A True Community of Artists - Fort Worth and Beyond! - Forum

I came very close to making the title of this post, "A True Community of Artists - So, Take That, Mother Nature!" However, just in time, I remembered how vindictive She could be and that I have several more outdoor shows this season! Mother Nature definitely took center stage this past weekend for the Fort Worth Fine Art Festival! Being the newbie that I am, I showed up on Friday for setup with my hubris, an E-Z Up, bungee cords, and 35lbs of weight per leg. Yeah, go ahead, laugh. Get it out of the way before I continue on to the inevitable outcome!

Sometime around 3:30 am Saturday morning I was awakened by thought that if the tent gets tossed by the wind, which had already picked up before we finished setting up, those 35 lb weights are probably just going to assist in the mangling of my tent. So, of course, I arrived on Saturday morning to a tossed tent. I was thankful that the weights that helped to mangle my tent also held it down well enough not to blow into any other artist's tent! Can you tell that my glass is always half full? There was nothing left to do but see if I could pull my panels from the tent wreckage and then assess just how bad the damage actually was. Now what happened next is what defines our COMMUNITY of artists! As I was sorting and assessing, not just one but two artists immediately dropped what they were doing to help me out. If any of you know, Ron Mellot and Archie Smith, then you probably know that this is second nature to each of them. I came to know that right away. Although Ron and Archie were the first on the scene and the last on the scene, they were not the only ones. Please forgive me if I miss any names or if I've mixed any up: Teresa Howley, Peggy and Bruce Furlin, Bobby Wilkerson, Jeff Tseng. You all salvaged my day and have my complete gratitude!!

This is the second time I've had a tent tossed over. Both times were at a larger art fair this year. I participate in dozens of smaller events and have had no mishaps even in rather strong winds since I live outside of Houston and we tend to entertain hurricanes around here. I would like to believe like many others do that it's all the fault of the E-Z Up but it's not. There were many other E-Z Ups still standing at the start of the the day. It was my inexperience. The weather conditions were changing and whereas 35 lbs may be fine in 5-10 mph winds, it meant nothing at 25-40 mph. Given the tendency of E-Z Ups to become hang gliders, I needed almost twice that much weight and it needed to be strapped on, not attached with bungee cords. I learned all this from Archie and Ron, by the way. I didn't suddenly come into this knowledge by osmosis. I wish every festival had someone like those two!

Again, thank you all! I'm so pleased and honored to be part of a true community!

Vivian

P.S. I can't complete this post without also thanking Bill Kinney, the show organizer. Bill was ever-present throughout the show. He could not have worked harder to try to make the show a success. I'm looking forward to this weekend's Paragon show in Fairview.

I own an Easy up. When I bought it in early 1990's, it was considered a "professional" model. This thing weighs a ton. I could barely lift it and I wasnt a weakling back then like I am now. It hasnt gotten any lighter with time either. Now a days most Easy ups are not made to stand up to repeated use. Many newbies buy the less expense models not knowing the frames are very lightweight and are just not ment for that kind of stress.

The very first time I set mine up it got trashed during a storm. Of course it was my fault because I didnt weigh it down correctly being a newbie at the time. I got it repaired and since then Ive used it in hundreds of shows and have never had a problem with it. You think Forth Worth/Houston is bad, try on the the shores of Lake Superior with the winds whipping in off the lake. Now thats an adventure!!! I learned how much weigh was needed to hold it down securely or when possible to use dogties to hold it in place.

I have had to buy a new top because the original nylon top finally died from old age. I replaced it with a heavy plastic with skylights instead of a lightweight nylon so maybe that has something to do with why I havent had problems. The top alone adds a lot of weight to the frame. I chose the plastic to replace it because its also more waterproof than the nylon.

One of the other things Ive learned to do to help keep it in place is lower it before I leave for the night. I extend mine as high as it will go during the show but drop it down to a slighty lower height setting, re-adjusting the weights before I leave for the night. I also tie my zipped sides down either with tent stakes and bungies, if Im in a grassy area or Ill use smaller weights if Im not. Ive never had a problem once I started doing that. Ive been at shows where Ive seen the so called "professional" tents take off while mine stands securely and no, I dont have the stablizeing bars on it. They didnt make them back then.

I agree that most people just dont realize how much weight it really takes to hold a tent in place and that shows need to enforce weight rules, not just for the safety of the artist but for the safety of the customers

I know alot of people hate Easy Ups and have problems with them but Ill probably always use one mainly because I CAN set it up by myself.

Kathleen

Replies

Ruthie Schulz December 5, 2012 at 9:44pm

Hi Vivian,

I know this post is not about the performance of the show, but I was wondering if you could tell me how this show was for sales. I am a potter and new to the Dallas / Ft Worth area and am trying to decide if this would be a good show to apply to. I am also looking at the Fairview show. Any information you have on that one would be appreciated as well. Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this as I am new to the forum. Just trying to get a feel for which shows to apply to in this area.

Thanks!

Ruthie
- Vivian Leflore Mora > Ruthie Schulz December 5, 2012 at 11:51pm
  
  Hi Ruthie, There was a brief discussion on the show. A question regarding Fort Worth was posted on AFI by Don Mabry and I responded to his post with my thoughts in a couple of replies. I think the thing to keep in mind is that both were first year shows. Feel free to email me directly also!
  
  Vivian
  - Ruthie Schulz > Vivian Leflore Mora December 6, 2012 at 9:04am
    
    Thanks Vivian! I appreciate your note. I'll look for that post. I did a search earlier, but maybe it will be a bit easier with Don's name. Also, I didn't realize they were first year shows, which might explain why I couldn't find many reviews online.
    
    Thanks again!
    
    Ruthie
M Kathleen Ewing November 22, 2012 at 3:10am

I own an Easy up. When I bought it in early 1990's, it was considered a "professional" model. This thing weighs a ton. I could barely lift it and I wasnt a weakling back then like I am now. It hasnt gotten any lighter with time either. Now a days most Easy ups are not made to stand up to repeated use. Many newbies buy the less expense models not knowing the frames are very lightweight and are just not ment for that kind of stress.

The very first time I set mine up it got trashed during a storm. Of course it was my fault because I didnt weigh it down correctly being a newbie at the time. I got it repaired and since then Ive used it in hundreds of shows and have never had a problem with it. You think Forth Worth/Houston is bad, try on the the shores of Lake Superior with the winds whipping in off the lake. Now thats an adventure!!! I learned how much weigh was needed to hold it down securely or when possible to use dogties to hold it in place.

I have had to buy a new top because the original nylon top finally died from old age. I replaced it with a heavy plastic with skylights instead of a lightweight nylon so maybe that has something to do with why I havent had problems. The top alone adds a lot of weight to the frame. I chose the plastic to replace it because its also more waterproof than the nylon.

One of the other things Ive learned to do to help keep it in place is lower it before I leave for the night. I extend mine as high as it will go during the show but drop it down to a slighty lower height setting, re-adjusting the weights before I leave for the night. I also tie my zipped sides down either with tent stakes and bungies, if Im in a grassy area or Ill use smaller weights if Im not. Ive never had a problem once I started doing that. Ive been at shows where Ive seen the so called "professional" tents take off while mine stands securely and no, I dont have the stablizeing bars on it. They didnt make them back then.

I agree that most people just dont realize how much weight it really takes to hold a tent in place and that shows need to enforce weight rules, not just for the safety of the artist but for the safety of the customers

I know alot of people hate Easy Ups and have problems with them but Ill probably always use one mainly because I CAN set it up by myself.

Kathleen
- Vivian Leflore Mora > M Kathleen Ewing November 22, 2012 at 10:03am
  
  Thanks for sharing your experience, Kathleen! I've seen some of the older EZ Ups and they certainly do NOT make them the way they used to! My new tent came in last week and I have to say, I am impressed! It's called the Goliath by King Canopy. I took it to Dallas and it was a dream to set up. It has 2" thick legs and thicker, reinforced trusses and it is still capable of being set up by one person (but two is best). It's at a mid-range price point that I can still afford as a newbie - pricier than an EZ up but not as pricey as the Trimlines. It performed well in Dallas and got quite a few once-overs and admirers. I'm happy at this point!
  image.jpg
  - M Kathleen Ewing > Vivian Leflore Mora November 26, 2012 at 11:16pm
    
    looks great!!!
Ruth Finkenbiner November 15, 2012 at 2:20pm

Vivian - within the forum discussions, under the art fair equipment section, there are several discussions on weights if you want to search on those. One in particular that had some pictures and great suggestions:

http://www.artfairinsiders.com/forum/topics/what-kind-of-weights-do...

We had new weights made this past year that utilized 2 inch square steel, 2 feet tall, with a welded bolt on top. If you look at the attached picture, you'll see our weight attached to our Light Dome canopy. We really like the fact that they are much more compact than our old concrete weights and are square, therefore they do not roll around in the truck as we're traveling. BTW - these weigh 57 LB each. Ours were made by a metal artist friend, he only charged us for the price of the metal.

weight.jpg
- Vivian Leflore Mora > Ruth Finkenbiner November 16, 2012 at 8:51am
  
  Thank you, Ruth! I really like that your system is very compact. I also read every single post from the forum discussion on weights. Some of them were a bit dicey since I now know the ineffectiveness of bungee cords. I will have close to 95 lbs strapped on each leg for the show this weekend. But my sincerest hope is that this will be the mildest weather with no real need for 380 lbs of total weight!
Connie Mettler November 14, 2012 at 2:33pm

How wonderful for you Vivian, to meet Archie and Ron, at the show. Archie is one of the nicest people in the business and Ron is a very helpful guy and an early member here. I appreciate your coming here and singing their praises, as well as that of Bill Kinney, the Furlins, Teresa Howley, Bobby and Jeff. This is a terrific community and I think it is a surprise to new artists about the generosity of its members to each other.

I've never understood why people hang weights on bungees -- I mean what is the purpose of a bungee, it bounces! and it allows the weight to swing, yikes! We all do take tent structure and weights seriously and carry weather radios, just in case, not to take shelter, but to insure everyone and everything is safe. That being said, we do our best to secure our shelters, but high winds tear down trees and buildings too, so don't feel too dumb.

I'm looking forward to your report on Dallas. I think a lot of AFI members are going to be there. Best wishes to Bill and Paragon Events as they make inroads into the Texas marketplace.
- Vivian Leflore Mora > Connie Mettler November 15, 2012 at 12:34am
  
  Thanks, Connie! Do you know if anyone has ever posted photos showing a solid tent setup with weights and straps, etc? I've roamed over the equipment section at various times when I was on a specific hunt but I would love to see some of the setups. I do know that the Trimline next mine at Fort Worth was setup really well. No matter how hard the wind blew, it wasn't budging. The artist was Cynthia Ervin. She gave me a tour of her structure. She even weights her sidewalls at ground level with something like 2" PVC filled with metal ball bearings!

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