Baren Digest             Saturday, 17 February 2001     Volume 14 : Number 1322


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From: "John and Michelle Morrell" <jmmorrell@gci.net>
Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 20:32:26 -0900
Subject: [Baren 13435] Donations, Toxicity, Tattoos charset="iso-8859-1" 

Barbara wrote:

I have a philosophical question of sorts. What do you people do when
asked to donate work?  I think I give away at least 10 pieces a year and
just yesterday got a call from a local private highschool for a piece
for their auction. Last year I asked them to send me a catalog and when
I saw how they listed the artwork, all jumbled in with everything else I
decided to get a stiffer backbone this year and I actually told them no
and to take my name off their list. Today I feel guilty but glad I did
it. It does get our name out there, but is this cost a little high? And
what about the $300 piece that can sell for less than the cost of the
frame for charity? I am starting to think it would be better to write a
check to them and keep my work.


It used to always despress me so to be asked for something for a silent
auction for some benefit, knowing that the piece wouldn't go for what I
normally sold it.  Last fall my husband and I went to the local Ducks
Unlimited banquet in the our "new" town.  It used to be a real hoot in Sitka
(or maybe I should say a come-on-in) but here it was mainly a dinner with
people trying to get cheap deals on arts and crafts, all of which were
donated.  It was a real eye opener.

All of the art (as opposed to carved decoys and the like) were lithographs,
and most of those barely sold for the cost of framing.  True, wildlife art
is not  usually aesthetically exiciting, and I was pleased to see that those
of better composition got better prices (although the dog portraits did well
with the duck portraits coming in last).  Anyway, it did my nasty little ego
good to see that others were in the same boat.  So--I have come up with an
excuse for the future that suits me--"Sorry, but I don't have a litho to
contribute."  If I did have a litho to contribute, why would I care, or at
least I could write off the  $ expense I actually paid on taxes.  Ever since
the Nixon papers (and I haven't heard anything new in this regard and would
be really interested to hear something new), the original art is worthless
until it's been sold.

The toxicity comments were interesting.  I have used cooking oil to clean
and don't like it and refuse to bother with it.   However, another thing to
beware of is "natural" citric cleaners.  They are worse than petroleum
products, or so a chemist friend claims, and all the more insideous because
they smell good.  I make a point of not inhaling when using Goo Gone.  :>)

Wanda, the guy with the tattoo taught fisheries at Sheldon Jackson College
in Sitka, and the print can be seen at http://home.gci.net/~jmmorrell .   It
is under "old stuff" and called "Duality."   You can see why he took a shine
to it, as fish are his thing.

<^><^><^><^><^><^>
    Michelle Morrell
   jmmorrell@gci.net
<^><^><^><^><^><^>



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End of Baren Digest v14 #1322
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