Not really sure how to start this one out except to say Aloha from sunny Hawaii. I’m in Hawaii with my family and we are enjoying the sun and the wind. Getting lots of vitamin D that’s for sure.

Chris and I were here 15 years ago when we were still in the military. We came on a five day training flip. At that time I don’t remember it being so … Americanized. The area we are staying in is Waikiki and our first day we just took it easy, we went to costco for our week’s meals then walked around the beach area. Vendors, many vendors , selling the waikiki experience, the hawaiian attitude of colour and flowers and grace. Some were not so graceful as they tried to lure the fish in from the sea of tourists as they walked by.

Yesterday we went to the Bishop museum. Chock full of the authentic Hawaiian culture, the building was almost empty. Gorgeously carved wooden statues and meticulously interpreted artifacts were displayed in three sided glass cases encased in wood themselves. From astronomy to traditional calendars to politics and warfare to the eventual takeover by missionaries and absorption into the western culture. I am not a church hater but I do believe they have a lot to answer for. Genocide of a different form has occurred here and elsewhere in the world. I could feel the anguish of an almost lost culture by the Daughters of Hawaii Supported and encouraged by Bernice Bishop, a Hawaiian Princess who turned down ruling, the Daughters have created a haven for the Hawaiians to come and remember their heritage.

Immediately after the Bishop museum we went to what was billed as a traditional luau at Paradise Cove, near Ko Olina. We were here at this exact luau 15 years ago and wanted our children to see it too. The only difference was that we visited the Bishop Museum this time, we didn’t last time. I am so very glad we did. The contrast between tradtional and modern could not have been more stark. The luau was very enjoyable as an outing but most of my enjoyment came from watching fat attendees waddle from one event to another, called by the pu’u, the conch shell. Repetious long calls on the shell talked over by a pretty hawaiiaan girl on a microphone saying “follow the call of the pu’u, the conch shell to your next event” over and over and over and over until the sea of cattle moved from one place to another. Spear throwing, hula dancing, old canoes on the tiny bay, three to a canoe changing out after one trip which took approximately 30 seconds. Not to mention it took five to ten minutes to get these three people in the boat and seated.

I came back to the hotel room last night with a lot of dismay at the status of the current Hawaiian situation. The Hawaiian culture is not even touched on the barest of surfaces by many of these tourists and I believe it is a sad state when people don’t know any different. This world today is a shallow place and I wonder at it.

I am almost welcoming the catastrophe expected in 2012 to wash away and clear out the guck in our consciousness. I suspect people will look to tradition to start the rebuild process and maybe this time they’ll be smart enough to tell the church to keep their noses out of it. Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

I received a question today on whether to do prints of work, or not. My answer is this:

“I can tell you unabashedly that I am not a fan of prints, and quite bluntly, I believe that artists who do prints bring down the value of their work. Do I have substantiation for that? Not at all – It is my perception that artists who do prints “sell out” for the $$ rather than the intrinsic value of what art is.

Now some people do not agree and that is okay, but I will not do prints of my work – with the exception of photography, because the nature of photography is that there really is no original except what is on the camera or the digital card. Digital art, there is really no original except what is on the screen. For each of these, I do limited edition, ie 100 or less – usually 50, which makes it a true limited edition – not the Robert Bateman 25,000 limited edition, do you see?

But what about making your artwork affordable? Affordable – hmmm – that’s a kettle of fish. You’ve got on one hand, the people who really can not afford a work (but may be able to do a payment plan), or the others who don’t want to spend $$ on original art because they don’t see or understand the value. If you want to step in to the print market, consider doing work that is specifically FOR prints – leave your “serious” work untouched.

I believe that part of my role as an artist is to help people understand the value of original work – yes, you pay for it, but there is a reason it is costly. I believe that if you do prints, then haven’t you bought in to the idea that original art is not worth it?

Anyway – what I DO do, is small 4×5 or 5×7 advertising cards, postcards that have my name on them or that I use for advertising the studio or shows – I do nothing larger than that. These are postcards that some people do frame, or they give away as gifts. The cost on these is about 2$ or 3$ retail.

If you were to do prints, you need to justify it within yourself, without regard to what other people think. Do what is right for you, just as I do what is right for me. If someone asks then I am happy (lol!) to say what I think. But I can tell you that when people ask me if I do prints, and I say no, there is a huge sigh of relief – as well, you need to know that some galleries will not take you if you do prints. But again, you need to figure that one out for yourself.

There is no real right or wrong answer – it depends on what your end goal is, what your vision is for your work. Stay true to yourself, and do what you need to do, and no one can say anything that really matters.

Today’s blog post has to do with a few comments via email regarding Art Shows & Curators – Calls to Artists Part 2:

From WP:

I am not a TWEETER but had to say that as well as being informative, I found this article and it’s preceding half; intelligent, provocative and brutally honest … even harsh girl! As a newbie in the fine art world I shall remember your criticisms and instructions regarding exhibition preparation and Curator respect.

Thanks WP!! I appreciate your comments and in my email back to you I said:

Re the blog, yes, I am fairly straight and to the point, and extremely direct most especially when writing. I’ve been involved in the arts community here for about eight years now – very heavily involved. I know about 95% of the professional artists, and with the number of shows I have done (coordinated/curated), trust me when I say these things needed to be said. The same old missing information each time ie “oh I don’t use a calendar, I find it too confining” bull shit. Very frustrating. Harsh it can be for some, but I have always hated beating around the bush when a direct arrow is quicker and more efficient. I can be diplomatic when the occasion requires it, but in giving information I seldom find that effective, and the military was a terrific teacher in honing both those skills. I’d rather be direct and say exactly what I mean than be wishy washy and have miscommunications because of potential word connotation or definition conflicts.

Especially with artists – we tend to be very frou frou, (but) if a concept is said bluntly, we get it. Usually. lol! Most people appreciate it though the majority prefer to have their egos or emotions stroked. And to be fair, me too – but only when “deserved”. Today’s society is so politically correct that we have to constantly say nice things to each other – ugh, pain in the ass.

btw, I don’t use an eraser in my drawings, and my charcoal strokes are strong and bold. That should tell you multitudes. lol!

An addendum to all this with further thought this morning at the gym: to me there is a difference, a huge difference in being harsh and being mean. When I say the things I do, it is to give effective communication, to give information, not to be mean or derisive. I do tend to use humour, although some may consider it a little too dry, to illustrate a situation, but in all fairness, I am usually quite accurate.

When I say what I am saying to my fellow artists, who are also friends and acquaintances, the ones who know me know where I am coming from, and they know that I am saying this to help, not to hinder. They know what I have gone through in the past in trying to organize shows for myself and for them*, and if I had the presence of mind to say all of this at the requisite time, then most assuredly, I would say it. Some have heard me rant, it doesn’t mean that I hate them or other artists, it means that I am frustrated at the situation where they don’t know or haven’t been exposed, or haven’t thought.

What is my goal in posting this information on the blog? To get these artists to have the PRESENCE of mind to use their initiative to think about what the coordinator/curator goes through… what can make their job easier. Don’t you think I absolutely love the artists who cross their t’s and dot their i’s? I do. I think they are glorious for their professionalism, they walk on water, and I respect them highly. LB you are one of them.

It is a raising of the bar, and I know the artists in this community are up to it. They just need to know what to do.If they think I am being harsh, then I would tell them “Shelve the ego, and listen to the message. You might learn something.” But, I’d say it with a smile, of course.

*upcoming blog post

We are in a creative field where “deserving” is a dirty word. Deserving is one word in which no one, as an artist (visual, performing or otherwise) in their right mind would ever admit out loud is part of their vocabulary when referring to themselves. People who work in other industries such as the financial or medical or litigation worlds, for example, would have no problem saying “I deserve that raise!” and likely get it, simply for standing up for themselves and making their needs known.

Providing these can be substantiated either with education or experience or ability, artists deserve the prices they put on their original works. I am not going to get in to mechanical reproductions here aka giclees and/or prints*, because I do not believe the prints* are worth the paper they are printed on. (You either agree with what I am saying and understand what I am saying, or you don’t. Quite frankly, I don’t care either way. I am not looking for a cheering section and if you agree with me, you already understand that too.)

This concept is important enough that I need to repeat it: Providing these can be substantiated either with education or experience or ability, artists deserve the prices they put on their original works. It doesn’t matter if it took me 5 minutes to create the work, 5 hours, 5 weeks or 5 months. The artwork is done when it says it is done, it is my soul speaking, my heart, my mind and my body creating it. A work that took 5 months could be seriously overworked, and a work that took 5 minutes could be overworked as well.  There is a departing point where the artist is in control and then when the artwork takes over. Part of the skill of being an artist or even a creative being is knowing when that point is, when the point of the artwork being its own being has occurred. An actor can overact. A singer can over sing. A writer can go on and on and on… much like I am doing right now…..

An original artwork is an individual. Because of this individuality, the artwork deserves respect as its own being. Part of this respect includes giving it the recognition and honour in the outside world. Are you independently wealthy? Are you a bored housewife (as I was once accused of being – can you imagine me ever bored? I didn’t think so, and Suzy Homemaker I am not), or someone who doesn’t need a job because their other half is supporting them? Then anything you get for your work is a bonus, right?

Now I need to be completely blunt as this wishy-washy beating around the bush is driving me crazy. As a professional artist, you make the artwork, you put a price on it -  those people who say “artworks from the heart have no price” do not need to make any money from their art to pay their bills, they are either independently wealthy, bored housewives, or have a secondary source of income where they do not need to rely on the sales of their work to survive. These people are not professional artists, they are hobbyists.**

And, if the artwork is priceless, then by all means, pay me a million dollars for my work, because aren’t you getting a great deal!

part 2 continues here. http://juliatrops.com/blog/2009/11/23/deservingartistprices2/

*prints refers to anything mass produced, not original prints from methods such as authentic handpulled lithography, intaglio, silkscreen etc.

**I’m not going to get in to the discussion about artists on grants, that’s a separate blog post.

This week I opened an account on Etsy – this is my Under $100 shop. Everything in here can be seen at my studio – and yes, I can combine shipping! Terrific little Christmas gifts that won’t break the bank! http://jtrops.etsy.com.

I am adding works every day! Bookmark the shop and check back often!