Barter Economy

Written By Lettie Jane Rennekamp

I'm no economist, but I love a good trade.

Intuitive Drawing is a weekly newsletter about creative work, household labor, and being human. Sometimes I know what I’m doing, but mostly I’m still trying to figure this out. As always, take what you need and leave the rest.

Greetings friends,

I’m still a little high from Ulna’s Winter Social. Thanks so much for bringing your cookies, cupcakes, and salmon dip; thank you for chatting, drawing, and buying artwork. It was good to see you.

The wall of art I put up for our opening. All of these\ pieces I made while teaching. (From left to right) blind-contour self-portraits, negative-space ink exercises, figure drawing and paintings, a collaborative watercolor, abstract play, LINE TIME exercises, ink work, and a few collages.

We called this last weekend’s party a Winter Social instead of a Holiday Sale or a Winter Pop-Up because we wanted to emphasize community gathering as much as create an opportunity to showcase and sell our instructors’ artwork. It felt good to offer my work for sale and make a little income, and also to connect with the community that calls Ulna home.

Personally, I feel so pulled by consumerism this time of year that I vacillate between wild spending sprees and embittered abstinence. It’s a privilege to go on a spending spree, but it’s probably more fueled by the ability to put things on a credit card than what’s really in my bank account. Next thing I know I’ve bought LEGO erasers on Amazon, and do the kids really need them? No, they will be thrilled for a moment and then move on. I’ve found myself once again prioritizing opening many presents over what’s actually inside the presents.

Up & Down, 2025

This urgent feeling that I must buy things comes from outside of me, not inside, and it’s taken me a long time to pause and examine if I really want to respond to it.

I know that a part of me is participating in the annual consumer rush, letting you know that you can buy my 2026 calendar now. But a part of me has really mellowed, knowing that I can’t keep up, and not sure that I want to. I want to support the incredible artists I know and love, my distributor Buy Olympia (who sells my tarot decks and prints), Radius, and Outlet (who have helped me hawk my wares in the past). I’m not selling at any markets besides our own, and I’m attending a few.

I let myself buy art and handmade objects from other artists because I have some hippy-belief that if I buy things from these folks, other people will buy things from me. I tell myself it’s just reciprocal energy, science right? Paying for art validates my need to be paid for art. I also have an impulse to buy art, because it isn’t infinite. Some folks stop making art, change their style or medium, or simply get more popular and are now out of my price range. I want to get these one-of-a-kind pieces while I can!

A recent sunny day in Portland, where you can see some of the art in my home by (left to right) Melissa Monroe, quilt by Amelia Pillow, witch & dog painting by Greg Campanile, drawing by Orianna Lewton-Leopold, painting by Ellen Blazich. Bunny pillow by Lily Seika Jones.

This brings me to my favorite way to acquire art: I love to trade. Trading for art with another artist can feel really intimidating. It’s hard to gauge if another artist wants your work, and then you have navigate the price points. If you’ve recently had your work priced, at a gallery show, or a pop-up like we just had, it’s a little easier to gauge the equivalents. Maybe their work is a high price, but they’ll take two of my pieces? Maybe my work is higher, but I’ll let it go for that thing I absolutely love. Often I’ve fond the best way to bring it up is very casually, almost like an afterthought, if you ever want to trade…. It’s like trying to catch a vibe, are they into me like that? Let them come to you and then see if the magic happens.

The Thorn, original artwork from my 2026 calendar, $200, unframed, in my shop.

I want to say this really loud, and for all of you in the back (or skimming this newsletter) I LOVE BARTERING. I love a barter economy. I love pricing something and then saying I’d also be interested in trading. I have traded my artwork, teaching, murals, tarot readings, and design work for all sort of services and goods. Here are a few examples:

I love trading for food, something I quite literally need and cannot do without:

  • CSA shares (vegetables!!!)

  • sausages

  • pizza

  • a bread CSA

Artwork, obvs:

  • paintings for paintings, but also….

  • paintings for teaching

  • paintings for a mural

  • ceramics for a mural

  • furniture for teaching

  • mugs for tarot decks

  • prints for calendars

  • calendars for calendars

  • flowers for classes

Self Care:

  • massages for art, paintings, tattoos

  • tarot readings for tarot readings

  • an I Ching reading for a tarot reading

  • life coaching for artwork

  • astrology readings for teaching

Stuff I don’t want to do, but needs to get done:

  • cleaning the studio

  • data entry

  • Ulna’s web design

  • home organizing

  • bike maintenance

You might be reading this and thinking of one time or another I traded my artwork to you. You might be reading this newsletter and thinking does Lettie Jane ever get paid for her work? Yes, I do accept cash for services and goods, but would be interested in trading for rent or bills if you know anyone at Pacific Power who wants a logo redesign.

Maybe you read this list and thought of things you’d like to trade me for a calendar or a class. Maybe this gave you the idea to trade another small business for jam or kombucha. I am a huge fan of these alternative economies.

Some flowers I got from friends a few months ago.

What I love the most about trading isn’t that I don’t pay taxes on my income, it’s that I feel closer to the person I traded with. I’ve communicated or interacted with my trade partner in a way that (hopefully) benefits us both, and I feel a sort of generosity and gratitude to them. It’s more challenging to feel miserly when I am eating someone’s bread, and I’m still getting joy from that painting I traded for a mural every day.

You might be writing your dear ones a letter instead of a gift, or buying LEGO erasers. You could be purchasing my calendar, or reading this letter while binge watching Seinfeld. You might be struggling, you might be disconnecting— wherever you are, I hope this gives you one moment to reflect on what you have to trade. There is something you do that is worth something to someone else, maybe it’s your poetry or your ability to code a spreadsheet. Maybe it’s your dulcimer playing or your dog walking. Maybe you never offer it up to anyone to trade, but maybe you do.

Until next week, much love, Lettie Jane

If you are feeling abundant or inclined to give back, these are the organizations I have donated to recently, regularly, or in the past:

  • After the Winter Social, we donated 10% of our proceeds ($90 in my case) to PDX Saints, a low overhead organization that provides a holiday meal and weekly meals to the houseless Portland community. Plus first aid, pet support, and haircuts.

  • I donated $25 to SCRAP, a creative reuse organization where I’ve found loads of great art supplies in the past. My friend Sarah is matching donations right now: SCRAP.

  • I’m donating an entree at Lilac Meadows - emergency shelter for families experiencing homelessness in SE Portland.

  • My friend Sanae is running a food drive for Sunshine Division to distribute, maybe you could do the same?

  • Last year at this time I donated to a specific individual through Loving Black Single Mothers. I am moved by the way that organization engages with redistribution and abundance.

  • I make a $25 monthly donation to NAYA (Native American Family & Youth Association). They are well established and have a wide variety of resources for local Native Youth, from preschool to college.

  • I love Wikipedia, and do not begrudge the $3.50 a month I send them.

Feel free to share your favorite way to give back in the comments.

Events:

LINE TIME LIVE is SOLD OUT! Email linetimepodcast@gmail.com to add your name to the wait list and/or to be notified about future live events.

Classes, etc.

Ways to Bring Lettie Jane’s Work Into Your Home

Tidbits

Bun Update

I love him and he tolerates me.


Lettie Jane Rennekamp
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Small Steps Create Big Shifts