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Lori Phillips | Episode 438
Lori Phillips is originally from Cincinnati, but grew up in Kentucky where Lori was fortunate to find clay in high school. Lori earned her BFA from Eastern Kentucky University, and her MFA from the University of Dallas. Lori primarily make sculpturally functional work. Being a full time potter is Lori’s goal.
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Do you have an idea of where you would be without your mentor’s influence?
I have no idea. I have thought about that. I would probably be completely different. I might still be in clay but I feel like I could probably still be struggling with it. I mean you are always struggling in clay, but I have no idea what I would be making. I don’t know if I would have a voice , so to speak, at this point in it. It definitely would have come along a lot later for me I think.
Who have you been that mentor for?
I don’t know. That’s a good question. I mean there is definitely a lot of people on Instagram that say, I am really inspired by what you are doing. So I will count those people. If there is anybody directly, I have no idea.
How has Instagram opened the doors for you?
I don’t know how well I would be doing at all if it wasn’t for Instagram. I wish I would have started that sooner. I don’t know if I would be as successful. Instagram is so much quicker to look at. It is just all visual and you can scroll quickly through stuff these days. Pre-internet, I don’t know. I mean I do sell some things locally but it is not on a scale for what I do online.
What makes a good post for Instagram?
You want to post regularly but you don’t want to just throw something up there just to have a regular post. You have to think about it, you want it to look nice and have a good image that is clear and has good light. All the basic photography tips like good lighting. You can’t just throw anything up there. I don’t think you absolutely have to have a good camera these days. I think smart phones have come a long way as long as you’ve got a newer one. Most of my posts are from my iphone 7 plus. I do some editing. I use a program called Snap Seed things but I don’t over edit.
I was going to ask you what editing programs you use. Do you use Snap Seed for your videos?
For videos I just splice it together in iMovie.
When you say you use Snap Seed, what does it do for you as far as editing your photographs then?
It just lets you change basic things like contrast so you can enhance the details or maybe just a section of it if you need to fix the color. It is just a really basic photo editing app that is free. If I am submitting something for a show or a gallery I will get the camera out and use Photoshop for that.
Do you feel it is inauthentic to edit a photograph before you post it?
I think it is if you are making it look better than it does in real life. If it looks as close to the same as you can get it then post it. I see a lot of people who really up the contrast and brighten the colors, well who am I to say it doesn’t look like that in real life, but sometimes you can tell.
Has gaining more followers effected your sales?
Well that big jump is very recent so there is always an increase to followers to sales I think, but the last time I had an update I have significantly more followers so I guess I will be able to answer that question later. It doesn’t matter if you have lots of followers if they are not genuine. I want people to follow me because they really want to see what I am doing. If that is only a thousand people or 500 people, if they are all real then awesome and who cares if it’s not a lot.
How do you plan to grow your business in the next six months?
For me I just have to get in the studio and make work and not go, Well I’m tired I will do it tomorrow.
You just have to have the work. You are not going to sell anything if you are spending too much time on Instagram thinking about what to post. You won’t have anything to post if you don’t make stuff. So actually making work is my plan.
Book
Paddle Your Own Canoe by Nick Offerman
Contact:
Instagram: @loriphillipsceramics