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RANT!
As an
artist or creative entrepreneur, explore your relationship to money in a
rant.
What do you want to proclaim about your art and its financial role in your life?
Aspects of money to consider:
In case you didn’t already know, a rant is some or all of the following:
I am not a creative entrepreneur but I am an artist...I don't sell my art, I don't have a business but I do have a major beef about the market for art or crafts.
I once had a friend, I say once because we have had a parting of the ways, and she and I would go to festivals and art/craft shows and she spent the entire time picking something up and looking it over, showing me the price and saying, "We can make that." Once in a blue moon she would purchase a small ticket item to take it home and copy it...She was not poor and could have afforded to buy many things but she chose to steal another artist's ideas.
I have another acquaintance who is a doll maker, has a thriving internet business...but she continually steals other artist work and changes it a tad and calls it her own. She gives no consideration to the fact that the person she is stealing from is like her...a doll maker trying to make a go of her business.
The first thing out of a person's mouth when you meet them and they learn you can sew is; "Will you make this for me or will you alter this for me etc..." Don't they think your time or skill is of any value? Do they ever offer anything in return. No! It is just an opportunity to get something for nothing.
If you do not know how to do something you probably have no idea of the cost of materials and the skill and the time that is involved in making it.
The best sign I ever saw was on a booth of a crafter and it said; "But will you?"...
Now if someone ask me to make or sew or do any other skill I have, I smile and say, "No, but I am happy to teach you how to do it." Works like a charm. All of a sudden it is not important to them.
Another beef I have is pricing. Why will a person go to Walmart or any retail store USA and pay a healthy price for a piece of junk from china or a third world country and brag about the good deal they got but ask them to pay an artist a fair price for the skill, talent and cost of what they create and you hear them say, "You want how much for that?"...Then they tell you that because of it being hand made/home made it should be cheaper. After all they can go down the street and get a similar piece, made by some underpaid exploited person in a country they do not even know the location of for same or less...no matter it is junk and will not last and the labor has been exploited...look what a great deal...And they have put another dollar in a 'fat cat's pocket or helped fund another golden umbrella for a crook. Maybe they should walk a mile in the shoes of the person who made it...no matter if it is the artist or the exploited laborer...They will get a taste of the 'real' cost.
So I will continue to make my art, sew what I feel like sewing and enjoy it because there is no pressure to sell or make any one but myself happy.
I am finished ranting now...felt good to put it into words instead of just thinking it...I don't have a recording but will leave you with this photo of a cute lizard who made his home in our clay bird house. You can see him peeking out.Not at all shy.
What do you want to proclaim about your art and its financial role in your life?
Aspects of money to consider:
- Pricing and selling your art
- Purchasing tools, supplies, and space for your art making
- Paying for promoting your art
- Negotiating financial matters involving your work
- Supporting yourself from your art
In case you didn’t already know, a rant is some or all of the following:
- An impassioned form of expression
- Statements of strong (primarily negative) feelings
- Complaints
- A litany of disparaging remarks
- A list of short direct sentences
- Exaggerations often creating humorous or comic results
- energized stirred up exuberance
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| Artemis |
I am not a creative entrepreneur but I am an artist...I don't sell my art, I don't have a business but I do have a major beef about the market for art or crafts.
I once had a friend, I say once because we have had a parting of the ways, and she and I would go to festivals and art/craft shows and she spent the entire time picking something up and looking it over, showing me the price and saying, "We can make that." Once in a blue moon she would purchase a small ticket item to take it home and copy it...She was not poor and could have afforded to buy many things but she chose to steal another artist's ideas.
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| Cheshire cat |
I have another acquaintance who is a doll maker, has a thriving internet business...but she continually steals other artist work and changes it a tad and calls it her own. She gives no consideration to the fact that the person she is stealing from is like her...a doll maker trying to make a go of her business.
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| 6 inch fairy chair |
The first thing out of a person's mouth when you meet them and they learn you can sew is; "Will you make this for me or will you alter this for me etc..." Don't they think your time or skill is of any value? Do they ever offer anything in return. No! It is just an opportunity to get something for nothing.
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| Homeless |
If you do not know how to do something you probably have no idea of the cost of materials and the skill and the time that is involved in making it.
The best sign I ever saw was on a booth of a crafter and it said; "But will you?"...
Now if someone ask me to make or sew or do any other skill I have, I smile and say, "No, but I am happy to teach you how to do it." Works like a charm. All of a sudden it is not important to them.
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| Mother's shrine |
Another beef I have is pricing. Why will a person go to Walmart or any retail store USA and pay a healthy price for a piece of junk from china or a third world country and brag about the good deal they got but ask them to pay an artist a fair price for the skill, talent and cost of what they create and you hear them say, "You want how much for that?"...Then they tell you that because of it being hand made/home made it should be cheaper. After all they can go down the street and get a similar piece, made by some underpaid exploited person in a country they do not even know the location of for same or less...no matter it is junk and will not last and the labor has been exploited...look what a great deal...And they have put another dollar in a 'fat cat's pocket or helped fund another golden umbrella for a crook. Maybe they should walk a mile in the shoes of the person who made it...no matter if it is the artist or the exploited laborer...They will get a taste of the 'real' cost.
So I will continue to make my art, sew what I feel like sewing and enjoy it because there is no pressure to sell or make any one but myself happy.
You are right in ranting. There is a fine line between stealing an art idea and being inspired by it. If the final product looks like the rest of your friend's body of work then she has taken the idea and made it her own. If it looks like the work of the others, it is just a copy. I share lots of ideas with artists and hope for them to take them and make them their own. If I see a copy of my own work, I know the artist is either insecure with their abilities or needs a good slap by the group of artists as a whole which is the nice thing about sharing art in a group... the other artists look out for you and they TALK! Sewing is a talent. My mother is an awesome with sewing. I'm not so awesome :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Emmy...This is one of the blogs I enjoyed writing...
DeleteGood rant! It is interesting what people value. I know a lot of people who would rather drop $50 + dollars once or twice/week at a bar than pay for art work.
ReplyDeleteWe all make our choices on how and where to spend our dollars...Drinking is sure a waste of them...at least with art you have something to show for it other than a hangover...Thanks for stopping by...
Deletetotally agree with your post, particularly about the insanity of people buying PLASTIC Junk because it is cheap instead of something handmade, quality that will last a lifetime. I won't buy things from big chain stores anymore because I just don't want to be part of that - there are so many beautiful pottery, glass, jewelry, art items at galleries across the nation from REAL artists not assembly line workers.
ReplyDelete