Q: I experiment with materials that artists hardly ever use, combine them in unusual ways, and feature them in my art. Sometimes I have trouble explaining what I'm doing to dealers and collectors. I think I might be scaring them off. What's the best way to market this art? Should I focus on what it's made of as opposed to the art itself?

A: How much emphasis you place on materials depends on what part they play in your art. If the impact of the work relies substantially on unusual materials, you might want to focus more on those materials and how you use them to create the desired effects. If, however, standard artist materials could have been used to achieve similar results, you might want to mention the materials in passing and focus more on the quality of the art. In any event, don't focus on materials to such an extent that you portray your work more as novelty than art.

One important detail you may be overlooking is how your unusual materials might impact the permanence of your finished pieces. I remember going to an art opening once where the artist took a substance, soft to the touch, and applied and textured it onto large stretched canvases in a thick impasto. Like you, he created and experimented with this medium entirely on his own.

I had several problems with the art, though. For one thing, it could not be cleaned or dusted without changing the shape and texture of the surface. For another, it was unclear if or how long the medium would take to dry and, over time, whether it would shrink or crack. Whether the substance would gradually "drip" off the canvas due to the sheer force of gravity was also a concern. The artist had no answers to any of these questions and with asking prices of up to $9500, collectors would be taking big risks by buying the art.

Before using any unique or experimental materials in your art, know in advance what you're getting yourself into. You may understand how they behave in the present, but you also need to know about the future. If you haven't yet done so, speak with experts who have knowledge about their long term properties. These people may be chemists, physicists, doctors, professors, engineers, and so on. Explain what you're using, how it's being used, and get their opinions.

If you find out about problems relating to longevity, deterioration, chemical changes, color shifts, or any other long-term effects and you still want to create the art, then go ahead and do it. Sometimes those changes can actually be incorporated into the art with positive outcomes and cause it to look better or more engaging over time as opposed to worse. Just know what you're dealing with to the extent that you'll be able to address any concerns that dealers or collectors raise.

Most importantly, be up front about what you know. Tell anyone who's interested in buying or handling your work about what the experts believe will happen to it over time. Volunteer the information; don't wait for them to ask. Unless collectors purposely choose to do so, no one wants to buy something which they expect to last a lifetime and have it fall apart or change substantially over a decade or two.