Mayssan1@AOL.COM on tue 6 mar 01
I just have a little comment on this thread, Every auction I was to as a
donor or a bidder. Always asked the artist for the retail price, then set the
minimum bid at half of that.
I thought that is a fair practice.
Mayssan
Eleanora Eden on tue 6 mar 01
Hi Craig and all,
I actually don't think this has anything to do with the importance of the
charity involved......I can't think of a charity that has approached me
that I am not in favor of supporting. And it is difficult to have a
conversation about the pros and cons of this when the response is about
whether or not one wants to give, one approves of giving, or feels good
about it.
In many areas of our lives particular processes can be altered, the
framework of a conversation adjusted, so that it works more in the interest
of all the parties involved. I am suggesting that the framework of this
kind of donation would work far more in the interest of all concerned if
the auctioneers could adjust their habits to include minimum bids. The
customers would still appear for their white wine and comraderie at these
art auctions. The organization would be thrilled to get a much better
return for all their work and these events require extensive slogging for
the volunteers running them. And the artist could donate without any
worries, such as mine, about undermining retail prices, or the 'ruffled
feathers' to which Craig refers.
Eleanora
Eleanora, you have raised a point that I've been struggling with for a
number of years now. At times I find myself railing against the fund-raising
crowd, their focus on often throwing an over-the-top party for their well
healed "donors" ( I do this more so now since I started going to the AA and
no longer drink. Funny how those swarays aren't quite so much fun when one
isn't half in the bag), and the ruffled feathers that I get when a piece
that I've donated doesn't get the fair market value in the bidding. It
REALLY pisses me off when people who drive around $80,000 sports cars, etc.,
etc., go to these fund raisers looking for a bargain.
However, and this is a big however, what is helping me to come to terms
with these frustrations is the fact that I honestly believe in the causes to
which I choose to donate my work. I give because I believe it is important
and neccessary. Once I make this decision, my primary concern is that the
work fetch as much money as possible for the cause. Sometimes a piece sells
for more than I'd normally be able to peddle it for, sometimes less.
Othertimes, it doesn't sell at all (that's when, to be honest, my feelings
get a little hurt.)
While writing this I know that I'll continue to vacilate between just
giving and wanting to be duly compensated. I don't have an answer. I'm
basically thinking out loud.
One thing that did just occur to me is something that a DJ on a local
radio station says each Sunday at the end of his blues program........
"....remember, tommorrow isn't garaunteed, so go out and make somebody happy
today." That's a pretty nice thought if you ask me. Maybe I'm just tryin to
make someone happy when I donate a piece.
Craig Dunn Clark
Houston, Texas
mudman@hal-pc.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Eleanora Eden
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Date: Sunday, March 04, 2001 9:15 AM
Subject: donate-your-crafts
>I am still concerned about the original subject, which is the situation
>that craftspeople feel it necessary to make these pricey donations. It is
>all very well to be magnanamous on the subject but there is cause for pause
>in the fact that donate-your-craft drives have become ubiquitous.
>
>For instance, the Cherry Creek fair now has an auction that craftspeople
>are asked to donate pricey stuff to. Last time around, with the fee so low
>and the profits substatial, I donated to this. Now they have doubled their
>fee. It happens that my piece did get its retail price. Many didn't. How
>is it in the craftsperson's interest to have something pricey of theirs
>down the street at a small fraction of their price?
>
>We have talked about how hard it is to hold the line on pricing and to
>convince the public that the price asked is a fair and necessary one. I
>just think that all this auction stuff really exacerbates this most basic
>problem that the craftsperson has, and unnecessarily. If everybody who
>donates something would demand that a price of about 2/3 of the retail
>would be the base bid, the problem that I have with all this would go away.
> Sometimes this is possible, other times refused, but if everybody demanded
>that the people who run these drives would have to respect it.
>
>People who have teaching jobs that are their primary income would perhaps
>have a different view of all this, but for somebody whose entire family
>income derives from sales, especially for somebody like me with a small
>output, these donation requests have become formidable.
>
>So perhaps my thoughts on this will put some context to my remarks about
>the White House thing. See other post.
>
>Best,
>
>Eleanora
Eleanora Eden 802 869-2003
Paradise Hill eeden@vermontel.net
Bellows Falls, VT 05101 www.eleanoraeden.com
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