Oh, and there's more to the story... this lady went for years trying to figure out ways NOT to sell her work. She gave quilts to relatives, then friends, then her doctor, dentist, and hairdresser. When her output finally outstripped her supply of friends, she would just spread the most recent quilt on the bed in her guest room. When I met her, they went at least two dozen deep on that bed. But still her attitude remained that she was not going to pollute her one real joy in life by taking money for it. In the back of her mind I think she knew that they would get sold someday, just not by her... perhaps her daughter would sell them after she died to put her granchildren thru college or something.
The return she got from her quilting brings up an interesting point, one that's worth examining because we all know that almost no one becomes a framebuilder thinking they will make a lot of money... almost everyone has other reasons, some of them perhaps bordering on compulsion. So what is the primary source of satisfaction artists and craftsmen get from their work? I know quite a few painters who admire the work they've done and always keep a few of their best pieces on the wall (if they can afford to), and I know many craftsmen who enjoy using the objects they create, including quite a few framebuilders who really enjoy riding their own bikes.
But I know other artists who could care less about a piece once it is done. For them, the only real joy is in the doing, and once a work is completed it becomes an object like any other and they exhibit a peculiar disconnection or even disdain for the piece. Several folks have mentioned on the list that Eisentraut may be a bit like this, he seems to display no interest at all in his past work and expresses amusement and puzzlement over those who do. Perhaps these people are more like musicians than traditional artists... because once the last note of a piece of music fades, it is no more. All that is left for the musician who only feels truly alive when he is playing is to continually look to the next song.
Bob Hovey Columbus, GA
Brian Writes:
If I could do as the quilter did (alas, I'm not a receptionist), I would do so also. The pleasure and satisfaction of spending enough time on a frame to make it purposful and unique at the same time is satisfaction enough to feed the soul and give purpose to life. The only standards that I have lowered in order to continue as I do are my standard of living. There are other ways to approach the situation, but the system I abide by works for me.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
<snipped> I knew a wonderful quilter who worked as a receptionist and gave her quilts away only to those she felt would appreciate them. She would spend several hundred hours on a quilt and for her it was all about love, so she was not about to hand it over to strangers for money.
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA USA