Wednesday, April 14, 2010

For the Birds

Hope I, II, and III ©St. Hilaire Nelson
"Hope is a thing with feathers" – Emily Dickinson

A triptych of three robins at various stages of nests. I submitted them separately to the Birds Nest Invitational at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center north of Atlanta. They chose one of them for the show, the nest. Afterward I was thinking... do you submit a triptych as ONE piece? or do you submit it as three? Do you sell the pieces individually if a patron is only interested in one of them? or do you insist they stay together and list it as a triptych with one price?

The nest, if it sells at the Q, will break up the happy family. Now I'm faced with a dilemma of hoping that it does not sell, so that it can be reunited with the rest of the series.

Does anyone have any advice?

10 comments:

  1. First, this is fantastic! Makes me smile, especially that middle fellow with so much material in his mouth (cutting down on his travel time back and forth). I would show it as a tritych = all three pieces. It is really one piece of art that is a triptych. I'm not sure I'd break up the "family" but you could always do that and make another someday...but each one could stand alone. Okay, that doesn't help you at all but I know you show it like it's one piece (although it's three). How you sell it, is up to you and what you choose. We have a chickadee making a nest (after weeks of cleaning out the space and making the hole bigger) in a little decorative birdhouse under our eaves by the kitchen window. This morning, he and she consummated the deal, and now he or she (can't tell) are bringing in nesting materials!! Can't wait to see the antics of the family.

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  2. they make me smile too, especially the one with the mouth full of nest materials! I thought he'd be a shoe in for the show, "nests" but I guess they wanted more straight forward. I think that in the future I'd put them together as one, I could even connect them on the back and send them physically as one. Hard to do another to fit in, I did all the background paint and splatter at the same time so I'd have the same mixed colors. Wow, you are lucky to have been able to see the start of your bird family, you should have video taped it! could have sold it to Nat Geo!

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  3. I just saw a Robin like yours with mouth full this morning in my backyard. Wish I could figure out where he is building!

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  4. Both these 3 and the birches are wonderful! I think they are best together.

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  5. Sharon, my guess would be that your little friend is getting ready to build a spring nest!

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  6. Love these! Pity they didn't take all three, they look great together. (LOL! The word verfication is eggola!)

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  7. Caroline, thanks. how funny is THAT verification word? ha ha ha

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  8. Hi again, where can I purchase the nest only as I have the other two wrapped canvases as previously mentioned in my other message...I'd love to have all three? They give me such a chuckle...on my bedroom..see them first thing in the morning and last thing at night..

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    1. The nest only was never picked up by Pier 1 Imports so you would need to order it directly from me. it will be significantly more expensive because it's not mass produced like the others. email me: ejnelson@mac.com and we can talk. :)

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