Note to all: Read your contracts!
Sep. 30th, 2006 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
afmetalsmithWe took the smileys into the show today, so they are out of my hands. At least for now. I feel kind of at a loss- they have been one of my main foci for the past month or so, and it feels funny not to have to plan anything more with them, and to not even be able to see them!
As far as I could tell, mine was the only jewelry, though there might have been other small pieces that I didn't see. There were some paintings out and around, and some photos- pretty cool ones of both. Mostly they did not use the smiley straight, which was what I'd guessed and why I wanted to do a very straight rendition myself. So I'm pleased about that.
But when they gave me the contract to sign, it specifically said that nobody but me was liable if someone stole the things. Now, in the flyer they sent out, they specifically said that works would be insured against theft, damage, etc. Specifically. So I called them on that, and they did end up removing the "theft" exemption after I pointed out that they'd be very easy to stick in a purse and carry off, and that was exactly how I'd brought them into the show! They did not, however, remove the other clauses, which annoys me somewhat, but the theft one was the one that concerned me the most. So I'm not exactly happy, but I did leave the things with them. I do think that's a pretty careless and/or deceptive thing to do, though- to specify a level of protection in the flyer enticing one to enter a show, and then remove it in the final contract!
So- read your contracts! Even if you know what they're supposed to say!
I did some work with argentium after returning home. The heat-treating for strength went beautifully. I then pickled and pumiced, then put it in a hot liver-of-sulphur solution to patinate it to bring out the detail. Argentium does take a lot longer to patinate than sterling does, but this has an advantage: it moves slowly through all the wonderful, rich, oil-slick colors that a thin film of patination can give you, and it would be a lot easier to catch it at a particular color with the argentium than it would be with sterling or fine. I am definitely impressed with the stuff! I'm now trying to figure out how best to get the finish I'm after- that's a bit tricky. I did remove almost all of the patination, but that was a part of the plan; I just wanted a wee bit of darkening around the etched details.
As far as I could tell, mine was the only jewelry, though there might have been other small pieces that I didn't see. There were some paintings out and around, and some photos- pretty cool ones of both. Mostly they did not use the smiley straight, which was what I'd guessed and why I wanted to do a very straight rendition myself. So I'm pleased about that.
But when they gave me the contract to sign, it specifically said that nobody but me was liable if someone stole the things. Now, in the flyer they sent out, they specifically said that works would be insured against theft, damage, etc. Specifically. So I called them on that, and they did end up removing the "theft" exemption after I pointed out that they'd be very easy to stick in a purse and carry off, and that was exactly how I'd brought them into the show! They did not, however, remove the other clauses, which annoys me somewhat, but the theft one was the one that concerned me the most. So I'm not exactly happy, but I did leave the things with them. I do think that's a pretty careless and/or deceptive thing to do, though- to specify a level of protection in the flyer enticing one to enter a show, and then remove it in the final contract!
So- read your contracts! Even if you know what they're supposed to say!
I did some work with argentium after returning home. The heat-treating for strength went beautifully. I then pickled and pumiced, then put it in a hot liver-of-sulphur solution to patinate it to bring out the detail. Argentium does take a lot longer to patinate than sterling does, but this has an advantage: it moves slowly through all the wonderful, rich, oil-slick colors that a thin film of patination can give you, and it would be a lot easier to catch it at a particular color with the argentium than it would be with sterling or fine. I am definitely impressed with the stuff! I'm now trying to figure out how best to get the finish I'm after- that's a bit tricky. I did remove almost all of the patination, but that was a part of the plan; I just wanted a wee bit of darkening around the etched details.
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Date: 2006-10-01 09:17 pm (UTC)I was not best pleased by the contract thingy, either. I'm sure glad I read it, and called them on it! They didn't really offer an explanation or apology, either, which makes my suspicious mind thing that it was done on purpose, assuming that all artists are idiots business-wise. They sure were casual about adapting it when I called them on it...! So, yeah, sleazy. Or stupid. It may have just been stupid. I suppose...
And thanks for the nice comments about the smileys! They were silly pieces to work on, but fun, and I'm quite happy with them. :)