I apologize if there's a specific thread for introducing oneself, I couldn't seem to find it. I stumbled on AFI and Art Show Reviews when I was looking for info about getting started, and have been lurking for the better part of a year, so I figured it was time to sign up and say hi. :)
I'm Manda Brezicky, life-long artist and art festival newbie. I've done a few small community craft shows over the past 5-6 years, but after taking a workshop with Jenny Pope last winter and talking to her about the festival business, I was inspired to take the plunge. This past year I exhibited at two art festivals and two conventions, with mixed results...but overall encouraging! Before that, I've been an on-again, off-again student (graduated Cazenovia College '13 and damn proud of it :) ), a zinester, gallery-exhibiting artist, and a mama.
I tend to think of my work as politically-charged and horror-themed. I'm a strong social justice advocate, and 100% believe the personal is political. Most of my current body of work deals with the political aspects of motherhood, and the assumptions behind what a "mother" is, in terms of age (I'm an unashamed former teen mom), gender, and reproductive choice. I've attached a few examples, there's an up-to-date portfolio on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/mandabrezickyartist
Media-wise, I'm all over the 2D map, but lithography, watercolor, and sewing/embroidery hold special places in my heart. I'm not much of a 3D girl, and I love experimenting with color.
On the personal side of things, I have two school-age kids (the youngest of whom self-identifies as an artist :) ), a crazy patient partner who I describe as a professional geek, and cat who's kind of a jerk, but we love anyway. I've lived in central NY pretty much my whole life, and have aspirations of moving to the Adirondacks in the next 5ish years.
Now that I've told you probably more than you cared to know, I look forward to getting to know y'all and absorbing more of your wisdom :)
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Hello again, Manda...I enjoyed reading about your art fair experiences thus far and hope to get going myself one of these days. We just moved a few months ago to an area that's rife with artists, art galleries, art fairs, shows, etc., so I'm kind of looking around now that we're more or less finished working on the house, and figuring it all out. I did apply to a big craft fair in Detroit in December but haven't heard back yet as to whether or not I made the cut. That photo that Connie added is on an embroidery hoop, yes? What is your process though, lithography? It's really cool but creepy...I like it.
Okay, thanks again for adding your bio and fun facts and good luck with everything...
Hello Manda, welcome to our group. We have many helpful members here. We have many seasoned artists here as well as many newbies. We all help each other here. We learn from everyone's experiences.
I hope you will feel free to post in our forums and become an active member here.
Have you done any shows yet? If you have a certain topic that you need information on, put the topic into the search bar here on our site. If that topic has been discussed, it will come up. You may find a lot of the info you need that way.
Well, good luck and hope to see you around here.
I did do a few shows this year! This was my first year trying my hand at anything larger than a community craft fair, so I kept it small and mostly local. It was suggested to me by a friend I might do as well at conventions as at art festivals, so I did two of each: Maple & Main (Sylvania, OH), Corn Hill (Rochester, NY), Scare-a-Con (Verona, NY), and RocCon (Rochester, NY).
Maple & Main was, in my mind, my biggest risk of all of them - It was an 8 hr drive away, in a state where my family traditionally has terrible luck, I had to get a hotel, etc - but it was my best show this year! One guy was so in love with my work, he covered most of my booth fee in a single sale, others made a bee-line straight for me as soon as they walked in the fair, and I won an honorable mention.
Corn Hill was less impressive. My work didn't mesh well with the vibe there, and it rained all Sunday. I guess attendence was way down too. On Sat morning the husband of the woman next to me was raving about how busy it would be, is this all I brought because he was afraid I'd sell out. Sunday morning he apologized because he'd been going on about the crowd and it was only half of what it had been last year. Then it proceeded to rain all day. Which was terrifying - I knew nothing about weighting a tent, and the wind shook me around a little. But nothing got damaged and I certainly learned a lesson! :)
The conventions were a lot of fun, but financially unimpressive. Few vendors and artists at Scare-a-Con made expenses. RocCon was better, but I still don't think it's the right venue for me - not enough art buying-minded people there, coupled with high costs to attend (there's a good article about artists losing money at comic conventions going around the internet right now). And I wanted to spend my time going to panels and meeting celebs. :)
Now I'm taking what I learned, mining this site for info and tips, and gearing up for next year :)
This IS the place to introduce yourself, Manda. Welcome. This site is full of people with many years creating work just like yourself. Some know where they are going and what they are doing and others, like yourself, have lots of loves and are loath to narrow it down or haven't found THE compelling body of work.
Hope you don't mind, but I "edited" your post and added one of your images so people could get an idea about your subject matter. Going forward, it greatly enhances a conversation or post if you put the images directly into the posting. Directions up there at the top of the page under "Get Started."
Hope you'll stick around ask questions, comment on others posts and send us some more of your good writing. What's up next on your agenda?
Up next, I have an event today actually. The inaugural LadyFest Syracuse tonight. It's a short feminist music and art show, but it's in a popular community center in a somewhat affluent (for Syracuse) neighborhood, and will be attended by some of the board members of a gallery I'm sending an exhibition proposal to. And it was free - I like free with good music :)
There's also a residency at the Women's Studio Workshop I'm applying for, a few other exhibition proposals, and I'm putting together a list of art festivals I'm going to apply to next year. So yeah, hopin' for a busy winter!