Blue Moon Clay Carvers

Roger and Sue Bisaillon have run their business, Blue Moon Clay Carvers, since 1982 in the foothills of Maine. The couple are also full-time teachers. Roger teaches art and Sue works with children with special needs. The Bisaillons exhibit their one-of-a-kind work at high-end retail shows throughout the New England area, and through a few galleries. Based on art nouveau and deco traditions, the boldly colored pieces have a contemporary feel. Each work is created by hand, using both throwing and pinch techniques, then meticulously carved. Some pieces are fired as many as four times. Roger and Sue say that feedback from customers is instrumental in keeping their work fresh.

TCR: How did you first become interested in and get involved in working with clay and how did your work evolve from where it started to the work you create today?

RB: Although my main interest in college was painting, I discovered I enjoyed clay while attending college. Its therapeutic values enticed me and I have been making clay as a mode of art therapy for my personal self. I view my clay sculptures as three-dimensional canvases. My artwork constantly evolves as my view of the world changes. It has taken on so many genres over the past 25 years that my clay has been chaotic, peaceful, complex, minimal yet always colorful. My main objective is to have the boldest and brightest clay creations one has ever discovered. The pieces are intensely dimensional and carved.

"Kontempo"

TCR: How have you pursued your career?

RB: One constant in my life is that I have been a high school art teacher for many years, in addition to my clay work. I have always been a working artist selling my clay to supplement my income. My career was enhanced when I married my wife, who became my business partner. Though we have done many different kinds of work, from garden design to jewelry and metals, clay has been the mainstay of our business for the last 10 years. We travel New England and New York doing fine art shows. Our home gallery and gardens are open to clients who know us well.

TCR: Have you considered/tried to leave teaching and work solely on your crafts business? If so, what was the result?

RB: At this point, about 30 percent of our income is from our business. Within the next two years, we plan on leaving our teaching jobs to pursue our career in the arts. We both love working together as a team and this has been a lifetime dream of ours.

TCR: Who is the market for your work? What is your strategy for reaching them?

RB: Our customer base is a wide array of individuals who are all attracted to bright colors. Since all of our pieces are one-of-a-kind creations, our prices start at $50 and up. My personal strategy in marketing art is to make truly one-of-a-kind pieces that are of excellent quality. Our uniqueness is what sells our work.

"Chaos"

TCR: Where do you find the bulk of your business?

RB: Most of our sales have been from high-end retail shows. We are involved with a few galleries at the present time. We enjoy meeting our customers at shows because we like to see who will purchase our work and love it as much as we do. Commissions have become a way of life because many of our customers are repeat customers. At the present time we are growing our business with the profits that we make and are trying to develop a solid retirement plan.

TCR: Have there been major turning points in your career?

RB: Becoming a team of two has greatly enhanced our business, because in our case, two minds work better than one. One of us tends to be the creative, driving force while the other does the business and details that are necessary. Taking risks and up-grading shows has greatly enhanced our creative potential (also paying a lot of money for good slides).

TCR: Do you see any business challenges specific to artists who work in clay? How have you overcome these?

RB: Our business challenges are economic due to the price of all materials. We cannot overcome these obstacles but we have to raise our prices and hope that the customers are willing to pay it.

TCR: What has been the most difficult thing you have encountered in your work?

RB: One of the most difficult things we have encountered is the lack of time. Our artwork continues to become more involved with each piece that we create and the detailed carving and glazing is a very time consuming process. With our teaching jobs, we can only travel so far for a show. We would really like to be able to do other art shows throughout the country.

TCR: What, in terms of business insight, have you learned to do or not to do over the years?

RB: We are extremely choosy about galleries where we place our work.
We do not do consignment.
We do not repeat designs, so we don’t become bored.
We always research shows before we do them.
We make sure we don’t do too many shows so we are always up-beat.
We have a strong connection with other artists in our field. Networking is very important!

"Jefferson Memorial"

TCR: How has the Internet affected your business?

RB: The Internet has been remarkable. Our website is used to inform our customers of new work. It gives insight to our customers about our personal life and motivations. This background helps give the personal touch during our sales process. We are also connected to many art links — such as www.paradisecityarts.com — that the premium clientèle tend to surf. We find this especially helpful before a show. We try to get as much of our work as we can on the website so our customers know what to anticipate.

TCR: What is the next step for you?

RB: This is a year of transition for us because we have been renovating our business. We are about to start large series work probably centered on planets, astronomy and astrology. Architectural sculpture is also an upcoming theme, using the BRIGHTEST possible colors we can muster. A new up-coming line of oil paintings should be ready for our 2006 shows. These are strong, loud, vibrant non-objective paintings that command attention. These paintings compliment our clay designs and are eagerly anticipated by our current customers. All work can be seen at our website: www.claycarvers.com

TCR: What is your show Schedule? Where is your work available and through whom?

"Monolith"

RB: Our show schedule is the following:

July Camden Arts Festival
Camden, ME

July Directions Art Show
Bar Harbor, ME

Sept. Laudholm Nature Art Show
Wells, ME

Upcoming shows with Paradise City Marlborough and North Hampton are being scheduled for 2006.

Our work is available at

Menage Gallery
Gloucester, MA

Studio/Store open by appointment
www.claycarvers.com
Roger and Sue Bisaillon
83 N. Chesterville Road
Farmington, ME 04938

(Phone) 207-778-4414
(email) claycarvers@tds.net

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