help with bosses

[kronic]

Hi everyone,
just want everyone to know how much i enjoy this forum. I've been sculpting most of my life, everything from plaster, clay, fiberglas, metal, glass and now I find myself working for a stone countertop/fireplace company. the owners know I can sculpt and have given me the title "artist/sculptor". The delima I find myself in is I'm always asked "how long will this take" and "what should we charge for that". I respond with my usual answer "hum, don't know, never done this before." . I feel art should not be priced by the hour or sq.ft. Am I wrong? I don't do countertops anymore. I do collum capitals, fireplaces, soapdishes, tolite paper holders shaped like grapevines. That sort of thing. Anyway, if anybody has any advice, I'ld love to hear form you.

[weseye]

Yeah, it’s simple: You are working for a commercial art firm not doing fine art. The quality will still have to be top notch, but there has to be a price placed on what you do in order to sell the products or services.

Instead of saying, “I don’t know”, say: “let’s figure this out so we can make money.”

Keep Arting!
Jeff (weseye) Wesley

[Tired Iron]

How about demanding a salary as " Artist in Residence", do their work in your own home/studio, and do it the hours and time you feel inspired. Tell them you want 3 to 6 months notice on a design theme and you'll work on it.

[Aaron Schroeder]

You're in a tough situation, I feel/share your pain. Worse yet, it sound like you're under constant supervision. It'll be hard to fake it so walk them through the painful mine field that is your reality with humor and good cheer. Let them know all about all the problems and the viseral nature of the work you have enthusiastically committed yourself to. When you're done they should feel so happy that they are not you. After a while they won't want to hear it and will be more that happy to buy your abbreviated, exagerated lies. Some how you have to pad you guestimations and work some slack into your explanations.The trick really is in soothing anxious nerves, yours and theirs. When it comes to getting things done, people really get stressed out, uptight, and insecure. Doubt runs rampant and doom looms. All they should see is a person who is calm, cool and collected. They picked you because they think you're in control, whatever you do don't let them think they made a bad decision when they selected you. Tell them what they want to hear, lie to their face and when things get behind take full responsibility and sincerelly tell them you'll make it right. People love seeing a humiliated artist. Never make excuses, don't blame any body, act like you really care. Start with what you know are big numbers, justify with a reverance for getting things done the right way with integrity and promise to find a way to cut corners and find a cheaper, faster, better way. In the end you want your bosses/clients to think that you are the hardest working, most committed, most loyal devoted servant they could ever wish for. It helps if you believe it to. Once they're gone, freak out in private and find a way to cope while working on plan B. Being an Artist/sculptor with a studio,clients,cash flow in the pursuit of freedom, liberty and truth is about as selfish, greedy,and to most amoral as a person can get. Put on your public personalty, play the role and use your extra time wisely to get the heck out of there.

[evaldart]

Aaron is right on the money. But I'm gonna give it to you straight. Your talents are being savagely wasted in your present situation. Your only hope of intellectual trancendence or of ever experiencing even a moment of personal fullfillment is to can the job and plunge headlong into that lifetime of solitude and squalor that is the life of the true artist. Nay, worse even, a sculptor- with impossible dreams of creative whimsy carrying you to an early grave by way of poison fumes, electrocution, ultraviolet rays, silicosis, tinitis, arthritis, bulging discs... spots flashing in your closed eyes every night as you toss and turn unable to recall whether or not you closed the valve of the acetalyne tank or whether or not you should have grounded that two ton block of stone that you left hanging by that chain hoist with the 3000 lb capacity.
Then again, you might get famous and things will be just fine. But don't forget, times a wastin'.

[kronic]

evaldart, i love your reply, still grinning. thanks

[sculptor]

long ago and far away, i remember having bosses
mostly, the money was acceptable...and I was free to work while someone else got the jobs for me

as/re how long is this gonna take-----
:
quality takes time
or
watch and learn and we'll figure that out together
or
y'know Clyde, I have a rich and active fantasy life, and I don't relly need you.
or
had any good out of body experiences lately?

as/re how much should we charge for this
:
at least 3 times what you're paying me
or
should I sign it?
or
charge more than you did for the last one, and keep raising the price till you start loosing customers
or
...

why worry Kronic?
if they're asking, they think you know something they don't know
that's a compliment
enjoy it

[Daniel]

Another thing,
there is quality, there is speed, and there is price. Tell the boss to pick two of those. Low cost + speed = it's going to look like s**t. High cost + speed = a good piece. Low cost + a good piece = I'll get it done one of these days. If you try to do quality work very fast without charging accordingly just to please a boss, you will only make yourself a slave.

My two cents.

[Aaron Schroeder]

Cheap, fast, good, pick two.

[jim]

Call three of the competition, find out what they would charge and then add 20% more to that price....someone has to be the most expensive, why not you..some peolpe will not buy art for 900.00 but put a price tag of 2500.00 on the same piece and they will buy.....Remember they are buying value..

to customers, value is sometimes how much they spent so they can tell thier friends..