Do You Donate Your Art?



T-Shirt design by he said tee shed
 at http://www.hesaidteeshed.com/

I saw the above on Facebook this past week and it reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend earlier this year.

She has a “No Donations” policy. Period. And here is why.

• The work we donate is always first rate as our names are attached to it.
• We work just as hard on the free work as the work we will sell.
• If there is no return on the investment, why spend all of that time and energy on it?

I donate art because of guilt. Or because I believe in the cause. And because somebody has asked me to do so, and I’m fairly obedient (though my husband might disagree. :)

So, I am wondering, why do you donate your art?

And if you don’t donate your art, why not?

I know I’d love to hear the ins and outs of your decision, and I bet others will too.

Thanks much, and may your day be a creative one.

Q and A Mondays- Finding Your Own Voice

A friend of mine started grad school this past year and periodically asks me for input.

Recently we were talking about her thesis, which isn’t due for a couple of years, but it’s never too early to start thinking about that, me thinks.

So I suggested she start brainstorming with words. Just start yelling them out, (writing them down too, lest they slip out of her mind) and see what words appear. I suggested she do this often to see if any words reappear. After a while a trend will indeed appear and that would be a good place to start, with these random words and thoughts. From there she can build upon them to find out what she wants to say with her work. Like a road map for her art.

How about you; How have you gone about finding your own voice?

Q and A Mondays- Are you a 2D or 3D artist? Or both?

I recently wrote in my sketchbook, “I am a 3D artist.”

That statement came after a show in which I had both 2D and 3D work and I felt the 2D didn’t hold up to the 3D work.

It is a train of thought I have considered before.

Am I one or the other?

Need I be one or the other?

I know we artists all struggle with multiple personalities in our work and it is important for the work to be consistent, but does that mean it must be only 2D or 3D? Or does a consistent theme trump all else, no matter what the materials or method of making?

I think the latter is correct.

But, I could use your feedback.

What do you think? And do you struggle with similar thoughts?

Q and A Monday- How? and What?

Judy Hayes, a fellow Minnesotan, asked the other day, “How did you get started making pattern paper dresses? And, “What inspired you?”

First, what inspired me?

Long story short, I started out life as a potter, and pottery deals with containment. Not that I was a production potter, but I do know how to throw on the potters wheel and have made my own dishes, cups, teapots, etc., so the whole concept of “containment” in deeply entrenched in my brain. Plus, all of us are essentially “containers” moving through the world. Our bodies literally contain our thoughts, ideas, and memories, in addition to the stuff of our physical beings. So, I‘d have to say that concept is the jumping off point for the dresses and almost all other work that I do.

On using actual dress patterns as material, well, that takes a bit longer to explain.

I collect things and vintage dress patterns have long been on my list of favorites. It probably started with the patterns that my Mom used while I was growing up. Both of my sisters and my Mom were great seamstresses. Me on the other hand, not so much. I loved looking for fabric and patterns and wearing clothes that reflected my design sensibilities, I just wasn’t good at sewing. In high school I actually had some of my clothes made by a local seamstress. So the sewing machine as my go to tool didn’t happen by choice.

Fast forward approximately 20 years to when I was invited to do a themed show about “transparency.” My original idea didn’t work out as I had hoped and with a looming deadline, Plan B was hatched. I thought to use some of my vintage patterns but quickly realized that I needed two matching patterns for my vision to work. Nix the vintage patterns and buy new ones. The next hurdle was how to stabilize the patterns to withstand the actual sewing process and survive getting delivered to the gallery. Which I eventually figured out through much trial and error.

I have been making them for 6 or 7 years now and I have fine tuned the process even more. In the past few years I have moved beyond dresses into other forms including a swing set and a boat, with still others yet in the works. I’ll share pictures of the newer work in the near future. In the meantime, here are pictures of the swing set and boat.

Games People Play by Kim Radatz,

installed at

Gala Corina’s iluminación, 2007

Wishful Thinking by Kim Radatz

installed at

C. Emerson Fine Art in St. Petersburg, 2010

Thanks so much for asking, Judy.

And may all of you have a creative day!