Sculpture thats not sculpture, nor really even art..

[Larry L]

So I am not an artist... Im just a guy who likes to build stuff... But lately I have felt motivated to build some stuff that has no real purpose, nor do I have a way to market or sell, which sounds like art to me Anyway I really enjoy building things that I dont have to make, but rather can just do what ever, when ever... The problem with that is I cant really do much of it because of shop overhead and bills... So the ideal thing would be to sell stuff of course but then your turning a "fun" thing back into a job.. So it seems like a lose/lose deal to expect to sell "art"... But its fun

Anyway... I hate to call this stuff "art" because to me its just trying something to see how it turns out, Sometimes its good, sometimes its a "fail"

Part of my issue is I look at things in terms of shop rate and how "reasonable" it is to do something... I made some lamps for a guy a while back and I really enjoyed making them... But I spent two days on it (about $1500 worth of labor) and got a few hundred dollars trade... I felt ok about it because I really like doing it, but I look back and think how can I justify doing more when the value of thousands of dollars worth of labor is only seen as a few hundred bucks...

[Larry L]

I really do like the scrolls, They are failures from a job where I had to make some C scrolls for a rock stars gate, they are forged from 2" sq bar, that thing is 125 pounds.. There where only 4 needed for the job but they had to fit in a existing opening.. so all these where either too big, too small or not centered well.... they have been sitting on a shelf for a year and I thought it would be cool just to put them someplace that was not in the way...


The hex things are bolt heads from 7/8 soft bolts.... My dad left me half a dozen kegs of them and I have been playing with them for a bit now... The threaded ends make a really nice leaf with serrated eges

[Dave]

I like that "Stuff". Isn't this part of the whole process of creating things, seeing things in different ways, trying things just to see what it might look like, or how it feels? There is value in each piece since it is part of building your life's creative foundation. And, who knows where these things may lead in the days ahead. In a year from now, you might have one of those light bulb moments, and find a great use for some of that "stuff". Don't stop making that "stuff/art". One never knows where things may lead.

[Larry L]

My wife just came in and was looking at this pictures, and said the scroll thing was a coat rack, I said its only "this tall" and held my hand up about chest high and she said "coat rack for little people?" which made me chuckle

[Brad Roland]

Sometimes the bestest art piece was, to the creator, a failure ...

Just a thought

Now all you need is someone who can market it!

[Bruce Macmillan]

Larry, Your sculptures are cool, you're an ARTIST, a humble one but an artist none the less
I've seen pieces, not as good as yours sell for big bux.
The dictionary sez, fine art:''considered purely aesthetic , as distinguished from the ''useful'' arts''............just one more hat to wear, good luck....bm

[ArtWerkz]

SOmetimes it's a nice change just to do stuff for yourself that isn't on a timeframe or billable hours. It's damn near therapeutic.
I like it, it's pleasing to eye as they say.

[Larry L]

Well there is more too it than that, My feeling is not that it wouldnt sell, but more that if you looked at it practically its not a good time investment. my last job was half a dozen carts for an outfit in Tacoma that makes parts for Boeing, I made 6 carts for them, took less than too days, charged them $1000 each and they where thrilled... The job before that was about 40 feet of high end grab rail that was $200/foot... And most other things are the same way... I can make $100/hr making things that are useful, or $5/hr making things that are "art-ish" Costs about $40/hr to be in the shop so thats a net $35/hr loss to do this kind of stuff..... So I think my big issue is I feel guilty doing things like this... I know its not good business, I know Im not making something that is helping me... But I do enjoy building things for fun and I think the work/play balance is important... I really enjoy building things and I dont want to get burnt out by doing only "other peoples" paying work...


I dont think there is a answer, I dont plan on stopping, I also think that for the most part my stuff isnt good enough to really be of any value as "art" Or at least not enough value that it would pay its actual cost (hourly shop rate) to build it....

Its just a conundrum, A interesting bit.... I do think the wacky stuff I build has gotten a lot better over the years, Most of it I give away but I have sold things on occasion.. I had a 12' tall metal robot thing in my yard for a while and a guy came over to buy some racks and ask If I would sell it, I said no.. It was just kind of a for fun thing and I really didnt want to sell it.... He said "Id give you a thousand bucks for it" And then it was kind of, Oh, Well Id be happy to deliver it any time you like then...
I had way more than $1000 worth of labor into it, but I saw it as a pile of scrap with no real value... Same guy also bought a monster rocking chair I built... I since have been over to his house, He owns a incredible house on an acreage and the metal man stands in a park he built for his grandson and the rocker sits out back looking at Rainer... They look much more impressive there then they did stacked among the scrap in my yard...

[Bruce Macmillan]

The rub is it's really hard to make it at pure art, last winter I threw myself into sculpture,and had lots of fun making it. Come summer I had enough pieces, and got accepted to the ''Loveland Sculpture Invitational'' show at Loveland, Co. It's huge. If I'd made a grand,or at least made some contacts, I would have walked away feeling ok.But the crowd was real fickle, for me and lots of others. It wound up costing me $525 for the booth I have plans to do other sculptures though, it kinda seems more like therapy than a profession, but I like it. Made 10k on a railing last fall and I hated every minute of it..........paid the bills though.
Billable hours are one thing, having a little fun is another. I think most of us got into blacksmithing because it started out to be fun, anyway ya got to remember that occasionally. I started cause I'm a pyromaniac........bm

Oh and, the only piece of yours I wouldn't have in my house Larry is the scrolls, I hate scrolls,scroll burn out.......unless they were Florentine etc., But ribbon end scrolls have paid allot of my bills...bm

[ArtWerkz]

Some fine legs on the rocking chair Larry