There is some term to describe what happens when people buy new pillows for their couches, and end up having to remodel the entire house. You know how it goes – new pillows make the couch look shabby, so a new couch is necessary. Then the rest of the furniture looks terrible and has to be replaced. This precipitates a paint job for the living room, which leads to needing new windows for the entire house, which becomes a project of knocking down walls and adding on rooms.
I got that new floor in my studio, and suddenly the mural on the front door didn’t suit me any more. It might have been there for 10 years, and certainly I can paint better now. Instead of refreshing it, I am replacing it.
This is how it looked before I started. You’d think I’d paint the outside of the building or re-side it or something. First I need to remember the name of that syndrome for why one should never buy new pillows.First, a new sky and a blue line down the middle.Next, a new mountain and blocking in of the next main spaces. The space to the right of the blue line is still the old mural.Sorry, Samson, you don’t get to help, and chewing on paintbrushes is forbidden.The blue line was the edge of this juniper tree. Now that everything is blocked in, I can begin details, if my brushes haven’t been chewed up by Samson.Yes, I’m talking about you, little destructive feline.Some detail is now added to the mountain and the juniper.And a bit more to the background, trees, shrubs, and ground.
The daylight was fading, so I quit for the day. It might be February before I get back to it.
This shocks me, but must be evidence that I am having fun: I have been in my little shed of a studio since January of 2002. That is FIFTEEN YEARS!!
All this time I have been thankful to have the little building on the property and haven’t given it much thought. Then, the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter got new wood-look floors, and suddenly my chipped paint on concrete floor became almost unbearable.
I met with the man who did the floor in Exeter. We agreed that I’d paint him a mural and he’d do me a floor. He came to Three Rivers and gave me an estimate. Then, silence. I spoke to his right-hand-man several times, which resulted in empty promises.
Finally, I called American Floors in Visalia, who came highly recommended. Instead of painting him a mural, I wrote him a check. It was truly worth it, and I am now feeling quite fancy at work.
Hey, Fancy-pants studio, don’t you have people to empty your trash for you??
These are all words that mean schlepping my work and supporting structures to some place (usually with the assistance of Trail Guy), setting it up to look appealing, and standing around greeting people and selling them things.
Not “selling” selling, just helping people acquire things they want to own or give away. I don’t want you to be afraid to come to one of these events!
It is a little bit hard to leave home on a sunny fall morning.
November is the month of these events, and it is very important for artists who want to earn a living to participate. I meet interesting people, kind people, warm people, weird people, boring people, and see many old friends (who fit into the first 3 descriptions).
“But why must you leave, large Human?” “Because you eat too much, little Samson.”
It’s all part of the business of art. People with real jobs who make art for fun can skip these events; this Central California artist cannot. Not complaining, just ‘splaining. (“Splain it to me, Lucy. . .”)
My little piece of real estate for 2 days at the Perfect Gift BoutiqueSam McKinney’s gorgeous gourds with afternoon light coming through the window.Looking out over the room filled with Kaweah Artisans.
On Saturday, December 3, I will participate in one last event for the season. I’ll tell about it on Friday’s blog post. This one will be different!
A few weeks back I told you that I am working on a new coloring book for grownups. (I use the childish sounding word “grownups” instead of “adult” because of the negative connotations on the internet with the “a” word. We wouldn’t want anyone to jump to conclusions about the appropriateness of my coloring books, would we?)
I am working with a committee on this project. If there are 5 people on a committee, there might be 6 opinions. Here are some coloring book pages that won’t be appearing in the new book.
Pomegranates are not a large crop of Tulare County.There is a dairyman on the committee who will supply me with photos of his cows.Someone on the committee said this looks like the midwest. I replied, “The photos came from Strathmore!” Still didn’t fly.These tractors are too antique for the committee’s taste. That is why they are so cute.
This sort of thing is just part of the business of art. Every situation is a new set of challenges. Often I don’t anticipate things, such as my main contact getting overridden by a committee. Who knew to ask such a question? This project is so fun that I dove in fast, rather than thinking through of all the “what ifs”.
I ought to guess these things in advance and bid jobs higher in anticipation of such potholes or speed bumps or detours.
But I don’t consider these pages as a waste – I was practicing my ability to convert photos into coloring book designs, practicing my design abilities, and maybe someday I’ll find a way to turn these into a special coloring book.
Yes, I am stringing you along, not telling you what the project is or who it is for. You may be able to guess. . .
It took awhile, but I finally figured out how to add The Bridges of Tulare County to the For Sale part of my website.
The price is$15.00and it includes sales tax and mailing. This is because I have always (yes, always) been a great admirer and loyal customer of LLBean, and they don’t charge shipping and handling. (I think “handling” is an excuse to raise prices.)
An artist friend shared her donation policy with me. I retyped it to apply to me.
It has worked for my friend, but not one single organization has ever taken me up on this. However, the requests have certainly tapered off since adopting this policy.
In case you are wondering if I am a complete curmudgeon, let it be known that I do donate occasionally, simply because I want to support a particular organization or two.
These are thoughts first published on my blog on November 13, 2013
Pencil drawing of a bridge over the St. John’s River in Tulare County. Perhaps today it is a bridge over the troubled waters of donation requests.
1. Some of those “beg-athon” events are really fun for the community and anticipated with happiness.
2. I’m not the only artist who is worn out from being asked to give away my work.
3. Artists can request that bidding begin at a minimum price, which will help them maintain some dignity and their work to retain its value.
4. Should other donors be paid for their contributions, such as hair salons, motels, restaurants, retail stores?
5. Does donating help their businesses?
6. Are they able to write off anything on their taxes?
7. Are they tired of being asked too?
8. Is there another way to raise money for good causes instead of through donations and auctions?
9. Is it possible for the non-profit to say “We’ll pass on that donation because it doesn’t represent you well and it won’t bring in money for us”?
10. Some members of the public sincerely anticipate a piece of art from their favorite artists, and it causes them to want to participate in the auctions.
Tomorrow I will share a letter from an artist friend that she sends to organizations that request donations.
P.S. Here are some photos from Saturday’s bazaar. It was a very good day!
My 10×10′ piece of real estate for the day.Before the show, some of the vendors check out each other’s booths.Before the show, I like to enjoy the temporary quiet.There was about a two minute lull between visitors, and I enjoyed this view out of my very large window.
This is a reprint from November 6, 2013. Clearly the subject of donations is large in my thoughts during November.
Pencil drawing of bridge over the Tule River in Tulare County. Today, perhaps it is a bridge over the troubled waters of donation requests.
When non-profits want to raise funds, they hold dinners or tastings and have silent and live auctions to go with these events (called “Annual Beg-athons” by author Matt Gleason in the Huffington Post on 6/8/11). Typically, the first people they contact to donate items to their causes are artists.
Why artists? Why not dentists, lawyers, gas stations, pharmacists??
There was a year that I donated more than I sold. (Hmmm, someone might possibly benefit from a business manager here. . .) The next year, I began reading what other artists had to say about the matter, and as a result, I developed my own list of reasons for artists to not donate and a few for them to continue donating.
REASONS TO NOT DONATE:
1. An artist is only allowed to write off the cost of the materials.
2. Donating depletes inventory that is usually made by hand, involving enormous amounts of time.
3. Art work at these events usually sells for less than its full value.
4. If an artist develops a reputation for giving away work, those who previously have paid full price feel ripped off.
5. If an artist develops a reputation for giving away work, the buying public may begin waiting for the events instead of spending money with the artist.
6. If an artist gets tired of donating, she may begin donating second-rate work and damage her reputation. An artist friend once told me, “Just give them your bad stuff that won’t sell anyway.” Yikes, is that what is happening?? That’s not good for the organization, the artist’s reputation or the recipient!
REASONS TO DONATE (and some are pretty poor reasons):
1. An artist loves the cause and want to help.
2. An artist wants to reduce inventory.
3. An artist wants exposure (which is a myth in terms of building a business.)
4. An artist feels guilty and wants to “give back”. (What did he take in the first place??)
If you are part of a non-profit, you might rethink this common idea that artists are the best ones to approach for donations.
Here is an idea for non-profits: Ask to buy the work. The artist can sell it to you at a discount, you can write off what your organization spends, and you can begin the bidding at that price. Anything you receive above that will be profit for you, and none of the Reasons To Not Donate will happen.
Finally, here is a letter I’ve borrowed from New York Times writer Tim Kreider on the subject:
“Thanks very much for your compliments on my art. I’m flattered by your invitation to donate a painting or drawing or print or package of cards or to paint a mural. But art is work, it takes time, it’s how I make my living, and I can’t afford to do it for free. I’m sorry to decline, but thanks again, sincerely, for your kind words about my work.”
Somewhere recently I heard that it is a “subscription economy” we are in now, rather than a “membership economy”.
Several of the computer programs I use no longer just sell the program. Instead, they sell a subscription that is either paid monthly or yearly. So, I bought outdated versions, because my internet service isn’t dependable enough. I need the thing to be on my computer, not out there on the World Wide Web. And, I don’t need any more monthly expenses.
Then I got thinking about memberships to stores: I quit Costco because it bothered me to pay to shop (and a couple of other reasons.) But, I joined Amazon Prime for free shipping, because I don’t have to drive down the hill using up gas and time and adding miles to my car.
Lots of free internet services offer premium versions and upgrades. I don’t pay for the premium version of this blog platform because this one works. It already costs me about $500 a year to pay someone to keep it up to date.
I don’t pay for an upgraded version of LinkedIn. I enjoy reading their articles and finding links to good articles online but it isn’t a great use of my time.
Someone far wiser than I (Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism and The Disciplined Pursuit of Less) suggests that when you have to decide whether or not to pay for something that used to be free, think about it this way: “What would I pay to get this if I didn’t have it?”
The business of art requires continual decisions. Choices and consequences, choices and consequences.
What shall I do?? Join? Not join? Subscribe? Become a member?There. Take that, subscriptions. Guess I showed them.
Have you heard that we are now living in a “membership economy”? When I read articles and opinion pieces about marketing, particularly marketing online, this idea of membership is promoted regularly.
Before I knew we were in this new “era” (fad, trend, phase, something. . .), I struggled with all the requests to join various organizations.
3 different historical societies, 2 library organizations, 5 art groups, 2 chambers of commerce, and at least 2 more groups that I don’t know how to classify want my money every year. If every organization charged $25 per year, I’d be out $350 a year and buried in newsletters and little cards to put in my wallet. Oh, and there are the stickers they send for your car window and the magnets for your refrigerator.
I do belong to the Auto Club (my car is 20 years old with 208,000 210,000miles on it – how is that possible??) and to a few of the aforementioned groups because sometimes it is the only way to be able to participate in various art shows without paying an additional fee.
I’ve puzzled over how to create a membership to my fan club. (Wait – I am supposed to call the participants “collectors”? Hmmm, first I need fans, then I need to form a club, then figure out what they get for joining, design tchotchkes to persuade everyone it is worth the fee, figure out some sort of discount or other enticement to let members feel special, and finally, figure out some sort of internet dealiemabob so that it is automated.
Nah. I’m busy. Gotta keep shredding those membership requests so the bad guys don’t join in my name.
Samson is running away from requests to become a member of The Cutest Kitten Society, Fierce Felines United, and Tabbies International.
