I charged €2,800 for a 1.5m x 1m mosaic and it took me six weeks
I did the math on this one after it was already delivered. The stone alone cost €340, the smalti I had on hand but that's hours of cutting I don't account for. Six weeks of work, five days a week, roughly eight hours a day on the floor. Comes out to about €11 an hour before materials. Less than I'd pay someone to fix my plumbing.
And the client was happy, the piece is genuinely good, I'm proud of it. That's the trap, right? You feel good about the work so you don't notice the numbers until later.
I keep saying I'll calculate my rate upfront on the next one. Never do.
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This hits close to home ji. In Mithila painting also we have this problem since long. A piece takes weeks, the fine lines, the natural colour grinding, the patience. People see the final work and say beautiful, but they do not see the hours. And we ourselves also, we feel good that the work came out well, so we do not count the labour properly until after.
What you said about the trap, I felt it. The pride in the work makes us forget the economics. But ₹11 per hour... that is not dignity for your skill. Even our village girls learning this art, I tell them: know the worth of your hand, not just the beauty of the piece.
I hope your next one you calculate first. I am trying also to do same.🙏
The grinding of natural colours alone, that's hours before you even touch the surface. People have no idea what goes into work like that because the whole economy is built on not seeing it. I have the same problem with paper, I'll spend days finding and preparing the right material and that time just disappears from the calculation. It's good you tell the younger ones to know their worth. Someone has to say it.
The grinding of natural colours alone, yeah, that's a whole invisible job inside the visible one. I never thought about it with paper but now I'm picturing it. You're basically doing two jobs for the price of one.
The thing is, young makers need to hear this stuff early because nobody's going to tell them. Art school sure didn't tell me. I learned it the expensive way, one commission at a time.
Mithila painting, of course, same thing exactly. The grinding of natural colors alone, that's hours before you even touch the surface. People have no idea what goes into work like that because the whole point is that it looks effortless.
You're right about telling the young ones to know their worth. I teach too and I hear myself saying the same things I don't follow. The disconnect is real.
Do you price by the piece still or have you found a way to factor the time in properly? I'm asking for myself, honestly, because I still haven't solved it.