"Solstice Eve, 2013" has a new owner!
The odd starting price was to encourage equally odd bids on the crazy chance that two people might make the same offer.
My objective is to clear my studio of all these recent pieces. I need a clean artistic slate and plan on similar auctions in the future. In this age of self-representation I'm going to find new ways of using technology to get pieces out of storage and into someone else's world at a price that works for everyone.
I have to admit that when I hit "post" that day, the girl I used to be worried about how she would feel if no one bid on it. The person I have become was quick to remind her that this kind of worry was a waste of emotional energy and time.
(advice: don't check the email until just before the deadline!)
There were a handful of bids, two international. Congratulations to the winner!
One thing I know for a fact- as great as digital pictures of fiber art can appear on the web..nothing compares to holding the real thing in your hands and seeing it in person.
So, which piece should I put up for next auction? Do you have a favorite from the main gallery? Or something from the mists of the blog. If it's not on the Buy Art page, describe it to me and I will try to dig it out. I won't do it right away but if I know people are interested in specific pieces I will take new pictures and post them here.
What are your thoughts about buying and selling art this way? Will you try it for yourself? Do you have any suggestions to make the auction process easier, more efficient?
Nothing like a big juicy can of worms for breakfast, eh?
6 comments:
Very cool that you had a successful auction! And I like the idea of having a clean artistic slate.
Melody Johnson often does this quite successfully on her blog. I need to investigate wordpress. I have it in my mind that they do not allow selling on their free blogs (which I use.) But maybe if I pay for the domain name I could do it.
I have been lucky (?) in that almost all of my sales have come by way of someone writing to me and asking if they could buy some piece or another, except one that sold at a show, and one that sold to a fellow artist at SAQA who asked to buy it when I brought it to a regional meeting for show and tell. In the weeks before Christmas however. I decided to take a more proactive approach, and offered 14 of my small works for sale at accessible prices. The result was, as I said at the time, " not as good as I hoped, and better than I expected", as I sold six pieces.
This year I am committed to attempting to sell everything I make, excepting show pieces. I'm willing to explore all routes, and I like this one, and will try it after people have had a chance to recover from Christmas.
Anything you would have done differently? Any advice?
Kit, not so far. These are uncharted waters for me too so I'll share the issues as they arise.
As for me, the whole notion of entering shows is behind me now. I won't say "been there, done that"; over time each successful entry was a learning experience but I will say that I've become very hard to impress.
As Jimmy used to say when companies tried to woo him with promises of bonuses - "Spare me the nonsense and put it in the check"
I think what you did is the way to go. You will get a feel for the market value of the work--not always what we think it should be but sometimes a surprise. And, is a work that won't sell at a high price point really at the right price? A work sold is a work sold.
I have sold a few of my pieces and it has always been to someone who had fallen in love with the work and we worked our way to a price we both could live with. What is better than that? I visited my neighbor a few weeks ago and gasped to see my work, framed and looking so good. I didn't recognize it at first.
I think what will make this work is that you have a good following on your blog. It is really handy to have a built in audience of folks who like your work! Glad the auction was a success, and I hope you have continued success... those beauties deserve to be hung where folks can enjoy them!
As usual, you are bloody brill......
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