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  • I'm surprised no one noticed the number of Art Shows that take place in the Hampton Roads area.  The newspaper listed 12, all within an hours drive of Norfolk.  Most are within 30 minutes.  The 12 listed are about half of the shows that take place in this area.  It's a great place for people that love doing Art Shows!

  • The newspaper followed up the article with a series of photos: http://hamptonroads.com/2014/05/photos-gosport-arts-festival-portsm...

  • I enjoyed that article and like that string of pearls phrase as well, Connie. The statement of "likely sales" might need to read "possible sales" since it seems nothing is near certain anymore. I did Stockley Gardens once in fall 2011 and should have already gone back again. Maybe someday. It's so far out of my main route. I might do Williamsburg if it were 2 day instead of 1. I don't think I'll ever get to Boardwalk since it's a summertime venue, and I don't like doing summer shows very much.

    Jack Stoddart, why did you have to get out of the biz? You get tired of always bringing up the average? Just kidding. But why?

  • I thought the article was a good one.   It was definitely one of the better ones, giving a small glimpse into an artist's life. 

    • I liked the phrase "the booths are laid out like a string of pearls". That shows an appreciation of the treasures to be found. Quoting myself, "art fairs, the only interesting shopping left in America."
  • Whoa! cynical, Jack? I guess there are all kinds of rewards, personal gratification works for some, $$$ works for others. Can you do both? or is there always a little cheating on one or the other?

    • Which accounts somewhat for the person who wins the money vs the one who makes the sales. The trick is to straddle that line.

      If you are creating what you believe will sell then you are making a product. It also accounts for the art schools not encouraging their grads to do art fairs

      • Wouldn't the money winners be creating to the judges taste? Seriously, when did it occur that money controlled the art? Always maybe. Maybe we should set up some Church/ Biker panels of judges to dole out money to craft show hippies based on religious affiliation or breast size, or both. Did the  hippie caveman drawing horses hope the retired cave conservatives living in southern France would give them extra Wooly Mammoth meat if they liked the horsey cave paintings…?.It's time to rise up and treat the people attending these outdoor shows with contempt and disdain. Bring them to the party with some good old fashioned arrogance. Like I did, just before I had to quit the business. Or maybe it was just me. Sorry Nels, got my meds backwards, burned my mustache off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdUvmHPn11k

        • I'm imagining the biker panel. Then the following year you'd have the church lady panel. This would be for the same show, right? Anyone attending the show would have whiplash if they were actually looking. Which religious affiliation would be acceptable to the bikers? Which breast size to the church ladies? I dunno, Jack don't think you'd be acceptable in either show.

          Nice video.

    • You must do both…but the religion of customer desire is always the driving force when creativity is no longer valued or funded. The question isn't what must be done to survive, it's what drives the market. As always it's a matter of does the creativity of the exhibitor drive the market…or does the decorative desire of the "collector" drive the market. The not so secret of the biz is to bring what they want. However, then you are what you are. Which of course…we all are. How many people don't want to believe? Craft hippies do it for money, music hippies do it for the chicks. God can't decide which is funnier. 

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