CHAPTER 3: FROM STAGE TO STAGE: HARNESSING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL POTENTIAL OF CONCRETE FLOWER POT PRODUCTION

Abstract

INTRODUCTION
Sculpture, as an area of art specialisation, is one of the few that lends itself to the potential to bring solutions to challenges of both aesthetics and functionality. Often categorised under Fine Arts, sculpture, just like graphics, ceramics and textile design can be regarded as well, as applied art. Very often in art, aesthetic concerns form the main part of what is paid attention to. 
Therefore, less attention is given to what art products are used for, other than their being purely decorative. However, the areas of art that make products that could be put to use to meet the daily needs of man and his environment are regarded often as the applied arts. Allenchey (2013) observes that occupying that tenuous space between fine art and every day, functional art refers to aesthetic objects that serve utilitarian purposes.  Consequently, the areas of art that lend themselves to the needs of industry and mass production, such as graphic design (print making, book design, advertising, digital illustrations, animations and movie industry) ceramics (toilet wares, China wares, electrical insulators, building materials), textile designing (fabric designs,  fashion design, weaving and textile production), sculpture (metal fabrication, prosthetic industry, auto-industry, 3-D signage fabrication, furniture) all fall under the applied arts or otherwise called functional art. 
Writing on the dual nature of sculpture as both fine and applied art are scholars such as  Gombrich (1950), Krauss (1978), and Herbert (1993).  
Applied arts, also known as functional arts, provide opportunities for entrepreneurship. 
Aside from giving students the knowledge necessary for industry, it also exposes them to skills that they could leverage to build careers, and employ others. Piece-mould casting technique is a method employed in sculpture for reproducing works and objects into multiple pieces. It facilitates faithful reproduction of already existing works and objects into several replicas. This is a form of mass production in a cottage manner. This technique enables an entrepreneurial sculptor to thrive as a small enterprise, producing products like flower pots, balustrades, building ornamentations such as cornices and friezes, furniture parts, various forms of reproduction of artefacts, and so on. 
This paper tries to emphasize the usefulness of this method of production in art vis-à-vis its entrepreneurial potential. It also gives a studio-experimental account of how the method is utilized in the making of flower pots.  
Sculpture could be categorized within the realm of applied arts due to its direct application of artistic techniques and skills to construct three-dimensional artworks that have utilitarian potential. Applied arts stand apart from fine arts by serving functional or utilitarian roles beyond mere aesthetic expression. Below are the primary reasons that firmly position sculpture within the domain of applied art: 
Utilitarian Purpose: Differing from fine arts such as poetry or painting, which predominantly seek aesthetic appreciation and emotional communication, sculptures commonly fulfill pragmatic roles or specific intents. They can function as adornments for public spaces, structural components in architecture, commemorative memorials, or even practical objects like furniture and utensils.