The Morning After...

Hi everybody-- If you picked up a card at the show at Burroughs School in S. Minneapolis Sat and are interested in finding out more about Sue Seeger's artwork you should click this link and go to my art website. This is more of a personal, writing and other hijinks's blog that probably won't interest you.

For all you other people who came looking for the promised edgy, weird, and occasionally funny stuff -- stick around. Or better yet scroll down to labels and check out the selection. If weird is what you're after "disturbia" is one you'd probably be into. There's also plenty of "hilarity", "coolage", and "incurring my wrath". I also talk about "art", "writing", "welding", "jamming out" and well, pretty much anything else I darn well feel like.
So-- the show, the show, the show. It went ok. Sales were down almost 50%. This use of math lingo is shocking I'm sure, coming from me. What it means in "normal people language" is this--
Sue's $ is < !!!!, but > @#%*! People are learning something from the new economy that I've actually known for a looong time now.

See, I sell cool stuff. In some cases beautiful stuff. I don't sell food or oxygen or any other addictive substance-- nor do I sell "hot cakes" which I'm told are made of awesome, although I've never had one myself-- anyone else? Thing is-- the world isn't ever going to run out of cool, beautiful stuff. There will always be plenty of it around when you do have $ too. This means you can wait it out.

What I just said up there-- "I sell cool stuff" isn't how I like to look at what I do. I think of it mostly as, "I create cool stuff", but we art and writery types that want to actually make a go of it have to occasionally deal with reality. People have to buy your "wares" or else you wind up being someone with a very elaborate hobby and several strung together low-wage jobs.

This brings me to finding that magic tipping point between your creative and marketing sides. Usually when you begin to get all stressed-out about $ it messes up your creative mojo. You're really beter off not thinking about it and just pretending it'll all be fine. Case in point-- my stained glass pieces v.s. Elmira v.s my attractive little groupings of trees.
Some of the stuff I made for this show was strategic, and some made no "sense" at all-- I was just following my creative impulses. Deciding to begin Elmira the week before this show made no sense what-so-ever, but man, am I ever glad I did. No, no one bought her, but that doesn't matter that much to me. Someone will eventually because she's a good piece. But I got so much out of making her.

I've been missing my characters from the novel, and the heavy work load for the show was beginning to make me feel more like a welder than an artist. I needed to dip back into the nearly trance-like state of allowing the creative energy to just pour through me.

Some of the other stuff I made (stained glass), although attractive, probably wasn't as loaded with creative mojo. I think people, people who are into art anyway, can feel the difference between "art" and "product". The stained glass stuff was mostly strategic because I needed to be productive every single day and some days couldn't weld outside. I had to come up with something I could make inside the garage and so stained glass it was. They're nice, but didn't really sell.

The trees are a good example of the perfect balance for this type of show. It's an attractive design I really like, and came up with for pure pleasure. Now I'm identified by them at this show somewhat and people always buy them and pretty much freak out if I don't have them. Do I enjoy making dozens of them? -- no-- it's total factory work, but the design still contains the original mojo and it translates into each one. Plus, I can't make myself not care about how they come out. Each one is obsessed over somewhat to achieve the ideal level of randomness. They are half art half product. Success. (at this level)

I have lots more to say about the show-- how a student teacher incurred my wrath during set-up, how thrilling and bizarre it was to see two old high school buds after 25 years, how cool it was to reconnect with my old boss from my last "career-ish" job I ever had, but it'll have to wait. Dan's making me coco-wheats and I have a large amount of vegging out to catch up on today.

Thanks to everyone who came by. I know I don't show up at your places of business and cheer you on, but it really meant a lot to me to see all the friendly faces yesterday, like I am one freaking lucky gal. Thanks.