The Nightmare of Pricing

As an artist I am forced time and time again to determine the "value" of my work. Any artist if they plan on selling work must place "value" on their work. How can I decide how much my time is worth? Figuring the cost of materials is no problem. I just have to estimate how much material I used and then divide that amount from the whole price of what I bought the assorted materials for.

No big deal.

Baby bowls with recycled wine bottles melted into the bottoms.

But to decide that my time is worth X amount, and then figure the specific amount of time I spent on that one item, when I don't make one piece at a time, and multiply X by time and add in materials cost... I'm still not sure that really covers the "value" of any piece of my work.

One of my crocheted pigs.

At art fairs I get asked how long I've been doing pottery and often I get asked how long it took me to make a mug for example. Well, I've been making pottery for sixteen years and while it may have only taken me five minutes to actually throw that mug, I haven't only spent five minutes making that mug. I've spent sixteen years and five minutes. Sixteen years of practice and scrapping work and starting over is really very hard to place an accurate "value" on.

Mugs, the one item every potter gets asked for.

I also have to add in drying time, adding a handle, firing, glazing, and firing again. But like I said before, I don't make just one mug at a time. I will wedge up about 20 one pound balls of clay, throw 20 mugs, wait for them to dry, trim and attach handles to 20 mugs, wait for them to dry completely checking often to make sure the handles are staying attached, fire those 20 along with other pieces in a kiln for 8-10 hours, glaze all those pieces, fire them again for 8-10 hours and then I have to determine "value" for just that one mug and all the other individual pieces.

A serving bowl or large salad bowl.

And that's just for my pottery. How do I figure the same "value" of my other things I make? My quilts and crocheted items require different amounts of time and attention than my pottery does, but I still have to figure out a price.

A baby quilt or lap quilt I made from an assortment of fat quarters.

I seem to undervalue my work. While I have no problem spending $30-40 on another potter's mugs, I'm still afraid to ask for that much on one of my mugs. I think they are worth more than what I ask for them, but I'm afraid other people won't see that much "value" in my work. Which is why it has taken me six years to finally price my work closer to what I think it is really worth. I'm still not sure if I will have given my work enough "value" even after I reprice everything, but hopefully I'm getting closer and hopefully others will see the true value of my work and not just a price sticker.