Creating For a Cause

by MaryAnn Carroll

Note:  If you have arrived at this post from the Free Charles Erickson FB page, please scroll down to the third pair of earrings to learn how to receive a pair of blue enameled disc earrings along with a special thank-you magnet from Charlie's Mom, Marianne.

Original post: I think most of us, at some time or another, want to help with non profit organizations or causes that we have a personal connection to. For me, and from what I have personally experienced in the past four years, it is supporting the wrongfully convicted. There are long stories I could tell as to why, but I won't launch into them, other than to say that my family was a part of a wrongful conviction that could have ended up much worse. Fortunately (I say that lightly), our story did end with an option that was the best it could be. Others have not been so fortunate and spend many years locked up behind bars for crimes that they did not commit. I know it is hard to many of us to believe, but it happens so much more than you know. And if you haven't known anyone who has experienced anything like this with their family, now you have. Me.

Prior to that experience I knew quite a bit about our justice system, since I was interested in the topic. What I didn't know is how naive I was to what REALLY happens. It is not anything like you see, even if, like me, you are obsessed with real trials or shows like 48 hours and such. If you were like me and glued to the TV with the OJ Simpson trial on court TV and all of the other famous trials, what you didn't see is what goes on that is not in the courtroom. (For the record, I also think there are cases where the defendant gets away with the crime they were charged with).

What has helped to make a difference and bring recognition to this issue is online social media. What a great way to bring people who have similar experiences together. A story that I followed long before Facebook was the wrongful conviction of Ryan Ferguson and Charles Erickson. If you would like to read about those, you could simply Google either of their names and a litany of information with be at your fingertips. 

Court costs are surmountable. Again, something most do not realize. Ryan Ferguson with the help of his family, is free. Charles Erickson is not. His family is also trying to help free him. There is no way that I can give to all causes that I would like to, so for the time being, my focus has been on this case.

This is where my creativity comes into play. I don't always have extra funds to offer, but I do have some talents that allow me to help out. In this case, I started out by making earrings that represented a circle of support for Charles. I offered them for a donation. I was able to raise money with those. The problem is they were tough on my hands, so to make them in large quantities was getting to be a little too much.

 

I decided that I needed to make this a little easier on my aging hands, so I came up with this style in their place.

And after making many ear wires by hand (I always feel like everything I do has to be completely handmade), I have simplified the task once more and purchased simple pre-made ear wires. This way I can produce more and will also to able to mail groups out to Charles' Mom, Marianne Erickson. She can then offer them as a thank-you for local donations to the defense fund.

As you can see, they are made the same (hand-punched and domed discs with enamel), but I am being more efficient and saving a few joints!! lol!!

If you would like to help the Charles Erickson Defense Fund, (a minimum of $20) and receive a pair of blue earrings that are a little closer in color to the first picture, just head over to FREE CHARLES ERICKSON on Facebook or his website. Click the PayPal button to donate. Marianne Erickson, Charlie's Mom, will notify me to ship. Thank-you.

 http://freecharleserickson.org

Here are a few things that my friends at Love My Art Jewelry do to help by making jewelry.

Karen McGovern

KAREN:

I donate a huge portion of my sales to the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation and hold an annual show called Wild Things to raise funds as well. Over 20 artists participate and donate to RSCF 25% of sales generated through the show.

Rare Species Conservatory Foundation

Carol Dekle-Foss

CAROL:

I take a training in April to work with human trafficked girls. My goal is to be able to have jewelry classes with them. If not, then I am planning on designing a few pieces with a portion of it going the the cause. 

Courage World Wide

Barbara Bechtel

BARBARA:

I've started donating $4 the proceeds from my Be The Change Penny Charms to a chosen charity bimonthly. For December/January, it is Karen's foundation....but for February/March I will be choosing a new one.

Be the Change

Our other friends at LMAJ also have organizations that are near and dear to them. You can find those on the side of our blog.

What creative ways do you contribute. Feel free to share.

Thanks for reading and supporting those who create handmade with handmade.

MaryAnn

True to your Art, True to your Business or Both?

MaryAnn Carroll

What is the most important to you as an artist? I think most of us would say that it is that we remain true to ourselves, grow from our experiences and perfect our techniques. I agree.

On the other hand, there is an art of selling. With show times coming up for many or if you sell online, I think you need to ask yourself if there is a balance in what you do?  This has been an ongoing discussion with my husband Bill Perrine and me. He has been a ceramic artist for many, many years, but started to create wood-fired pottery in 2008. At the time, he was not going to "bend" from being the artist that he was. I respected that, but as time went on, I started to give my female perspective on his work. Although beautiful, much of what he created had a masculine feel to it. Don't get me wrong.... I love most of it!

Although, I love what he does and he is incredibly talented, we have had many discussions about who the buyers are.  I travel with him to shows and have my little section set up for jewelry. I have paid lots of attention to how people shop when they walk into your both.

I can assure you (I think I will actually tally it this year) that the majority of your buyers are women. Once again we found ourselves having the same discussion and he came up with a way to stay true to himself while thinking about his buying "audience".

Those are a few examples of what will be going into the wood-fire kiln in a couple of weeks. The beads that will be going in still remain in one big ball of clay sitting on the kitchen table......

So, this is my take on his sales. I know you are dying to know...... "what's my take on my sales?" Well, it is basically the same thing. I have learned that some of my best work often sits because of the price tag. I also learned that I have to learn the art of creating for my audience. I am in a small gallery in Cortland, NY called Cinch Art Space. It is a great little shop filled with art from over 40 vendors.

Being in Cinch has been a learning experience for me. I had to know the community (near SUNY Cortland) and think about who the other buyers are. With that said, I began designing a range of jewelry from simple to complex. When I create simple it allows me to keep the price down. On the flip side of that, I tend to get bored easily, so I have to balance simple and more complex.

There you have it. I would love to know what strategies work for you.

On a completely different note, we have a few other things going on. Staci is offering a fabulous pendant giveaway. You can click HERE to read her post and leave your comment. Please remember to comment on the blog so that you will be counted when drawing a name.

Karen's non-profit organization Rare Species Conservatory Foundation is currently going through some difficult times. If you have a passion for preserving wildlife and our environment, please go to her website to read about their very important mission. You can also get to it by clicking the link on our sidebar. Funding is always needed to keep organizations like hers going.

Lastly, for those of you that might know me through online friendships or "in real life", you probably know that I am a big advocate for political injustice, particularly for those who are in prisons all over the United States for crimes that they did not commit. My passion evolved from one of the worst experiences that changed my life forever. The case involves a loved one and since it is not completely closed (despite the fact that it is now in year 4), I am not going to go into any details, other to say that it was very close to ending up like so many others who did not end up as "fortunate" as we did with wrongful convictions. I know we do not like to believe that the corruption can sometimes be on the side of the "good guys", but it can be and it has been.  I am offering a sale/donation to help Charles Erickson. You might have heard about the case since it has been all over the media. If you would like to learn more about how you can make a purchase while donating at the same time, you can click HERE. There is also a link on our sidebar.

Today, I do not only want to thank-you for supporting artists who create handmade with handmade, but also thank-you for supporting causes that are there to right the wrong.

MaryAnn