On Social Media

Life and work as an artist is about communicating, creating, getting something OUT.

For a lot of folks that happens via painting - oils, acrylics, guache, watercolor, and so much more. The making is the point, for most artists. For myself, the making is critical to keeping some measure of sanity. It's not optional, it's compulsory.

And then at some point an artist looks around and says, "Hey! I've got a lot of art sitting around!! I have so much art sitting around I can't even move anymore! This stuff has to go!" And then the hunt for an outlet begins. Etsy scratched that itch for a lot of folks in the early days, but as Etsy grew and got greedier, it became a platform for more junk and artists making original work got pushed to the sidelines.

And somewhere along the way social media platforms became a way for artists to promote their work, and for some, it became a rocket of sorts, to the heights of global recognition. It created a sense of community, as well as a sense of entitlement. Artists were compelled not only to show their finished work, but to share their processes, and teach viewers and create free content because soon, if they weren't giving away all of this free labor, the social media platforms themselves stopped showing their art to people who might be interested in buying it.

A recent example of free content on TikTok and YouTube.

It's a bit of a vicious cycle really. And because #potteryispolitical, the ethics of how these extremely large corporations were starting to behave, some artists, including myself, have had to take a really close look at the platforms we are using.

Here is where I have landed. I have completely removed myself from all Meta products. I will not be posting on IG or Facebook. I haven't been on Twitter for years. I am fortunate that I have web development skills, and that I have built this website to help support my blog as well as my sales platform. I use Etsy for my print-on-demand merch, mostly because printing t-shirts myself is just not a skillset I feel the need to develop. I have a TikTok channel, that I love and will continue to use for as long as I can, mostly because that community is very engaged and it doesn't feel like a one way street. I try to go Live on there at least once a week and I'm working on doing that more. I did move to Bluesky, which feels like a nice blend between Twitter and Instagram, and it's a fairly new platform with good moderation and room to grow it's features.

I've had a YouTube channel for quite a while, and most of what I post on TikTok gets posted as a YouTube Short. I will be making more exclusive content for YouTube, this will eventually be my main video platform because TikTok will likely be going away.

This week I also launched my Patreon, which I have been thinking about doing for years. I got hung up on what I thought I could reasonably do as member tier rewards, but I finally figured it out. You can join for free, and there will be member exclusive content released even at that level. Paid levels get even greater benefits.

I really love connecting with my community, people who love my work, are curious about pottery and making ceramic art and also people who appreciate me and join me in comradery. We have a lot of fun when we're together, even in digital spaces.

I would like to invite you to join me if you are so inclined. While I enjoy writing this newsletter/blog, I really do love it when we can interact. And don't forget - If you are on social media and you do want to support me (FOR FREE!!) please be sure to subscribe/follow, like and comment and share or repost. These things can really make a difference, as these numbers grow so do my opportunities to get paid for my content by the platforms themselves. And if you want to support me in other ways, please check out my Patreon.

I appreciate you Clay Friends! I have a lot in store for this upcoming year, and I'm excited to get to share it with you!