Heading with artist/wife Deborah to Indianapolis later this week to do the Penrod Arts Fair.
Does anyone have experience one way or the other with this show?
It is just a one day show, but they go all out with music stages, food courts, and lots of artists.
For whatever it's worth, the tag line for the show is "Indiana's Nicest Day". We'll see.
Rick
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This will be my first year at Penrod (as a participating artist - I've been many times as a consumer). I'm very much looking forward to the day - I'll be in Green 78. Hoping for a day without heavy rain or wind!
Hope to see many of you there!
My son, Lorne, was accepted to Penrod this year - it will be his first blind jury show, and his first show outside of our region. He is 11, and I take care of transportation, set up and tear down. He takes care of painting, talking with people and any sales. We live 3.5 hours south of Indianapolis and we are both SO excited.
I have looked at the weather forecast - right now (depending on which forecast you follow), it indicates a 20%, 30% or 40% chance of rain. Dang it. I have taken the advice of others on this site to purchase seam sealer. I also assembled pvc pipe with concrete and velcro to strap to each leg, (about 15 pounds each) and then I got 5 gallon paint buckets and have 30 to 60 pounds of weights to put in each paint bucket and wratchet straps to connect the handle of the paint buckets to the top corners of the tent. Hope that keeps his tent in place!!!
I have loaded the walls, rubber tiles to make a floor to put the walls on, tables, tent and tent walls already loaded into the suv.
I really just don't have any idea how many prints he will sell. In our local community art show he will sell roughly 5 an hour, but we don't have nearly the number of patrons as they get at Penrod and people in our community really don't spend money on art. Does anyone have an idea how many prints I should bring: (there are about 12 different prints), so should I have 50 prepared, 100, 150, 200? Do most of the artist sell their prints with matting or without?
We are so excited and hopeful that we have perfect weather. He will be in green 55 so please drop by and say hi - we would love to meet you - or maybe we will be able to drop by your booth before the show starts and say hi to you.
I was going to set up his floor tent walls and tables friday - but then have him hang the pictures on Saturday. Do you think this plan is adviseable?
Thanks for your help
I can't venture to suggest how many prints to bring, but based on what I've done in Evansville shows in the past, you should be able to triple what you've done there. Bring a few more of what you know are ones that will sell better.
Most people seem to prefer to buy prints already matted, but I do see artists who opt for placing the print in a sealed Clear Bag with a foam-cor backer. Price them accordingly and competitively.
Set the tent up on Friday, and hang the work on Saturday morning is a good way to go if your tent is not proven yet to be waterproof.
I'm in the near vicinity at Green 27 in a double booth up toward the Lilly mansion a booth or two from the road. Stop by and say hi. Friday would be the best time. I'll be there first thing when the gates open on Friday and will be there hanging stuff before I leave.
Good luck!
I will certainly come by and say hi on Friday. Lorne won't be there until Friday night after set up has concluded (I don't want to take him out of school - it's his first year in Middle School and the homework is significant).
Three times the Evansville show gives me a good idea of what I need to pack for him then. Thanks for the info.
ok, so I feel compelled to add my 'two cents' to this......
I have done this show for the last 5 years. I live here in IN and love this event. However, be prepared for a long day. Yes, take-down can be tough. Be patient. And, two of the last five years have been wash-outs. Last year we had not had rain in 40 days when the skies opened about noon. Two years before that (08) I have NEVER been so wet and miserable at a show...rained/thundered from 11 a.m on. I have had really good shows here and not-so-great ones. I lost one piece of art that fell off a cart and was damaged but that was in the a.m., not p.m.! (I should have had it wrapped better). This is all volunteer by young professionals and while they are helpful and really respondent to the artists needs, stuff happens....just does! The quality of the show is good. Residents don't mind paying the fee and that does keep down the 'lookers'. Best of luck to you!
Rick, I've done Penrod for several years and it has always been a wonderful show for me. The load in on Friday is easy and the volunteers are helpful. Good buying crowds, lots of quality art work. The load out is the only really frustrating part of the show. I hope you have a great day!!
Lynn
I've done the show 22 years out of the last 23. It is indeed "Indiana's Nicest Day". Set up on Friday like they suggest, as the show starts earlier than most, at 9:00AM, in order for most people to be out of there by sun down. Saturday morning set up would require you to be there in the dark which I don't recommend. I've left out of there after sun down many times. The Blue zone is the worst to get out of as only 5 or so vehicles can line up at a time there. It's balanced out by being the most pleasnt venue, backed up by shade trees and about 15-20 feet of room behind you, with the symphony next to a large fountain for the entertainment stage in that section.
The volunteers are very helpful and in some cases will take your boxes to the booth site on the golf carts or ATVs, particularly if you're by yourself or have a physical issue. They are also helpful in carting stuff out for you as sundown starts.
Last year was the first year in over 20 years that it rained on the show, and this summer has been unusually rainy, so just be prepared. It's a large show with artists aranged in different locations on the grounds, although they are all adjacent to each other. It takes all day to really walk the show, so work on those "be-backers" as they usually won't.
It's a higher end show, and admission is a bit steep, but that eliminates the casual family entertainment aspect of it so the ones attending are more serious about the work. Good luck at it, and let us know how you did.
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