Starting Over....again.

[Cheetarah]

Hahaha it makes me laugh- I'm so dependant on coffee. Coffee is life. Not a drug my a$$

 

It's stuff on here and on fb. People talking about paleo, high fat, low carb diets. It works great for some people...but the data supporting that they're healthier than a low fat diet that high in complex carbs and high in veggies...just isn't there. And all of the other stuff that people post. Zika being caused by pesticides. Organic crops not using pesticides or herbicides. Vaccines causing autism. This whole idea that corporations are out to get us. No. They're trying to make money. They want To keep you as a consumer as long as possible, so they aren't poisoning you.

 

On here it's always the same people. And I'm shocked at how many anti science beliefs most people are on this site hold (while saying they love science)...just because you follow IFLS on fb, does not mean you actually love science. I had to stop following it- they've turned into click bait.

 

Also, I have chocolate. And Guinness. Which I think with the coffee earlier is a dangerous combination. Because now I'm tipsy and very awake. But my painting looks good....so that's good.

 

I'll keep drinking and smile.

And think of old poems:

 

I'm the only former prom queen in the joint.

The rest are my secret competitors, losing in a battle they never knew they entered (the way you race unknowing drivers at stop lights).

 

I had a good convo about all this with M's geneticist today. GMOs and vaccines causing Autism, specifically. She said she had a lot of parents' patients that have traveled to TALK with him. And then they go back to her wanting her to say he's a quackjob. Which she does. But she's not particularly sure they believed her.

 

Talked a lot about mutations of genes which cause autistic features. If M does not test for Fragile X syndrome, next one on the list is PTEN sequencing(if I want, which I do) because of the macrocephaly and autistic features. I didn't even know about PTEN mutation before today. Interesting, interesting stuff. A much broader genetic component than people seem to think. She gave me some percentages of children with autistic features and mutations of particular genes(I think we talked about like 4 different once), and the numbers are significantly higher than I expected to hear. I wanted to sit in there all day and talk to her and the genetic counselor. What a fascinating yet terribly confusing field to work in.

[faraday]

I had a good convo about all this with M's geneticist today. GMOs and vaccines causing Autism, specifically. She said she had a lot of parents' patients that have traveled to TALK with him. And then they go back to her wanting her to say he's a quackjob. Which she does. But she's not particularly sure they believed her.

 

Talked a lot about mutations of genes which cause autistic features. If M does not test for Fragile X syndrome, next one on the list is PTEN sequencing(if I want, which I do) because of the macrocephaly and autistic features. I didn't even know about PTEN mutation before today. Interesting, interesting stuff. A much broader genetic component than people seem to think. She gave me some percentages of children with autistic features and mutations of particular genes(I think we talked about like 4 different once), and the numbers are significantly higher than I expected to hear. I wanted to sit in there all day and talk to her and the genetic counselor. What a fascinating yet terribly confusing field to work in.

 

Hey, can you explain the first paragraph with more elaboration? Who is "him"? The "her" is M's geneticist? Parents' patients?

 

Sorry, I'm super confused. Needing more context- it's been a long day

[faraday]

My mom and I are like you in that way we love setting our own pace. There is a lot to be said for entrepreneurship. Not everybody gets it.

 

An observation I have made is that enjoying being an entrepreneur generally coincides with not fearing risk.

 

It seems like a sliding scale, the more risk adverse a person is, the more likely they are to want a steady pay check that comes from standard employment.

 

It's a gamble. But...I love the thrill of the chase. I love when everything comes together. I love problem solving. I love the flexibility. I love all of the possibilities.

 

Jay says just thinking about it makes him want to throw up.

 

I'm just glad he doesn't need me to be a stable income for him to be happy.

[Cheetarah]

Hey, can you explain the first paragraph with more elaboration? Who is "him"? The "her" is M's geneticist? Parents' patients?

 

Sorry, I'm super confused. Needing more context- it's been a long day

 

Oh..Lol. Sorry, was a long day for me, too.

 

Him: Andrew Wakefield

Her: M's geneticist

And that was supposed to say patient's parents. Like a lot of them. They used to go travel to see Wakefield when their children first were diagnosed with Autism. And then they'd flip out and go back to the geneticist hoping she'd say he was a quack after their minds got filled with the vaccine business. Which she did, because she says he is. But the parents were still apprehensive.

[Cheetarah]

Or maybe it was William Thompson...I don't know, it was one of those.

[faraday]

Cute bf officially asked to be upgraded to cute fiancé last night

 

And in a not romantic way at all and without a ring...so I have no idea why he needed to wait until now lol. It went down exactly like how I thought he would ask (as he's not at all romantic or wordy)....and it makes me laugh because I know him better than he knows himself. I'm getting good at predicting how he'll do things....and that's very comforting.

[faraday]

So the show didn't go well at all. The other artsy type booths didn't sell much either...it was pretty discouraging. On Sunday night before the show ended, I was really bummed out. All weekend I had people stop and stare at my paintings and tell me they were gorgeous...and not buy them. Not even prints! It was depressing.

 

I went for a walk, and stumbled into another artist whose work I greatly admire. He sells in the same price range that I do (so he has the same target demographic), and he's been doing this for about 10 years. And he's married, with two kids, and this is his career- so he makes decent money doing it. So i told him the show hadn't went well for me, and I was really beginning to question what I was doing. And he said, "faraday, I've seen your work- it's beautiful. You belong out here- you should be doing shows. But you need to do way more of them. I do 12-15 shows a year...and if you start getting out there more, you'll realize this was just a crappy show and not a reflection of you. I didn't sell anything this show either- this show felt like everyone was here to look. But next weekend I'm doing ______ show...and you should be there too. Here's my number, call me. We'll talk. I'll give you advice on what shows to sign up for- which ones have a good turn out for our demographic." So last night I turned in applications for 3 other shows. Wish me luck.

[WithLove]

Aww, congrats, Faraday!!!

 

I think it's sort of cool that he waited til a Leap Year day to do it.

[faraday]

Aww, congrats, Faraday!!!

 

I think it's sort of cool that he waited til a Leap Year day to do it.

 

Thanks I was joking with him that if he had planned this better, he could have married me on the leap year and only needed to remember our anniversary every 4 years lol.

 

We met two years ago today.

[Ms Darcy]

Cute bf officially asked to be upgraded to cute fiancé last night

 

And in a not romantic way at all and without a ring...so I have no idea why he needed to wait until now lol. It went down exactly like how I thought he would ask (as he's not at all romantic or wordy)....and it makes me laugh because I know him better than he knows himself. I'm getting good at predicting how he'll do things....and that's very comforting.

 

Yay! Congratulations! Did he say "I love you"?

[Ms Darcy]

I'll give you advice on what shows to sign up for- which ones have a good turn out for our demographic." So last night I turned in applications for 3 other shows. Wish me luck.

 

Good luck!

 

My husband and I went to an art show in my city this past weekend. I actually kind of felt bad for going because we couldn't really afford anything. I feel like it would be at least a decade before we could and even then it would be once. It's a very tough business. But the product is just so beautiful!

[notalady]

Cute bf officially asked to be upgraded to cute fiancé last night

 

And in a not romantic way at all and without a ring...so I have no idea why he needed to wait until now lol. It went down exactly like how I thought he would ask (as he's not at all romantic or wordy)....and it makes me laugh because I know him better than he knows himself. I'm getting good at predicting how he'll do things....and that's very comforting.

 

Yay! Congrats faraday! Is he picking a ring or are you gonna do it together now?

[Seraphim]

Cute bf officially asked to be upgraded to cute fiancé last night

 

And in a not romantic way at all and without a ring...so I have no idea why he needed to wait until now lol. It went down exactly like how I thought he would ask (as he's not at all romantic or wordy)....and it makes me laugh because I know him better than he knows himself. I'm getting good at predicting how he'll do things....and that's very comforting.

 

Congrats!!

 

My husband proposed to me to without a ring. Don't worry. It's ok. My husband proposed to me in May and I got my ring on Christmas Eve.

[faraday]

Yay! Congratulations! Did he say "I love you"?

 

He said it for the first time the day we moved into our home together....and since then he's told me several times a day

 

More importantly, he acts like he does. When I had my show all weekend, he cleaned up the house...brought me food, and took care of clementine...I was actually pretty impressed with how well he played the role of me.

[faraday]

Congrats!!

 

My husband proposed to me to without a ring. Don't worry. It's ok. My husband proposed to me in May and I got my ring on Christmas Eve.

 

I wasn't worried...just more confused. Idk why he waited. He said he wanted to wait because he wanted to have the ring and make it special...but then he woke me up when I was sleeping and casually asked me. I was so confused. I still am

[reinventmyself]

Congratulations faraday!♥

[faraday]

Yay! Congrats faraday! Is he picking a ring or are you gonna do it together now?

 

I have no idea. I asked him what was up with the ring...because he made me spend a ton of time pinning rings for him...and he couldn't propose earlier because he didn't have a ring....and then last night he said "the ring I was going to order for you sold, so I have a few others in mind"...and I was thinking..he was kid and faraday free for a good chunk of the weekend. He had so much time to order a ring.

 

I love the guy, but he's kind of annoyed me with this. A few months ago I said, "let's not worry about a formal engagement. I know you're my the one, do you feel the same? Okay, well, let's just plan a wedding and who cares about the engagement." But he said no, he really wanted it to be special....so I feel like he kind of dropped the ball here. He set expectations and didn't meet them. The thing is...I knew it would be like this lol. Which is why I told him not to worry about it. He's not great at expressing emotions...he's not one of those grand gesture guys...and that's cool. I don't require grand gestures...I don't like doing them for others...so...I'm okay with it. But he told me he was planning something special...if waking me up out of a deep sleep with me screaming "no go away, I want to sleep damn it!" Is his romantic gesture....I'm going to need to make him watch a bunch of romcoms with me next weekend.

[faraday]

Congratulations faraday!

 

Thank you

[faraday]

Good luck!

 

My husband and I went to an art show in my city this past weekend. I actually kind of felt bad for going because we couldn't really afford anything. I feel like it would be at least a decade before we could and even then it would be once. It's a very tough business. But the product is just so beautiful!

 

Don't feel bad, it's really great when people come to shows. I love when people ask questions, and are interested. And selling art in the $2000-6000 range means that...most people aren't my demographic. So I'm cool with talking to 1000 people to make a sale- that's how it goes. It just sucks- my last show I sold 3 paintings....and this one...none. Brutal. Like, I lost $3000 being in that show. And I worked 16 hour days for 3 weeks before the show, not to mention set up and take down. I don't know what was going on. I had a lot of people ask me if I taught art classes...and a lot of people comment on how much they loved my art...which is always really nice. I just wish I had sold even one painting. Oh well. On to the next show.

[sophie274]

Congratulations on getting "officially" engaged faraday! Have you booked your tickets to elope? I want to elope but think my parents would kill me.

 

Good luck in the next few shows. It would be great to have that artist be your mentor.

 

How do you decide how to price your paintings?

[faraday]

Congratulations on getting "officially" engaged faraday! Have you booked your tickets to elope? I want to elope but think my parents would kill me.

 

Good luck in the next few shows. It would be great to have that artist be your mentor.

 

How do you decide how to price your paintings?

 

Thank you

 

Europe won't be booked until closer to. We both have most of Europe on our bucket lists, so we'll pretty much just go wherever things are looking good price wise.

 

As for pricing art....material costs+total time spent (time researching, learning new techniques, picking up supplies, actually making making the art) X hourly rate ($100/hour because I'm self employed and don't get vacation time/sick time/employment insurance or any other benefits from being employed by a business)...and then I times that total by three. Because when my art is sold in a gallery they take 50%...and I'm not allowed to have different pricing between the gallery and myself. So that extra profit I make goes back into the business- advertising, booth rentals, van rentals, plus paying myself for the time I spend at trade shows and doing my advertising and social media.

 

Pricing art is one of those things that people really disagree about...some people charge by square inch...others think that if you take money for your art, you're not making art for "art" and basically you're a giant sell it unless you're starving to death.

 

I price it like a business...a service, really. And I make sure that clients are well taken care of- I often deliver my paintings and hang them for a client...I also offer full refunds- I'll take my art back and give people the amount they paid for the piece if they fall out of love with their art.

 

Jays cousins is an artist...and she takes around 5-7 times as long as me to make a painting...and charges the same amount for a similar sized canvas...we sell about the same amount of paintings in a year. She won't up her prices because "people don't spend money on art" (a common belief held by artists). I've told her she should be charging at least 3 times what she is...but she won't even try. She doesn't think her art is worth more. And that's sad...she's insanely talented.

 

Why are you wondering about pricing?

[sophie274]

I was actually just really curious - since you mentioned being in the same price range as that other successful artist and that it meant you were out of most people's budgets. I know a few artists but none of them well enough to ask how they come up with pricing. I guess I was expecting your brand/reputation to be a big factor, but I'm assuming that is reflected in the hourly rate (as in, as you become more well-known, you will increase the hourly rate you factor in)?

 

Right now, we are visiting an area known for its weaving, and are in a town with a bunch of galleries selling tapestries. We visited one "famous" (famous if you're visiting this town, not very famous and certainly not world famous) gallery where there were beautiful pieces, and then another one where there were even more intricate pieces at around 15% of the prices of the first gallery. The salesperson - husband of the owner - said that his tapestries were priced based on the cost of making the pieces (materials, time - something kind of like your formula actually, I would imagine - I wonder how much his wife tacks on a her gallery commission) whereas the tapestris in the other place were priced as "art", whatever that means!

 

I love seeing people follow their passions, especially creative ones, so I really hope it works out for you.

 

So, are you subjecting Jay to romcoms this weekend? I am a huge romcom fan, embarrassingly so actually. Are you going to pick a ring with him? My fiancé can be really sweet and romantic but so far only in a more simple understated way (breakfast in bed and stargazing in the mountains, not champagne and two dozen roses in a hot air balloon, he's never made it through more than fifteen minutes of a romcom before falling asleep). Sounds like Jay is more about the many small romantic gestures and the really solid sincere commitment rather than the big romantic gesture.

[faraday]

I was actually just really curious - since you mentioned being in the same price range as that other successful artist and that it meant you were out of most people's budgets. I know a few artists but none of them well enough to ask how they come up with pricing. I guess I was expecting your brand/reputation to be a big factor, but I'm assuming that is reflected in the hourly rate (as in, as you become more well-known, you will increase the hourly rate you factor in)?

 

Right now, we are visiting an area known for its weaving, and are in a town with a bunch of galleries selling tapestries. We visited one "famous" (famous if you're visiting this town, not very famous and certainly not world famous) gallery where there were beautiful pieces, and then another one where there were even more intricate pieces at around 15% of the prices of the first gallery. The salesperson - husband of the owner - said that his tapestries were priced based on the cost of making the pieces (materials, time - something kind of like your formula actually, I would imagine - I wonder how much his wife tacks on a her gallery commission) whereas the tapestris in the other place were priced as "art", whatever that means!

 

I love seeing people follow their passions, especially creative ones, so I really hope it works out for you.

 

So, are you subjecting Jay to romcoms this weekend? I am a huge romcom fan, embarrassingly so actually. Are you going to pick a ring with him? My fiancé can be really sweet and romantic but so far only in a more simple understated way (breakfast in bed and stargazing in the mountains, not champagne and two dozen roses in a hot air balloon, he's never made it through more than fifteen minutes of a romcom before falling asleep). Sounds like Jay is more about the many small romantic gestures and the really solid sincere commitment rather than the big romantic gesture.

 

My hourly rate does not reflect my reputation. I'm new to the art world, so few people have heard of me. It's what I need to get paid. In Canada, most people can take their wage and double it if they're employed by a company- because most employees end up costing a company about that in benefits. We have a high cost of living here (the minimum wage is $15 an hour- my crappy, ugly, tiny, out-in-the-'burbs first condo sells for $225,000 now).

 

Art is like any other want. It's built on branding which creates its perceived value. Value is created by pricing, customer service, and the overall way a brand is portrayed. I was in a gallery for artists that were just starting out. A lot of the artists in there priced there art at around $200 (Which barely covers material costs- lets alone time. When they sold a piece, they lost money because of the cut the gallery took). So when you hear a piece of art is $200, and its next to one that's $3000....people naturally view the $200 one as inferior. Because if the artist doesn't value their own work and time, why would anyone else?

 

Also, think about the target demographic. Starting out charging less for art doesn't make sense. If I sell my pieces for $500, will the same people that bought my pieces at that price be able to buy them at $5000? No. So I would need to do all of that marketing/relationship building/branding again. So I'm starting out at the price I want to get for my paintings...and people are buying them.

 

What I like best about working with a demographic with more disposable income is...it's less frustrating overall. If they want it, they buy it. It's an easy transaction.

 

I made a mistake at my last show. I brought in ceramics I was making when really, I should have set them up in a different show, under my company name instead of my name. So priced my ceramic low- because I literally just started making them two months ago, so I'm not sure how they'll hold up, or if people will even like them. People loved them, they bought them...but because most of my ceramics were under $200, I had people negotiating price with me. That doesn't happen with art priced $3000-$5000. People don't ask for half off (some people are insulting without meaning to be...they offer what they are willing to pay, not looking at it as a handmade piece of individual signed art) on art priced over $2000. They know it would be insulting....and they value it more. So they don't negotiate the price. Where as I had people offering me half of what my ceramics were priced at...and it was kind of insulting. My booth isn't in Mexico

 

If that makes any sense. It was good, I learned a lot from my last show, and it reinforced many ideas that my business coach had talked to me about- and he got that moment of "I told you so" and he liked that lol.

 

In terms of art...I'm not selling stuff at crazy high prices. I'm nowhere near Warhol, or Van Gogh or anyone famous. The $3000-$5000 mark is quite low compared famous works....it's just significantly higher than what the majority of artists sell their work at (and not surprisingly, most artists have second jobs). I'm modelling myself after artists that I admire and want to emulate. There are several in my city that are successful and live off of their art (and live quite well off it it) and so I copy their business model (because they all share common business traits).

 

Anyway, I know I've talked you ear off abut this lol, and probably talked way more than you wish I would have. It's something I've talked about extensively with my coach and Jay. I find it interesting. Anyway

 

With the tapestries...I have no idea how that works. I know a lot of labour goes into making things like that (far more than a painting), so I think if they aren't selling it as art, it's usually a labor of love.

 

Jay sounds a lot like your fiancé in terms of levels of romantic gestures. Jay will drag out 10 blankets and set up the trampoline to become a nest, so we can star gaze (I love that)...but he won't ever be the guy that proposes in a hot air balloon, or run a bubble bath with candles. I'm okay with that. I've dated the guys that do grand gestures...and it was fun, those guys swept me off my feet initially...but for me, id rather have someone there that helps me. That supports me in our day to day lives. I've dated the guys that will take me to Vegas as a surprise for the weekend...and they wouldn't clear plates after meals, or take care of clementine if I had stuff going on.

 

Have you ever seen this guy? this video is very true (he's kind of annoying). It just reminds me of this grand gesture conversation. If you like that, look up "the nothing box" pretty funny, and insightful too.

 

Jay has a few romcoms that he'll watch...he likes movies with Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan's (although I haven't convinced him to watch When Harry Met Sally yet...although I think he'd like it)...but most of the time he'd rather watch nerd movies or action (like fast and furious or kingsmen type stuff). But he liked Big Fish, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. He says they involve paying attention and thinking...and that's why he likes action movies. He can just put them on and not think. I struggle with action movies because I get bored and space out and 15 minutes later realize I've been thinking about other things and have no idea what's going on

 

Your fiancé picked out your ring, right? Did you love it?

 

Jay and I looked at rings yesterday...he showed me a bunch that he liked...and they were completely not my taste at all. Beautiful rings. Just...not me. I showed him the rings I liked...and he didn't like many of them. He's more traditional. I want something completely different. I like raw/rough gemstones...with a rose gold setting...and he just doesn't get it. He thinks they don't look like engagement rings- I tell him that's the point.

 

He's going to order on his own...with input from me...so hopefully he gets me something I like and will want to wear. If not...I will get to pick out my wedding band- so I'll wear that and save the engagement ring for special occasions.

 

How goes the wedding planning? Have you figured out how many people are coming or where you're going to have it?

[faraday]

20160303/408e9b27c301f92ad18fa1dcfcda0836.jpg ]

 

I want one like these^ and he thinks they're ugly lol. So it will be interesting to see how he resolves this taste difference

[IAmFCA]

Yup. You're the artist to his more linear or conformist nature? The ring is the blend of both.

 

Are you wanting something you will enjoy wearing decades from now?