It sucks, but now I have to look forward. I have learned a lot from school and do not regret going at all.
So what does that mean for this space? I am not sure right now. I have to talk to my boss tomorrow about going full time. This would be ideal, otherwise I have to get a second job. Going that route would solve the money issue but would put a strain on everything else in my life. I hate already that Chad and I only spend time together on the weekends because of our schedule.
This wasn't exactly what I was going to post about tonight. I was going to pose some questions to you all about a few things. So I will do that as well, and hope that you feel free to answer.
1. I am thinking of doing a little destash of things I have had for some time, but not used. This would include some fabric, yarn, books, patterns, and maybe more. I hate to see things sit and that really would be why I would be getting rid of them. If I did this, would you be interested in getting first dibs? Otherwise, I would probably put it all up on Etsy.
2. Speaking of Etsy, I keep coming back to selling original work. The big thing coming to mind right now is to turn my photographs into postcards. I haven't shown a lot of my photos because it involves a lot of scanning, but I would do that to sell them (obviously). Do you buy postcards? Maybe blank greeting cards?
3. How about original art? I obviously love creating and do want to support myself eventually. One way to do this is to create work to sell. Do you look to buy artwork?
4. Do you use hand dyed and/or printed fabrics? I also want to get into doing this for myself, but if there is interest, would consider selling them as well.
Now if you say you are interested in any of these things does not obligate you to purchase them, nor will I bother you to do so because of your response. I'm just trying to gauge interest in these things right now.
Ok, I think I have taken enough time rambling on. I do keep forgetting to plug the "I Will Wear It in Public" Challenge voting, so if you made it through this, please go over and check out all of the entires. You don't have to vote for me, but it would be great if you did!
See you tomorrow with my mid-month update on the hand quilting challenge.
4 comments:
I like the idea of photos on the front of blank cards. I like getting unique cards like that more than "Hallmark" ones - even if they're more expensive, they feel more like something someone would actually keep. When my husband and I made our wedding invitations, we had a piece of art that a friend of ours had made for us printed as 4x6 pictures, then used photo corners to hold them onto the front of the card - this allowed people to take out the art and keep that without keeping the entire invitation. Maybe something like that would work well for you?
I don't really look to buy artwork mostly because the price always seems prohibitively high. I do like the idea of smaller canvasses at reasonable prices - they don't necessarily have to be anything fancy, just colors or patterns I like, if that makes sense!
I don't know if my comments are in any way helpful...but there ya go. ;) Have a great weekend!
So sorry to read about you not going back to school! Maybe there will be a way. Otherwise it looks like you have pretty good back up plans.
As for your questions: destashing is always great! Bring it on!
I love postcards! I buy them and before christmas I had my own photos printed on foldable greeting cards. I loved it!
I do love to look at original art, but hardly ever buy any, smply because I cant afford it ;-)
I have never used hand died fabrics, but saw some cool results online. I would be interested in that.
I've voted for you - good luck in the competition :)
I'm very sorry you need to leave college but I do think you have plenty enough talent and experience to continue in your artistic ventures alone and I think you're right to focus on what to do next to keep those central.
I don't know how helpful my answers to your other question will be because the UK is probably very different to the US but, for what it's worth:
I tend not to buy outside the UK because of postage costs.
Not many people here (craft blogs excepted) seem to be aware of etsy so I might be inclined to choose ebay for general de-stashing.
I buy cards and postcards quite often but I rarely by other art work because it's usually too expensive.
I would be definitely be interested in hand dyed or printed fabrics if they are colourfast.
As a last suggestion, regarding canvases/prints and larger photos, some of the smaller pubs and cafes here let artists display pieces for sale on their walls. I assume they take some sort of commission if they get sold. It might be worth asking around if there's anywhere local to you that might display/sell your work.
Katie,
I'm sorry I didn't see this until now. The school/financial things suck. Sigh, as someone who continues to be shackled by school loans I would hate for you to have gotten so far to end without a finish.
Here are my thoughts...
I love buying destash on Etsy and am thinking of getting in on that game to clear some of my stuff.
I am forever looking for blank cards. They are hard to come by anymore, everything I find has words now and it is very annoying. I'd be interested in buying a set of cards...good idea!
I don't buy art. Having an art background I tend to want to make my own, or, harass one of my school friends to create something. However, if you can jump into the market for selling to a corporation for office decor (I know maybe not glamorous) you could have your pieces out there. Law firms, banks, that kind of thing. People actually look at art there because they are so damn bored otherwise!
I liked the idea of a local coffee shop to display work but not sure what success you'll find. I did that one summer and sold one piece. Lots of people came
and saw but only one person bought.
Also, look for an artist coop. They can do a lot of the marketing legwork and bring audiences to your pieces. When they have group shows people who attend are usually looking to buy so that would be good too!
Good luck...
Rebecca
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