the gallery that wanted everything for nothing
There was a gallery early on, small city, they liked the work. The contract wanted 60% and exclusive rights to everything I made for three years. I was young enough to think maybe that's just how it works.
I didn't sign it. But I wondered for months if I'd made a mistake.
What's the worst proposal you've actually seen, the one that made you laugh or made you walk?
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Oh honey. 60% AND exclusive rights for three years? That's not a partnership, that's them wanting you to do all the work so they can take the biggest piece and keep you from doing anything else with it. I'm glad you didn't sign, that wasn't a mistake you made, that was the Lord giving you good sense when you were young enough to be uncertain about it.
I didn't deal much with galleries, but I remember a woman once wanted me to make her a queen-size quilt from scratch, all hand-pieced, and when I told her what it'd run she said "well can you do it for the fabric cost and I'll tell everybody about you." Like exposure was gonna pay my light bill. I just laughed and told her my grandmother always said "everybody's got something to say, but not everybody's got something to pay." She didn't think it was funny but I sure did.
It stays with you though, that wondering. Even when you know you did right.
The fabric cost offer is actually hilarious in a sad way. Like you'd pour weeks into hand-piecing a queen-size and she thinks the gesture of telling her friends makes up for it. The friends who will also want things at fabric cost, presumably.
The 60% thing, I had a similar moment early on, not a gallery but a client who wanted commercial rights to all my reference photos from a whole project. Forever. For the one-time fee. I was young too and actually had to call my husband and be like "is this insane or am I being difficult" before I said no. It's that doubt that gets you, na? You know something's off but you're not sure if you're the problem. Good on you for trusting yourself even when you weren't sure.
That call to your husband, genau. The moment you know something's off but you still need someone outside your head to say it out loud. I had a painter friend I rang, and he just laughed. That told me everything.
The reference photos thing is wild, by the way. Forever? They wanted to own the source material. That's not a licensing deal, that's a land grab.
"I'll tell everybody about you." Right, the exposure payment plan. Always amazed how comfortable people are asking you to work for nothing when they'd never do the same themselves.
But a queen-size quilt, hand-pieced, that's months. That's not even asking, that's a whole different category of disrespect.