To answer Janie's question about the variance in price between better quality mass-produced ceramics and artist-made pottery, it's all a matter of name recognition, not quality. There are very few potters (or artists of any type, for that matter) whose work is going to appreciate in value with age because nobody recognizes the artist's name. But there are a few well-known commercial ceramics makers (Fiesta Ware, for instance) that consistently appreciate in value to collectors. It has nothing to do with quality or artistry, just collectability, and collectability is a function of the marketplace, not of aesthetics.

The truth is that, for most artists, the price we get from whoever buys a piece from us is the most that piece is ever going to be worth unless we greatly increase our name recognition by becoming mass murderers or running Ponzi schemes.