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Keith Hershberger | Episode 582

Keith Hershberger is a potter living in Philadelphia who has made a living working in clay for over 20 years. In 2011 Keith founded the Highland Park Pottery Tour, a neighborhood based tour where ceramic artists invite the public into their homes and studios to view and purchase their work.

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How valuable is your time as a maker and how much value do you put on your time?

That’s a tough question. So, I chose sort of randomly. I am trying to be a business person but this is not my forte. Okay, side rant, Why didn’t I in college, why didn’t I have business classes? Does that happen now? Do art majors have to take business classes?

I agree with you. I have heard a couple that do.

I had no idea. Until a couple of years ago I had no idea about any of this stuff. I am making it up as I go along. My other thing is I come from a Mennonite background. I don’t know if you know anything about Mennonites but sort of more with less is a big idea. We can make do with simple lives, we don’t need lots of stuff. So this was sort of my upbringing. So there is still this idea of how much am I worth? vs. how much do I need? vs what do I get to do that I like to do? I am happy that I get to make pots. So I should probably be charging more for my pots than I am and I am sorry if that is true. So I decided to give myself twenty dollars an hour, which is the wage that I came up with. Which is more than I made at working non-profit.

Do you agree with this sentence? : Even if I know it all, don’t do it all. How hard is that for you as a business guy with your ceramics?

That’s really interesting. I feel like one of the hardest things I find in art in general has been learning when to say it’s done. I don’t know if that is what you are getting at but I find that it is hard to say, Yes, this is good as it is. I don’t need to do more, I don’t need to keep working at it because then it becomes overworked. Sure you could do more but does the piece need it?

How important is it to have a consistent line in order to track how well things a selling?

I have specific pieces that I make and I know how well they sell. So I think that is pretty important. And from that, I now have offshoots. What I try to do is I settle on a body of work and I make that body of work. Occasionally I’ll spend a week making something else and then I see what the public reaction is like. I’m not going all over the map with this. It is more like I am in a groove and then I just do a bump that way to see what happens. 

How important is community, like being around other good potters,  for becoming a better potter?

That was one thing that my studio situation in Pittsburgh was pretty phenomenal because I was sharing space with three other amazing potters. It was  a small space and it was great to have that constant feedback and to be able to watch each other. I think it is pretty important.

In order to have a really strong “game”, how important is it to cultivate a strong work ethic?

I have a two year old daughter at this point which has changed my work habits quit a bit. For the first year of her life my commitment was that I was going to spend a lot of time with my daughter and I am going to make pots when I am able to. So that changed my availability to work and so when I work it is much more like I’m going to work. So I have set hours when I go to the studio and then I go spend time with my daughter. So I feel like it has become much more like I am going to work and get stuff done. So a good work ethic is important if you want to be good at what you do. You have to take it seriously. 

 

How important is it to develop a strong play ethic?

I would say that that is equally as strong because if you don’t do that, you are just going to burn out! I feel like I am in that sweet spot right now because I am making work and I am allowing myself to play fairly regularly. 

What is your favorite activity to do with your daughter?

Now that I have a daughter I have been singing her songs. So I get out my guitar and we sing songs together. For the first year it was me singing her songs and now she has started singing along. So that’s pretty good!

Book

Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson

Contact

keithhershberger.com

Instagram: @kghershberger