Question of the month: Hard Decisions
April 4, 2009 by Cyndi Lavin
Filed under Home & Living, Lifestyles
Question of the month: What has been your hardest decision?
What has been your toughest call? Are you pleased with how things have turned out? Did you second guess yourself for awhile after making the choice?
As it relates to my work in mixed media, I think the toughest thing for me to decide was not to make items for sale. I have nothing against sales…I’m as mercenary as they come…but I just couldn’t figure out a way that selling mixed media art was ever going to work for me.
So when someone contacts me about a piece that they like, my only recourse is to sell them a photographic print. This is hardly a satisfactory solution, since the whole nature of mixed media is THREE DIMENSIONAL! But there you have it. My tough decision.
How about you? What’s been your toughest choice?
hi Cyndi–
I understand where you’re coming from, in making that difficult decision. I feel that art, to be really good, must be sincere self-expression. And this runs counter to creating art with the goal of pleasing others in the hopes of securing income.
That said, my ironic comment is that my own hard decisions are always: “What artmaking products/books/DVDs can I live without, at least for the time being?” My position about self-expression results in the fact that my budget won’t stretch to cover my vast array of interests and keen hunger to forever be learning more. But, so be it. It’s my decision and I can live with it.
On a totally different tangent: Is there a way that I might be able to have my blog address included in your next round-up of artsy blogs? (I really appreciate those round-ups, by the way!) One of my recent posts covers altering a cigar box using, among other things, papers printed by using unmounted rubber stamps as a printing plate. An earlier post goes into great length covering the topic of foam plate printing. Photos are included. Many more write-ups are waiting in the wings.
Thanks for your helpful, informative blog, and for everything else!
Cecilia Swatton
LOL!! I’m a total hog when it comes to wanting all the new stuff too, especially the educational things. I’ve had to set a budget and stick to it, which forces me to be much more creative about how I use items that I have.
As for the other matter, I’ll email you directly
I’m curious why you won’t sell your mixed-media art – what is it about that that you object to or that “wouldn’t work for you”?
I don’t object to selling at all, and I sell my jewelry which sometimes takes me upwards of 40 to 50 hours to make
What “doesn’t work for me” with the mixed media art is that I often use bits and pieces that I’ve gathered from vacations, family photos, etc, and I just don’t want to part with the originals.
But I’m mercenary enough to *wish* that I could!