Try as We Might

Colorado, 1862

 A couple of months ago a friend of mine who was involved with a political fundraising event, asked me to put together a piece of artwork that could go to auction. Sure, I said, as it sounded like a good idea. The problem is, I don't have the equipment to put together the piece I wanted to make. In years past, I used a maker's space's equipment but hadn't been back to the that maker's space since a couple of years before Covid-19 shut the world down. 

But, we persevere. 

I took out some old supplies that I had in my storage unit and contacted the maker's space. They had purchased some new equipment they were prioritizing over their older equipment that was collecting dust in the corner. 

They allowed people to come in and work on this equipment in one hour increments and then did little to no help with setup or figuring out the proper settings. And with barely an hour, I didn't have time to do a test piece, so we ran the project through the equipment. 

... and it sucked. Not only did it come out too small, but the quality was subpar.

I called up another maker's space and was able to get in later that week, which was good. The problem was: these people were just as unhelpful. Don't get me wrong, they were extremely courteous, but they didn't help me with their own equipment other than letting me know how to turn it on. At least this time I had a two hour window. In fact, the guy gave me some settings to use that he was "guessing" on based on personal experience.

Douglas County, Where the Auction Was Held

Fast forward two hours and the piece is finished in their equipment. It's better than the piece from the first run at the other maker's space, but still not as good as I was able to create a few years ago. Something was wrong - something I couldn't figure out without playing with the equipment's settings more. 

I took the piece and decided it would have to suffice.

One of the things I like about making these pieces ins their rustic look and feel. It's supposed to look old, worn, as though it was found in an attic somewhere or an old barn. And these are legacy pieces, able to be handed down from generation to generation without fear of crumbling or otherwise falling apart.

The piece I made - based off pieces I've made in the past - is an engraving of an 1862 map of Colorado. Because it's on leather it will last forever. In fact, it will age nicely and perhaps even patina in a unique manner, depending on use and placement. 

Next, I bought a piece of hardwood to build a frame and then had an uncle and aunt donate a frame to the auction. The frame did not have glass - this is important later.

I aged the leather to give it that weathered look then coated the leather in a protectant to save it from spills, splashes, rain or whatever may come up. While it wasn't my best work, it was good enough for a donation to the cause.

A couple of weeks before the auction I brought the final piece to my friend who was organizing the whole thing. She was underwhelmed and even had the audacity to ask me if I could put together another piece - "maybe one of your photos. You take good photos."

No, this is the piece you're getting. I'm already $100 into this with resources and time. "But it looks old," she said. Yes, it does. It's supposed to have that aged look and feel about it. "Are you going to put glass on the frame?" No, I'm not. If someone purchases the map and wants to put it in a frame that matches their home or office decor, they are welcome to, but I want people to be able to reach out and touch it, feel the textures, to know this isn't just a Wal-Mart print of an old map. 

She hemmed and hawed but took it anyway. 

Antique-y

This woman called me this morning to tell me the gala went wonderfully and the auction went great. The governor of the state was there, as was a Senator and the Secretary of State. It was a great time, she said. Then she told me, "not all the pieces in the auction sold." I had been wondering about that over the past week when she didn't call to tell me it sold and for how much. She said my piece received zero bids.

Which - again - was fine. She said she could try and sell it on FB Marketplace if I wanted. I told her that was fine. Or I could try and sell it online. Didn't matter. Then she went into trying to justify it not selling but telling me, "the frame should have had glass. If it had glass it probably would have sold."

This is a nice woman whose house is decorated in her children's art and Goodwill cast offs that some other suburban mom thought would bring happiness and joy to their lives. You know, the scripted "Live, Laugh, Love" or the "Peace in this House" sort of wall art that is mass produced to appeal to middle aged white women.

Art is in the eye of the beholder and when she reiterated that the frame should have had glass I had to cut her off and tell her the "glass" was inconsequential. "Go into any art gallery, any museum," I told her, "and you will see art without glass." If someone didn't want to purchase the piece it wasn't because the frame didn't have glass, it was because they didn't like the piece. 

There is a market for everything and everyone. This place and time just wasn't right. I'm not worried about one piece not selling when I showed photos to people and they all wanted their own piece. I should have realized the suburbs, where everyone has a house under 10 years old and antiques aren't considered artistic, wouldn't be the best place for this type of art. This is something for the history buff or the person looking for rustic western art pieces, not the place for "Live, Laugh, Love" signs in the kitchen, living room, hallway and bathroom. 

She told me some things sold for a lot and there were bidding wars for kitschy items. For example, a $10 Bernie Sanders mug and a $30 pair of matching mittens went for over $150 and a Hillary Clinton nutcracker partnered with a Bill Clinton cork screw went for nearly $200. But, a vintage guitar didn't sell at all.

Final