MYSTERY
Sometimes what you DON’T say is better than what you DO say.
Last night a bunch of my friends and I headed out for an evening of dinner and dancing. The first two women showed up at my house to pick me up. Both were wearing red t-shirts. I said, “Are we supposed to wear red shirts? Because I put one on but changed my mind!” They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Neither had noticed they were both wearing red t-shirts.
They urged me to run upstairs and change back into my red t-shirt, so I did. We went on to the restaurant to meet our other two friends. One was wearing a burgundy t-shirt, which we decided was close enough. The other was wearing a dressy white top. We shared the story about the matching t-shirts, and teased Teo about being the odd woman out.
During dinner, Teo spilled salsa on her white top. When we transitioned from dinner to the dance place, she disappeared for awhile. When we met up with her again, she was wearing HER red t-shirt! She’d run home to change. We laughed about our “secret club” and headed out to the dance floor.
All night long, the waiters and bartender asked us what was up with the red t-shirts. They asked if they could join our “club”, too. People watched us group dancing, and tried to figure out what our “thing” was. Were we a lazier version of the Red Hat Society? Were we lesbian dance club?? Were we a sorority??? Inquiring minds wanted to know. We laughed away every query and didn't reveal our "secret"--which was that there was, in fact, no secret at all.
It struck me that it all started with a simple coincidence, but ended with an air of mystery that followed us all evening. It added to the evening’s fun, and by the night’s end, we were already planning on our t-shirt color for the next girls night out. (Turquoise, if you want to know. Only because we all have turquoise t- shirt, too.)
Just like a magician’s trick doesn’t seem quite so magical once you hear his technique, it occurs to me that often our customers don’t REALLY want to know exactly how we produce our artistic effects. I’ve learned to give a shorter version of my processes, not the blow-by-blow account. Enough so they have an idea of the time, thought and care that went into the piece. But not so much information that the mystery is taken away.
And I’ve noticed that what collectors are truly hungry for is the story. Make a real connection with each piece you make, and that will carry on to a connection with your audience.
The next time someone asks you, “How did you get it to look like this?” remember the story of the Red Shirt Gang.
