We All Started at the Beginning

I was fiddling around on Pinterest the other day and stumbled onto a lettering poster drawn up by Jessica Hische. (that's the really cool thing about Pinterest, finding artists you might not have otherwise) The original page the poster had been linked from was no where to be found, so I poked around her site a little. Looked at some of her work, peeked at her graphics, and finally took a little read in her blog. She hasn't been a prolific writer, but steady and what posts she had written were worth the read.

This POST in particular caught my attention. It's a topic I've addressed here before. One many have addressed - obviously, the topic of copy right has touched every artist in one way or another.

Where I struggle is in this, I know we all start at the beginning. I know imitation is how we learn. It's how I learned. It's how I taught 4th grade art. Do as I do and you will create the same thing, and they did. They were amazed they could create, it opened a whole new world for them and I was thrilled to have opened that door. Just as I'm immensely flattered now to know or realize I have inspired as I have been.

"When you’re learning, it’s not wrong to copy people—to learn from them the way that they learned from others before them. What many young artists have a problem realizing though, is that the work you create while practicing and learning is completely separate of what you do professionally."

That last sentence of Jessica's, "practicing and learning is completely separate of what you do professionally" this is where it seems to go wrong, isn't it? It's how many of us get started, someone sees your work while you're learning, they fall in love with it and want to buy it. It kind of blurs the lines but the sale is such an ego boost! That someone would pay you money for something you created, is just plain cool! It's just as cool the next time, and the next time, and the next, that is as it should be.

But you should never pass off someone else's work as your own.

“There’s a difference between making an imitation and selling it.
At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, you’ll often find high school students with their sketchbooks out, camped out in front of the Giottos and Dürers. It’s a time-honored way of learning: see, try to reproduce, and discover......But the 17 year old with the sketchpad is entirely different. He’s not passing off his Velasquez as a Velasquez, and he’s not passing it off as his own — in fact, he’s not passing it off at all. It’s a learning exercise, and if it’s presented at all, it’s always with the appropriate context. (“I did this in art class, from the Gubbio Studiolo at the Met.”) It also reveals what young artists finds fascinating, what they struggled with, and what they learned. It’s been my experience that these kinds of acts are met with great encouragement and support from the professional community."

As well they should be and are. As I said before, we ALL started at the beginning. We ALL had someone we looked up to, someone who inspired. Believe it or not, we ALL feel a warm glow when we know we have inspired too.
So go forth, ooh and ah, be inspired and learn. practice, Practice, PRACTICE and then practice some more. Find the style you love, let your heart move your hands and create your own works of inspiration your own works of art.

Just in case the hyperlink didn't work - html does not always do what I think it ought to do..... the full link to Jessica Hische's blog post
http://www.jessicahische.is/obsessedwiththeinternet/category/andbeingresponsivelyinspired
Read, Go Create! We'll see you next time!

Bead Soup Partners are being announced!

I was so excited for being paired with Jean Yates I immediately ran to Lori's blog Pretty Things so I could be sure I was following her blog and immediately grabbed the info for Jean Wells. Whom I am already following and think she makes some pretty cute things too her info to follow! So as soon as Jean contacted me I was super excited and it immediately dawned on me I had to edit my post PRONTO lol

Excitement - this is going to be a blast I can tell already!

Jeans' Etsy is here and we are definately going to have FUN!

If you have a moment drop by Jean Wells or visit her Etsy I'm sure she'd love to see you!

Now I need to drop a line and say Hi! myself :) Then I get to dig through my stash and/or create a little something for her :D hmmm ideas brewing here........

Revelations, Doubts and Imagination Run Amok

Meet the earrings that have caused me a great deal on introspection as of late.

Source: etsy.com via Dana on Pinterest

They're a simple style, clean and dainty, very comfortable to wear. Hoops are readily found in many shops, a breeze to make, and quick too. So why the introspection? I found the exact earrings in sterling silver in Sun Dance recently......for more than double what I charge.

My college major was business management, so I am confident in my pricing structure. At least I was. The business woman in me is chiding me to revisit that structure. Etsy's workshops have all been focussing on pricing lately too, which only adds to it.

I think to myself if the items I make and sell are also found elsewhere for more than double I am seriously undercharging for my work. On the other hand I live in an economically challenged region in the US and I don't want to seem to be overcharging. See the dilemma?

I thought I had solved that by charging a healthy- for this area - hourly wage, and by the time all the math was done for factoring price, my wages would be boosted and still reflect a fair price. A recent workshop hinted that I should be charging almost quadruple for my wages, seriously? hmmmm the price of those hoops would support that theory as well.

ah but the flip side to that coin..... several of my pieces take far more time to create than a simple pair of hoops. Hours and hours would kick my prices out of the reach of all but a few. While I wouldn't mind selling to those few :D I am not completely artsy (business major remember lol) I can be practical and do realize that being able to sell to more than a few is actually a good thing! Truly when I say from my heart and hands to yours, that's what I mean. I want you to have my jewelry. For that to happen the price must be affordable...... but still, I need to be fair to me. My prices need to reflect that.....

On the Desk: is an explosion of beads and wire. I'm not kidding! My brain keeps kicking out ideas that my hands MUST try NOW before the last piece is done!! My UFO's have multiplied like bunnies. What's worse is I've been ummm borrowing precut pieces for this from that because it's the right size and I really want to see if it works sigh. Monkey brain! Swinging from idea to idea as if they were branches. It has actually gotten so bad that my To Do list actually reads:

Dust
mortar rocks
lay stepping stones and soaker hose
write blog post AND ideas for later (it bothered me I was behind!)
sketch ideas BEFORE exploring & FINISH at least ONE UFO
finish painting Paige's room (touch ups and bath)

etc etc

I did manage to actually finish one pair of earrings. I finally got around to using that gorgeous Seraphanite I bought with my winnings some time back, sweet sweet earrings. I was actually a little worried they looked a little too much like a pair Cleo has in her shop. That is a problem when you have similar tastes with a friend who also makes gorgeous jewelry. You really don't want to look as if you're borrowing (or worse) their ideas, even if they inspire you.

Well this blog post could easily have been turned into several!! So I'll leave it for now and see you next time!