As a child I believed that my birth mother gave me up for adoption because she didn't have enough money to take care of a child.
I think my ideas about poverty and the reason why I thought my birth mother gave me up for adoption, were two elements that laid the foundation for my growing interest in finding ways to support myself. With the guidance of my parents, I started a number of creative business ventures at an early age:
5th Grade: The Eagle Times - Creator and editor for a “privately run newspaper”, with submissions from classmates, which I sold to students and teachers.
5th Grade: The Eagle Times - Creator and editor for a “privately run newspaper”, with submissions from classmates, which I sold to students and teachers.
8th grade: SPAM FAN MAGAZINE - After writing Hormel a letter to request the right to make a magazine about SPAM (my mother's request, she didn't want her daughter to get in trouble for copyright infringement), I received a letter of consent from Hormel, I printed and sold my very own magazine about SPAM for 35 cents each.
By 16, I was working on Tin Parachute, another zine, but was quoted in Seventeen magazine about my earlier zine Spam Fan Magazine.
8th grade: SPAM FAN MAGAZINE - After writing Hormel a letter to request the right to make a magazine about SPAM (my mother's request, she didn't want her daughter to get in trouble for copyright infringement), I received a letter of consent from Hormel, I printed and sold my very own magazine about SPAM for 35 cents each.
By 16, I was working on Tin Parachute, another zine, but was quoted in Seventeen magazine about my earlier zine Spam Fan Magazine.
9th grade: Tin Parachute - Using a collection of bought and borrowed photocopiers, and the occasional trip to Staples, along with a high school friend, we began to print and sell our own zine. Local shops would advertise, we had subscriptions, and the zine was also distributed through Newbury Comics in Boston.
By the time I was 19 I had learned how to record my own album, and was selling them through two local stores in Concord, NH.
Now, as an emerging artist, I have a whole new set of opportunities to delve into that will help support my creative endeavors (applying to residencies, group shows, solo exhibitions, grants, etc.).
One aspect of being an artist, that I feel I have only dabbled with in the past, is exploring the purpose and potentialities of selling my work online through established sites such as Saatchiart.com or Etsy.com, etc. While in school, most of the professional development advice I received did not take into account the idea of online sales of art, which made sense, considering the idea of selling art online was, and is still a relatively new concept.
And so, for this blog entry in the spirit of my younger self, I will present to you the pros, cons, and a quasi proposal/“in the works” experiment I am conducting with e-commerce of fine art.
TIMELINE: It is undeniable, that between the time I began and completed my college years, there has been major technological advancements, cultural shifts and changes in how we are able to view, sell and share art. Below is a brief time line of changes in art e-commerce from 2006 to present day.
2006: Approaching my 24th birthday, I began my undergraduate studies at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Etsy.com had been running for about a year, and Saatchi gallery began offering an open access section titled “Your Gallery” for artists to share a bio and images of their work.
2010: By the time I graduated from Massart and received my acceptance letter into grad school, 100,000 artists were on Saatchi Online, and the site was getting over 70 million hits each day.
2014: Now, two years after I completed my graduate studies through Lesley University’s AIB MFA Program, Etsy has over 1 million shops, and Saatchiart.com hires Rebecca Wilson as chief curator and director of their site, as it continues to establish itself as a site that “can help democratize the art world” (LA WEEKLY, 3.5.14).
E-Commerce/E-Galleries:
Currently, it seems that the relationship between fine art and e-commerce is still a “wild west” of sorts. The “dos and don’ts” of this world have yet to be widely agreed upon. There is a diverse pool of opinions about the validity of online galleries, or selling on the net.
Many positive aspects of online galleries are listed in Alex Hudson’s article on BBC.com titled Art 'sold more online than in galleries'.
On the other side, Kelly Dawkin’s thoughtful blog post titled: The Fine Artist’s Etsy Dilemma, Dawkin shares some of her worries about what negative connotations could be attached to online sales of fine art. These include:
- The artist isn’t serious about his/her artwork if they are selling alongside “low brow” arts and crafts.
- The artwork is cheap, that is why it is sold with crafts.
- Something must be wrong with the art if no gallery wants it.
- The artist does not have high aspirations if they are showing/selling there.
By the end of her blog article, she states that regardless of the stigma attached to e-commerce sites such as Etsy, she will give it a try.
This got me thinking about the accessibility, affordability of fine art, and how e-commerce will affect the art market. For approximately a month, I've researched how other artists have incorporated e-commerce into their websites and blogs. I also began to brainstorm characteristics of what I feel I would like to offer through e-commerce:
"Looks Like We Made It [S.1. V1.]". Acrylic paint, acetate and acetate on paper.
5x7, in a custom fhand painted aux appliqued frame. 2014.
5x7, in a custom fhand painted aux appliqued frame. 2014.
GOAL:
Present small works on paper, no larger than 5X7 inches at $100 each on a site that most of my friends and family are familiar with. Offer larger works over $100 dollars on a separate site.
1. Present paintings online at prices that my own friends and family could afford, but is also respectful of the time and effort I’ve put in to create each work.
2. Make the work accessible to those who do not live in the cities that my work has been shown.
3. Use the sales of online work to fund experimental project, video art, larger works, applications for residencies and other career expenses.
4. Through this experiment, explore what new technology could mean for my art and career.
For myself, the positive aspects are many, with only one lingering problem: If I sell my work at prices that my friends and family could afford, could I risk depreciating the value of my work by selling too much online, or at too low of a price point, and thus reduce my chances of signing with a gallery in the future?
And so, to combat these issues, I’ve decided to do the following for works that are priced at $100.00:
"Looks Like We Made It [S.1. V1.]". Acrylic paint, acetate and acetate on paper.
5x7, in a custom fhand painted aux appliqued frame. 2014.
1. Series and Versions – As quoted from The Smithsonian Associates Art Collector’s Program: “Generally prints are less expensive than paintings because they are created in multiples...” (artcollectorsprogram.org/
collecting.aspx).
Although I am not a print maker, to keep the price point low, I have decided to follow a similar model by creating smaller works that are multiples versions within a series.
I like the idea of making it possible for more people to afford an actual piece of my art. For some artists giclee prints are the way to go, but for myself one of the main purposes of this e-commerce experiment is to distribute actual pieces. I want people to be able to touch the different materials, and see the actual hues of color in my works--in person.
2. Documentation – Each work that is sold will be documented, that way, in the event of being offered the opportunity to “sign” with a gallery, or in the event that I am approached by a curator to prepare an exhibition of my art, all works and their owners could be easily contacted (to be notified of future events, or to request the borrowing of works for a museum show or other type of none-sale exhibition).
3. Material – As stated on the Evansville Museum website: “Works on paper are generally less expensive than oil paintings…” (http://www.emuseum.org/ collectorscorner). Although I rarely paint with oils, I often paint with acrylic on canvas, and so, to differentiate these pieces, these more affordable works will be works on paper.
4. Size – The specific size of these works are 5x7 (not including the frame), that way they are easily identifiable in the future as part of this experiment with e-commerce.
5. Transaction Agreement – Located in the terms of my site, there is a noted “Transaction Agreement” this document states that by completing any online transaction, the purchaser agrees to never re-sell the work for a high price than the initial price of purchase, unless the purchaser has requested and received the consent of the artist, furthermore, in the event of any exchange in ownership, the purchaser also agrees to notify the artist.
The reason for this, is to ensure that at any time in the future, that these “more affordable works” are not flipped for higher prices on the market. Auction prices have jeopardized the careers of many artists, this is one way to deter purchasers who are interested in “flipping works”, and avoid having this e-commerce experiment cause price point difficulties later on in my career.
6. Separate Sites: To avoid any confusion, works that are part of this e-commerce experiment will be listed primarily on Etsy.com, all other work online will be sold through other sites such as Saatchiart.com, or through shows at brick and mortar spaces.
7. Being Transparent: All works that are part of a series will be noted in the title of the work (i.e. “Together Anything is Possible, S.1. V. 1”) so as to notify the purchaser of the fact that it is it a version that belongs to larger body of work.
8. Consistency: When selling works in galleries or other art spaces, the prices will be consistent with online prices (minus shipping)
9. Room to Grow: Twice a year I will review the purpose, progress, and prices of my online sites, to determine any changes, these choices will be documented and communicated to previous buyers.
In conclusion…
At this point in my career as an independent artist, I have the opportunity to sell and promote my work in any way I choose. Through a series of thoughtfully laid out conditions I will explore the potentialities of online sales of fine art.
Although, I welcome the day when I am represented by an established gallery, and I understand that when that time comes, my art and its relationship to online sales will most likely change, I see my current situation as a very unique and special opportunity. Instead of sitting idly waiting for the next step in my career to appear, I much rather work proactively to make use of all the new forms of technology and e-commerce that can aid me in promoting and distributing my work.
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