More Hidden Work

Well, it's been about a month since I have posted. Our art group had a Hanukkah fair last week. Why am I blogging about the hidden costs of being an artist? Because sometimes it's hard to hear customers (not usually mine!) complain that the art is so expensive. I'm not complaining...I just want to create a reality check. Most artists I know either have a "real" job or they're retired and collecting a pension or social security. As you read what follows, keep in mind that most artists do not sell full time...nor can they sell as well as some of our artists did. Take into account learning curves, developing your talents, shopping for supplies, the cost of materials, the space in which to create, AND the labor involved. I reiterate...this is not a rant....or as Friday used to say on Dragnet...."just the facts, M'am....just the facts!" Twelve of us set up shop in the lobby of our local Jewish Community Center. I chose to sell my current inventory left over from previous sales. I didn't do any new work. Sorting through my inventory only took about 30 minutes. With my husband's help, we loaded the bins of glass, wrapping materials,cart, glass cleaning supplies, table cloths, business cards, and display units. Another 20 minutes.

It's just a ten minute drive to the "J", but then we have to unload the car, stack everything onto the cart (two separate loads)... and then move and park the car...15 minutes. Passing through security and checking in brings me to my table. Set up shold only take 30 minutes, but I am also coordinating the show so other artists have needs and questions so it takes about an hour. At this point I have 2 hours 15 minutes into the sale....and we haven't yet opened up for business. The sale opens the next day and each of us is excpected to contribute 5 hours staffing the sale. I work a total of 8 hours. At closing, I pack up the remaining items that didn't sell, making sure each piece is safely padded against breakage.....20 min. Stack the bins back onto the cart. Some artists can't arrive on time because of their oaying jobs...so I remain on site to help clpse out the sale, pull tablecoths and cover up reaining art work until they can be picked up.The safe needs to be emptied and cash on hand counted and all receipts collected....35 minutes. Move and load the car...10 .total time inested not including the purchasing of glass, studio maintenance, packaging the glass? ......11hrs 5 minutes. Many of our artists had even more time invested. Some artists sold little or nothing. Other artists averaged $300-600 in sales....some less, some more. At first glance, it doesn't seem that bad.....Let's say you work 5 hours and take in $500 in sales. You make about $100 and hour....right? Well....... 10% of the money collected goes to the J for use of the space. 5% goes to our Art organzation to pay for related costs to stage the show, and about 2.5% goes to the credit card company for the privilege of using the card. And we haven't discussed the cost of materials or the labor that went into the making of the art! Let's do the math: $500 in sales - 10% commission $50 - 5% to organzation $25 2.5% credit card fee 12.50 ------------ $87.50 in fees 500 - 87.50 = $412.50 divided by 5 hours now brings your hourly pay to $82.59 an hour...Still sounds good? The materials and labor involved in the art you are selling accounts for 50-75% of your sales....and the amount you made is about $20.60 an hour or about $100 for 5 hours of sales time....not to mention drive time to and from the site each tie you came to the J. If you didn't sell at all....you are in the hole. ANd of course if you sold less, you are potentially in the hole. If you sold more....you are doing ok but.....we still haven't talked about income tax that we pay on whatever we earn.... If our art lands in a gallery the commission costs can run 40-60%...so artists have to raise their prices just to make ends meet.

Balancing the Fabulous with the Tedious ...part 2

Today's post is about the tedious! Glass artists have a few choices when it comes to buying our glass....either buy glass as you need it (expensive!), buy glass in large quantities to get a decent price or buy glass on sale and hope you are buying the colors you need! Shopping is fun! It's comparable to going into a fine candy store! It's also time consuming! I'm fortunate to be living in a city with a Bullseye manufacturing plant and store. That said, I shop sales and it's never a quick trip. Even if I am deeply focused on just buying what I need, there is always something shiny and pretty that catches my eye....and then....I stop to rethink my shopping list. Do I need another mold? What about frit or stringer? Do I have enough kiln wash? And the cash register spits out along receipt. Folks who don't live near Bullseye have to order online and have it shipped....another added expense! Those of us who live near a store have to transport our purchases. I literally seat belt my stacks of glass into the rear seat of my car! Glass storage is the next issue. It takes up space! And what to do with the scraps? I buy glass in large formats so the size of each sheet is roughly 35"x20" and averages $100-$150 per sheet.... Safe storage is imperitive and making use of scrap glass in wise ways helps save money. I keep mine sorted by color in plastic bins the size of a shoe box. I spend a good bit of time curating my collection of scraps because I allow them to pile up and so once a week or so I have to spend time sorting the pieces......tedious!

Variations on a Theme

 This is a 14" square Challah tray commission. The client wanted something large and simple....no words just geometric symbols.  We played with a few ideas....none of them landed.  I shared a photo of the Tree of Life-themed work I had done recently and it struck a chord. 

Client and artist are both happy!

Balancing the "Fabulous" with the Tedious: Part 1 of The invisible Side of My Art

The Tedious

The Fabulous

 I suspect my beloved customers have no idea what artists have to do before...and after their work is created. For glass artists there is a lot of preparation, maintenance/repairs/replacement of tools, and clean up....not to mention, shopping, dreaming, imagining, sketching....oh, and then there is the purchasing of tools, creating a studio space,  shopping for tools, shopping for glass, marketing (think website, blog, instagram, etc,)  renting space for sales, designing and printing business cards, setting up purchasing options like the Square, PayPal, Venmo, etc.....AND selling work either in person, online, or finding a gallery.

The photo above is scraping down a kiln shelf. That takes about 15 minutes. It's outside work because it's wet and messy! Next, apply at least 4 coats of kiln wash. This creates a barrier between the shelf and the glass. This has to happen after every 3-4 fusings. Slumping into molds doesn't impact the wear and tear on the shelf. Painting is another 10 or 15 minutes. The shelf can air dry overnight or you can dry it in the kiln if you're in a hurry....that still takes a few hours.

I opted for the speed route for curing the kiln shelf...which is why I have time to write this blog entry ! My shelf is drying in the kiln right now.

So what is the "Fabulous" ? I am blessed to have my glass studio in my house. I have expanded it to my lower outside deck where I can do my wet and messy work. On beautiful days...and even on soggy days,  I get to enjoy the woods that come right up to the edge of my house; the sounds of water rushing through the creek below, the plops and drips of rain rolling off leaves and branches, and the glorious sound of birds who sing to me as I work.

In this series of posts I'll talk about the work I do (and so many others) that remains invisible to those who see the artwork. 

New Chamsah Tallit Clips

 Celebration of Art '22

October 29, 7-9pm

October 30, 10a-4pm

MJCC 5561 SW Capitol Hwy~ Portland, Oregon

Come see us!

New Business Card

Side 1

Side 2

 Just ordered new business cards....maybe they will arrive before the show next Saturday night/Sunday! 

Why did I procrastinate so long? 

CELEBRATION OF ART '22  @ MJCC 5561 SW Capitol Hwy- PDX

Saturday Oct. 29 7-9pm,   Sunday Oct 30 10a-4p

Quilted Glass

                 

ORA's annual Art show Celebration of Art has been on hiatus (no gratitude extended to the CORONA VIRUS).... BUT WE ARE BACK!!!!!!

Saturday October 29th 7-9 pm at the MJCC and Sunday October 30th 10a-4p

The MJCC is located at 5561 SW Capitol Hwy in Portland Oregon.

I have some new designs! Here's a little of the back story. My dad was a tailor. A tailor from the old country. A talented tailor.... as in if you compared his hand-stitched seams with a machine-stitched seam....you couldn't tell the difference.

I tried to sew once. I loved fabric...the textures, patterns....both appealed to my sense of touch and sight.

Long story short....it was a disaster! I still love fabric...and appreciate anyone who can sew a straight seam, be it hand-sewn or by machine.

Glass can have similar attributes to fabric. Handled in the right ways, glass can be manipulated  to offer a variety of visual aesthetics as well as surface and sub surface textures. Instead of sewing glass (hmmm, another interesting thing to pursue some day!) I assemble glass parts sheets I have made, much as a quilter selects fabric scraps, cuts them, and assembles them into colorful arrays.

I went to the Latimer Quilt and Textile Museum in Tillamook Oregon this summer (one of my favorite places to visit) and yet again saw the ways in which talented artists used fabric the way other artists use paint. They crafted amazing quilts...some as sculptures, some as fabric paintings, and others as modern interpretations of the classic quilts we all know. I breathed it all in! 

Using textured glass left over from other projects and making a few additional pattern sheets, my first attempts to use glass as fabric scraps to emulate quilts in functional designs has been nothing short of fun....and filled with numerous AHA moments, when I learned what did and didn't work! 

Most of my efforts have been using black, white, and occasional gray glass. This one injects a bit of color and has 3 layers of color in it...a small tray....I call it...The Circus . Can you guess why?

It's All In The Stars!

Magen David Tallit Clips 

Celebration of Art ...a wonderful art show/sale/event returns to the Portland Mittleman Jewish Community Center after a significant hiatus....thank you COVID!

October 29th we'll have beautiful artwork , wines to sample, and music to nourish your soul. Doors open at 7pm-9pm.

October 30th our show opens at 10am and closes at 4pm

I'll be posting more of my work that will be available for purchase at this wonderful show. Stop by my site daily for updates!

Twenty artists are emerging from their COVID cocoons ....I hope you will join us!.... FREE ADMISSION!

Mittleman Jewish Community Center

5561 SW Capitol Ewy

Portland Oregon

Butterfly Tallit Clips 

                                                            

 

Another Tree for New Life!

 Another little one came into this world...Keshet! May she be blessed with a long and healthy life filled with love!

TREE of LIFE...NEW LIFE

 A little one named Ezra came into this world. This is a gift he won't outgrow. If you look carefully among the leaves you'll see his name in Hebrew.

Shiviti Chadashah!

 

This is a commissioned piece made to honor the outgoing president of a non-profit organization. 

A Shiviti is typically a tapestry that adorns a prayer stand or a drawing that adorns a page in a prayer book. This is a wall mounted piece of fused glass. The chamsah (hand) and all the bead work as well as the rainbow ribbon framing edges are all made of dichroic glass. It is the focal point for contemplation and meditation.

Is it perfect? NO.....what is? But it was a delight to make and I learned a lot both in researching the symbols as well as constructing the piece.

Chadasha? It means new. This is my modern take on the Shiviti. I think I will be making other new versions of the Shiviti. I am inspired!

200+ Pieces Later...

I'm working on a commission. There are a lot of elements....mostly tiny dichroic beads.

I was happy to get these into the kiln so these glass bits will round up into little beads. 

This is my second batch of beads....and I can admit that my wrist is a little sore from all that snipping!

 

Seder Plate Just In Time!

 

I am quite thrilled with the outcome of this seder plate. 

True Confession: The customer selected a beautiful Bullseye cranberry that had purples and blues subtly woven in.  Despite my best efforts, the cranberry glass developed a severe case of devitrification. My attempts to resolve it failed. And of course I didn't have another piece of cranberry large enough to start over. The clock was ticking and the plate had to get done .... get shipped to the mid-west....and arrive in time...IN ONE PIECE!

This amazing piece of glass revealed itself in my storage bin.... ! This piece has incredible movement and depth of color. Fortunately the customer agreed with me...and I am thrilled to report that it arrived safely...and most importantly, the recipient is delighted with it! Phew!!!

Happy Passover Everyone!

A REALLY BIG Chamsah

 

This window was commissioned as an anniversary gift for a wonderful couple.  It was an honor to make this for them.

What doesn't show up in the photo is a sprinkling of tiny clear glass shards, remnants of their smashed wedding glass.

I hope they like it!

CHAMSAH:

 

CHAMSAH- HAMSAH: No Matter How You Spell It....

....it is a protective amulet representing the hand of God.

Hamsa in Arabic, Chamsah in Hebrew....it means 5 (as in 5 fingers)

This mystical amulet is also known by other names. 

Muslims call it The Hand of Fatimah.

Christians refer to it as The Hand of Mary.

Jews know it as the Hand of Miriam.

As a protective amulet it is thought to keep away the evil eye. 

There are many explanations for this amulet and different opinions about whether the fingers should point up or down. 

I'll let you decide!   All three of these glass items will be available for purchase at ORA's Jewish Arts Month sale at the MJCC (6651 SW Capitol Hwy- Portland, OR) March 6-11. I am also happy to accept a commission to make the Chasmal of your dreams!

12"x12" sushi style platter

6" diameter shallow dish

                                                                 6" shallow sushi style dish

JEWISH ARTS MONTH.....starts March 6th

 

Thanks to COVID we will only celebrate with a one-week sale at the MJCC (Portland, Oregon) March 6-11 We'll be in the lobby....

Sunday 11-5:30, Mon-Thurs 8:30- 6, Friday 8:30-3pm.

We'll have a variety of media represented including photography, painting, ceramics, fabric art, wood, and my glass.

I'll post my pictures soon!

Back in the Kiln Saddle...again!

 I've been offline for awhile. I had been having fun making garden stakes off and on while waiting for knee surgery. Knee surgery has happened and recovery is nearly complete. I am ready to jump back into long overdue projects.

One of my favorite commissions is making name plates as gifts for Bar/Bat Mitzvah kids.

These were recently completed and delivered to the purchaser. I hope the recipients love them.

What do you think?