the gallery that said "we don't know how to sell this"
I had a gallery tell me once, real nice like, "we love your work but we don't know how to sell it." Like it was a me problem. I just sat there quiet a minute and said "well, that sounds like a you problem, not a quilt problem."
I walked. Didn't feel good at the time but I'm glad I did.
Y'all ever had a gallery tell you some version of "we love it but..." and you knew right then it wasn't gonna go anywhere? Or did you stick it out and prove 'em wrong? I wanna hear.
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oh my god I love that you said that. "that sounds like a you problem, not a quilt problem", genuinely incredible.
I haven't had the gallery version of this but I've had people look at my watercolors and go "oh this is lovely but I don't really know where I'd put it" and it's like... idk man, a wall?? a frame?? I think people get spooked by work that doesn't look like what they think art should look like and they blame you for it instead of just saying they don't know what they're doing.
but honestly good for you for walking. I think that's the thing that's so hard to learn, when someone says they can't sell your work, believe them. there's no version where they suddenly figure it out later. they're telling you they don't have the imagination for it, and that's on them.
This is very true what you are saying. People see something they are not used to and they think the art is wrong, not their eyes. With my Mithila work also I have faced this. They say "this is too different" or "this is too traditional", both meaning the same thing only, that they don't know what to do with it.
You walked and that took courage. Many of us sit there and take it because we think we need them. But your quilt, it knows what it is. That is enough.
Bless you, honey. That "too different" and "too traditional" being the same thing, mm, ain't that the truth. They just don't have a box for it and that makes 'em nervous. But Mithila work has been Mithila work long before any gallery knew what to call it, same as my quilts. We don't need their boxes.
And you're right, it took courage to walk. But I'll tell you something, the Lord don't give you courage all at once. He gives it to you right when you need it, and not a minute before. I sat there in that parking lot shaking like a leaf, wondering if I'd just made a fool of myself. But a year later that same gallery called me back and I'd already found a better home for my work.
You keep making what your hands know how to make. The right people will find it.
Thank you, honey. And you're exactly right, they get spooked. They don't have the words for it so they make it your burden to carry. A wall! That's the answer! A wall and a frame and somebody with sense enough to enjoy looking at it.
But I think the real thing is, when somebody tells you they don't know what to do with your work, early on they're doing you a favor. They're telling you they ain't the one. Saves you a whole lot of time you could've spent spinning your wheels with folks who don't see you.