Sometime ago another person I know who enjoys doing arts and crafts type stuff and has tried to sell
some of her work was asked by another person I knew to basically make and give away a necklace.
This is far from an isolated situation. While in all likely hood the piece of
artwork I am talking about might only have
sold for something along the lines of $40.00-$50.00 (though I don't know for
certain) the person who as being asked to give away something when they were in
financial situation so bad it generally just doesn't happen here in America.
I can't count the number of times I've heard this story. Someone knows an artist who's financially
in over their heads, knows about this situation yet still asks them for the free
piece of artwork, but would they ever actually buy
something from that artist with their own money? probably not. Granted it happens to people
in other lines of work too.
Meanwhile I can't help but notice the irony of �is there anything we can do to help you get you on
your feet?� and the one thing no one probably wants to hear is something along the lines of �Yes,
next time you need to buy a
coffee mug look into the question
of if buying one of the coffee mugs with my
artwork on it would happen to fit your need.� Which by the way shocking as it is might very well have been helpful. Don't get me wrong so far the people I am talking about in that
situation have also had the decency not to ask me for free artwork.
However these same people also preach charity, know that my income doesn't even stretch as far as
basic necessities, some claim to like artwork very similar to
what I actually do, then come Christmas where's the one place they didn't bother shopping...yeah
you guessed it where I have artwork they could
buy.
Don't get me wrong those people have done other things to help me (and I am grateful to them for
that help) but when it comes to money...well no problem handing out cloths to some of the needy but
as of when I wrote considering giving me a hand up by buying something with my
artwork on it if they were in the market for the type
of thing I happened to be selling anyway I guess that was unreasonable. Never mind that I
would be shocked if they told me that given a chance to give a hand up rather than a hand out
they would probably say the hand up was the better way to go.
I'm not saying don't give artwork away ever. I've used my
own artwork as a way to make some inexpensive cards for friends,
family, and acquaintances over the years for various situations, and yes I had fun making them, and
I would do it again. I have a family member who is an artist who gave
pictures to another family member and at
least one friend that I know of as gifts. Okay again that's a bit different than what I'm talking
about. For a start even though I suspect none of the people I have given artwork
to would ever even consider a sweatshirt with my
artwork on it the next time they needed a sweat shirt
even if I am in fact selling something they would like it wasn't at their request. I gave them a piece
of artwork because at the time I thought the situation called for
it. I also wasn't throwing potential income out the window...granted there is one piece I gave a friend
where just because of the circumstances under which I gave it to him I would never even consider monetizing
it without talking to him first even though legally speaking I have no reason not to, and financially
speaking some people would no doubt say I probably should.
Granted I'm not saying I would want them to buy a say a t-shirt or
bedspread that happened to have
my artwork on it when they weren't in the market for something
like that to begin with, or if they didn't see something they like anyway. I guess if anything
the thing I might ask them to do is just simply look through what I have online to offer the
same way they would someone the didn't know who happened to be up on the first few pages of
the search engine that I could reasonably accuse of having no idea my stuff even exists. Honestly
I would feel like I was cheating people if they bought stuff knowing they didn't like it just to
help me out. I'm not now nor would I ever ask them for that. What I have been frustrated about
is that these same people have asked me to consider doing things I have never been, and never
will be able to do to �improve� my situation, and attempting to do would actually make my
situation worse for other reasons that I won't get into so publicly and then can't give
what I am doing the same chance they would give someone they had never met.
However that's a far cry from the person who turned around to the other artist I was
talking about and asked her for a free necklace that person literally can't afford to
be giving away something that to be perfectly honest she is spending what for her is
a good deal of money on the thing. When all is said and done I don't think it's a good
idea in this case. Even less so because along with the person who is asking that artist
for the jewelry almost certainly wouldn't pay the money for said necklace if she had it
to pay I know a bit more about the situation that I'm not going to say here. That all
being said she may have her own reasons to do it anyway and when all is said and done
it's up to her.
So here's hoping the artist who's been asked for a freebie doesn't starve for it.
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