Posted by parhad (158.252.216.137) on October 01, 2001 at 18:09:38:
She stands about five feet high without the base. She stands outside by the Spa area at Auberge du Soleil...that's an internationally known Inn and Restaurant in the Napa Valley. The Spa overlooks the valley with several vineyards and world famous wineries in view.
The day I drove her there I was met by the grounds manager (It costs from $600.00 a night to $2,500), the owner of the main Art gallery in St. Helena who curates the collection at the Inn, the pieces of which are all for sale...and five guys who took over and did everything, whereas at our conventions I break my back and get told to "get out" in five minutes by Jackie's stooge.
They said it wouldn't last long...I thought they meant it would get stolen...they meant it would sell soon. The economy has taken a dive, but things will be back cause America HAS to spend in order to BE America. This piece sells for $45,000.00...of which I'd get $27,000.00. There are nine in the edition and while I wont sell all of them in one year or five, I will eventually sell all of them and what remains will be a nice legacy for my children.
In the coming year, even if I get all the money to finish the Hammurabi...I'll be broke when it's done...doesn't bring me any money to keep. In that same year I could make the three other nude figures I have in mind, each as lovely, each selling for at least as much, and nine in each edition.
That's four sculptures, nine in each edition for a total of thirty-six sculptures at around $25,000.00 each...free and clear...no more work for me other than making the original sculptures...the foundries taking over from then on and producing the pieces and shipping them out themselves.
36 sculptures at say only $25,000.00 (the price would go up as the edition sold out) makes for a total of $900,000.00...that's right, almost a million bucks. And that's just for one year's work. Sure I wont sell them all in my lifetime...so what, I have children to provide for...and what's a free lancer got to leave behind except whatever he can?
If I do this for just a couple or three years, I boost my earnings potential considerably. Now why on earth would I want to fight and fight, and get yelled at, threatened with physical harm, arrested, escorted off the premises, told to shut up, asked to sign fraudulent contracts, be accused of wanting only MONEY, making MONEY off my Heritage...etc and etc??? Why??
Do you think I can't go broke some other way? Do you actually think the $150,000.00 for the Hammurabi or the $200,000.00 for the Shumirum went into MY pocket???
Think again.