Word from minnow crypto artist to crypto whales… + cryptoart & cryptofashion
I am a minnow artist
I am not the best follower in any sense possible, I am not a good follower on steemit, I do not keep up with all the content I would like to keep up with, I do not even follow my own poor time management, I did not even follow my best loving parents advices, I do not follow direction that well or instructions, I do not follow client requirements, or market analytics- pretty sure I did not use the best expression on this last one, but you are smart , you get what I mean.
I sabotage opportunities or people’s admiration, to see if the opportunity or admiration came to me for the best reasons, because after the first and maybe second chance someone gives to me and I sabotage, if the person sticks with me I know at that point he/she gets me with all my worst and my best, and when I will do mistakes by accident (naturally), I will not disappoint to the point that the value I have to offer is forgotten.
It is not arrogance, but it is a safety net, because I tend to be over optimistic and see only the good in people or in a situation, and when the reality proves to be different, I fall in the darkest pit of sadness.
To give you an example of my self sabotaging actions.
I self sabotage @kpine’s automatic vote, worth of almost 60$ per post/ in my case per day
He was voting me on and off for awhile, and according to hierarchical minnow/whale etiquette (guessing here) I sent a “thank you” memo trying to explain what I am all about - art and bringing value to the art community on steemit, with the promise I will put the steem (earned from his upvote) to good use and not take it out of the platform anytime soon.
Also inspecting that same etiquette, I realised I should probably sent thank you memos more often(other steemiens were doing that ), but since @kpine had no posts or comments or info, I decided that maybe he doesn't want to be bothered and keep his anonymity so I stopped at the first memo and never mentioned him until now.
At one point he has put me on automatic vote and for a while I enjoyed it a lot, I was capable to put steem in other projects and help other steemians with small donations, but than I started being stressed that he will take me out of automatic vote if I don’t post daily because his curation reward was about 2$ per day from my posts.
Important here to make the connection to the first paragraph I wrote, I cannot feel I work for someone, or be stressed by a time frame, because I stop enjoying what I am doing, and eventually I stop being good at it.
So there were a few options here:
He liked my art and he thought I deserve the support as an artist.
He liked my art and the fact that I was consistently bringing value to the platform.
He liked the daily curation reward from my posts.
So semi intentional and semi coincidental, I stopped posting for 4 days and I lost his upvote, that meaning he was appreciating my consistency(and probably the curation reward) more than my art.
If I receive something for something that I am not good at ( in this case consistency) and instead of receiving for the real value that I have to give, as much as I need it and appreciate it , I know I can not keep up with expectations and at one point I will lose it anyway.
Was I extremely stupid in losing 60$ per day, probably I could have kept it up for longer, to grow my account a bit more, but I haven’t spent more than 8 hours (in one sitting) on a traditional painting in more than 2 months, I have a very important painting I started in january that is still not finished and a sculpture in the same situation …
Why do I need more than 8 hours sittings on artworks? ( my boyfriend asks a lot - telling me I should paint for 2 hours - eat - paint for another 2 hours- exercise- paint again - post on steemit etc )
I cannot , I forget about everything while working (and I love it), I do not need food , not even air while concentrating on a line that has to be perfect, I hold my breath while painting important details. So no I can’t and won’t organize my art creation program to fit my posting daily goal only the other way around.
Now back to the whales …
Please come back to me … not casablanca but @kpine :P
I will send to you 1SBD everyday that I miss posting and keep in mind I am creating value for the platform when I am not posting too, I am on discord contributing to various crypto projects most of the time, and when I am not there either, I am preparing an amazing painting that will probably bring you a better curation reward from my future post.
Also I manage the @ccommons.art account where once every 2 or 3 days I donate to other steemians artists that share art wit Creative Commons a minimum of 3 SBD (depending on the post reward )
This is the first ( and the last) time I ask for upvote or any on steemit , but since I already commited the sin I will extend it to other few whales that have periodically/automatically shared upvotes on my content.- with the same promise - for every day that I do not post I will transfer the equivalent - curation reward- SBD amount to your wallets- if you put me on automatic of course :P
@anonymousdonor
@alexis555
@trevonjb
@redes
There are also other whales/orcas/dolphins and witnesses that come to my blog but this post was for those who are not interested in my content or in engagement but appreciate that I am bringing value to the platform constantly and I elucidated now that doesn’t mean that I post daily although apart from the 4 days I almost do :D
From 15th to 20th I will be missing again, going in a city break in Nissa and probably will come back with a post about Matisse museum that I am going to visit :D
inspired by @rubenalexander & @yusaymon
ohh very beautiful art i like follow now interesting blogs and posting
thank you :)
Wow! I read every tiny details and i am really touched by it. So many lessons to learn from this; consistency is key. I sincerely hope @kpine come back. You have been an amazing person and i know everyone should appreciate your works, your kind of person, and the impact you are making. I really want you to get the desired attention you deserve. I wish i am that strong and rich to give you a massive show of support via my upvotes. I am only a whale on the inside, and it will soon manifest in reality. I love good contents and i know it when i see one. You are definitely in that bracket. Don't worry, he will come back. I know he is a good person too. I call on you all, even @johalfiles too.
To cheer you up, look what i found:
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@adiathelen/hello-steemians-i-am-home
thank you dear , she is my kind of girl , very talented and kind followed and hope to become friends
I am really excited to hear that and i am sure she would learn a great deal from you as well. Thanks, beautiful.
This is a wonderful expression of humility. Acknowledging one's deficiency in not a sign of weakness
oo I have to many and big weakness, I have this theory that I use as my excuse, where there is a bright quality there is some contrasting darkness or flaw.
people that are kind and optimist are naive
people that are careful and strategic are not open and creative
and on and on - every quality hes its opposite(duality) - and I know I have mine
Hi @alexandravart.
I've combined my art with my writing in most of blog posts since the beginning. These things happen. Support comes in waves sometimes. People will be there for you, then they might move on, and they could come back. I try to have a post up everyday. I've rarely missed a day in three months. It still happens to me even though I've been on the platform for a very long time and try to do everything right, whatever that means.
Try not to take it personally, though I know from experience that it can feel quite devastating. Behind every vote is a human. They might just be on vacation, or maybe charging vote power. Maybe their bot is malfunctioning. Things like that.
Money isn't everything. As an artist, views are important. We need people to look at our work and once they do that, more votes come and when we lose a vote or two, at least we don't feel so lonely.
When I get discouraged because of whatever reason, people always tell me to just carry on and keep doing my thing. They tell me to give it time, so I do, and they're right because usually things get better after awhile. I guess it's my turn to pass that message along to someone else.
I am not discouraged, or care that much about money, and I care more about the connection between me and the people that digest my art :) and I want to be appreciated for the best reasons, none of the things I do are for money , but with his vote I was able to help others too and to make progress on some supporting artists projects, from witch I never take out money, in a way I would be glad if the automatic vote was an investment choice, because that I can solve wit sending curation amount when I am not able to post, but if he has chosen to support someone that needs it more I am happy too.
thank you for coming to my blog , and usually I avoid writing so much, and it is mainly artworks and a bit of explanations about the inspiration behind, and about this artworks I will post again with the inspiration and more details because the files are huge and there are so many hidden details :)
The money does have it's place. I won't deny it. It is one of the reasons I'm here but I did sacrifice a lot. I haven't spent a dime of anything I've earned here. I too see it as an investment and when people support me that turns into support for others. We're on the same page. Eventually though, I will attempt to start a new life with what I've earned here but I won't do that until it's safe to do so.
I think you may have noticed already... I don't really write about my art. I'll talk about it more in the comment section when people ask or comment on it. I just show the art and try to combine that with humor because that's another art form I enjoy. Sometimes I just talk about my day. Our followers aren't necessarily following our art, they're following the artist too. If people write about trees and only trees, chances are, nobody wants to follow a tree. If they personalize their experiences with trees, people will become more interested. That's my philosophy anyway. What works for me won't work for everyone though.
the money part , you have no idea how much we have in common on that , did not take any out myself and I had emotional boundaries towards money all my life because people confuse it with value and steemit is my first attempt in putting my art out there, until now just did art for my mental health and here because reward is combined with interaction and because for the first time I was able to use my art to help others too, the platform is so fitting for me and my principals.
I tend to speak a lot about inspiration because for me that is a journey from myself to my subject and the context that frames both me and the subject , so I hope people get parts of me from my art and explanations :)
about the humor- my boyfriend says it has holes in it, and I only do sarcasm well :P and comes across mean sometimes.
so I tend to be more serious , deep and emotional, but I do appreciate good humor like yours :))
puns and play on words is the best
This is also my first real try. I kept most of it to myself. My kids didn't even know I could be an artist because I had put it down for so many years. About 2013 I picked it up again, I told everyone, "Yup, I'm going to do something with this art someday." They all thought I was crazy, of course. :)
It seems to be working out. I don't feel like I got lucky. I feel like I worked pretty damn hard and got results.
As for my humor, well, fair warning, I do have a habit of getting carried away sometimes. People seem to enjoy it though. I know it's not always for everyone, but we can't impress everyone all of the time anyway, so it doesn't really matter. I just like to have fun.
I never stopped doing art just avoided all markets and visibility, and I cannot do anything else write just being creative, so was pretty much the starving artist - although my parents supported me and I never starved.
and I still do not cover all my expenses with art, but still determined not to take money out of crypto for a while
What a touching and inspiring post, I could relate to it from the very first word. I understand very well how you feel about "sabotaging" yourself and how you need time to paint, as it is the same for me. Painting is not something you do with a set schedule. Once you get into your flow, everything else becomes non existent, even time!
It is always a compliment, when someone upvotes your post. Of course for an artist, well, for most people probably, it adds an extra layer of feeling just a little more safe from not being able to make enough to pay your bills, when the upvote is somewhat bigger. I often ask myself, what the best way to deal with this, might be... Like I said, I am grateful for any appreciation. Whenever someone leaves a decent comment, I always go to their blog, find something interesting and comment and upvote too. I try to keep up with upvotes as well.
Now, most of the holders of the big accounts I went to, to do this, don't post anything. So send a memo? I was raised to always thank people, but like you say... it seems a bit odd. And when there is only one way communication, how do you know in which way your effort was being received? Particularly as an artist, one sometimes struggles to keep ones dignity and one certainly doesn't want to appear as a brownnoser.
I don't know how it is with you, but I am very critical of my own work and often self doubt. Having someones generous support, because they believe in you and value what you create can be a major stabilizing factor. I wish for you, that you get the support you so well deserve because of genuine interest and real appreciation. You have it from me, although the number isn't really significant. In the meantime, maybe you could go here to at least get some whaleshares.
don't ever worry about the nr added to my value account, you are a personal hero :) I think the first artist I noticed on steemit (and felt too small to engage much) , about self doubt and self critique I might be the worst :)) I did a big number on myself for years, partly from self doubt and in a way trying to protect my art form turning into a job, I did not make any of it public :) and even now I have many works I do not show.
my ward to the wales (the ones that do not post and do not engage) was exactly about that, if they are interested in the curation reward and not the art( my very personal art) I can act all businessy and propose a deal, but my art and the time I have for it is completely out of this equation :)
You are too kind, and please don't you ever worry about feeling to small to engage. We all started out on the same level :-)
Understand completely what you say about your art being somewhat sacred and that you don't want it to be part of some plain business. For me its one of the secrets to becoming a better artist.. to be able to keep that separate and still be able to make a living.
Although I know, some people buy my art for the value, I don't want them to look at it merely as an investment. Any decent artist wishes their art to be appreciated just for the art it is. Truly love it and feel a deeper connection. One reason, why it has become difficult to work with galleries today. To most of them, sadly its all a product...
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(@ghulammujtaba)
I hope @kpine comes back with his huge upvotes :)
thank you slothicorn :) and thank you @ghulammujtaba :)
maybe you're overthinking it. I think it's healthier to not spend too much time wondering why people unfollow, vote, don't vote, or any of it. Just do your best! Sometimes votes change because whales want to spread out the support and encourage as many new users as possible :) who knows! you are awesome! keep up the good work, and don't worry too much about the details <3