Art, Art Supplies... and Inflation

Still getting the creative juices up and flowing again... today, I found myself in town because I needed to buy a few supplies for Alchemy Stone finishing, and I had the first-hand experience of how the economic situation and inflation is touching all aspects of our lives.

You see, I had run out of the clear spray lacquer finish coat I use to protect the final designs after I paint the stones.

A rather grim surprise awaited me, at the hardware store: The clear lacquer I have used for years and years — which cost me $6.99 the last time I bought some (in mid-2021) — had almost doubled in price to $12.99!

Which brought to mind a similar feeling a few weeks back when I was going to order some of my favorite paints... and discovered that they had also risen about 50% in a year.

I suppose what I find eye-opening — and slightly disgusting — about the whole thing is that these increases are a far cry from the "official" inflation rate which we are told on the news is in the range of 8-10%!

As an artist, I have lived through previous difficult economic times... and they were definitely not like this. Of course, the term I sometimes hear thrown about is "greedflation," which is the practice of companies increasing their prices by far more than the actual inflation rates as a means of boosting their bottom lines... in part gambling on the idea that consumers are too stupid to notice the huge discrepancies.

Not this consumer, thank you very much!

The thing that makes me rather sad about this whole thing is that there is really no way I can increase the prices of my work and still hope to keep selling things.

The funny thing about art is that most people — particularly those who "follow" particular artists — expect to be able to buy that person's work for "about the same amount" forever and ever!

It's not much fun to be caught in the squeeze between rising costs and stagnant income... and to be reminded (when we point out the rising costs of art supplies) that we really should be doing art purely for the joy of creating!

Thanks for stopping by and reading; Do leave me a comment if you feel so inspired — interaction and engagement are always welcome!

If you enjoy painted rocks, do check out The Hive Rocks Project and help spread the word about Hive, while also being creative!

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2022.12.02 AS-TXT-131/099