I'm taking Paul Overton's advice and posting photos of my work in progress. I'm not going to upload it here, but if you're interested it's on the Penny Nickels Facebook page.
Okay, at the risk of sounding really shitty, I'm going to be completely honest. *Psssst!* Meet me in the next paragraph!
A lot of the pieces I do are part of a bigger series, some of which I've been working on more than a year. I guess my fear is because embroidery really solidly occupies a "craft" space rather than an "art" space, and I've found the crafting community to be more likely to incorporate patterns and ideas in their own work, more so than artists I encounter, I'm reluctant to post unfinished work out of the fear that I'll see a knock off somewhere else. And because some of these pieces take sooooo damn long for me to do, I worry that some unscrupulous character could rip it off and do a one off before I finish my series. If I post it on Facebook or Flickr, I can actively control who sees it better than I could here. I know it sounds pretentious and paranoid. I'm proud of my work, and I believe in it, but I'm a little fish in the big pond. I don't feel like I have anything approaching a presence where my work is identifiable as mine. I feel like I've got to protect my process and my work at least until I really get a solid body together. Is that totally crazy?
Totally understandable. A couple things spring to mind about it though.
1. I think your work is really unique. Also, It's complicated. It would take quite an artist to knock it off and do a good job on it.
2. Putting it on FB and Flickr makes it harder to find by people who are doing web searches. I understand the impetus to keep it private, I just wish it didn't limit your opportunities to engage with potential fans.
3. When I taught dance, my partner and I did a "how to dance for your wedding" video. We got knocked off and were pissed about it. Turns out though that, years later, our video is still going strong and has always outsold theirs, because it's just better. Having gone through all that, I'm a lot less paranoid about putting stuff out there.
4. Artisans like Ann Wood are continually putting their work out there and end up selling most of it before it's even finished. I'm sure they get knocked off, but their stuff is so good, nobody even takes notice of the imitators. Your stuff, I think, would be in this category.
There are good arguments for both staying private and putting yourself out there but the people I'm seeing who are really smashing it these days are the ones who are putting it all out there. They don't really have a lot of theft going on around their stuff and they certainly don't have a pricing problem.
Thanks for the opportunity to talk about this stuff.
You madam are a just a wonderous stitchy (amongst other things!) genius and many may try on the knock offery but they could not hold a light to your prodgious talent..so NUR! to anyone that tries...
Monster series is shaping up to be an amazing body of work...and you with carded sore fingers too!
Top post on the pricing front too; I've had a couple of "i love your work but could you do it cheaper?" type emails...which just make me feel like a heal for saying sorry but no :(
You guys are awesome- Paul- you were right, I posted my Haeckels in progress and they've been snatched up!
Mimi- You are such a dear lady! Did I tell you that we hung Fleetwood Cub Piggy right next to our bed so it's the first thing Johnny sees in the morning? Love Love Love it, worth every penny.
I've been using a chess clock and diligently writing down every hour I spend on each piece. Oy! What a surprise! Turns out, they take way longer then I thought! I think it's a habit I'm going to keep up with. Seeing a accurate record of how long these things take really puts the pricing in perspective. And anyone who looks at that and then decides your time is only worth two or five bucks an hour is an asshole.
Mimi! What would you like to see in a Rogue Guild?
Penny - Your work is ridiculously good. Just curious, why are you not posting it here?
ReplyDeleteAw! *Blushing*
ReplyDeleteOkay, at the risk of sounding really shitty, I'm going to be completely honest. *Psssst!* Meet me in the next paragraph!
A lot of the pieces I do are part of a bigger series, some of which I've been working on more than a year. I guess my fear is because embroidery really solidly occupies a "craft" space rather than an "art" space, and I've found the crafting community to be more likely to incorporate patterns and ideas in their own work, more so than artists I encounter, I'm reluctant to post unfinished work out of the fear that I'll see a knock off somewhere else. And because some of these pieces take sooooo damn long for me to do, I worry that some unscrupulous character could rip it off and do a one off before I finish my series.
If I post it on Facebook or Flickr, I can actively control who sees it better than I could here.
I know it sounds pretentious and paranoid. I'm proud of my work, and I believe in it, but I'm a little fish in the big pond. I don't feel like I have anything approaching a presence where my work is identifiable as mine. I feel like I've got to protect my process and my work at least until I really get a solid body together.
Is that totally crazy?
Totally understandable. A couple things spring to mind about it though.
ReplyDelete1. I think your work is really unique. Also, It's complicated. It would take quite an artist to knock it off and do a good job on it.
2. Putting it on FB and Flickr makes it harder to find by people who are doing web searches. I understand the impetus to keep it private, I just wish it didn't limit your opportunities to engage with potential fans.
3. When I taught dance, my partner and I did a "how to dance for your wedding" video. We got knocked off and were pissed about it. Turns out though that, years later, our video is still going strong and has always outsold theirs, because it's just better. Having gone through all that, I'm a lot less paranoid about putting stuff out there.
4. Artisans like Ann Wood are continually putting their work out there and end up selling most of it before it's even finished. I'm sure they get knocked off, but their stuff is so good, nobody even takes notice of the imitators. Your stuff, I think, would be in this category.
There are good arguments for both staying private and putting yourself out there but the people I'm seeing who are really smashing it these days are the ones who are putting it all out there. They don't really have a lot of theft going on around their stuff and they certainly don't have a pricing problem.
Thanks for the opportunity to talk about this stuff.
Your fan,
Paul
You madam are a just a wonderous stitchy (amongst other things!) genius and many may try on the knock offery but they could not hold a light to your prodgious talent..so NUR! to anyone that tries...
ReplyDeleteMonster series is shaping up to be an amazing body of work...and you with carded sore fingers too!
Top post on the pricing front too; I've had a couple of "i love your work but could you do it cheaper?" type emails...which just make me feel like a heal for saying sorry but no :(
Rogue guild...definately!
xx
You guys are awesome-
ReplyDeletePaul- you were right, I posted my Haeckels in progress and they've been snatched up!
Mimi- You are such a dear lady! Did I tell you that we hung Fleetwood Cub Piggy right next to our bed so it's the first thing Johnny sees in the morning? Love Love Love it, worth every penny.
I've been using a chess clock and diligently writing down every hour I spend on each piece. Oy! What a surprise! Turns out, they take way longer then I thought! I think it's a habit I'm going to keep up with. Seeing a accurate record of how long these things take really puts the pricing in perspective. And anyone who looks at that and then decides your time is only worth two or five bucks an hour is an asshole.
Mimi! What would you like to see in a Rogue Guild?
Penny - Yay! I'm so glad your pieces flew out the door! Yay,yay,yay!
ReplyDelete