Friday, February 17, 2006

The Artist's Angst

My older daughter is an artist who makes a decent living by selling her work on eBay. She has control over when she works, how long she works, and her colors and designs. She has no control over how much bidders are willing to pay for her work.

Sometimes an auction ends at a price that’s so low it scares her. How will she pay her bills if she can’t get more than that for her work? Why didn’t the bidders like that piece? Has she lost her touch?

More often, lately, the prices soar beyond her expectations, and even though she is delighted, she worries that her customers might be disappointed that they’ve spent so much once they get her work in their hands. So far, there have been no disappointments, and buyers keep coming back for more.

Once in a while, like yesterday, an auction climbs so high that there’s no rational explanation for it. When that happens, the online bulletin boards begin to buzz as my daughter’s peers watch the auction action and call it to the attention of others. People in Germany and the U.K., in addition to the good ol’ USA, chat about why this particular auction is going so high. Ninety-five percent of the posters are positive, praising her work and writing variants of "You go, girl!" But five percent cannot stand it. They criticize the work and the artist, question the authenticity of the bidding, and comment about the "rich bitches" who spend their money so freely.

My daughter smiles as she reads the posts of the ninety-five percent and then, somehow, those posts vaporize and she doesn’t think about them anymore. But the negative five percent, those are sticky. They cut, they burn, they don’t go away. She reads them again and tries to understand why people would write such mean things. The whole time she reads them, the whole time we talk about it, and the whole time they sit in the back of her head and nag at her, the posters are achieving their desired result: to bring her down. Down to where they are.

So here’s something else for you to think about, Sweet Girl:

"It is in the character of very few men to honor without envy a friend who has prospered."
Aeschylus"

Envy is like a fly that passes all the body's sounder parts, and dwells upon the sores."
Arthur Chapman

"Of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all. "
Joseph Epstein

"Fools may our scorn, not envy, raise. For envy is a kind of praise."
John Gay

"If malice or envy were tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang."
Charley Reese

"I love you."
Mom

10 comments:

  1. The cream always rises to the top in the end!
    C

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  2. I for one was absolutely thrilled to see Kims beads go for such wonderfully high amounts, when I read some of the sites I thought "BITCHES", how could they say that, but then realized whatever the medium there will always be envy, bitterness, judging etc, which I suppose is just human nature to a very SMALL group of women..... She is the one artist on eBay I have admired and enjoyed looking forward to seeing her beads at any time, and can only dream of the day I can be 1/2 as good!!!. I am so happy to see all the positive comments and so happy to be able to say how I felt about all this "GOSSIP" .Kim has always talked about what a wonderful mom you are to her on her site and it is so nice to meet you here. She is an incredible artist and you are very lucky to have each other.
    Amanda Craigmyle
    THE CRAFTIER SIDE

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  3. Welcome. Thanks for your nice comments and for your support of Kim and her art. I got lucky twice in the "daughters department," and I'm so grateful to have both of them in my life.

    I've lurked on LE long enough that I feel like I know some of you. Hope you'll drop in again.

    Kim's mom

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  4. I've looked up to Kim as an artist for a long time. As a beadmaker, I really admire her work, and I admire her character. Thank you for saying what you did. You both are lucky to have eachother!!

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  5. I am so happy that Kim mentioned your blog on her site. Kim talks about you often and I know it hurts you to see her hurt, it's every mother's nightmare.

    Kim has so many admirers that the petty few shouldn't bother her but I know it does. As c commented "cream always rises to the top". Thanks for your comments on your blog, it means a lot to me too!

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  6. I've loved Kim's beads ever since I discovered lampworking and have had some very interesting and insightful conversations with her over the years. She is a true gift to the world.

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  7. It's great to see so many familiar names right here on my own site. What a terrific, talented bunch of ladies. I've enjoyed seeing both your words and your work on LE.

    Noel, special thanks to you for setting the record straight in the thread you started on LE the other night. I know Kim appreciates the support you've given her through the years, and your own work is beautiful, as well.

    Thank you all so much for taking the time to leave comments--especially such nice ones.

    Kim's mom

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  8. Airmee99, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter. I can't imagine the pain of that kind of loss. After reading your comment, I went to your daughter's webpage; it's a beautiful tribute to her. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. I have always admired Kim's "class" (and of course her art!!), I see exactly where she gets her class and her talent for words. What a lovely thoughtful name "Velvet Sacks", I can see myself sitting with my grandmother at the table, with her holding a vevlvet sack, pulling out trinkets and sharing the story. And a simple note in regards to this post in particular, did you ever see Pretty Woman? Julia Roberts tells Richard Gere in a tender moment "it is easier to beleive the bad stuff" It is a struggle sometimes to forget all the wonderful comments and have the negative ones stick, I am glad you are part of Kim's life to help "unstick" the negative comments and pull up the positive ones!!

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  10. Thanks, Katie. I liked your description of sitting with your grandmother--nice imagery. And "Pretty Woman" is one of my favorites, but I hadn't thought of it in this context.

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