Some Things You DON’T Need to Sell Art | Dwayne Nii-Teiko Sackey | Episode 709

Dwayne Nii-Teiko Sackey | Episode 709

Dwayne Nii-Teiko Sackey’s work leaves a trace of a fluid, organic process and a human set of hands. Windswept trees, cold blue bodies of water, and lichen covered granite boulders intrigue and informs Dwayne’s artistic palette. Gentle curves, textured surfaces, and meandering lines speak through Dwayne’s art. Atmosphere, expressive brush strokes, and simple glazes mimic the timelessness of nature. Dwayne earned his BFA from Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2019. Merit-based scholarships supported him: the Gregori Jakovina & Larry McDonald Scholarship, the Ellice T. Johnston Scholarship, and the OCAC Community College Scholarship. In 2019 Dwayne showed at the Multnomah CountyJustice Center, and he is a recipient of the 2021 studio potter grant for apprenticeship alongside his mentor Chris Baskin.

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When you are selling your art, do you need an art degree to do what you are doing?

Absolutely not.

And where does one get the authority, if you haven’t got the degree under your belt, where do you get the authority to say, My stuff is worth selling?

I mean, as soon as somebody wants to buy it. Like, my grandma still works at the market , she’s in her 80s living in Ghana, you know, she sells cosmetics. People sell tomatoes, it doesn’t matter, you know. I mean it’s your conscience at the end of the day, is it a good product. What are you selling, you know, it’s on you.

Do you need permission from anybody?

Personally, no. You know, I definitely feel that way some times, or have in the past. But I think that I have kind of broken through to you know, I’m not going to let that kind of stuff hold me back.

How about an agent? Do you have to have an agent to get out there and sell your work?

No, I wouldn’t say so. They are going to try and take your money from you.

Does your work have to be masterpieces to be able to be put into the public arena?

I mean that is complete personal preference. I think it is all about what you are going to feel good about at the end of the day. I know myself, I’ve got a nice trash can at home and I fill it up with pots. Bisque-ware, glazed ware, stuff that I have had for years, stuff that just came home, but I keep what I like and the things that I can’t get rid of maybe I hold onto for a little while and the things that I feel are good enough, I sell. The ones that I don’t feel are good enough, I break them.

What is a least one thing you have to have in order to be able to sell your art?

I think you just need to be able to feel worthy and maybe have some ambition.

How important is having the right people around you to have the confidence to sell? Is that Important?

Oh, that’s paramount. I mean from childhood you are building up that knowledge of self and sense of worthiness and your sense of connection and your desire to connect. For me, the way that I connect a lot of the time is by making something and either giving it somebody or you know, now I am at this stage of my life where I can’t just give people things all the time because I have to eat, so I sell people things and I hope that they are gaining something, you know? And that they are feeling that as a gift to themselves, something that they can use to nurture themselves and really cherish.

How does one stay safe and be able to sell out in public?

Whew. That’s a hard question these day. It’s not smart to go out and do anything in public, really, so I am not going to try and act like I know what anybody should do but myself, I try and keep it pretty low-key. I make pots. That’s a pretty solitary affair. When I go to the market I wear a mask. I keep my hands really clean and I avoid exposure as much as possible.