Sunday, October 31, 2010

A Curious Trend...Just Wondering

Wondering
Handcolored photo with watercolor pencils
Illustration from book-
Butterfly Kisses and Wishes on Wings:
When someone you love has cancer...
a hopeful, helpful book for kids
AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVAL DIGITAL PRINT
www.butterflykissesbook.com
©2010McVicker&Hersh,LLC






Has someone stuck that sign on MY back? I have noticed a curious trend in my career...

Someone wants to use a piece in a brochure, another wants to include my work in a slideshow in Asia, a third wants me to do a presentation and workshops at an elementary school in her town, and another contacted me today... would I be interested in presenting to art teachers locally for an inservice day this week. The common denominator is that there is no financial
compensation available. Did I file for 501C inadvertently?

In the end I have agreed to them. (and say I need to be paid for one that involves travel) I want to get my work out there and support my community. I have also noticed that in the case of our book, Butterfly Kisses and Wishes on Wings: when someone you love has cancer... a hopeful, helpful book for kids. when we give without expectations it comes back to us in spades.

Point me in the direction of the magical place where good karma and good business intersect!

8 comments:

Margret said...

Hello Nancy,
Yes, it is nice to see the work of the other Blog Triage members. Your poetry and art combinations are very thought provoking.
I look forward to more as the class goes on.
Margret

Pam Mingle said...

Hi Nancy,
I'm sorry about your predicament. Writers, that is, mid-list writers, have that same problem, always being asked to donate books, make appearances, etc. w/out compensation.

I'm in the Blog Triage class, too. You did a good job expressing yourself in this post.

Unknown said...

Hi Nancy--I love your statement, "Did I file for 501C inadvertently? Not that I am aware of...." I agree that you expressed yourself well here.

Alyson B. Stanfield said...

Nanci: GREAT photo and I love the humor here. Be careful about doing too much for free. People come to expect it and you'll have to go to another town in order to charge for something. I see it so often. Take care of you first. You can't help others if you're not taking care of yourself.

Susan Tantlinger said...

Hi Nancy, I liked this post too and that is funny about the 501C, which I assume is bankrupcy.

The whole question of free or not is a biggy. Some things I did in the past for not much helped me so much I should have paid THEM. Then again, I've had bad experiences with donating to auctions. Better, in my experience to sell the art and give the money; a safer way to donate the desired amount. As in everything we have to find a balance.

Good discussion! What do others think?

Nanci Hersh said...

Thanks fellow Blog Triage students... Susan, you are so right about some things really helping us! As it turns out one of the things I did free last week was a professional development workshop for my local school district. It was so much fun and so interesting. I got to meet the art teachers in the district and learned about some great paper to print on and another cool transfer method that is much safer than any of the chemical methods I knew of. You never know right?

Kathryn said...

Hi Nanci,
I'm back in the Triage class again after spinning my wheels for a time. Your site looks great...much different from the way I remember it!
The picture for this post is terrific! I think that only YOU can decide whether or not to give your product (your art, yourself, your time, etc)away or give back to the universe.

Nanci Hersh said...

Thank you Karyn.

I agree - it really comes down to the heart. Coming from the heart and gut and yes, even pocketbook decide on each individual basis. Things seem to come in waves.