An artist was kind enough to add me as an assistant to this wonderful festival and it was a wonderful benefit. At a lot if shows, this wouldn't mean anything but at Krasl it meant I was fed and watered!!
This was a totally different show for me. I was staying with a friend who prefers the beach to art shows so I had two full days to do whatever I wanted and I wanted to spend it at Krasl.
We actually walked through the area on Friday while people were setting up. There were three highlights--I got to meet Holly Olinger, Connie Mettler and Patricia McCleery. Connie joined my friend and I for drinks and snacks at the local hangout, Schu's. They were really wonderful about letting us sit in the a/c.
On Saturday, we got to Krasl at about 9am and that was not a unique idea. I usually get to a festival a little early and I have never seen this many people arrive at a festival an hour before. Most of the art was very good. There are always a few hits and misses and my hits and misses are not necessarily the same as someone else's which I think helps to explain how they got in the show. That and they may have had really good jury pics that enhance the work or their booth display is bad, making the work look poor. I found a lot to buy and had to slow myself down and take a step back so as not to make any mistakes. Like an artist, I can report my highest spending day in several years.
I have an expression, "so many artists, so little money" I have a certain dollar amount that I feel comfortable spending on a piece and I don't go over that. I also usually have a weekend limit. There were so many things that I wanted to buy that I had to raise the weekend limit. I happily purchased things from people I had never purchased from before so I was able to add different looks to my collection. Sadly for the artists, I am not that 'big get' that makes a show. I just try to let artists know that I really appreciate their work and want to own a small piece of it. I am also running out of room in my house and my body. Don't tell me to rotate my collection, I buy what I really like and want to look at it, all of the time!
Except for the back row at one end of the festival (the lost sales row, as one artist put it) this is an easy show to navigate. It is pretty long and the main walk can get crowded but it is easy to get between booths and walk in the street. The festival even provides two name signs with booth numbers and the back of most booths had the signs up. This helps after you have seen the entire show and want to fulfill your "be back" commitments!!
The one artist area that I can speak to is the food. My badge allowed me to eat lunch in the artist's lounge and it was great. Also allowed to eat there were the sponsors and Krasl Buck Patrons. I had lunch with a wide variety of people: artists, patrons, helpers, policemen and NAIA members. When the NAIA member told me who she was with, the first thing I said was: "what are you doing about buy/sell" We had a good discussion about what could be done about it. My badge also included 2 bottles of water which were greatly appreciated because it was hot among the booths.
The best thing about the art festivals is meeting people who I have been reading online. I don't think I have ever been disappointed when I met an artist yet. Leo Charette is as wonderful as his photography. He has a unique way of seeing an object and getting a fantastic shot. He also has great captions for some of his pieces that are very clever. I also got to meet Dave Nagel who has a wonderful touch with wood. Holly makes really cool wood and glass pieces and wall pieces that are both works of art and filled with symbolism. I had never met her before and we had a great time. I finally met John Leben while I was at Nels' booth but left while those two 'discussed' the merits of Florida photos and shows. Bob and Patti Stern were there and the times I saw Bob out of the booth, he was walking one of their wonderful pieces to someone's car. I had lunch with both Amy Flynn and Phil Crone which pretty much means I spent a lot of time in the artist's lounge! Patricia McCleery was nice enough to let me hang a while at her booth and help her with her beautiful jewelry. I met lots of other artists with wonderful work I had never seen before.
St. Joseph, Michigan is a wonderful little beach town. The water is beautiful, the beach is lovely, the town has galleries, shops and restaurants in a small, compact, easy to walk area, the traffic wasn't too bad, the houses run the gamut from small bungalows to big mansions. I can see why people love to visit there.
It was a wonderful show that knows art is the main thing. There was a food area and an entertainment area (that was only too loud for a little while on Sunday, otherwise it was unobtrusive ) that was separated from the art area. This show is bigger than Lakefront in Milwaukee but they both have the same sensibilities when it comes to running a festival. Krasl seems to have a more personal touch with the artists.
It was a wonderful weekend and I would like to thank everyone who was so nice to me.
Comments
LOL Geri!
When I first met Michelle, the first thing I said was that I was looking for the guys who sell the wood watches.
Introducing myself was getting boring.
Jacki, you should. So many people do shows alone and while there are boothsitters, most artists don't seem to want to leave their booths to someone who knows nothing about their art.
I can't do it because I talk too much and don't read people that well.
Sometimes I think I would like to do it again, too. It was fun.
I was very pleased to meet you, Geri, worth the two hour drive. Too bad we didn't get a chance to shop together but at least we got to show each other our acquisitions on Saturday.
Jacki used to work for my husband and myself and she'd come to Ann Arbor with us every year. She is a terrific salesperson who has spent a lot of time around the art fairs. I'd bet Jacki you could do a good job for anyone.
Great post Geri - you have really conveyed the enjoyment of the event which made me smile and wish I was in the US and at Krasl last weekend !
No Jackie, after watching artists work their own booths, each artist has their own style that gets the point of the work across to the customer. I could never do that. If a customer walks into a booth where the artist and I are talking, I try to walk out as soon as possible once the artist starts talking to the customer.
You must go to the show next year. If nothing else, just to absorb the atmosphere of happy artists. I haven't seen that in a long time.
Geri, I would think you would be a natural to work in an artist's booth. You know so much about the business. I know artists often want someone to help lend a hand with sales and such. You could offer your services at a show you would like to attend, go help, and you would have a little shopping time. Just reading this blog post made me so jealous that I wasn't able to go. Thanks for sharing and emphasizing the "fun" part of an art show.
Geri, as always, it was great to see you at Krasl- I still have a smile on my face from returning from such a "happy" comfortable art show to do. I met most of the same artists for the first time that you did- and it really feels like an extended family.Bob and I loved the art show, the town, the director, the volunteers, the customers and the Boulevard Inn hotel, it doesn't get better than that!
Geri. You have a great future as our featured blogger. When I recover from the big cut,I am going to retire from blogging, eat more sushi and let you do all the blogging. Since you are running out of room for art in your house and body, you might as well blog. START A NEW TREND--BLOG, DON'T JOG.