This is my third atttempt to post an entry and I am typing fast so I can get it up.Three times now, twice while on my blog page, Yahoo has just disappeared!!! I've lost quite a bit of work.   I am at the point with my website that I have gotten to in a lot of endeavors I have had.  Should I spend more money, or just shut it down.   Promotion is the key I know.  I am fishing in a giant ocean of websites and blogs, and music and myspaces, and I have seen my hits drop to nothing.   I refuse to put more work up on Ebay.  I can't afford to keep selling things  for half retail.  Ironically, I saw an old Rockhard pilsner go for over $40.00 last year.   The winner of that auction could have bought two from me at that price.   It seems I got into Ebay a little too  late.   It appears that,  like other selling venues,  sales have dropped to new lows.   In addition to the slump in buyers, Ebay have set up an unfair playing field for sellers with their one sided buyer feedback system.   Anyway I quit trying to sell new things there.  I have heard from several artists who continued to do art fairs  after we quit in 2003.  Their reports are not good.   The ones I was talking to have quit the show circuit too.    The last couple of years they couldn't  break even.    I wish there was a survey of that sort out there.   The big shows are sending me emails soliciting to jury for their events.  More than once I have seen deadline extensions for the big shows.   This tells me the organizers are hurting too.   The Minnesota Crafts Council  died quietly last year.   

      At the same time I see a handcrafted movement developing on the internet,  The Etsy website is at the forefront of promoting handmade American items.    I have yet to see if I fit into any of the new markets for the handmade.    From what I can tell  some artists are doing very well in this format.  

     Well I seldom if ever type about the down side of making a living this way, that's because I can't afford to dwell on it much in real life either.  I made  my choices years ago to make my living working on my craft.    I don't feel like adding more degrees to my BA is going to help at this point,  unless I train for something else.    I feel a little foolish at this time in my life that I had to be so stubborn as to try to earn my living on what I created.    I am past the years of energy now to work in studio and at another job(s) too.   But I keep dreaming, and I live in thankful gratitude for the life I am living.  When you are an artist you can always dream , and I am busy dreaning up my next marketing tactic, or the next  sculpture I want to make. 

Well I'm off for now, later then...