Comments | mellymell: Artist bashing.

mellymell

Artist bashing.

Feb 16, 2012 13:05

I'll probably wind up posting a variation of this on my jewelry blog, but I sort of want my completely honest take here. I'll clean it up a bit before posting there.

( Negativity warning! One-sided lecturing of Etsy/Artfire sellers. Feel free to skip. )

negativity, crafters, artfire, pot meet kettle, etsy, artists

Comments 14

elvishtard February 16 2012, 19:28:22 UTC

First off, that's a GORGEOUS damn piece. And I commend you for wire working. I'm tried it; I know it's an absolute HELLISH BITCH ( ... )

mellymell February 16 2012, 19:54:58 UTC

Thank you so much! I find that if I don't stay in practice, picking up the pliers again is NOT like riding a bicycle.

I have an all wire snowflake design with some coiling that I started in December. I have 8 hours into it so far and I'm betting there are at least another 8 hours of work left. I'm doing it in brass and copper. People are probably going to look at it and say, "it's not Sterling or gold, it's not worth it". Those people can say hello to my middle finger.

You get a "YES, ABSOLUTELY" from me on what you've said here, too. People simply do not understand what goes into a handmade item. They're too used to paying Wal-Mart prices for mass produced Chinese crap. Which is why I get doubly offended by fellow artists who pull this attitude. A WIZARD SHOULD KNOW BETTER! *ahem* ;)

elvishtard February 16 2012, 19:55:29 UTC

I've tried it* derp herp :P.

finarfiniel February 16 2012, 19:52:11 UTC

This kind of BS is pretty much why I don't want to bother with an Etsy shop or anything similar. I make costumes and clothing and jewelry, and I crochet blankets and scarves and even little plushie animals, but usually only for myself because it's too much of a pain in the butt to deal with the peanut gallery. On the internet, anonymity+audience=asshole, and that's true no matter where you go. And for some reason, it's always the communities you least expect to behave like jerks that are the worst offenders. Who would suspect that innocent, happy-fluffy little crafters would be so vicious. It's just insane.

mellymell February 16 2012, 19:59:48 UTC

I completely agree with your equation. It's really disgusting sometimes. Putting yourself out there is risky, but most artists know that risk going in. You set yourself up for failure and ridicule. But damn it, other artists should know better and think for a minute before they jump on the snark wagon. And I say that as a huge fan of snark.

I won't say having a shop isn't worth the risk of the ridicule. I think it is. But damn it's frustrating sometimes.

bonnie_halfelvn February 17 2012, 01:56:04 UTC

I don't spend much time on these websites. But I'm not terribly surprised. People don't know how to behave.

And I LOVE that piece.

mellymell February 17 2012, 19:38:34 UTC

It's not really on those sites in particular. It's usually when people retreat to their personal Facebook walls. The thing is, a lot of their Facebook walls are attached to their business pages. But yes, no matter where it is, it never fails that people will behave like asses.

Thank you! :)

bonnie_halfelvn February 18 2012, 03:42:33 UTC

It's hard to hide douchebaggery when people put it out there for everyone to see. ;P

witchcat07 February 17 2012, 02:23:00 UTC

As our friend Kim likes to say, you have to pay for the aggravation. ;~)

mellymell February 17 2012, 19:38:55 UTC

So very true! And I can just hear her saying that. ;)

aranel13 February 17 2012, 17:10:14 UTC

*sighs and hangs head* You're right. I've been guilty of it myself, although in my defense, if there is one, it's the stuff where the artist actually admits to just throwing crap at a canvas and calling it art, and then charging out the nose, that I get gobsmacked over.

mellymell February 17 2012, 19:45:37 UTC

I don't see where you make it a continuous habit though. I've seen a few of yours, but they're not really what inspired this post. In general what I see you trying to do is to genuinely understand something, so you share it to get some input. But there are people who do this on a daily basis and it just doesn't seem productive for anyone involved. And by "this" I mean more so the full on bashing than just posting a link to gain some perspective.

To be absolutely fair, yes, there are tons of items on Etsy and Artfire that make me facepalm for whatever reason. There are tons of people who, as you say, would charge $5000 for a 6"x6" crayon drawing for whatever reason. I don't get it. I've stopped trying to figure it out.

I think as long as whatever social networking pages you maintain aren't just chocked full of link after link of these things, you're probably alright. ;)