The big debate......go artsy, or go utiltarian ...or is there a way to do both?

[Roger Chandler]

Can both be done on the same project? I like art .......a lot.......but most of the folk I interact with seem to want something practical [utilitarian] I have a creative side......wants to do high end stuff.........everybody seems to prefer a bowl!

Where do you fall in this spectrum of choices? Do you just go from artsy on one project to utilitarian on the next, or do you try to accomplish both in the same piece? If so, how do you go about achieving both on the same project?

What do most of the people you interact with prefer........something practical or something artsy?

Is this a can-o-worms :eek: this discussion is opening?

[charlie knighton]

i find that what i turn is somewhat influenced by what type of wood i have , at different times of my turning life i have done similar work, then i will go to another phase, i do not want to be known for just one type, but people tend to assocate your work on what they like or dislike......

[Bernie Weishapl]

Roger I have been mulling that same question lately. Like you I sell more utility items than I do art although mini birdhouses do well. Vase and HF's with finials just don't seem to do well around here. Even pens don't sell to well. I just turned 15 more as the 20 I made in January 2011 are finally sold. Could be I have them all priced to high or something. Like Charlie I don't want to be stuck doing one thing. So will be interested in others views.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger I have been mulling that same question lately. Like you I sell more utility items than I do art although mini birdhouses do well. Vase and HF's with finials just don't seem to do well around here. Even pens don't sell to well. I just turned 15 more as the 20 I made in January 2011 are finally sold. Could be I have them all priced to high or something. Like Charlie I don't want to be stuck doing one thing. So will be interested in others views.

Thanks Bernie..........I am still just a hobbyist..........I have not gotten into selling for profit as of now.........I am thinking of making the transition into selling when I retire in a few years...........I guess I also want to be an all around turner, and would like to be able to do a lot of things well.........I guess the customer for a turner who sells, will determine where our efforts go..........likely utilitarian!

[curtis rosche]

I do both. The peices I have in the gallery are almost all heavy enough and finished to be used, or semi used. I do what I want to display the grain and the shape how I want, but everything is usable in some way. I actually had a peice come back from a repeat buyer, she had uses a more artys peice for something that got it wet, and it cracked. Since it was a buyer of multiple items I simple remade the peice for her.

[Fred Belknap]

Roger people around here aren't very artsy but they know something they like. Those that sell quickest for me are made from spalted or highly figured wood. I like Curtis's signature line, what ever you make do it the best.

[Roland Martin]

A can of worms it is! I've recently made the plunge into trying to make a modest living of turning, really burnt out from 40 years of flatwork, employees, payroll, taxes...... Like you, I prefer variety in turning, wanting to try "everything". Through the short time of participating in a couple of gallery events and ArtWalks, what little I"m seeing is people tend to buy practical and utilitarian items like bowls, platters and pens. They ohh and ahh at the artistic turnings and ask more questions about them and how the are made, but seem to ultimately purchase utilitarian pieces, for the most part.

I'm very much in a learning phase, most likely 'till I die :), but plan on turning a variety of artistic and utilitarian turnings, and continue to learn what the market wants to buy. Like most turners, I assume, I don't want to get in a rut of turning bowl after bowl after bowl. With that said, I've been having a good time mixing up turning bowls, some with beads on the rim, natural edge bowls, subtle details and decorations, etc. to keep it interesting, and make some sales.

I think it takes a much more calculated effort to sell and market artistic work than it does utilitarian work. At the end of the day, and at this point in my life, it's ultimately more important to me to be happy doing what I do, rather than turning items I do not enjoy turning. The long and the short of my reply is, it seems like I can't help you:D! LOL

[Dennis Ford]

My work is mostly a hobby although I do sell some items in an attempt to keep the hobby "revenue neutral" and to make room for more stuff. Many of my sales have been a side effect of charity donations. I have sold only a few utility items but have given quite a few as presents to friends and relatives.

[Peter Blair]

Because I turn wood which is from local trees when taken down for one reason or another I, like many others, turn whatever the wood decides to be.
Some pieces turn out to be utilitarian and others can be artsy. For me it's the wood that decides. I too don't like to turn bowl after bowl as I get bored easily.
I sell a few of each type, usually make a little more from the utilitarian than the artsy but that's probably because more turn out to be usable.

[Scott Hackler]

I lean more towards the artsy side. As of yet, I haven't sold (or really tried to sell) anything. It's just piling up at my house or on occation I have been able to make a trade with another turner for one of their pieces ...for my personal collection. At some point I will take the time to solicit galleries, but it's just not high on my list right now. I think that part of that thought is that I am not 100% satisfied with the end results of my own work. I also don't go to craft fairs, so I don't know what the public (here) would buy.

Now having said that, I still turn a bowl once in a while. Because a lot of my regular turnings lean towards the thin and delicate, that style is a little more intense and requires (at times) extreme concentration. That is why I like to whip out a bowl or two once in a while. It's more "fun" and less "I sure hope this doesn't explode"!

[Michael E. Thompson]

Roger, I don't have a lot of expierence in selling my work. But I gave up trying to figure out what people want, seems like I never got it right. Outside of bottlestoppers, everything is up for grabs. Everyone seems to like a bottlestopper. I have decided to just turn what I like to turn.

Only thing I would say in my expierence, depending on where you sell your items may make you mind up for you. If you go to craft shows, then the utilitarian items are better. If you do art shows or galleries, the artsy stuff is better. I have done both and there really is a difference. Art shows, people are there to buy art (or just look). Craft shows, people are looking for a deal.

HTH
Mike

[David DeCristoforo]

Ha ha... Nice try Roger. No way I'm goin' there. Some guys just like to stir up trouble.

OK, now... seriously... Making "utilitarian" objects is relatively safe. Making art (or attempting to make art) is risky on a number of levels. But there is no reason that "utilitarian" objects cannot be artistically rendered. Example: Pens. Lots of people making pens. You can't get more utilitarian than a pen. But most pen makers attempt to make beautiful pens. You rarely see a "mundane" pen although most makers have simpler pens that can be sold "for less".

There are a ton of people making "brown and round" bowls. but when the maker uses a beautiful piece of wood and "nails" the form, there are few things more pleasing to the eye. They are "utilitarian" and yet beautiful at the same time.

I am going to suggest that, while all art is not beautiful, all that is beautiful is art. So my answer to your question is "Yes". It is absolutely possible to do both.

[Jeff Myroup]

For me, it all comes down my customer base, and their disposable income. For many people, all they can afford are the utilitarian pieces. Not counting commissions, I turn what I want. If it sells, good, if not, I donate it to charity events. I think it is more of a personal choice on what you want to make. The hard part is marketing yourself and your work. Like Michael said, people like to think they are getting a deal. :)

[Hayes Rutherford]

Roger, whatever direction you choose to go, keep in mind that the general public doesn't really care if you turned the piece on a lathe or not. All they care about is the finished product they might buy and there is lots of competition in all sorts of mediums. Beware of the direction woodturning takes on the internet. There is a big desire to be "unique" among woodturners and along with the work that seems meaningful, there is so much that has nothing going for it but it's novelty. If it's other woodturners you want to please, go that direction. Much of this work will end up in store rooms, and the general public wouldn't pay .50 in a yard sale for it.

That being said, for me a well turned bowl that can be both a center piece or used to serve salad or other food is my best offering at least to the wood loving portion of the general public and is perpetually in style.

[Sean Hughto]

Utilitarian woodworking, from tables to chairs to bowls, can be art that you interact with. All art is sensed, obviously. All art is "used" to the extent it creates delight. It can delight us in many ways - A painting may be pleasing to the eye - a song may be plesing tot he ear - a chair may be comfortable to sit in - a bowl may be pleasing to make and present a salad in - etc. Adding a utilitarian function to an object neither makes it art nor disqualifies it from being art - it can, at the best, be art that can be experienced and delightful to more than our eyes.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Roger - I have some of my 'artsy' work in a gallery and it does sell from time to time. My utilitarian work is for home use or gifts but I do not market it because I have a friend who sells utilitarian turnings as a living and I do not wish to take any business away from him.

You can turn both... depending on where you market your work. Most important though is to turn things that you like. If you end up turning only one product for sale - it may become a job and you risk losing interest/creativity in your turnings.

[Roger Chandler]

Thanks for all the replies.........David D, and Sean.......your responses were in line with my thinking.........I also have gotten good advice for doing the kinds of things you like..........that will help keep the creativity fresh and the craft enjoyable for me.

The answers on this thread have given me insight as I go forward..........thank you to you all!

[Ian Parish]

Not really an answer to the original question, what I turn I consider to be some form of art, but not necessarily gallery level "Artsy"

What makes Art or Artsy pieces Art? Even the most utilitarian pieces, have artsy attributes, one of a kind, unique, handmade, hand signed and numbered, and a story. I don't sell much, nor do I turn much(no time at this point in my life). One thing I learned about the pieces I made from "Grandma's Apple tree" they were very pleasing to the people who received them at a charity auction, more so than if they were just "Apple Wood". I guess make one of a kind pieces and add enough love and details to make it more than just a piece available at a "Store". I wish I had the skill to make gallery level HFs, but for now I am happy to turn keep, and collect, or donate what I make.

[Sean Hughto]

"You can play a shoestring if you're sincere"-- John Coltrane (jazz saxophonist 1926-1967)

[Mark Levitski]

a well turned bowl that can be both a center piece or used to serve salad or other food is my best offering at least to the wood loving portion of the general public and is perpetually in style


when the maker uses a beautiful piece of wood and "nails" the form, there are few things more pleasing to the eye. They are "utilitarian" and yet beautiful at the same time

Roger, one certainly can be both utlitarian and beautiful in the same piece. I strive for beauty first and let the admirers figure out how it might also be useful. Most of the times the use if the piece is merely to show it off or to refresh the admiration.

I make a lot of turnings for sale, but I have not yet lost the joy of creation, even under the stress of production. For oneself, one can also find both beauty and utility within the creation of a piece.

[Curt Fuller]

A good utilitarian turning.....bowl, potpourri dish, will almost always recognized for what it is. Art on the other hand narrows the field of those that will appreciate it. It has always seemed to me like most people are afraid to use a bowl if you incorporate too much "art" into it, but that doesn't mean the intent can't be to hit on both.

[Bill Hensley]

Roger last month I participated in 2 craft fairs and the experience was educational. In general, colored pieces bring women to the table but they typically purchase only items deemed functional, e.g. vase like. Men are more inclined to be attracted to and purchase bowls especially with a natural finish, their purpose is obvious. It was interesting to watch how people like to touch the turnings. My overall sales results was 50/50 what I consider artful vs utility.

HFs with lid and finial seem to cause the most quizzical expressions.

Has this impacted what I turn in the future? for sure.

My suggestion is find a craft fair to participate in and take a variety of items to see how your local market responds. You may be surprised.