Searching for Caramitten

[xipoid.livejournal.com]

Has anyone out there heard from Caramitten?


She and I started doing business back on July 3rd, 2006. Since that date we have had continuous contact for roughly two months and after that period contact dropped down to an inquiry once every six months until the point we are at today.


I commissioned her for a set of concept images ranging from about $50-90 each (nothing serious). To give a general idea, they were five inked sketches and two watercolor pieces, all of a single character no background work.


The last thing I heard from her was that she had finished moving and was attempting to resume her work, and that message was nearly nine months ago which is quite aberrant. She also seems to have simply vanished off the face of the Earth. I am rather concerned for her welfare.

Comments

[lyosha.livejournal.com]

She'll reply if you e-mail her, I'm sure. She's fine.

[thornwolf.livejournal.com]

I can vouch for this. Awhile ago I had a similar situation, but email worked just fine and dandy and I became a satisfied customer!

[nambroth.livejournal.com]

Oh good!! I have no art-business with her, but I had emailed her a few times just to see if she was doing okay since I never see her post. I'm really glad she's all right. :}

[xipoid.livejournal.com]

I have emailed her , and strangely, as with Space Mutt, the last message from her was in January. It leads me to believe she is just busy beyond belief.

[lyosha.livejournal.com]

I've had contact with her since then, and she is busy, but she's also not in a great place in terms of art. I'm sure if you e-mail her again and express your concerns, you'll hear from her in good time.

[xipoid.livejournal.com]

I'll be sure to try and contact her again. Unfortunate that this would happen to her.

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

I miss Carabear. Can you send me her email, Ly?

[lyosha.livejournal.com]

Her e-mail is the same as always! She still checks it periodically. :)

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

Woot :D

*loves*

[space-mutt.livejournal.com]

I commissioned her in May of 2006, had a similar experience to yours, and have not heard from her since January of this year. She's a very sweet lady, and I love her art, but at this point I'd gotten so frusterated and pretty much given up on the idea of ever getting it. It's a shame really, I'm not sure what's happend, but I do hope she's alright.

Of course, if possible, I'd like my artwork at some point. If she makes things right in the long run, I'm willing to forgive.

[bloodhoundomega.livejournal.com]

Well, roughly the same here. :/ She disappeared from the net in 2006 and showed up briefly twice only to bounce off again. Life didn't seem to have treated her well in that time, it seems.

[makuus.livejournal.com]

Join the club. I had one commission and one purchased piece of art that never made it my way, despite attempts to contact. Had pretty much written it off...

[alleycat.livejournal.com]

I commissioned her a year or so ago, and she finished it promptly. Part of the terms was that the original would be mailed to me. I waited months without ever seeing it, so I e-mailed her, and received no response. I waited again for quite a while. A couple of months ago I tried again, but didn't get a response then either.

I'm very grateful she finished the commission, and I understand completely if she hasn't been able to mail it, but eehhh I just wish I could have gotten a response? D:

[xianjaguar.livejournal.com]

I never understood the whole "I didn't mail it" mentality. Mailing the commission is the easiest part about the whole process. I understand art block, and I understand not being able to complete a commission or even start on it, due to life's sucky problems...but mailing it once it's completed? That's such an straight-forward task.

Any able-bodied working adult living in the USA can easily do it...they probably drive within 10 miles of a post office every day in the process of driving to and from work. I live out in the boondocks, and I STILL pass within 10 miles of a Post Office on my way to work each day.

[alleycat.livejournal.com]

Honestly I tend to agree with you... When I've done commissions, mailing it was the easiest part for me.

The thing is, in my e-mails, I was just asking if it *had* been mailed.. because upon completion of the image, she e-mailed me requesting my address, and I gave it. But for months I never heard anything about it.. so I contacted her asking if it had been mailed, not because I need it NOW NOW NOW but because I just wanted to be sure it wasn't lost in the mail. 8( But yeah.. neither e-mail got a response, so I really don't know if it was mailed or not.

[xianjaguar.livejournal.com]

That stinks that you never got a response. Maybe she switched addies or something, and didn't delete the old addy, but just let it go dormant. Seems there are a lot of folks here saying they never got a response from her. Hopefully she'll see this thread and update you and the others. Good luck!

[nambroth.livejournal.com]

Ironically, mailing pieces is the hardest/most loathsome part of commissions for me-- but only for international pieces. Domestic I can ship via online mailing labels-- it is seriously easy via usps.com to print out a pre-paid label and stick it in my personal mailbox, though a bit of a pain because you can only ship Priority (which is a bit pricey these days). Getting to the post office for international shipments is a bear for me though. I do live in the boonies and have no car. ;} I have to wait till I can bum a ride with a parental unit (both of whom work during all hours the post office is open) so it sometimes takes a week or two.

[kuwaizair.livejournal.com]

yay. same here kind of.
shoving commision work into a mail box is not kind.

[xianjaguar.livejournal.com]

I can always see exceptions. The combination of both living in the boonies with no public transportation AND not having a car is pretty rare, but it's definitely an exception. Even then, there's always email to keep your clients updated, which I'm sure you do. :)
And 'a week or two' is very very reasonable! In fact, given your situation, that's downright speedy. :)

[nambroth.livejournal.com]

I do! And it's only international shipments that are delayed. Domestic ones I can do from home. :}

[pac.livejournal.com]

you've pretty much described me to a t :)

when i lived in sf, getting to the post office was a breeze. i could walk there or take any amount of public transportation. there was a drop box two blocks away from my apartment. i made an effort to mail it out the day after its completion. mailing stuff off truly was the easiest part of my job.

now that i live on the out skirts of san antonio, no car/license, and not even a usps drop box for miles, i depend on rides to the ups store, which can be few and far between depending on my fella's sleep schedule/work schedule. it might be days before i can coordinate a ride to the store during open hours.

keeping people informed of delays is key, and i too think a week or two is reasonable for mailing. i just hope not everyone assumes that delays in mailing mean that the artist is being lazy.

[lyosha.livejournal.com]

Hah, man, not for me. It's very nice that you have different views and motivations, but for me, getting to the post office is something I just don't have the time or energy for-- my job takes me completely away from the city, and the post office is in the opposite direction. It's hard to want to drive past my house on the way home when I'm exhausted and have had a long day-- it is definitely NOT convenient. I know others are like that.

So if you don't understand it, at least accept that it happens and it isn't worth preaching about. Everyone, as I said, has different issues.

[martes.livejournal.com]

I do a lot of sales through the mail, both of my own stuff and EBay stuff, so I am minutely familiar with the post office's foibles. If someone has a very difficult time getting to the post office, and KNOWS they have trouble getting to the post office, then it might not be a good idea to do sales through the mail.

I commissioned Cara many years ago and had no problems. However, I know at least one person she owes a lot of pre-paid art to that had not been delivered and there's been no communication or progress reports on it. And from what else I see here, there's a number of other people in the same situation. Really a pity. I hope she can get her act together and take care of her business obligations.

[lyosha.livejournal.com]

I hope so, too.

[alleycat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can understand that. I know what may be easy for one person can be difficult for another. 8( Doing the commission is always a stress for me, so once it's done, I'm eager to mail it, haha.

Either way, though I don't know her, Cara seems like a very kind person. Commissioning her was a pleasant experience, and I don't regret it in the least. It would be nice to know if it's been mailed or not, but I have no hard feelings. Seems like she may be going through a hard time, and if that's the case, I truly wish her the best.

[trianine.livejournal.com]

I know life has not been good for her in recent years, but it's sad to see her name here. I am confident that she will get back to you.

[dustmeat.livejournal.com]

What happened to her? is it medical?

[trianine.livejournal.com]

Initially, there were health concerns. It seems that she's simply in a life and work slump. Mind you, she and I are more friendly acquaintances than anything. Unless she's got some unusual filters set up, you and I are on the same page when it comes to her livejournal updates.

She has acknowledged a few times this year that she needs to get art out to people. A friendly poke might give her some motivation.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

She painted an MtG card for us, but we never received it in the mail.
This was years ago, so.. :/

[thisbloodybone.livejournal.com]

I don't mean this to be in any way rude, but... wouldn't it just be easier for her to post something explaining what's going on as opposed to just hiding and carrying on while everyone is worry about her and their commissions? I understand it's hard when you're busy and life sucks, so I know it's a pain to come on and make a post when you have a lot of other things to worry about. Still, when she seems to have so many commissioners and people she owes art to, and especially people worrying about her welfare, it seems that she could perhaps find a few minutes to sit down, log onto dA, and just post a quick journal going "Hey, I'm okay. Life just sucks for me right now and I'm sorry for those who I owe art to." I mean, in still doesn't resolve a lot of the situations here, but it's better than disappearing off the face of the earth.

Again, personally I'd like to see her do it simply to quell everyone's fears. It can be scary when someone is gone for such a long period of time, and though I'm sure few of the people expressing concern know her personally, it's still upsetting to see someone so talented drop off the radar completely.

[badkittyamy.livejournal.com]

agreed I won't claim to know what's going on but even when i've been at my worst i have managed to find a computer somewhere with internet and post that i would be gone for awhile. If i had been paid for services... i would have certainly said something