American Dream Truck
- At July 26, 2011
- By Jason Cyr
- In Art Shows, Inside The Studio, Painting
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Amazing truck that we discovered on the side of the road in Maine last summer. It’s an American Dream truck. 🙂 I’ve been itching to paint it for a year now and just started on it today. This one is fun so far!
A Ring with a little Broken Dream
- At July 20, 2011
- By Claire Dunaway Cyr
- In Etsy, Random Thoughts
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The title is a little sad, I know. I promise to have a happy ending; we artists that like to create happy endings tend to find a way.
Let me also say that before I started writing this post I did some research on doing a negative post about a person or business. After all, the only post I have written that points out a potential negative was the detective challenge for Clifford Bailey versus Todd White (I still get curious emails and comments on that one!). I found out that libel is only when someone puts out untruths with the intention to harm. Being that I am writing our factual experience with this jeweler and have the email exchanges and broken rings/pictures to prove these truths I will put our experience out there for others to read. So, here goes…
Read More»Three.
- At July 06, 2011
- By Jason Cyr
- In Random Thoughts
0
This blog post is not about a recent painting or festival trip. It is about a recent experience (should I call it a ‘get to know the artist’ post?). Perhaps it is questionable that I am doing a post on the subject on my “business” website. I just can’t help myself because something stepped in three times on our trip. Some may call it luck or coincidence but I see it a little differently. Last week we traveled back to Park City, Utah for a little wedding planning and we also ventured down to Coyote Gulch in Escalante, Utah. This is a reflection on our time in southern Utah. I try to leave out irrelevant details. I cannot claim the artistic rights to the skull above; it was left behind by a talented hiker.
After 42 miles of driving on a pretty rough dirt/rock/sand road, our hike into the canyon started at 107 degrees. After hiking for a bit and lowering our packs with rope into the second level of the canyon (and scrambling through slot rocks) we crossed paths with two extremely dehydrated and exhausted hikers that had been in the exposed sun for somewhere between 5 and 7 hours. It really hit me later that the hikers had a good chance of dying if we didn’t cross paths. Upon my realization it almost felt as if I had the near death experience. They had conserved their water (yet only had a little left) rather than staying hydrated and were starting to become disoriented. They had given up mentally. Their bodies had given out. They had already ditched their packs as they could not carry the weight any longer. It was the end of the day and only one more group came into the canyon that day to cross paths with them (that was us). It felt weird being an angel. But we were there for a reason. Craig and Matt took the lead on helping those women out of the canyon by hoisted bags and the two ladies themselves up the slot canyons. They did an amazing job.
The following full day in the canyon was breathtaking; Coyote Gulch is an amazing wonderland. The beauty of it cannot be described. The hike out was the next time though. I don’t like heights but have done my share of climbing with ropes without a problem. I knew the hike out (or scramble out) was going to be a little sketchy. Unfortunately we took the wrong route and did not realize until it was too late. Jason had some webbing and we used it in one time. There wasn’t really an area that someone could safely belay anyone up anyway. I learned what “sewing machine leg” is firsthand (the uncontrollable twitching in the leg). Craig got it, too. One time I felt myself slipping and could not get a grip with my hands or feet (“trust your shoes” the guys said… which is great if your shoes are newer than my 2003 trailrunners). Panic started to take over; it is a feeling I am not familiar with. A fall would be debilitating if not worse. Jason was behind me to help, encourage and to try to “catch” me if something happened but I just knew if I slipped I would take him with me; I truly wanted to give up. I couldn’t breathe. I could only pray. The rest of the climb up the face was a blur. My leg would not stop trembling. But I made it up. I made it out of a panic that I have never experienced and I truly don’t know how. Jason was white as a ghost, too. Not for himself but for me.
First part above. Second part below.
The drive out of “40 mile road” is actually 42 miles as I said. It is hot, exposed and basically deserted. It is a two hour drive if a car is at hauling butt speed. Matt was spilling water in the back seat and laughing; I almost strangled him. I knew that extra water in the car is a necessity on a deserted desert road. We got a flat tire somewhere on the last half mile of the road. That’s right; the last 1/2 mile of 42 miles. We pulled out of “40 mile” road onto the paved turnout with the big Escalante sign on the main route. Our front passenger side tire fizzled flat. Our jack was bent and could not keep the car lifted to get the spare on (a great donut of a spare). We were just barely safe on the side of a well traveled road in a large turnout with cell coverage. How lucky (or blessed) can a group be? What if that happened halfway down the dirt road or worse? We didn’t even want to think about it. Our luck continued as a guy named Slim came as our tow truck hero to get our donut tire put on and drove ahead with our flat tire to his shop (which is Ruby’s Inn in Bryce and the ONLY shop open within a few hundred miles in Utah on Sunday. Our tire made it to his shop with about 30 minutes to spare before closing time). On another side note, Matt asked Slim if his gloves that said “Slim” belonged to the last guy he ate. Slim was not so slim and we ALL almost strangled Matt again. Luckily Slim didn’t judge us according to Matt’s smart a$$. And the luck kept going as the tire could be patched and Slim and his guys were good honest people. $23 and we’re on the road again. I told ol’ Slim I would like to have one of him in Georgia. He told me he would come with me. I told him that Jason might not be game for me bringing him back to Georgia with us. We laughed. He made me promise not to forget him. And I won’t.
41 miles to go…
An amazing trip. Three times. I am humbled and blessed. Thanks be…
Thoughts on Pricing…
I promised in my last post that I would share some thoughts on pricing. The topic was inspired by the last two art festivals I attended (Inman Park and Virginia Highlands). I noticed that prices are down overall quite a bit. While I suppose that is great for me as a collector (Jason and I bought a FABULOUS painting as our wedding present for each other and we were thrilled and pleasantly surprised that it was in our price range!) it makes me ponder quite a few things as an artist, too…
Pricing thoughts:Â Pricing is a tricky thing for artists; I’ve always hated pricing my work. I remember reading a thought-provoking article a long time ago that suggested that artists determine what kind of artist they would like to be in the market. One can be a “Walmart” artist (that’s not meant to be derogatory at all; those are the words of the article) and sell lots of inventory at a very low price. The artist may do well but his or her work will most likely not be seen as overly “valuable” in the collecting sense. And that is great if that is what one wants to do; it is not wrong in the least! On the other end is the artist that obviously prices a little higher (and most likely increases prices every year or so) so that the number of sales is not as high as the formerly mentioned artist but the amount and perceived value is quite a bit higher. It goes right along with my beloved Econ classes in college (that’s not sarcastic; Micro and Macro Econ truly were two of my favorite classes).
A thought on “affordable” options:Â I have also talked to several folks in the art business and read some great articles on prints. There are some passionate views on prints and the value of art! And it seems there are very knowledgeable people that have opposing viewpoints on types of prints and whether artists are “selling out” if they go the print route. I’m not even going to get into “limited editions” (although I have dabbled in “limited edition” prints of a few of my paintings). I have had several friends, coworkers and others ask about prints as they love a painting but cannot afford the original nor would they ask me to adjust a price. I am getting set up to have some high quality prints made of a few select paintings to provide that option. After all, I am just lucky that they were touched by something I created and it would make me so happy to know that they have an image that makes them smile in their home (or to give as a gift). Is that going to mess with the perceived value of my art? I don’t know according to the article and advice I have received. But my primary motivation is in allowing people to have that option if they love a piece of art. As a collector my experience is that prints don’t hinder my perceived value of a piece. Three years ago at the Piedmont Art Festival I discovered a wonderful photographer/painter that had prints of “Grandma’s Rainbow” (I might have the exact title wrong) but then realized the artist also had the original triptych of Grandma’s Rainbow in his booth. I asked him if buying without the frames was an option (I’m picky about framing) and bought the originals. The fact that he had the prints did not deter me from buying the originals. It was about the same price as what I had just been paid for a commission and it made me so happy.
Back to pricing:Â In this economy artists that depend solely on their income from art sales are in a very tricky position. I am truly blessed in this aspect as I depend mostly on my teaching income so I look at this as an artist/collector that is not in the desperate position of some artists. Artists create a product that will ideally appreciate in value. Yet they need to cut prices to make sales right now. And they may need to cut prices drastically as art is not a “need” in a time where many people are struggling to afford basic necessities. Yet when I see some of the extremely low prices on a piece of artwork that an artist put countless hours and heart into it makes me sad. I used to wonder if artists that price extremely low value their work (this is mostly for artists that make a unique product that buyers find desirable and seem to have been at it for a while). But making enough to live on obviously trumps strategic pricing for the purposes of increasing value of artwork.
Happy is worth its weight in gold:Â The photo in this post is a piece of art that makes me SO happy. Every time I walk into the bathroom he greets me with a smile. He stands on the toilet and is quite content there. I got this little guy at the Folk Fest last year. I paid either $140 or $160 for him; can’t remember exactly. I also loved the artist’s larger pieces but they were out of my price range and that would have made choosing my favorite more difficult anyway. The artist was being fair to himself with the hours, expertise and vision that he had in his pricing and it made me value his artwork, too. And he seemed to be doing pretty well with the perceived value of others in this down economy (oh, this was the artist that I mentioned in a previous post that almost lost my sale because he was chatting it up on his cell phone while I waited and waited. Obviously I valued his artwork and the happiness it gave me to overcome one of my pet peeves).
So that’s all I have for now: These are just hard times unfortunately. If you have a love of art and the means to purchase it is a great time to get out there and make some purchases; you will be adding beauty into your own life and into the life of the artist that you are supporting with a purchase. Look around for some fun festivals this summer. Whether you purchase or not, being around art makes the soul smile. 🙂
Festival Notations…
- At June 06, 2011
- By Jason Cyr
- In Uncategorized
0
I went to the Virginia Highlands Summerfest on Saturday. There were beautiful blue skies overhead but the crowd seemed a little thinner than normal due to this crazy heat. The art was still fabulous and the people-watching was entertaining nonetheless. As I walked in a security-guard looking guy was carrying a girl that appeared to have fainted. He was calling for icepacks and water as he got her into the first aid tent. Yep. That’s how hot it was. My mental notations today and a few words of advice from a self-appointed critic (ha!):
1. Cell phone artists. One photographer last year at the Piedmont Art Festival lost a sale from me because he was too busy chatting on his cell to an apparent buddy to acknowledge that I was standing in his booth waiting for him. Another artist at the Folk Fest almost lost a sale from me but I loved his sculpture so stinkin’ much I waited for him to get off the phone. But that was nothing compared to the artist that was smoking in the entryway to his booth. What? I wanted to take a closer look at his work but I didn’t feel like going through the cloud of smoke to get in there.
2. Dudes that walk around art festivals topless. Even if you technically look good topless you are labeling yourself as a cheeser. I know that it’s not fair that the ladies can walk around in airy tube and halter tops and you have to wear a t-shirt (y’all have the wife beater option but that’s a little questionable, too) but it occured to me today that it’s not fair that dudes can typically make it out of the sweltering port-o-pots in half the time as the ladies and that’s not fair either. Some dudes spend the money to get airbrushed to justify having their shirts off. Nope, this was not the tattoo festival and that was not a tattoo.
3. People love those handmade frozen pops so much that they will stand in the sun 15 people deep to get one for $3 a pop (ha… pun intended!). I didn’t get one today. But we got some at Inman several weeks ago. They were sooooo good. Pinapple Cilantro was my flavor of choice I believe? Mmmmm…
4. I’m going to blog about pricing so I’ll save that until later. But I made it out of the festival with only purchasing a stamped ring and a cup of lemonade from a kid’s charity stand. This is pretty amazing; just ask my fiance. I don’t make it out of art festivals without at least a few purchases. I can’t help it; I love art. And I love supporting artists, too. 🙂 My new water heater ate my festival money though. And then some. Two of my favorites are later this year (Piedmont Festival and Folk Fest) and I can’t wait! Jason usually finds a way to take the day off to act as my wallet chaperone for those festivals. 🙂
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