A Sculptor's Decision At this point in the game I had to make a decision. One which potter's and sculptor's alike can appreciate. Should I make a mold of this sculpture and do reproductions or should I make this a 'one-of-a-kind', original piece of art? In making reproductions you need to make a mold from your sculpture. In most cases, this process destroys your original sculpture. But, and this is a big but, you end up with a master mold that you can make many production molds from. This allows you to re-create your laborious piece of artwork many times over, for as many years as you like. You can crank them out in the hundreds, do limited editions, or whatever. The possibilities are endless. In keeping it as a 'one-of-a-kind' though,  you get to pour all of your creativity into this one piece, without any real limitations. Of course lots more money can be made going the reproduction route. The downside is that your creativity has just been traded in for production management. You are now a manufacturing machine. No longer can you sculpt your piece in a way that you would like to. You are bound to the 'no undercuts' and 'dummy proof' rules required for mold making and 'production line' work. You are also creating the same piece over and over again. Since I don't really like, or think I am good at, making 2 piece molds I would need to hire the mold making out which means money out first, before coming in. When I worked for the Walker Doll Company, a company owned by a doll artist who sold   reproductions made from her original designs, I saw the reproduction world first hand. I was in charge of supervising the production of 30 porcelain dolls a day from the owner's original sculpture, it was a very stressful job. Yes, I learned a lot. Yes it was fun. But again, it was very stressful. At my age (49 and holding), did I really want or need this kind of stress again? In trying to make this decision I went back and forth many, many times. It's the same old   potter's dilemma; Do I go for the money or do I go for the creativity? What it ended up boiling down to, for me, was this... My gut feeling. I have always taught my kids to trust their instincts. And, my instincts were telling me that this sculpture needed to be a 'one-of-a-kind'. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe it's because of the subject matter. Or, maybe it's because I've never sculpted a car before. Maybe I just don't feel up to the level of stress that production management can be. All I can say is, when in doubt, trust your instincts and that is what I am going to do. No bookkeeping formulas for me. No guilt trips either. My kids will be proud. The justification I am going to use for giving up the money? The 'lots more money' that you end up making, goes towards the 'lots more conveniences' you must have, because you are working 'lots more hours!'. What's really weird is that I already know what I'm going to do with my next sculpture, the Phillips 66 Cottage Style Gas Station in Chandler. This sculpture will be done as a reproduction. Why? Because I just know it should be. I have no doubts about it!