David G Brown on wed 20 nov 96
Hi all,
The notice from ARTSCAPE at first sounded like a good opportunity for us.
Then we are told that it will be free for only a while. The hard sell. So
we will have to pay to be listed and pay to have access. Her generous offer
is infact an atempt to garnish an impoverished site that needs more variety
inorder to sell memberships et al. Perhaps instead of Artscape it should be
named ART MALL; but then, malls don't charge for access.
I like clayart as a free exchange of information, free of commercial
advertising. Throughtout the day I am bombarded by those wanting my HARD
EARNED money. The people here contribute to a growing feeling within me of
friendship toward the Clayart forum in general. Advertising is not welcome.
Advertising in the guise of altruism is highly resented.
David in Redwood City, CA
P.S. I apologise to the author at Artscape for not responding directly. I
deleted read e-mail before this indigestion ocured.
LINDA BLOSSOM on thu 21 nov 96
Dear David,
I was very saddened to see your response to Catherine's post. If you took
the time to look at Artscape you would find a site dedicated to promoting
artists and providing a resource for the member artists. They charge
members ten dollars a month with no setup fee. They put out a newsletter
both in writing and online. Printing and postage for this comes out of the
$10. They are not making money for their efforts at that price.
Currently their goal is to get the site to pay for itself, thus the small
charge for advertising workshops. The cost will be $10 to list the
workshop. They have succeeded in creating a quality site, both in terms
of the work presented and the manner in which it is presented. They
have also made art supplies available to members through a store that was
started by a man that thought materials should be affordable. I think you
should learn more about something before you send out such criticism. Art
Mall is not a good description. They do not sell work or take commissions
for works sold. They refer all email to the artist and wish them luck.
They have tried to create a resource location that gives artists of
different mediums a place to show their work, at a very reasonable price.
Now they are offering another resource, listing educational happenings,
and are asking a nominal fee for this service. For the members, it is
still a part of the original $10 per month. I realize it is hard to
imagine anyone in this country, doing anything without trying to make
money, but this site is maintained by people who are doing just that. They
didn't deserve your criticism without a little time on your part to learn
more about it.
Linda Blossom
2366 Slaterville Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850
blossom@lightlink.com
http://www.artscape.com
607-539-7912
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