The Value of Value

One of the hardest things about being an artist — beyond the actual making of the art — is deciding how to value the work we make. For many of us — and I’m putting myself squarely in the middle on this — the art I make is very personal, even though visually it may not seem like it. And, if I’m being honest, it’s not just the art, but the design, the podcasts, the books, basically anything that I’m applying any sort of purposeful effort into is personal. And isn’t that the way it should be? I know this might be a corny reference but saying that just now reminded me of a movie with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan called you’ve got mail. Meg plays Kathleen, the owner of this little book shop in New York and Tom plays Joe, the owner of a big box book chain that ends up forcing Kathleen to close her shop, which coincidentally belonged to her mother. Anyway, at one point in the movie Joe apologizes to Kathleen for driving her out of business, saying that it was nothing personal. Kathleen, says something like “What is that supposed to mean? All that means is that it wasn't personal to you. But it was personal to me. And what's so wrong with being personal, anyway? Whatever else anything is, it oughta begin by being personal.” And that’s pretty much how I feel about the things that I make. The things I make are personal, they’re not just products. And all of this is part of a recent conversation with Jon Wilkening that began with a deceptively simple question.

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You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @jefferysaddoris. Or you can email me at [email protected]. You can find Jon on Twitter and Instagram @jonwilkening or on his website at jonwilkening.com.

Music in this episode:
Reconciled by Sean Williams
Faster featuring Helios Armor by Skygaze

All of the music featured in this episode is licensed from Artlist, which is a terrific music licensing platform for YouTubers and filmmakers. Use the following link to get two additional months of Artlist free when you sign up: https://bit.ly/JS_Artlist

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