I try not to make plans. Because, even the best laid plans etc. etc...
— Brent Spiner
TL;DR ➡ ➡ Link to "HIVE Reactor Core : CCC"
This is a lesson about learning to let go and not become invested in the outcomes.
One of the very first ideas I had for a series on NFT Showroom was a high concept/riddle series I created called "HIVE Reactor Corps Ltd".
Each Collector would receive a personalized Membership Card with their HIVE Username and Avatar.
It took me weeks to work out the idea, concept, and begin to build the graphics, videos, and first soundtrack.
For some reason, I decided to start with "Reactor CCC" and developed a pulsating, infinitely looping video and soundtrack.
(Please click here to view the MP4 and custom soundtrack as the following GIF may not animate and has no audio. 😊)
I was so excited to mint this "conceptual riddle" as I had not seen anything like it on NFT Showroom...or any of the NFT Platforms.
I don't consider all the Punks and Apes and Cards/Games to be conceptual. They're collectibles. And I've never been into collectible or collecting things just for the sake of collecting. And I’m not a gamer and really don't get the idea of the Card Games that are popular on the NFT Platforms. But I like puzzles and riddles and concepts and things that make you think.
I don't know if it was the artwork, the concept, my failure at marketing, etc... Whatever it was, the "Reactor CCC" was met with pretty much no response at all...
So after a few days I had the idea to "gift" editions to those in the HIVE Community who had been supportive and helped me to that point. A couple of the recipients followed up with very nice messages, which was great and very much appreciated. One even replied that they would like the Personalized Membership Card!
A couple weeks later it just happened to be HIVE's 1st birthday. I took the opportunity to slice the price by 50% and announced that 30% of sales would go to purchase artwork from other Artists on NFT Showroom.
But... I ended up adding HIVE to my wallet and spending over 200% of the 3 resulting sales on Artwork from the NFT Showroom community.
After weeks of work, around an idea and concept that I really liked, it felt like the air was just sucked out of the room. There was no interest in the remaining 3 editions of "Reactor CCC" as more Punks, Apes, Devil Women, Astronauts, and Bald Mannequins seemed to be flooding the Platforms.
I was very surprised to find I had no energy or interest left to pursue the weeks of work it would take to generate the videos and audio soundtracks for the remaining 9 Reactors.
So... This has been a great exercise in letting go of the outcomes and being able to notice where the energy is, and isn't, and not continue to push a project that is no longer enjoyable.
Generally when I get to the point where a physical painting isn't working, no matter what I do, I have no problem just applying a fresh coat of gesso over the entire canvas/panel and starting again (much to the horror of my other Artist friends.)
Now I'm learning a similar approach in the NFT space. Even though I've been creating digital work for almost 12 years, there was never a market for it and so everything was created simply for the joy of creation and experimenting. Once it was no longer interesting, I just moved on to the next project.
The exercise now, even though there now IS a market for digital work, is to maintain that same distance from the result and concentrate on the joy of creation and experimentation and not become invested in the outcome.
Cheers,
-limn
Previous Post: "Masked" from my "PixelPush Jae" Collection
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NFT Showroom | Hic et Nunc | Paras.id | OpenSea
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