A Few Lessons Learned in Baltimore

Posted by Ronni Jolles on March 5, 2012
Posted in: Shows. Leave a Comment

I just finished the American Craft Council Baltimore show, and I learned a few things:

  1. I am not a wholesale artist. I make one-of-a-kind pieces, and although I make prints, I wasn’t able to show them.
  2. As Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”  I had my biggest sale of the whole 5 day show – during the last hour of the last day.  It was a great way to end the show!
  3. I learned that I had to help people to understand what they were looking at.  As people went by my booth, they’d glance in and think they were seeing paintings. Since my work is in paper, I tore up a bunch of pieces of my papers and sprinkled them on the ground of my booth. The effect was perfect – Everyone understood that I was using paper. (And little kids thought I was very messy.)

Now I’m starting to get ready for my upcoming New York show…

My booth at the Baltimore ACC Craft Show

 

The Art of Commissions

Posted by Ronni Jolles on January 4, 2012
Posted in: Commissions. Tagged: . Leave a Comment

This is my first blog – I am a little nervous.   I see this blog as a way to share my artistic process  – a process that I invented using many kinds of paper.  So, for my inaugural blog, let me tell you about a big commission I just finished.

 

I was pleased with how it came out, and I must tell you; Commissions can be nerve-racking.  My first commission, about seven years ago, didn’t go well.  I accepted half of the payment before I began, and the rest when I was finished.   What I didn’t realize was that I lost control of the piece when I accepted payment at the beginning.  In this case, the person came over to see it when I was close to finished, and she asked that I change a few things: More sky and fewer trees, etc.  I was upset about it, and I didn’t feel good about the piece at the end.

 

Now, I don’t accept any payment until I’m done.  If the person doesn’t like the piece, they are under no obligation to buy it.  I have control of the work, and I make all decisions about it.

 

This last commission was easy in that I had a clear vision of what my client wanted.  They liked one of my pieces, “Pink Among the Trees,” but it was a vertical and they wanted a horizontal.  So I got to work on it and it went well.  They like the piece – I like the piece – and everybody’s happy.