Delicate
December 5, 2007
Today is Monday, I have already posted a blog entry today and have just a couple of hours before ten women come knocking on my door to participate in my first creativity workshop trial run. So what do I decide to do before I complete the final tasks for this evening’s event? Write another blog entry that won’t be posted for a couple of days. On the one hand I could interpret this as a very obvious sign my time management skills might need honing. On the other hand, I’ve had these thoughts swirling around in my brain all day, and after pondering a laundry list of potential blog entries lately – only a small portion of which ultimately get written – I decided to try a new blogging tactic: write when the mood strikes me whenever possible.
The topic I feel compelled to write about immediately is nothing new to many in the blogging community. It was, in fact, the main and most turbulent topic of conversation at an artist’s retreat I went to this summer. The topic is money, and after spending the past many weeks examining my financial goals and pursuits as an artist I have gained a good bit of clarity on where my priorities lie in this respect.
This issue came up today because of an email I received. A few of my pieces are now on display at a friend’s boutique, and in our back and forth emails discussing how they should be priced, I was told at one point that some of her customers were "shocked" at the price range we were working with. My response to this little snippet was this:
"I find it so funny – or at least I should say I have to try to find it funny – when people are so horrified at prices for art that are actually incredibly reasonable. I suppose for some people the idea of creating art will never be seen as something that actually involves work and therefore worthy of certain pricing….I have struggled with pricing my work from day one and find it an incredibly frustrating task."
My comments were not directed at my friend, as I know she understands completely where I am coming from, but I could not stop myself from ranting at the idea that these prices – only half of which I will ultimately receive – were so off the charts in people’s minds.
Trying to "make it" as a "fine artist" who exhibits and sells through galleries and shows has been a strange trip, made all the more difficult from having such inconsistent studio time. Setting prices for my work has felt like a total crapshoot at times, but I have always tried to err on the side of valuing my work. I would even say I’ve been downright ballsy with my pricing at times, as if to dare someone to challenge the way I value my lifetime of experience as an artist and established licensed brand under my belt. Upping the ante price-wise has not been about greed, but about wanting to avoid anything that smacks of undervaluing my work because so many people are used to seeing art as frivolous and/or easy for artists. I have tried to be bold with pricing to set a precedent for other artists. When talented artists undervalue their work, the bar is lowered for all of us, and I’ve risked coming across as arrogant because I want to break down the myth that art must be about sacrifice and financial suffering. Just as investment bankers, grocery store clerks and florists work to make a living, so do artists. Our bills are not any less than our neighbors’; our need to save for a rainy day no less imperative.
It is a delicate balance between undervaluing one’s work and pricing it too high for one’s audience. I have dipped my toe in a variety of various galleries, venues and pricing structures, and have found that my greatest success (i.e. pricing structure that works for me and my buyers) has come from projects I handle myself and entities that focus heavily on celebrating independent artists in a grassroots way (i.e. Etsy). My goals for next year aim to share my work in that place of balance – where I am creating work I am proud of, buyers are purchasing art that moves and inspires them at prices they are comfortable with, and I feel satisfied with what I am earning for my experience, talent and efforts. It has taken me a long time to get here, to this place of figuring how to create this balance and put it into action. Of course I could still get it totally wrong, but in the meantime I’ll keep moving forward, and hopefully share some light along the way.
One of my new ventures in this direction is to post a new series of smaller works each month, beginning next Wednesday, December 12. Ten new 5" x 7" creations will be posted on Etsy at special introductory prices. Mark your calendars for my first unveiling, just in time for the holidays!
oh yeah, That one. I was told something like that to my face at an opening (of my work)… not the best way to start off a show, but there it was…. everything has a perceived value in our society, art is not perceived as work by many, and thus the “Delicate” topic is brought to the fore… I so admire you for pricing your work fearlessly and valuing your own time, work and integrity.
i applaud you today…very well said my friend…as a self-employed woman artist of long standing i know without a doubt…if you undervalue yourself, the world will undervalue you…that has been the cornerstone of my business workshops/book/lectures and my passion…to hear another artist speak so eloquently and passionatly about the value of her work inspires me…and so it should others…i am always saddened when i see prices of under $10 for original artwork…i have always thought that perception is important…and self-perception is everything…my best advice always is “you CAN charge for talent…and the years it took to hone that talent”…if we, as mentors, keep speaking this truth…eventually others will understand that too…i applaud you today…blessings, rebecca
As a purchaser of art (yours and several others), I look at the price of a piece of art as the value that artist puts on their work, talent, years of experience. And if I see a piece that is too much for me, I can admire it but just not purchase it. Of course if a piece moves me and I must have it, I put off purchasing something else. When I see a piece of original art at a really low price, I look at it and wonder why so cheap. Some of those people who are shocked at the prices are probably the ones who spend several hundred dollars on a pair of shoes that last one season. Art lasts a lifetime and should be valued as such. I LOVE every piece of art that I have purchased and never regret what I paid for it…especially my Christine Wall! xoxo
great post Christine! Something I need to think about too.
As an artist who has been painting for thirty years, I totally agree with you.
If you don’t value and believe in what you
do, why expect others to? Great post, thanks for saying what we all feel.
Blessings, Annie Coe
What some people don’t realize is that there is *time* involved with creation — conception, delivery — never mind the other aspects of running a business. If those people thought about art as billable hours they’d understand it better.
oh…as always you make a direct hit. this such a issue. and if it hadn’t been for you and a couple other artists. i would be the one lowballing it all. at our little christmas open house last nite, i was talking about this exact subject withanother artists. she prices her art extremelylow. she was worried about offending potentional buyer. she honestly price only for the cost of the frame and supplies. and i told her how you had explained all of this to me.
so thank you for this today….
wow…how familiar this is for myself and probably everyone who reads this….as artists how do we comfortably stand up and say this is what I am worth? For us the most difficult thing to do is take our passion and translate it to the world as a monetary worth because for us the actual joy of creating it is the money that we feed off and if we could somehow create a system that was automatic in the exchange how fun would that be? Like this: You spend 12 hours in the studio creating, you get a free dinner at the local diner, a car payment, and a massage…then you create 2 huge paintings the next day and for that you recieve a shopping spree to your favorite clothing shop, and then you write some amazing poetry and for every 5 people that read it and are touched in the smallest way, you get movie tickets and so on and so on so that you never worry about what you need or want because your addition to the universal joy is greater than that of the masses who are driving the actual economy…I’ve always thought…”if i could just get paid enough money to subsist very basically doing theater I would do it…” but guess what…no one wants to pay for a bunch of actors “playing” all day…nevermind the mountain of work, time, and deep inner process it takes to create one character and the put it out there for others to enjoy…wow…what a concept, artists who get paid to be in their passion…
But here is the rub…you are standing in your grace and power as an artist and by setting your own rules and standards you are creating that space that will allow for complete abundance…let’s never stop creating and living because someone tells us it’s too expensive….i love that you are in the struggle and in the moment and standing so strong…good for you Swirly.
Love you!
I so love that you have delved into this. With my transition soon into the freelance world, I’m finding that so much more thought goes into my day when I’m having to figure out how to divide my time.
So add into the costs of producing the work, the payment of being a manager (because that’s a skill a business usually pays someone to execute) and let’s not forget accountant and supply orderer and receptionist fielding phone calls. If one parsed apart all of the back end of being an artist, and calculated how much it would cost to hire someone out for those things as it would be with a “real” business, the cost of that painting would look like a real deal!
You can’t put a value on something so personal that comes from your soul. Don’t sell yourself short..Art makes people dream..and dreaming is what the world needs more of. Good luck.
i’m not an artist…just an admiring all your beautiful art! If I had the money, I would have bought every single one! they are beautiful! The price is right…and sometimes I think you artists ask to little money for your talents…or more for just going out and do what we all dream of doing! Let it go…believe in your art…and your price…your work is…priceless!
xx
Living with a fine artist, I have been having this conversation with him for years. He has been showing in galleries in London where the same sort of piece goes for three times what people where we live are willing to pay. He won’t change the price to make the smaller gallery happy. It’s all about putting a value on your work and believing in it. The question of value is tricky, but as the artist, I think it is yours to make!!
How did you start the idea for workshops? How BRAVE!!!
xxoxoxo thinking of you honey!
I don’t know what you’re currently charging, as I bought some of your pieces a couple of years ago. Anyway, I’ve started doing collage myself and know how much time and money (buying materials) goes into it. If people understood this process and calculated all the hours it takes us to produce the work and money for materials, they’d realize that we really aren’t making much if anything.
Yes, we discussed this and I love that you shared it with everyone. It is about creating awareness. John Muir said “We need Beauty as much as we need Bread.” Entire cultures are defined by art and design, the level of value is actually priceless. You are divine, my friend!