later), bisque firing, transport home to glaze them, another trip to the kiln, and then another home for photographing and pricing before a 30 min drive to my booth at the flea market.
I’ll have spent $140 in firing fees (unless something blows up in the kiln, then add a $35 cleaning fee for the kiln), 4.5 HOURS of driving, almost 300 miles of travel, and approximately $45 worth of gas and I’ll have about $200 worth of wares that come out. So, if everything were to go PERFECTLY, I’d be $175 into a batch of wares that might yield me $200…and that’s BEFORE the cost of clay and glaze. I’d be financially upside down just renting use of the kiln.
The next question people ask is “why don’t you get a loan?” That was my first instinct. That would be my best choice, if it even was an option. It’s not an option because my business is still in the first year of operation and my income from selling my stuff isn’t consistent. So banks don’t want to loan me money. I’m too big of a risk. I have no way to guarantee I’ll be able to pay back a loan. And my personal credit is horrible on top of the fact that I don’t have a “day job” so I can’t get a loan.
It’s been suggested that I change the type of clay I use to something like air dry clay that doesn’t need to be fired. Those things aren’t food safe, microwave or dishwasher safe. Any items I could possibly make would be strictly decorative. And that clay costs roughly DOUBLE what my normal clay costs. Someone also suggested modeling clay, other than the fact that it’s not food safe, microwave or dishwasher safe, it never fully dries or hardens so nothing will stay the shapes I could make. It’s also SIX TIMES as expensive as my clay and I cannot throw it on my pottery wheel. I’m not a sculptor. I wish I was, but that’s NOT a talent I possess.
That leaves my options as paying for it outright (I have almost 1/10 of what I need for a kiln). Or begging my friends and family and community to help me get back to work doing what I love. And that’s why I’m here, writing this post, asking for whatever you can spare to help get me there. Thank you all. From the bottom of my heart, I truly appreciate all my community has done with me and for me and I continue to be stunned at the generosity those around me have shown. I love you all. I wouldn’t be here without all of you supporting me and helping make my dreams become reality.