An Ignominious End

After the better part of a decade it is a difficult decision to bring the coffee table art book "Creation and the Garden of Eden" to a close.

There is no delicate way to say it ... so: The crowdfunding campaign failed.

Each contract stipulated that if the funds had not been secured by October 17th, 2016, that the contract would  then be terminated ... this is the case.

It is my deepest pleasure to come to know so many artists during the last few years - and to have a great number of  artists believe enough in this project to sign contracts. I hope that the friendships formed will continue into the future. 

In the event of failure it is natural to question (or even lay blame) for a project not working. I have often stated that my own lack of credentials was a  problem which perhaps hindered the prospects of the art book. I had to rely on the fame and influence of artists because I am nobody - this is, I believe, a factor in the art book's demise. Despite all this, the book may have well succeeded, were it not for the failure of the crowdfunding campaigns:
A larger problem, though, was the crowdfunding website chosen. 
After the unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign using Rockethub, the search was made to find a better company, and FundAnything.com appeared to be, for all intents and purposes, a great website to raise the funds for the art book - but I ran two campaigns which were disastrous. The first campaign ran for 3 months - but only the first two weeks worked properly, as beyond that contributors found that they could not donate by any method.
The second campaign also started well, with some good advertisements, but just as it seemed that the campaign was gaining some great momentum, FundAnything.com went into a suspended maintenance mode. In my communication with this company I was told to remain patient and that it would return to normal in a short time ... it never did, and still remains 'under maintenance'.

And, so, the art book ends in a distressing way. Events outside of our control is the fault of no one, yet the way it ended leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It feels like the Art Book was robbed of any meaningful opportunity to succeed and thrive, and in the process you and I were robbed, as well as the rest of the world.

It is an ignominious end, but an end none-the-less.

In regards to sales, all donation monies will be returned to the donators.

I wish you all the best for the future.
 
Warm wishes,
 
Tony