Arch

Great point! The value of an object is indeed not just the amount a person
will pay for it, but, also it is inclusive of any intrinsic significance
that may add perceived value.

For example, when I have a sale, I price my works based upon 2 or 3 factors.
First, I look at the item. Is it an object of beauty? An almost beautiful
object? Or is it ugly? If it is high on the beauty scale, the value goes
up. Beauty is a combination of form, the wood's figure and the other types
of markings - spalting, bullet holes, staining, etc.

The second significant value driver is the story behind the tree. If the
tree stood along main street in Your Town, USA and was planted by one of the
founding fathers, or if it was the tree that stood on an estate or if it was
felled in a particularly violent way, then the value goes up - the story is
important. If there is no story, then there is nothing that sets this
object apart! If I have a tree that has no story, then I have nothing to
assist in hiking the price other than the beauty of the object. So I try to
find wood that has significance.

The other things that can increase the value of the item - the rarity of the
wood - IE: American Elm - this species is going extinct and there are few
trees available that are large enough to produce a large item. Another is
the placement of the piece in the tree - "that piece was made from the
branch that fell through the courthouse window."

So, I say, the value is what you make it - you produce the item on your
lathe, but the tree that stood on that particular spot for the last 120
years is what you made it from - there has to be a story behind that tree!

Find the story (even if that story says "this artist has 3 pieces of his
work in such and such museum") and you will definitely find buyers - no
matter the price!

That's my two cents!

Ray









"Arch" wrote in message
...
Recent threads here and on other forums about deciding the worth of our
turnings seem to raise more questions than answers. For me, interesting
enough to send me to my armchair to doze and wonder. If you permit, here
is some personal thoughts, no doubt plagiarized and long forgotten.

The worth of a turning can have two meanings; price and value. Price can
be determined by formula. It's variables a time, equipment, shop,
materials, learning, experience and all the costs of selling. A fair and
reasonable price can be established for a worthy _product made by a good
_workman.

Value is determined by what the buyer gets out and will pay for, not by
what the turner puts in. A turning's quality has nothing to do with how
expensive or novel it is or how hard it is to make.

I'm getting dangerously close to that worn out and forbidden subject of
'Art vs Craft'. Further, these musings may have been better put in Fine
Arts 101 or your local newspaper's arts column. Sorry if I've crossed
the line. Nothing is more tiresome than someone who believes he has had
an original thought and feels compelled to bray about it. Anyway, I'd
enjoy reading yours, whether you agree or not. Arch

Fortiter,