Ironhawk Forge

For those of you who are not in the Stone Mountain Village area you may not be aware that I closed my brick and mortar location on March 31, 2017. I am still doing both blacksmithing and glass blowing (as well as other arts) but I will now be working from home rather than having a full time gallery. I am looking forward to doing more shows and to devoting more time to doing on line sales in the future.

I decided to close my gallery because someone obtained my debit card information and drained most of the money out of my account. Now I eventually got the money back but during the time it took the banks to investigate and decide that I was the wronged party, I had to use household money to pay business bills. Since I had always promised my wife that I would close the business if I had to use household money to pay the bills, it was time to close.

I am also taking this opportunity to downsize my business. After two hernia surgeries, I decided to restrict the size of projects that I will work on. so, no more driveway gates, stair railings or large metal sculptures. I will be concentrating more on smaller pieces.

Hope this finds you all well.

Process

The word Process has many meanings but the definition closest to the discussion today is that of the Business process which is defined as activities that produce a specific service or product for customers.

Do you have a process for doing your art? Do you know if there is a process is for doing your art? Finding a process and following it can make producing art easier and often, more profitable since the process helps you to maximize your time and minimize waste. Also, once you develop a process and get comfortable with using it, you will find that you will fall into the habit of pre-preparing your tools and workspace so that you can start new projects quicker.

As always, I will start with my own arts as examples.

With all projects that I have not done before, I start with a project cost sheet. Tallows me to his not only quote a fair price to my customer, but also helps me to think through all of the steps of the project and map out my work. I will skip the general details of setting up the shop, turning on equipment, etc. and go next to the work.

For blacksmithing, let’s talk about the process of making a garden gate. I have already met with the customer to establish the design to be made and I have given the customer a price for production. Now it is time to start the piece. Since I use a gas forge, it would be a waste to start the fire before having pieces ready to heat so the first step is to measure and cut the metal that I need for the gate. Once the iron is cut, I place it in the forge and start the fire.

While the metal is heating, I select the tools that I will need to form the design and lay them out within easy reach of the anvil and vise.

As the iron gets hot, I forge each part into its portion of the design. Keep in mind that some pieces fit inside of others and so the piece to go inside must be formed before the piece that surrounds it. This is where prior planning truly comes in.

Once all of the pieces are formed, I assemble them. Some parts may have been assembled during the forging process, others will wait until they are cool to be fitted together and then riveted or welded into place.

Once assembled, the gate is polished to remove scale and then it may or may not be clear coated or painted in accordance with the customer’s wishes.

The process for this piece is now complete and the finished product is ready for the customer.

I know that this sounds a lot like manufacturing (and it is) but the process works for art as well. Start with a general idea on what the finished product should look like. Work through the steps of the creation, in your mind or on paper. Gather your materials and tools. Arrange your work area. Create.

Warning: Your processes and results may differ (especially if you are a performing artist).

Recycling in art and craft

Reuse, recycle, repurpose – all are familiar terms to artists, especially since artists have historically been on the low end of the income scale. However, recycling didn’t begin as either the respite of the poor or as an attempt to save an over polluted world. Instead, it began from necessity.

Smiths were perhaps the first industrial recyclers. The reason we can lay claim to that title is quite simple. Metal was the first industrial product that could be recycled effectively. When ceramics become broken, it is extremely difficult to return them to clay to make new product and man made glass came after metal smithing was well established. Since smiths could fairly easily cut something down, or weld pieces together to make a larger piece, recycling was easier in smithing than other industries.

This actually was a good thing economically for many of their customers. This is because smiths often priced items based on whether they could make it out of recycled materials. In the early days of metal work, obtaining new metal was very difficult and expensive. Therefore, items made of new metal cost more to make than items made of recycled metal. Likewise, a smith might take something off of the price of an item you wanted made if you brought some metal to exchange. In another situation, a smith might recycle your own product back to you. As an example, let’s say a new ax costs $50 (modern money). If you took the smith your old ax head he might be able to weld on a new cutting edge for $20, so instead of you getting a new ax, you get back your old ax with a new cutting edge for a far cheaper price.

Today, those traditions still continue but we have also added a broader spectrum of recycling to the artistic side of smithing. Now pretty much anything that can be painted on, stuck together, welded, riveted, soldered, brazed or melted is made into art. It can be as simple as tole painting on an old saw blade or as complicated as melting down the iron in a car to recast it into a sculpture. In any case, recycling both in the art world and as a lifestyle, is here to stay.

Pricing Your Art – What Will It Sell For? By Michael Labbe-Webb

Prices on artwork appear to many to be completely arbitrary. After all, once or twice a year there is a television ad to “Buy art cheap” at some show usually at some hotel or convention center. If you go to one, you see all kind of paintings on sale for incredibly cheap prices and you think, “Wow, why are the paintings in the art gallery down the street so much more?” Well, here is why. If the painting is actually done by a person, the all those cheap paintings are done on a production line in some third world country where the base pattern is laid down on the canvas by a machine and a series of “painters” (who may or may not have talent but can follow a paint by numbers line for $1.00 a day) fill in your painting with cheap paint. Usually at a rate of 50 to 100 per day. Often now a days, the only person involved is the “designer” who runs a computer program that sprays the paint on. Everything about the product is designed to be cheap. And, by the way, what you see at those shows are the leftovers after the better pieces have been bought by hotels, motels, restaurants and office decorators.

So why does the art in the gallery cost so much more? Several reasons (in no particular order). One: Originality. Two: Quality of Production. Three: Talent of the artist. Four: Reputation of the Artist. Five: Condition of the Market at time of sale. Six: Desire of the Buyer. There are probably more but let’s work with these.

Originality: The more “One-of-a-kind” a piece is, the better it’s chances of bringing a higher price.

Quality of Production: The higher the quality of the materials used in making your art, the higher price
your art will initially demand. In other words, a painting by a beginning artist done in oils typically
brings more than one done in acrylic, pastels or colored pencils. A piece of jewelry executed in gold
typically sells for more than the same piece in silver or bronze. But also remember that fineness of the
work will also play a huge part in the sale.

Talent of the Artist: There’s not much to say here. Some artists are born with a natural talent that
allows them to make saleable art on their first few tries. Others of us take years to reach a level of
expertise that equates to profit in the art sales world.

Reputation of the Artist: In the beginning expect your work to not sell for much. Unless you are
extremely lucky, no matter how much work you put into your first pieces, they probably will not sell
for much, sometimes not even for the cost of the materials you have in it. Once you have an
established reputation as an artist, you can raise the prices and people will still buy.

Condition of the Market at Time of Sale: This is matter of usual’s. If the economy is down, art sales
are down, especially for new artists. If the economy is up, sales are better. The jewelry market is
usually better than the market for wall art. Wall art usually sells easier than sculpture. Small art
usually sells easier than large art. In addition, styles and types of art go through highs and lows of
sales. What is hot one year may be cold the next.

Desire of the Buyer: This will often over ride all the others. If a buyer wants something bad enough,
the cost will not matter.

So, how do you go about pricing your art?

There are any number of different ways and some art forms are easier than others. Since I do Sculpture and I have a
shop that does “practical” work (i.e. welding), I have a solid basis of set hourly fees, pre-determined shop costs and
costs of materials to start from. By keeping track of the number of hours I spend working on a piece and the amount
that I spend on materials I can easily come up with a “must sell for more than” price. I can then look at similar
products available by other artists to see what the current market is like plus adding my own 40 years of experience in
the mix and generally come up with a price that is both profitable to me and bearable to the customer. This way of
determining pricing is more difficult for art forms where the cost of materials may be much lower and it may be hard
for you to determine what is a reasonable hourly rate. Or there may not be a “reasonable hourly rate” for you. You
may spend a hundred hours on one painting that you are not yet famous enough to sell for $100. In this case, all I can
do is to encourage you to educate yourself in what similar works are selling for.

Lastly, in selling art, like real estate, Location, Location, Location. If you try selling your work at a yard sale, expect
someone to offer you less than a dollar for it. If you get lucky enough to get your work into a museum, you can
probably expect to get thousands for it. Selling in a gallery will usually get you more than selling in a craft show
(although not necessarily). If you sell on-line, expect not only your work to be compared to every other similar piece
out there but also your pricing.

Good luck.

The Business of Art by Michael Labbe-Webb

Being an artist is wonderful, right? Spend all your time effortlessly creating wonderful new pieces of art that the world will flock to your door to buy, right? You do this because you love it and you don’t need to get paid for it, right?

Wrong!!! Unless you are independently wealthy, have a wealthy patron who takes care of all of your side as it does on the artistic side. This will be the first in a series of brief articles about the business of art and since this is the beginning of a new year, let’s start by talking about paperwork and taxes.

That’s right, taxes. Artists are like any other profession, we pay taxes on our work. If you sell your own work, that means that you pay sales tax directly to the state. If you sell through a gallery, they take care of the sales tax but you still must pay income tax, provided you sell enough to need to pay taxes on it. (Quick note: If you have a job other than your artwork, you need to add the art income to your other income on your tax returns.)

That being said, you also get to take your business expenses off your income tax (if you are a registered business). Now, I am not a tax consultant if you check with one you will find that many times you can take the cost of your art supplies, travel, rent on gallery space, etc. off of your taxes. (Please see an expert to find out what you can legally deduct.)

All of which brings us to – Dtun, Dtun, Dtahhhhhh! – PAPERWORK.

Awful as it sounds to many people (not just artists), careful record keeping is what keeps the government off your back and, hopefully, you out of financial trouble. You need to keep track not only of every sale you make but also of every purchase for the business (with receipts), every bill you pay, every trip you take for business purposes, i.e. everything pertaining to the business. And you need to hold onto those records and receipts for at least seven years. Having a good accounting program on your computer will help. I use Quickbooks because it is relatively easy but there are others that are on the market and even a simple Excel spreadsheet will help keep track of things. Also, make sure you have a secure place like a filing cabinet to keep all the paper records in one place. You will be especially happy about that if you ever get audited by the IRS.

Lastly, if you are really bad at record keeping, get help. Either hire someone or find a friend or family member to help you do it. But remember, ultimately, it is your responsibility to keep track of you business.

Persistence by Michael Labbe-Webb

Persistence is an important quality in an artist. Why, you might ask?
Webster’s Dictionary defines persistent as: continuing to do something or to try to do something even though it is difficult or other people want you to stop. Why is that important to an artist?
Persistence is important to an artist for several reasons. One, you must be persistent to perfect your craft. Notice I said craft, not talent. You can be very talented without having the craft to make great art. Likewise, you can have a mediocre talent but by persistent practice and pursuit of improvement in the CRAFT you can make great art.
Second, every artist whether they are writers, painters, sculptures, etc., everyone has the occasional artistic block, that time when you just cannot think of what to do next or how to finish a piece. At times like these, persistence is what gets you through. Ernest Hemingway and Steven King both forced themselves to right at least ten pages a day even if they threw it out later. Several famous painters have used the trick of working on multiple paintings at one time so that when they are blocked on one, they can work on a different one. If I am really blocked, I usually change art forms for a while. Since I work in both iron and glass, it is easy to switch between those two or I may cook something complicated or write an article. I also find sometimes that it is helpful to just make one thing repeatedly such as making 10 blown glass mugs in a row. This technique lets you be productive while taking away the pressure of making a decision.
The other area where persistence is extremely important is in completing work. If you are doing custom work, you must complete the work, preferably on time and within the agreed price. Once you accept a commission, set yourself goals and deadlines so that you and complete the work on time AND STICK TO THEM.

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Recycling in Art and Craft

Reuse, recycle, re-purpose - all are familiar terms to artists, especially since artists have historically been on the low end of the income scale. However, recycling didn't begin as either the respite of the poor or as an attempt to save an over polluted world. Instead, it began from necessity.

Smiths were perhaps the first industrial recyclers. The reason we can lay claim to that title is quite simple. Metal was the first industrial product that could be recycled effectively. When ceramics become broken, it is extremely difficult to return them to clay to make new product and man made glass came after metal smithing was well established. Since smiths could fairly easily cut something down, or weld pieces together to make a larger piece, recycling was easier in smithing than other industries.

This actually was a good thing economically for many of their customers. This is because smiths often priced items based on whether they could make it out of recycled materials. In the early days of metal work, obtaining new metal was very difficult and expensive. Therefore, items made of new metal cost more to make than items made of recycled metal. Likewise, a smith might take something off of the price of an item you wanted made if you brought some metal to exchange. In another situation, a smith might recycle your own product back to you. As an example, let's say a new ax costs $50 (modern money). If you took the smith your old ax head he might be able to weld on a new cutting edge for $20, so instead of you getting a new ax, you get back your old ax with a new cutting edge for a far cheaper price.

Today, those traditions still continue but we have also added a broader spectrum of recycling to the artistic side of smithing. Now pretty much anything that can be painted on, stuck together, welded, riveted, soldered, brazed or melted is made into art. It can be as simple as tole painting on an old saw blade or as complicated as melting down the iron in a car to recast it into a sculpture. In any case, recycling both in the art world and as a lifestyle, is here to stay.

Talent

In recent months I have written about what art is and about courage and inspiration in making art. This month I will write about talent.

One dictionary defines talent as: A marked natural ability or skill. [from 15th c.] Another dictionary defines talent as: a special ability that allows someone to do something well. While both definitions are true, I prefer to use the second one when talking about art because a great deal of what the general public thinks of as talent is (or has been) learned rather than occurring naturally in the artist.

But what (you may ask) about great singers like Sarah Boyle (winner of Britain’s Got Talent several years ago). The answer is that Ms. Boyle is blessed with a natural genetic potential in her vocal cords that she developed over a period of years while singing in her church choir. She did not spring fully formed onto the stage. The full potential of her talent took time to develop.

Well then what about severely disabled persons who pick up a musical instrument for the very first time and play amazing (and accurate) classical music? The answer is that they are gifted with an amazing ability to mimic other artists but they are only mimicking, not creating, although many people would say that this falls in the marked natural ability definition.

So let’s talk about developed or trained talent. When I say that talent can be trained, I make that claim within certain limitations. You cannot become a world class opera singer if you are tone deaf. Likewise, you cannot succeed as a blacksmith if you are blind. However, being tone deaf does not stop you from being a blacksmith and being blind does not prevent you from being a world class opera star. Your ability to succeed in any field may depend on your own physical or mental limitations.

To focus more sharply on learned talent, let’s take welded sculpture as an example. Much welded sculpture is made from found pieces of metal or pieces that are cut into shape rather than being forged or cast by the artist. Those pieces are then assembled by welding. Since virtually anyone what is not severely physically disabled or pathologically afraid of fire (and some who are) can be taught to weld, building welded sculpture is an example of a learned talent. (Please note that I am not discussing the concept of the sculpture here but simply the building of it. Concept falls under imagination and inspiration.) Making welded sculpture does not require any previous knowledge or talent in metalwork before learning how to weld.

Another example would be thrown pottery. It does not matter how much natural ability, imagination or inspiration a person has, until they spend the time to sit at the wheel and gain the muscle memory required to thrown a pot, they will not be a “talented” artist in this art form.

In many ways, the marked natural ability definition does point the way for the special ability that allows someone to do something well definition. If you long to be a musician or singer and you have the natural ability of perfect pitch, you are probably a good step closer to your goal when you first start than someone without that advantage. If you have an amazing sharpness of color definition in your vision you have a leg up on being a painter or photographer. If you can draw a perfect circle without using a compass or a pattern, you have a great chance of being a superior sketch artist.

If, however, you don’t have a marked natural ability or inclination, don’t despair. Find something you can start small at, get some instruction from an artist in that field and then practice, practice, practice to develop the special ability that allows someone to do something well.

Why would being an artist take courage? by Michael Labbe-Webb

It seems that some artists just open their hands and art flows from them. Whether the art is drawing, painting, music, sculpture, or some other form, the art just seems to appear with no thought or effort. For some people, however, just the act of putting pencil to paper or brush to canvas requires courage.
Sometimes, the form of the art requires courage. I work with materials that can often be more that 2000 degrees hot while I am working them. Art that uses hot materials or dangerous chemicals in the creation process require courage to work with.

Often, the theme of the art requires courage. While in this country we are technically free to say whatever we wish and to express that in our art, there are many places around the world where that is not true. Obviously, in places with oppressive governments, it requires courage to create art that encourages freedom of thought but it can require just as much courage wherever you are to create art that your family, friends, church, school or community might not like or is contrary to their ideas of proper or good.

So have courage. If you are afraid to start, do it secretly. Start by making art for yourself. For some people, all they ever need is to make art for themselves. For others, making art for themselves opens the doors to making art for others. Remember, just because your family, friends, etc don't understand your art or don't like it, doesn't mean that the whole world doesn't.

Have courage. Unless you are doing direct commission work, you are working to please yourself. Do your art to please yourself. Do your art to make yourself happy.

Now, please note that I have not anywhere mentioned that you will be rich or famous doing this. That is a discussion for another day under the heading of Marketing.

Have courage.