Exploding Transparency - The True Cost of a Stick Vega!

I've been asked a few times what  it costs to create an original Stick Vega.  Easy answer. I am completely transparent with my process and my expenditures.  I invite people to be involved in the process. I love sharing everything.  I mean, when you blow things up for a living there is not much to hide.

So, here is a quick rundown:

For this example, I will use my painting B(l)oom Three which is 48 by 48 inches.  I blew it up this year with gunpowder, fuse and acrylic paint, framed on hard board. 

Materials: 

 Board  $6.39

Gunpowder $7.99

Hazardous Material Fee $9.25

Fuse (20 feet) $5.49

Stencils (15) $7.50

Blasting Rocks  (FREE) 

Paint $10.39

Finishing $6.37

Frame $97.00

Total Material Cost:  $150.38

Vega Labor: 

Concept/Sketching: 3 hours

Painting: 2 hours

Setting gunpowder and fuse: 1 hour

Explosion: 15 seconds

Finishing: 2 hours

Framing: 1 hour

Vega labor $100/hour

9  hours and 15 seconds total.  $900.

Included in my hourly rates are most of my fixed and variable overhead costs of doing business including: website cost, accounting, marketing, studio rent, internet, phone, mailings etc.  

And, with this amount I hope to cover all the explosions gone bad! 

Total Cost $1053.33. 

So I priced this pieced at $1200. 

The difference is for beer! 

I hope you find the result priceless.  Boom! 

Stick Vega is the American Gunpowder Artist.  He creates and blogs from The Blast Factory in Madison, WI and Bucktown, Chicago, IL.  Follow Stick at Facebook and/or Twitter.    

Bloom Three (2013)