We were first-timers this year, being relegated not even to the playground, but to the ill-fated alley. Upon the insistence of my bitchy wife, we pulled all the artwork and put it into safe storage Sat night...hate to say it was a good decision as there was a terrific wind-tunnel that night that wrought destruction upon many. The neighborhood livers were SO GREAT and saved much artwork from destruction that nite by just bringing the art into their homes. Great show!
I was there with my photography sales were good on Sunday and if weather had been better Saturday I think I would have been able to call it a great show. I show my more expensive pieces to get the attention on the patrons, however, most of my sales were the $75.00 pieces. My wife is hearing impaired and reads lips, she said she saw several patrons say things like; those are beautiful photographs but lets wait until we get to the other show the art is cheaper over there. She also said she saw purchases being made at both fairs but the community fair seemed to have a greater number of buyers.
This irritates me. These organizers need to understand that this is how we survive. Their festival is our workplace. Sometimes my cards are the only thing standing between me and disaster. It is so very artsy of these folks to natter on about the "integrity" of their show, caring nothing about the realities. We don't do these shows to make your festival look good, this is our job. As long as the work exhibited reflects what the jury slides showed why can't you let us include items that often make the difference between profit and loss? I'm grumpy today :)
I was a first timer at 57th with ceramics this year in the playground area. I had finished setting up and was just fussing around at about 10:30 when an official looking person with a red tshirt and a clip board approached me and proceeded to talk to me for about 10 minutes about my art work, my prices and my display. The actual pieces I had submitted for jury had aready been sold at other recent shows but I had similar and comperable work on display. I also had a good deal of smaller, less expensive functional work on display (my booth shot included such work and in similar proportions). I was pleased to sell reletively well from both from my high end and smaller end. This one of the few shows I have been at where people actualy bought my more expensive work...wish I had brought more. I am just worried that I have I have gained a black mark with the show for displaying mugs and bowls along with my larger work. She made a coment about artists submitting photos of high quality work but then displaying lesser work ( she especially mentioned printers selling post and note cards). I intend to apply again next year, and I wonder if I should get back to them about my intention to shift the focus of my display towards the higher end. A friend who also does ceramics was at Old Town this weekend and said he was given a notice in his information package that stated work should stress the artistic rather than the functional. It is a tough market right now at art fairs, and between the economy and weather who knows what you are going to get. I am not a gambler and like to hedge my bet about what people will be buying. I need the income, not the awards. As long as the work is consistant and well done it seems a portion of smaller work should be OK.
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