Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Why I Disapprove Of Art Competitions For Commercial Use

If you are a business, and you want a piece of art work for some commercial purpose, it is tempting to stage a competition. It looks like a good way to get to choose the best of a wide range of offerings, while paying peanuts.

What it is in reality is a cynical exploitation of emerging artists' desire for publication.

You're asking a whole lot of people to do a whole lot of unpaid work in the hope that you might reward them with a handful of beans and the publication of their work somewhere.

How about you actually put in a bit of work yourself, do some research, find artists whose work resonates with you, and actually commission them to do the job? There are a multitude of sites on the internet that are ideal for seeing a huge range of talents to choose from. It would be more honest, and less exploitative, to source your commercial artwork that way.

You might retort: Well, what about the EXPOSURE? 

To which I reply with a hollow laugh.

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Needle File Handles

 

Just idling around on this hot Sunday afternoon, I made handles for some of my needle files. They're small files, only about 150mm (6") long, and in truth they don't really need handles. However, now they've got them.

The two outside ones are sapele, the middle one is walnut. The ferrules are cut down from a piece of 10mm brass pipe.