Markings #15 and More about Selling
Markings #15 ©2007 43" x 43"
Thank you to everyone that commented on my last post about my current pondering. I have a lot to think about and a lot of good points were raised and they gave me even more to think about. As usual it is always good to get input from other artists that have been through or are going through or even thinking about similar things.
My first thought this morning was that I need to stop whining and just do the work and things will happen. I do have realistic goals for selling my work, I’m not expecting to make a living from my art over night. For this year if I make my goal I won’t even cover my expenses and I have a very slow ramp up speed in mind. It’s just a matter of doing the marketing/promotion/gallery hunting work.
I do understand the gallery system and my artwork is priced to include the normal 50% gallery commission. I have always priced my work assuming there will be a commission, and most of my work has sold this way. I believe is if someone else is selling my work they should be paid for their effort. If I sell the work I deserve the commission. Selling and marketing is hard work, the person doing the selling certainly deserves to be paid and it is part of the cost of the artwork, as with any product.
Daniel Sroka’s comment and his related post was really right on track to my line of thinking. What are the markets? What are the costs and payoffs for each of these markets? Where should I align my work? Like Daniel I believe that multiple different markets might be the answer.
But in addition to those thoughts, I think - should I even be aligning myself to the market at all? That is always my struggle - selling out. What does that mean, what are the costs, what are the benefits?
Doing the marketing work has added another level of stress to my already very busy and crazy life - fulltime software engineering career, single mom, art career, home owner. Some day it would be great to get home from my day job and just sit down and relax and not worry that I should be doing something for my art.
I think that is a large part why I am questioning it. I feel I have little time for doing anything other than work and work. I should set aside at least 1 day a week to do nothing but relax, work on my yard, go hiking, read books, sleep, hang with my kids, etc.
If I removed the stress of marketing, my life would be easier today. But then I would forever be stuck in a cube to pay bills. Is it worth the pain today for a better tomorrow? Or am I better off just pushing myself, on my own, to make the very best art I can, which is what I have been doing for the past 7 years with good success. I’ve gotten some really good recognition for my work and I’m happy with it.
I’m now rambling so I’ll stop but thank you again to those that shared their thoughts here and in private email and I’d welcome further thoughts if you have any.
The piece above is Markings #15 and I’m extremely pleased with it. I love the lines and shapes and colors and pretty much everything about it. Someday the art just makes itself, and this is an example.
With one exception. Remember all those dangling threads from this post? It took 5 hours to tuck them all in. About half way through I bought some self threading needles and it definitely helped but I hate to admit part of my problem is that my near eyesight is not what it used to be. The last few months I’ve noticed a marked deterioration so taking advice from Tracy Helgeson I’m going to read a few books about how I might be able to correct this without glasses.
I just need to find some time to read.
Posted by Lisa in: Abstract Contemporary Textile Art, Being an Artist
Wanda S. Hanson said,
June 20, 2007 @ 9:22 pm
you said “I feel I have little time for doing anything other than work and work”. I relate to this because when you work in your home, you come home and the other “job” is beckoning you and it is hard to make the decision to not work and to go play instead. What if you made small pieces to sell that you considered your play time, a break from the big pieces, but still trying ideas that you may want to use in a larger piece.
ritasteffenson said,
June 21, 2007 @ 12:10 pm
These issues often come up in the lives of artists. I don’t have the any answers, although I have been able to cover all my expenses over the last four years by local lectures, teaching, prize monies and few sales. I could expand on those activities if I were able to travel often and further, perhaps when the children are grown. What I am doing now is spending 40 - 70 hours in the studio making work I want to make, most of my work takes over 100 to over 1000 hours to make. I enjoy the process and try not to focus on the lack of major sales as a failure.
I feel the big issue is “Do you want your art to become your job?” You could find yourself spending 15 -20 hours a week on business side and marketing, then a further 20 -30 hours making the smaller more saleable work to pay the bills. Leaving only the same amount of time you now have to make the work you want to make, if your not sapped by 40 -50 hours you have already spent in the studio that week.
It seems like you already on a path of recognition and success that could lead to a major gallery representation and big sales.
Diane Clancy said,
June 21, 2007 @ 2:18 pm
Again, these issues are ones many of us are grappling with. I don’t consider selling and marketing our work selling out. I like what someone said about having others having ownership of art by taking it home. I know I sure feel that way.
But I think it is a valid question of how you want your life to look. It does take a lot of work to market effectively (at least for most of us - and then sometimes it doesn’t seem so effective anyway). I would hate to see the joy of your work get lost into pushing, pushing, pushing to meet the bills. Especially with children (I wish I had listened to my mom and learned typing!) you have to be able to pay the bills.
Perhaps you are on a very good track for yourself now. Make your big quilts for joy, make more small pieces, keep exploring and expanding markets, make enough money to cover the art bills and then some. And over time, make more and more money until you can start to seriously make the leap without a lot of angst.
Your work is incredible! You are a marvelous person!! You are doing great networking and building community for yourself. I encourage you to keep building on your strengths and not push yourself too too hard. hard yes, but not too hard. That is what I think right now. i think you are on track … allow yourself to be on track.
~ Diane Clancy
http://www.dianeclancy.com/blog
Meagan said,
June 21, 2007 @ 3:00 pm
I liked when you said “I have always priced my work assuming there will be a commission, and most of my work has sold this way. I believe is if someone else is selling my work they should be paid for their effort. If I sell the work I deserve the commission. Selling and marketing is hard work, the person doing the selling certainly deserves to be paid and it is part of the cost of the artwork, as with any product.” That really makes a lot of sense, since selling usually involves the same amount of work, no matter if you sell it or a gallery does. I am going to have to take a look at my own prices after reading this.
I also liked when you said “Some day it would be great to get home from my day job and just sit down and relax and not worry that I should be doing something for my art.” I am lucky enough to be able to work on my art fulltime because my husband supports me financially, but that also makes me feel like I can never relax. I feel like I need to be constantly working on my art or I’m not justifing my not having a “real job.” So, I too feel like I can never relax because I never feel like I am working hard enough or long enough.
Right now, I am mostly working on building up a good, solid collection of my art work so I am not currently doing a whole lot of marketing. It is really interesting reading your thoughts about the business side of being an artist. You always seem to know what you are doing. Thanks for writing this blog.
Oh, and “Marking #15″ really turned out nice.
Sheila said,
June 21, 2007 @ 10:09 pm
One the hardest things for a self-employed person to do is give her/himself time off. And every artist, whether supporting her/himself with the art or as an aside is essentially self-employed. It’s too easy to push yourself 7 days a week, even rationalizing it because you’re supposedly doing something you really enjoy. But you risk burn-out and you sound a bit close to that. Not burned out in terms of ideas and inspiration and desire to do the work, but burned out physically and mentally and perhaps emotionally as well.
So my advise to you is give yourself some time off - even from the stuff you enjoy - and recharge those batteries. Consider weekly “artist dates” with yourself, or time like you’ve mentioned to read a book or work in the garden without feeling guilty that you should be spending it “more productively.” Everything you do eventually feeds back into your art, whether you mean it to or not.
You may be surprised at insights that may come to you when you’re not specifically thinking about all this. A breather may let you come back wondering what all the fuss was about. Hey - it’s the first day of summer…play a little!
cynthia said,
June 22, 2007 @ 7:47 am
I too think the best thing to do is to take your own advice and give yourself a day off once a week. Relaxation and rejeuvenation are important for anyone otherwise burnout will ensue.
I also like the way you price your work. I should follow your lead!
jafabrit said,
June 22, 2007 @ 3:08 pm
I relate to Meagan in that I have been allowed to stay home 12 years and really work on my art full time. I don’t know how much longer I can do this, which means I will have to change my priorities. It is definitely a quandary. In the end though, I will continue to create, just not on the same scale. My thought is that I have all the tools in place business wise and art wise and so even if I can’t work on art/biz full time, I will be able to maintain the momentum.
Kiandra said,
June 22, 2007 @ 4:07 pm
I read the last post, and was trying to think of something to contribute to the conversation, as I have been struggling with the same thing. For me it is a little different, I am a sahm, and my husband supports me both financially and emotionally, and lately my mother has seen what I am trying to do and has tried to help with what she can. Even with this support, it is still hard. I really relate to what Meagan and Jafabrit said, I feel that I have to prove to myself and them that this is legitimate and worth the investment of time and money (even though they don’t feel that way). Even more so, living off of one income, with two kids and a house is very tough, we make a lot of sacrifices (but gladly).
After struggling with this very same issue for the past year, I wish I had some advice to offer. What I can tell you I have done is to seek out other ways of making money with the same product. For example, I am going to start teaching community classes. It isn’t alot of money, but I can see where potentially it could be a decent amount to have coming in on an ongoing basis. In addition to bringing in some income, I realized that I would be reaching more potential buyers of my work, spreading the word of myself as an artist, and getting closer to my goal of writing a book.
I think that your work is hands down amazing, you are quite on your way to receiving more recognitiion for your work. The most important thing I’ve learned is not letting what you love to do, become work. Like someone else mentioned, take time away from your work, even the stuff you love to do to keep the passion there. And, go easier on yourself, people like me still admire you, and how far you’ve come, and what you contribute to the art quilting community.
I stand alot to learn from the way you price your work, I have underpriced myself, for fear of no one buying my work, but then I feel like I am cheating myself…and like cynthia said, I’m going to follow your lead…and value myself…which you already do.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend…enjoy yourself and take some time off, the answers will come.
Melody Madden said,
June 22, 2007 @ 5:14 pm
Being an artist is downright hard. For me there is no question about that.. I feel it is continually a struggle. Is my pricing right? Am I selling out? So much work and sometimes it feels as if it is so little payoff in the end. I heard from the one of the galleries that represent me today that they wondered if I was still interested in staying with them as I had only sold 5 pieces of work a year for the past three years. I thought five pieces was pretty good but obviously they thought differently. The owner said she thought fiber art was difficult to move and that anything that was sold by a fiber artist was only covering the artist’s basic costs. She also thought perhaps I was pricing my work a tad too high. My work is not priced too high. I have been working in this field for almost ten years now and I am not willing to give it away. I have a show opening tomorrow and this really put a damper on how great I was feeling but it just goes to show how some gallery owners feel. Sorry Lisa, just though I would rant a little. Your work is fabulous……….keep it up. I so enjoy reading your blog
Daniel Sroka said,
June 22, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
You wrote: “should I even be aligning myself to the market at all? That is always my struggle - selling out.”
Ugh, you are NOT selling out! If you start quilting Mickey Mouse, then yes, you are selling out! But understanding the potential markets for your work, and how your can create products out of your artistic vision to fit those markets is not “selling out”. It’s just smart business. And if art is to be your livelihood, you need to think like a business.
Deborah said,
June 23, 2007 @ 5:24 pm
Down time to garden or read books or whatever is as important as all the other stuff. It’s keeps you fresh. Just imagine all the ideas and solutions and new inspirations that are percolating while you are not directly focused on the art.
Have you considered connecting with interior designers? Maybe a person who designs for high end office spaces or other wealthy clients would place your work. I think the style and scale of your work would be perfect in a business setting.
Anna said,
June 24, 2007 @ 6:01 pm
Hi Lisa - I came via Catherine’s blog Making A Mark and I find your blog most interesting, especially hearing you discuss planning, what it means to be an artist, etc. In terms of goal setting, I just wanted to add that I find that too many a goal under too many a heading may actually sap the energy right out of you, as if the left brain is trying to organize the right brain. I have set up a spreadsheet for the year, with a few different categories, including things related to the rest of my life! That way, I can see right away if I am overextending myself. I also find that as my goals (perhaps thanks to the right brain?) change, I do wisely to follow my intuition and revise my course. Thanks for a great blog!
Alyson B. Stanfield said,
June 26, 2007 @ 8:20 am
Lisa, I feel kind of awkward saying this because it sounds sadistic, but I am enjoying you struggle with this issue. A few years ago you were so adamant about not being interested in selling and now the temptation bug has hit you. I think you’ve been marketing your art all along–you just didn’t know it. Your participation in the dialog about art, particularly your contributions on this blog, are a big form of marketing. You have built a following in the process. Now . . . how is that mailing list coming along?
Lisa Call said,
June 26, 2007 @ 11:26 am
As usual everyone had some really helpful comments for me on this thread. I have a lot of thinking to do in this area and right now I’m doing just that - thinking. I’ll be posting more on this topic later.