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went to a friend's opening last night and this man I've never met walks up to a piece I have in the show, it's this big mixed-media thing I worked on for months, central image is this dead elm against a gray sky, torn paper and charcoal and some old family photos collaged into the roots, and he goes "love the texture but you're burying the lede, that tree is a downer, crop it to just the bottom third and you've got something people would actually buy" i just stood there holding my wine. didn't say anything useful. just nodded like a malfunctioning toy. and now i'm lying in bed at 7am still replaying it and thinking about all the things i should have said. the tree is the whole point my guy. the tree is doing the work. you want me to make you a nice little abstract of some roots? go buy a print at homegoods.

Last year I traded a big mixed-media piece (about 3x4 feet, took me six weeks) for what I thought was "exposure" at a local gallery event. They were supposed to feature my work in their window for a month, promote it, the whole thing. They hung it in a hallway next to the bathrooms for two weeks. Then it went into storage and I'm pretty sure they lost track of it because I had to ask three times to get it back. Meanwhile I could have sold it for $1800, which I know because I had an offer two months before from someone who actually wanted it. I said no because I thought the trade was smarter. Trades are fine in theory but I think I need a hard rule now, if I wouldn't pay cash for what they're offering, it's not worth my materials let alone my time. What's your dumbest trade story so I feel less alone here?

when you're trying to get into a gallery for the first time, do you email them first or just show up with your work? i've done both and honestly the walk-in worked better for me but i think i just got lucky with the right person at the desk. email felt like throwing things into a hole. i walked into this one spot with a small mixed-media piece in a tote bag, basically sweating, and the owner came out and we talked for 20 minutes. didn't get in that time but she remembered me later. the emails i sent that same year i couldn't even tell you if anyone read. what's your move? have you ever had a cold walk-in actually go somewhere?

Just finished the final invoice for that large mixed-media piece. Spent 3 weeks on it, materials were way more than I budgeted (who knew salvaged lace would get so pricey?), and my hourly rate worked out to something like $8 an hour. I’m almost afraid to raise my prices, but this isn’t sustainable. Feels like I'm stealing from myself.

spent three days on a mixed-media piece for a show, documented the whole thing in a nice polished reel, lighting, process shots, the works. maybe 200 views. next day i throw up a phone photo of the back of the canvas. just the staples and the raw edge where the paper tore. no caption, just "back side." 2.4k likes. people asking if it's for sale. i don't know what to do with that information. i don't want to just start posting half-finished trash for engagement. but also the stuff i labor over barely registers and the throwaway gets seen. feels like the platform is actively training me to make worse work.