Artist embraces NFTs as 'digital world blends with physical world'

TAMPA, Fla. - Local artist Sarah Schedler has been selling physical forms of her work since 2006. Earlier this year, she expanded her sales into the digital world of NFTs, or non-fungible tokens.  

"I was very apprehensive at first. I was like, why does someone want a digital copy of something?" Schedler said. 

Chris Krimitsos is the organizer of the Florida Bitcoin and Blockchain Summit in Tampa. At their most basic, he describes NFTs as "digital assets that cannot be duplicated."  

Buyers then own the digital work, in a similar sense to owning an original piece of art. 

"We're living in a world where the next generation doesn’t see a delineation of value between digital and physical. To them, it is one in the same," Krimitsos explained. "Therefore, they'd rather own digital. It saves trees, saves space, and is easier to transact." 

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Some NFT collections have sold for millions of dollars. Both Tom Brady and Gronk are capitalizing on NFTs. You can buy their digital autographs online; Brady's sold out within minutes.  

"The digital world will blend in with the physical world," Krimitsos predicted. 

For Schedler, offering digital works is just the next way of sharing her passion and expanding her audience. 

"NFTs you can collect and admire and support the artist and you can sell it when you’re done with it," she said. "I think there’s a big future in it."