Hello !
Thanks a lot for being part of this experiment ! It’s all very improvised and spontaneous, so bare with me while I juggle with emails, google forms, temporary google maps and tweets 🙂
A PROOF OF CONCEPT
I had about 30 responses from Axidraw owners in about 15 countries, and I find it amazing that internet allows us to find a team of creatives all around the world so quickly, the potential for a network blows my mind ! So the purpose of this experiment is a “proof of concept” to understand the feasibility and constraints of such network, and I will share the results with you all and with the public. As much as I would love to, it’s unlikely that I will build a full platform / website right away (time is the main issue) but I will document the whole process and share our experience, issues encountered, advice and best practices. I received suggestions for a custom CMS site with a “credits” system for artwork exchanges, I see a lot of potential.
I hope we can draft something together that could inspire and lead to a larger, community driven project !
YOUR FEEDBACK
So I did run a poll to get feedback from Axidraw owners around the world.
The average price you suggested to buy a “finished drawing” is 150 USD / EURO (1 USD = 1euro at the moment), and the average fee you suggested to plot an drawing is 25 USD / EUROS. Thanks for all your other suggestions as well !
ARTWORK COST / & PRODUCER FEE for the experiment.
In order to make this first test likely to succeed, here’s what I suggest:
The drawing will cost 120 euros for the buyer.
The producer (you) will receive a production fee of 30 euros (25 fee + 5 for materials), to produce the drawing (25% of the final price).
The drawing takes about 40 minutes to plot.
Your production fee will be paid via paypal once picked up by the buyer.
If you’d like to make the artwork for yourself, you can already purchase to svg file and instructions for 90 euros (120 minus 30 of production fees).
https://joanielemercier.bigcartel.com/product/crater-s-view
Note: If you’re not interested in getting a drawing yourself, but you want to make drawings for others in exchange of a fee, please let me know, and I will keep you posted if there’s any request in your area.
In all cases we’ll liaise to discuss your progress, and see how this goes !
CRATER’S EYE
The first piece I want to release has to be simple enough to avoid a lot of issues, and we know there can be so many 🙂
I’ve chosen a simple piece, made at the Roden crater in Arizona and inspired by James Turrell’s work, I’ll share more insights asap !
It’s made with 1991 dots of different sizes, so it’s already challenging for the plotter to make sure all shapes are consistent and filled entirely. The contrast is also key, and the white ink must have high coverage on the black paper. You can see below a picture of the second pass that fills larger dots.
I’m currently running a series of extensive tests to make sure the instructions are solid and leave no room for problems. I want an easy process for fast, clean, glitch-free drawing on your side.
finetuning vector file 
the 2nd pass fills the larger dots
Material / Hardware
I can already share a list of the equipment required for this piece.
Pen
I’ve tested 20+ white ink pens, and this is the one you need for this drawing:
Uniball Signo Broad, Gel ink roller ball, White, 1.0mm ball, 0.65mm line (made by Mitsubishi pencil Co).
Reference: UM-153 WHITE.
Note: I couldn’t find any alternative with the same result/quality, but this model is available in most pen shops in the world. Please try to avoid Amazon and support your local shop / community.
Warning: the thinner model UM-120AC won’t work, it looks alike but has less contrast and ink output.
Paper
Black A3 paper (29.7 x 42cm), 240g/m2 (145 lb) or more. I use Canson which is easy to find in France, in your local paper shop prefer the darker tone of black.
Large Enveloppe: to protect the drawing for easy pickup, any large (A3 or larger) enveloppe will do.
Cost: under 5 euros (pen: 2 euros, paper: 2 euros, enveloppe: <1 euro)
Axidraw:
The piece of paper is A3, but the drawing area is 19x19cm, so a Axidraw A4 is suitable with a bit of extra calibration, I’m working on it.
Uniball Signo Broad, UM-153
Authenticity and Copies
To make a distributed production of artworks viable, in a network of producers, it’s important to try avoiding unlimited copies of the work to be made.
Preventing copies is impossible and will rely on trust, but it’s an interesting challenge, here’s an idea:
I will create a unique ID / code for each drawing bought.
The code will be plotted on the drawing, and associated with the name and city of the buyer. The buyer will then be able to check the ID on a page of my website, and find his/her name, city and cost of purchase. There’s a potential here for the artist to control track works and second market sales, which is an ongoing issue with auction houses and speculators.
https://joanielemercier.com/auth Test key: W23E
I know I could look at Blockchain technologies, but the energy consumption / footprint, costs makes it unpractical at this stage, maybe later !
Conservation
If your drawing gets damaged, you will be able to recreate it / get it produced again, you’ll need a proof of damage (photo) and the ID/code associated to your name. We just solved one of the greatest challenges of “Art conservation”, thanks technology. 🙂
2 WEEKS EXPERIMENT
The number of drawing available won’t be limited, but the drawings will be available for a limited amount of time (I’m thinking 2 weeks, too keep things simple for production).
PICKUP / Delivery (if you make drawing for others).
The original motivation of this project is to reduce the impact of production and distribution, and avoid international shipping, or any shipping at all.
So the idea is to arrange a visit from the buyer, to pickup an enveloppe on your doorstep. This should be quick, simple and not take too much of your time, so I’d suggest to make a basic doodle.
Another option would be to leave the drawings in individual enveloppes at the reception desk of a place you can trust (your company, an artshop, a cafe run by friends, parents or relatives likely to be at home often ?)
All suggestions are welcome.
CORONA INSTRUCTIONS: with the current global situation, we have to minimize the risks linked to the Covid-19. I will share basic, yet strict instructions for pickup at your doorstep:
ie:
– The buyer must wear a mask for pickup.
– Once a pickup date is scheduled, Buyer will text you 10 minutes prior arrival, and then text again when at doorstep.
– The enveloppe will be handed to the buyer, which must remain at safe distance (2+m).
Buyer and Axidraw owner can also share specific instructions, requests and suggestions.
LOCATIONS
Here’s a temporary map of Axidraw owners who already expressed interest over this project !