A few days ago, I came upon an act of professional generosity that left me speechless.
A jeweler on a discussion forum posted a link to a series of downloadable PROFESSIONAL GUIDELINES at the SNAG website: (Society of North American Goldsmiths at www.snagmetalsmith.org)
Intrigued, I followed the link and downloaded the guidelines. Then I found a link to Harriete Estel Berman, the artist who compiled this information into handouts available to all artists. You can visit her website here: http://harriete-estel-berman.info/index.html and view the guidelines here: http://harriete-estel-berman.info/profguidelines/profguide.html
Her artwork is beautiful, rich and varied, and I hope to explore her site more fully soon. But her gesture of creating these guidelines, and offering them to any and all artists, is incredibly generous.
I e-mailed Harriete, thanking her for this amazing labor of love and asking how to properly distribute this information. She wrote back to thank ME for thanking her (this has got to stop!) and encouraging me to pass the information on any way I can.
The guidelines cover such sticky areas common to all artists and craftspeople:
Fundraising Auctions: Issues and Checklist for Artists
Fundraising Auctions: Issues and Recommendations for Collectors
Fundraising Auctions: Issues and Impact on Galleries
Fundraising Auctions: Issues and Alternatives for Art Organizations
Open Studios: Artist Checklist
Open Studios: Guide for Art Organizations
Juried Exhibitions
Comparison of Jury Ranking Systems
Artist Checklist: Exhibitions
Model Consignment Contract
Artist Checklist: Claims for Damaged Work
Discounts
Resources for Legal and Professional Advice
and a Recommended Reading List
In short, just about anything you need to know about the business of art!
I've just started reading these, but they are well-written and thoughtful. One statement stands out as I scanned the guidelines for offering customer discounts: Soon the conversation becomes all about the price and not about the art. WOW!!!
The rest of the guidelines are equally powerful in their insight.
Please visit Harriete's site or the SNAG site and download this treasure trove of professional information.
And take a minute to e-mail a thank-you to Harriete.
