This is so true. I made a lamp. The base was wheel formed and hand
built, then wood fired. The shade was my own design--executed by me
in stained glass. I did all the design work, glazing, hours on the
wood kiln, glass work, and wiring of the lamp. I paid for the
materials, time in the studio, and firing fees. I have a degree in art
from a good art school, plus I've been studying beyond art school for
years. Someone at work asked me if my lamp was for sale. I quoted a
price of $400, and this person was visibly shocked. I work with
mathematicians who would think nothing of charging 3 or 4 times as much
as that for the same amount of hours that they invest in one of their
research projects.

I think people have an idea that art doesn't need to be valued because
they think that anyone can do it. Or maybe that it doesn't have any
value in our fast moving technological world, where the bottom line
rules. Art represents the humanity in all of us, and that seems to be
an undervalued commodity all around.

Of course, the big question is, how do we turn this around?

Deb R.

I'm not the first to have done this, but it works every time. We all run
into people for whom the bottom line is tantamount. Cheap as possible, and
no more. Won't pay top dollar for anything. Have more money than God, most
of them. what i call "tire kickers". what Brad mentioned as the
"entertainment seekers"

When they ask if I would go any cheaper, I hand them a lump of clay and tell
them to go
make it themselves, and wish them a nice day, and tell them to call me once
it's done
so I can buy it for less than it cost them to make. Doesn't get me a sale,
(they wouldn't buy anyway) but it might make them think.
And if it ****es them off, tell them to try getting a cheaper price from
their lawyer, or doctor, or auto mechanic, and see how far they get. You
can't educate the ones that don't want to learn, the rest buy gladly.

Wayne Seidl