High gear...
I've decided something. I have to step up my game re; maskmaking. Ever since I shared, like, ALL my secrets online and in DevArt and (especially) on Martha Stewart, there's a huge crop of new maskmakers out there and they're nipping at my heels.
I mean, initially I just posted my "tutorial" to document one cool mask that I was intimidated by. I wanted to capture the process. I also thought it would be an important instructive tool for the buyer who wanted to know "why do the masks cost so much?", because the process is intense and you really can't grasp that until you're shown the whole thing. Also, I really DO like explaining things. I'm good at it. Finally, I'm arrogant and proud, I'll admit it. I came up with this whole thing on my own with no guide book, no help, no classes...just my own desire to figure things out and a will to make it work, and an inexhaustible supply of the stubborn.
But by sharing all my information (including the paints I use, the tools, even my leather source! The temperature I heat my masks at...can you imagine how many masks I crisped figuring that out? ) I've created a monster and now there are so many darn people out there, copying my designs, copying my methods, copying my COPY for crying out loud (can't anyone have one original thought?) and worst of all underselling me. When I started on Etsy, a search for "leather masks" turned up three or four artisans. Now, there must be forty or more. I don't even show up until the third or fourth page. It's not like they all thanked me or anything; they just took my trade secrets and ran with them, and now there's an army of new maskmakers out there.
:/
However, if this sounds like whining, it really isn't. I have been thinking about this quite a bit lately. Why did I shoot myself in the foot? Why did I take my one advantage in this medium (I was unique) and toss it out the window?
I think the answer is this; I was bored. That's the honest truth. Not bored with making masks, because I LOVE making them. But I've been doing them the same way, right from the beginning. Oh, I'm much better at it now than I was twenty years ago, but we're still talking about the same M.O. I learned how to carve first, so that's my forte; the carving and tooling. I use thick leather to facilitate the carving and tooling. I'm into details. I'm into contrasts. Well, now so is about three dozen other people, suddenly, and they're willing to work for less. And I did that to myself. Why? Because it forces me to step up my game.
There's only one thing I ever wanted to be, as a masker. The best. Not the richest, not the most famous, just the best. Justin Bieber (sp?) sells countless CDs and posters and stuff, right? But who is better; Justin or Dave Brubeck? I want to be the Dave Brubeck of masks, I guess. I want to be an innovator and for a time I was...but I've stalled. I took the medium as far as I could take it and now, even though I keep coming up with new designs, I'm not doing anything really differently than I was twenty years ago.
So here's what; I'm going to start playing around again. I have some fun ideas for multimedia designs and I'm dedicating myself to at least one new never-before-attempted creation every month. I'll start with that.
My best talent isn't for masking, or leather, or anything specific like that, really. My best talent is that I can figure anything out if I just sit and play with it. The process I came up with for my leather masks is something I took years to develop...it took years to discover the best way to get bright colors on black, and how to shape the masks without molds, and how to bond different pieces of leather (and then I went and shared all that information...at least a decade's-worth of experiments just handed over).
Well, I can come up with a new method or two, I think. I already have three brand new ideas in the works and they're going to rock...one is already taking shape on my desk as I sit here and it's going to be a sensation, I think. I'll still do my traditional leather masks, but I'm going to start shifting my focus to these newer techniques I'm experimenting with right now.
And this time, I think I'll keep my mouth shut about my process. ;)
I mean, initially I just posted my "tutorial" to document one cool mask that I was intimidated by. I wanted to capture the process. I also thought it would be an important instructive tool for the buyer who wanted to know "why do the masks cost so much?", because the process is intense and you really can't grasp that until you're shown the whole thing. Also, I really DO like explaining things. I'm good at it. Finally, I'm arrogant and proud, I'll admit it. I came up with this whole thing on my own with no guide book, no help, no classes...just my own desire to figure things out and a will to make it work, and an inexhaustible supply of the stubborn.
But by sharing all my information (including the paints I use, the tools, even my leather source! The temperature I heat my masks at...can you imagine how many masks I crisped figuring that out? ) I've created a monster and now there are so many darn people out there, copying my designs, copying my methods, copying my COPY for crying out loud (can't anyone have one original thought?) and worst of all underselling me. When I started on Etsy, a search for "leather masks" turned up three or four artisans. Now, there must be forty or more. I don't even show up until the third or fourth page. It's not like they all thanked me or anything; they just took my trade secrets and ran with them, and now there's an army of new maskmakers out there.
:/
However, if this sounds like whining, it really isn't. I have been thinking about this quite a bit lately. Why did I shoot myself in the foot? Why did I take my one advantage in this medium (I was unique) and toss it out the window?
I think the answer is this; I was bored. That's the honest truth. Not bored with making masks, because I LOVE making them. But I've been doing them the same way, right from the beginning. Oh, I'm much better at it now than I was twenty years ago, but we're still talking about the same M.O. I learned how to carve first, so that's my forte; the carving and tooling. I use thick leather to facilitate the carving and tooling. I'm into details. I'm into contrasts. Well, now so is about three dozen other people, suddenly, and they're willing to work for less. And I did that to myself. Why? Because it forces me to step up my game.
There's only one thing I ever wanted to be, as a masker. The best. Not the richest, not the most famous, just the best. Justin Bieber (sp?) sells countless CDs and posters and stuff, right? But who is better; Justin or Dave Brubeck? I want to be the Dave Brubeck of masks, I guess. I want to be an innovator and for a time I was...but I've stalled. I took the medium as far as I could take it and now, even though I keep coming up with new designs, I'm not doing anything really differently than I was twenty years ago.
So here's what; I'm going to start playing around again. I have some fun ideas for multimedia designs and I'm dedicating myself to at least one new never-before-attempted creation every month. I'll start with that.
My best talent isn't for masking, or leather, or anything specific like that, really. My best talent is that I can figure anything out if I just sit and play with it. The process I came up with for my leather masks is something I took years to develop...it took years to discover the best way to get bright colors on black, and how to shape the masks without molds, and how to bond different pieces of leather (and then I went and shared all that information...at least a decade's-worth of experiments just handed over).
Well, I can come up with a new method or two, I think. I already have three brand new ideas in the works and they're going to rock...one is already taking shape on my desk as I sit here and it's going to be a sensation, I think. I'll still do my traditional leather masks, but I'm going to start shifting my focus to these newer techniques I'm experimenting with right now.
And this time, I think I'll keep my mouth shut about my process. ;)