Mary Michael Shelley
Folk Art Americana Painted Wood Carvings
Specializing in one of a kind and original artwork.
Commissions:
A commissioned piece is one that is special ordered on a certain theme. If you’re thinking of buying a carving and you don’t know whether to buy a piece ready-made or commissioned, here are some ideas for helping you make up your mind.
Advantages of buying a ready-made carving:
- Resale value may possibly be higher at some point in the future, because you have bought a piece on a theme that the artist has become known for.
- What you see is what you get – especially in regard to colors. Even though with a commission you can request certain colors, you can never exactly predict how the finished piece will look.
- The piece is immediately available for that special occasion whereas with a commission you may have to wait two to six months.
- The piece may be cheaper for its size since I sell ready-made carvings at the price scale I was charging at the time I did them, instead of at current price scale.
Advantages of buying a commission:
- With a commission you get something that reflects your specific interests, something sentimentally important to you or to someone you care about.
- It’s exciting to order something and then wait to see the results – i.e. more of a surprise and suspense factor.
- In regard to colors, you can say you’d like something on a blue theme, or a red theme, etc. However, be prepared to give me some free rein. When you give me the room to play with design and colors, the final look of the carving may benefit.
Information on How to Commission a Piece:
If you seriously think of commissioning a piece, the first step is for you to give me a $150.00 sketch fee. This fee puts you on the list of people definitely wanting a carving, and buys you a sketched idea.
Before I do the sketch, I like to know what price range we are talking about for the final commissioned piece. This helps me to know how many details I can put into the sketch. Once you pay the sketch fee, you are not committed to buying anything other than the sketch. If you decide to go ahead with a commission, this $150.00 fee will be subtracted from the final finished cost of the piece. If much research of photos or a number of sketches are needed, then the sketch fee may run more than $150.00.
After the sketch, if you decide to proceed, I send you a mini contract stating financial details, projected date of completion, shipping address, etc. I don’t start to work on the piece until the contract and sketch have been signed and dated. You pay one third to one half in advance against the finished cost of the piece. Balance due is paid upon my completion of work and before pickup or shipping.
Feel free to ask me any questions. I can give you names of other people who have commissioned pieces so you can ask how well the process worked for them.
Return to pictures of Already Sold Commissioned work.
See Portfolio, Work for Sale.