Corinabeads and challenges

Hehehehehehehehehehe Corina can't spell. It makes me giggle to see someone with such masterful talent do something so human as mess up the word that says it all--Lampwork. (Lamwork?)

Sooz

Crap. I want them both. BAD.

~~ Sooz

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 12:38:39 -0400, Dr. Sooz wrote (in message ):

I agree, and I am usually arguing to raise the prices that the beadmakers get. That was a nice strand of lampwork, and Corina is probably among the most well known lampworkers, but really. I've seen nicer stuff made by our own RCB-ers, and I strongly suspect that this is one set of beads that will not retain its value.

The number of people on Earth who know what lampwork is, appreciate it as an art form, know who Corina is, and want to spend $1,000+ on lampwork is vanishingly small. I'd venture to say that the number is either one or two, and those people are the ones who bid that up in the first place. Once the winning bidder has the goods, if she ever wants to sell them, she'd have to get those same conditions to get her money back, and since she isn't going to bid against herself to run up the price, it won't rise anywhere near as high.

If those beads are taken apart as a set and used in various pieces of jewelry, there is still very little chance of the person making her money back (much less a profit). After all, are there a bunch of Corina bead fanatics out there who want a piece of jewelry with just one bead and are willing to pay for it? If so, are they all so computer impaired that they couldn't bid on eBay themselves and get a whole strand?

Another consideration is that beads aren't signed - they could be "Kathleena Beads" just as easily as "Corina Beads." Once this auction is over and forgotten, unless the person contacts Corina herself (and Corina remembers that particular set of beads - which I think she will), there's no way to authenicate the set - much less an individual bead.

Corina herself was shocked and bemused when she wrote about the auction on her own web page. I suspect that she thinks the ending price was insane as well, but certainly won't say so.

Kathy N-V

Kathy, did you notice that Corina was looking around, trying to find more beads to send along with the auctioned beads? I think that you're right about her take on it--she knows that ending price was over the top, and wants to provide more bead for the buck:)

I meant the beads I purchase from others too not just the ones I make.

I think the reason she did that is because that's how most people get cool color reacitons, and she wanted something different - she wanted people to play with the properties of the regular glass, which isn't done as often. There-in lies the challenge!

There are three pages - the links are at the bottom to go from page to page. That fooled me too for a couple of days! :)

Hahahahahahahahhaaha!!!!!!

I have to say that I agree with this. While $1000 is really unusual, it's an insult to call the high bidder of this auction insane. I am sure that person has a very good reason for wanthing those beads that badly, and remember that he/she was not the only one. There has to have been another bidder helping the price get that high. Like I said - maybe that person won the lottery and had her heart set on those beads at any cost. Maybe the person behind her put $100 as a high bid "knowing" no one else would "bid that high". You never know. Why are we judging this person? Can't we just be happy for them and for Corina? It's all a matter of perspective.

Oh, okay. I'll go relook now.

No -- catapulting past recovery -- sticker shock from crystal prices. ~~ Sooz

Aw gee, I thought it was insane. But then I do think artists should get higher prices for their work. So, okay....I take it back.

~~ Sooz

Oh, I know! But I don't make beads, so I felt odd saying OMTP for your entire statement. ~~ Sooz

She's pretty damn human, all right! :) That's a fine quality, I like people who walk around with their humanity showing. I would have been thinking the same thing, if it had been my auction... "Holy crap, they're only BEADS!"

-Kalera

It's the difference, in a real-market kind of way, between art and craft. They may be one and the same to the maker, but the collector will pay that kind of money for something they perceive as collectible art. I think it's a wonderful step forward for lampwork as an art... we're already there as a craft, but we have yet to be truly accepted as a fine art. (I'm not saying that we're all artists, but there are some lampworkers who are, and should be (and aren't) accepted as fine artists).

-Kalera

I disagree.

Once lampwork *is* accepted as a fine art, and scholars are trained in recognizing the nuances that make up the indelible signature of a bead artist, authenticating them will be, relatively speaking, a piece of cake. No two lampworkers work exactly the same, and while some patterns can be carefully replicated, the existence of detailed photos of these pieces will assist in confirming the artist of origin.

Will these retain their value? It's possible. I don't think they could be resold tomorrow for that much (they might go for $1024 to the next-highest bidder though) but in 30 years, they may well still be worth $50+ per bead, or more.

I'd be shocked if I was in Corina's shoes, too. Who wouldn't? You'd have to be an egomaniac to see that one coming. From another perspective, it's not that astounding; at least two people perceived those beads as art from a well-known artist, and bid accordingly.

-Kalera

Exactly!

I think it's wonderful, and I hope the great fortune spills over onto other lampwork artists!

-Su