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Friday, May 18, 2012

Fiji Island Mermaid Press

So I've been thinking recently about the urge to create something, and the urge to share this creation with an audience, and the relationship between these two urges, especially as the ego is involved. If you read my blog regularly, you'll know where this angst is coming from.

And I came accross this "Free For All" at Fiji Island Mermaid Press. Here eight artists offer mini-books that you can print out and fold up and have for your very own for free. This morning I printed out and assembled How To Draw Jean-Paul Sartre With Genuine Human Dignity by Marc Snyder. And it's delightful. And it's generous, to offer these pieces for free. And they are whimsical.

(I found this press by being amazed by artist Marc Snyder's work at the current issue of Brevity Magazine. If you like his work, check out his illustrations accompanying each piece at Brevity. )

So that's what I'm thinking about, the crossroads of generosity and devaluation that can unfairly come as a result of generosity. How to make sure your work is taken seriously while getting an audience for your work. And things along those lines. And I have no useful conclusions thus far.

2 comments:

Marc Snyder said...

Those are really good questions - what can you give away without treating it like it has no value? I wonder about that too. But you just paid me a bunch for giving that little book away - thanks for your kind words!
-Marc

Jessica Goodfellow said...

Thanks, Marc, for visiting my blog, but even moreso for your great work at Brevity. It's a real balancing act, isn't it, sharing your art through your own generosity and desire to share, without suggesting that it has no value in the marketplace, let alone the value you assign it. Sigh.