This post was inspired by an email I received from another jewelry artist, she brought up her fear of success. I hear her loud and clear.
I had my friend Vicky over the other week. She was visiting with her mother and her sweetheart Andy. They immediately wanted to bust into my jewelry stock and rummage. I was over joyed and pulled out my stash. I immediately told them that they should pick out their favorite Piece and take it home with them.
Jaws dropped.
I then received a firm talking to.
Vicky's mother has been an artist for many years, as has Vicky. Before they made their way into the house they were just having a discussion about how artists like to give their art away. And for why?
Do you know the answer to this question deep down in your heart?
Now, you know that I am not talking about the art of generosity here. Generosity is a wonderful thing, but this is not what I am talking about. I am talking about repetitious sales, giveaways, gifts, hand outs, etc...
Why do we do this?
Did I truly desire to give Vicky and her mother a beautiful gift? Yes. I do not receive visitors often and I want people to leave my house feeling well loved. But they taught me a valuable lesson.
In response to my offer to pick their favorite Pieces and bring them home- I was told that I should tell them how much their favorite Pieces cost at Retail. Not Wholesale, but Retail value. I told them the jewelry's monetary worth. They both proceeded to give me more than what I had quoted them.
I think that perhaps we may have many different reasons for giving our Art away...perhaps some of you do not have this nasty habit. You may be like my Aunt Mary (who teaches me a great deal of useful things)... She is a weaver of Willows. She picks, tends, strips, spikes, soaks and weaves her Baskets and Jewelry. She does NOT give things away...okay, she very RARELY give things away. She trades them or she keeps them. She is a great role model to me by the way that she bears the worth of her Art. She is not a greedy person, just understands the effort of her hard work and the worth of her time.
Those of you who are not like my Aunt Mary, perhaps you know the reason why you give your art away. For myself it has been superficially because: I want to give people a good deal, I fight the capitalistic system, whole sale is what I offer consignment shops, why not my customers?...
But deep down I know that it is none of these reasons. Deep down it is because: I do not think that I deserve success, my art is not worth the money, I am not worth the money. Why should I be paid to do something that I love when there are so many people who get paid to do things that they hate?
We all know what a Starving Artist is...we are plagued by the idea.
It is time that we toss this idea to the side. There are people who will pay top dollar for our talents. For many reasons.
1. They do not want to make it themselves.
2. They feel good when they buy...from artists, locally, for a cause, to stimulate the economy...
3. They WANT that beautiful item and it feels good for them to be wearing/hanging/experiencing something new.
4. It feels good to give.
5. It feels good to take.
Have you ever made a very special purchase? One that made your heart leap for joy? Remember unwrapping it and telling your friends about your new amazing treasure?
Why take that pleasure away from someone else?
Thanks for listening.
S.
I approve of this post.
ReplyDeleteThanks Liz and Justin for your feedback.
ReplyDeleteI think that you are right Liz. Totally! I am worth every penny, just trying to equip myself and other artists for business combat...and furthermore, for inner business demon combat. Your vote of confidence is like a layer of protective armor...sorry to go D&D on you. Hugs!
I love this post! You make many good points that I think a lot of artists forget to think about.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with the same feelings as you when I consider what price to sell my art for. It's helpful for me to see that you, an amazing artist, have these same feelings. Thank you for sharing them on this blog.
Another aspect of this issue is that unfortunately, because we are so prone to giving our art away, some people start expecting it. Many of my well-known artist friends get hit up constantly to give their art to non-profit auctions. Not that it's a bad thing to donate to non-profits, but the artists need to make a living too. We need to create an understanding that art is hard work and just as worthy of a price as any other creation (technology, buildings, etc).
Thanks for getting me thinking about this :)
You are so welcomed Lia! I feel grateful to have friends that inspire these sorts of conversations. I love opening this dialogue up to the Art World. I feel that the more we talk about strategy and feelings, the more support we will receive from one another and in turn, the more successful we will be as Artists.
ReplyDelete10 heads are better than one, Que No?
People can start expecting us to hand out our Art for free. But I think it is important to create our own boundaries surrounding this issue. I find that when there is structure to refer to, even if they are your own rules, people seem to respect that. When people start to talk my prices down and bargain with me is when I usually tell them very politely that I do not bargain, but I do have a wholesale system, or a sale available at this particular store, or I only give to 1 charity every quarter, perhaps you want to follow up with me next month...
I think that most people who do buy from Artists are not looking for a bargain and if customers do continuously engage us in this manner, it may be time to find another target customer. Which means intentional advertising and/or raising your prices.
Because you are right, Art is hard work, it is also a vulnerable business. And we need to know our worth, self discipline and how to respect ourselves.
Cheers!
Sarah