Balzer Designs

Free Content: Good or Bad?

I read a really interesting article last night called, "Ethical Dilemmas of Providing Free Content."  It's all about whether or not crafters and artists should provide free patterns, free downloads, free instructions, etc.  The ethical dilemma is based around whether doing all that work for free actually gains you paying customers (so you can pay your rent, your health care, buy food, etc.) or not.

Obviously, I'm a fan of free.  I give you this blog 5-days-a-week for free.  But, the article did get me thinking (click through and read it).

My thoughts:

• Providing free content is (as the graphic above indicates) meant to be a hook to grab paying customers.
• Does giving stuff away for free create a culture in which people don't want to pay and feel that they shouldn't have to?
• Are certain people never going to pay no matter what you do?  They only want free content?
• Does karma come into play at all? 
• But then again, doctors don't give their services away for free.  Why should artists?
• How often do I personally purchase items from artists I follow on instagram/their blog/youtube/etc.?
• Are sites like Patreon good for artists or bad for artists?

I'm curious about your thoughts on the topic.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Paris was Unforgettable

I'm back home and will begin deluging you with museum and city photos next week.  But, before I do that...

Paris was pretty darn unforgettable!

Steve told me that he had booked a photoshoot at the Eiffel Tower so that we would have some great photos of the two of us from the trip -- more than selfies. 

I wasn't sure what to expect, but the photographer had lots of props and silly suggestions and we had a great time goofing around -- and even popped a balloon by accident.

At one point, Steve "hurt his knee" and so he stepped to the side and kneeled down.  Well, I sort of knew what was happening at that point!  It was a very romantic proposal.

One of the things that made it even more special, is that Steve made the ring!  I feel like he really gets me.  

We met when we were both mid-divorce. There was therefore plenty of philosophical marriage conversation from the beginning. I mentioned that I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get married again and I certainly didn’t want a diamond. Steve is a pretty traditional guy, but one of the things I love about him is that he heard all of that as “challenge accepted.” And so he proposed with a ring he made himself. Steve is not particularly crafty, so I was genuinely shocked. He has spent the last few months taking — what I thought was a welding class — but turned out to be a metalsmithing class — in order to make this ring. He chose a star sapphire because my favorite color is blue. Sadly the ring doesn’t quite fit because he based it on a ring he “borrowed” from my nightstand that unbeknownst to him is too large for me.

C’est la vie. He said he’ll fix it so that I don't have to wear it on my index finger.

There you have it!  That's the whole story.  I'll be back with art journaling tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!

Two Weeks at the Crow Barn: My Presentation

Last weekend at The Crow Barn (the weekend between the two weeks of class), we each had to do a short presentation of our work for Nancy Crow and our fellow classmates.  You were given the option of bringing your actual quilts with you, or you could do a digital presentation.  I opted for digital and I thought that I would share the slides from my presentation with you.

But first: I broke the rules.

I don't have a huge back catalog of quilts.  So, I decided to put together a presentation that showed my artwork on paper next to my works in fabric.  The works were not inspired by each other -- at least not consciously.  Rather, I paired them in order to provide context for my fellow classmates -- who have never seen my artwork.

Above: The fabric collage (right):

• reminds me of the inspiration wall (bottom left) in my studio.
• contains a monoprint (the black and white image) -- There are monoprints on my inspiration wall.
• contains a thread "sketch" (the girl with the bubbles around her) which reminds me of my sketchbook (top left).
• contains several "lacy" prints which remind me of the paper snowflakes and lace image on my inspiration wall.

Above: This one is pretty obvious: I like faces and words.

Above: This pairing is more about color. I tend to like strong color contrast.  I often choose a major color theme (green) and then add pops of contrasting color (pink, purple, red, brown).

Above: In some ways this Modern Quilt (left) is not at all my style.  But when I hold it up to some of my work on paper (right) I can see that I do sometimes work in plain color fields and geometrics.

What do you think? Can you answer my question: What is the intersection of my work on paper and my work on fabric?

I'll be sharing more from The Crown Barn next week -- you can look forward to week two day-by-day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Phantasmagoria Exhibit at the MFA: Boston

Today would have been my Father's 74th birthday.  It, therefore, seems an extremely appropriate date to tell you about his exhibit -- currently showing -- at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  It's called Phantasmagoria and features just a few items from his massive collection.

My Dad was an avid collector of magic lanterns and optical toys.  Magic lanterns are early projection devices.  In this photo of me and my Dad you can see that he's holding a magic lantern:

In essentials, you would place a light (usually a candle) inside the box part (that's why it has a door) and then you would slide a painted glass slide into the slot near the lens (the round metal cylinder), and an image would appear on the wall or a screen.  People often refer to magic lanterns as "pre-cinema" devices because it makes it easy to understand what they do.

Three side notes:

• There's a very nice article, from the New Yorker, by magician Ricky Jay about my Dad and his collecting habit.
• You can see some of my Father's collection on his website: dickbalzer.com
• I included some video from the opening of the exhibit, including a nice speech by my Brother, in my vlog.

Finally, Matthew (my Brother) made a film for the exhibit, which you can watch below:

from Matthew Balzer on Vimeo.

[As a side note, Matthew is currently filming his first feature length film and you can follow the adventure on TheCatch.film instagram.]

If you're anywhere near Boston, I hope you'll stop in and see the exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts.  

Thanks for letting me share!

Richard J. Balzer Life Map

I am deeply sad to report that my father, Dick Balzer...

...passed away on Sunday, December 3, 2017 -- surrounded by his family.

As you can imagine the past week has been difficult. 

I'd like to imagine that I could just snap back into my daily routine, but that seems a sisyphean task.  

I made a life map -- a kind of collection of icons that represent portions of his life -- for the memorial service and I wanted to share it with you:

Little doodles like this are a super fun way to capture elements of someone's personality.  It's an art project with lots of possibilities.  Off the top of my head:

• Create a romance map for a wedding invitation -- describing the couples courtship.
• Create a life map as a gift for a friend or family member.
• Make a life map for yourself in your art journal.
• Create an end-of-year recap in doodles and use it instead of a traditional holiday letter or card!

You don't have to be a great artist.  A few splashes of paint and some simple lines can have enormous impact.

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I'm hoping to get back to some regular blogging in the next week or two.  Life is a little uneven at the moment.  I'll do my best.  :)