I've done the spring Birmingham show four or five times in as many years. They all seem to blur together. There was the hot Mother's Day weekend when we had a double near the steps of the library. Our neighbors were doing a land office business in pressed clay flowers in miniature pots, for about $5 bucks a pop. The customers were lined up down the street in front of our booth waiting to buy a cheap souvenir for Mom. There was the chilly, rainy Sunday when we finally gave up around 1PM and loaded out like drowned rats. That was a couple years ago. Last year we froze our buttskies off on Old Woodward. It seems like the weather is always cold and rainy, or hot and rainy, or hot and windy, or cold and windy. Or a combination of all of the above.
This past weekend was no exception. We had the heat and humidity on Friday for setup. At least it didn't rain. Saturday, it did rain a bit in the morning, then it slowed down for a good part of the afternoon, and let those few folks who wanted to buy, buy. I saw a few bags and some wrapped 2D work go by. I had several good sales, which surprised me. I think I sold more this past Saturday in Birmingham than I did that past Mother's Day in the double, when I sold about four 11x14 matted prints of my favorite little chipmunk. You know it's going to be a slog when the chipmunk is the big seller. Don't get me wrong, I love the little guy. But I would prefer to sell a little more high-brow work.
And my split-toned work was a good seller here, this year. Maybe the tonality matched the weather. Maybe it was just artful enough. No matter, I made expenses and a little more on Saturday. Which was a good thing, since the weather turned really ugly on Sunday, as Warren pointed out. Cold, rainy and windy. With temps hovering in the mid 40's and predicted wind gusts up to 35mph, it was not a hopeful recipe for art sales. The Guild made a wise decision, and let the artists pack up at 10AM before the show even got started. One man walked by about 11:30 and asked me,"Are the artists packing up?" All I could say is,"Are you KIDDING?" as I looked around at half-erected tents, trailers, vans and mayhem all around.
Alan Bogl and the Guild staff do an excellent job of organizing the show. Sure, the youngsters who help out don't really know what's going on, but so what. Alan does, and he seems to be everywhere. When I called Sunday to see if he could solve a problem with a couple of mis-parked vehicles so I could get my truck and trailer in, he was on it in five minutes. Problem solved. We didn't find out who won the coveted awards, but oh well. We had all the coffee and bagels we could eat and drink.
But the real highlight of the show was meeting the infamous Barry Bernstein. He was set up right next to us, with some fine looking raku pottery (or is it ceramics?). We had a great time, which was good, since half the time there weren't too many other people to talk to. And we saw other friends, local, mostly. Marilu Patterson was there, from Chicago. Herb and Colleen Thomas were near us, too. Local watercolor painter Diane Sicheneder was there, as was Doug Remien. Pat Whalen came all the way from San Antonio, Florida. Wow, Pat. Wow.
A word about the layout: meandering. The new Shain Park is quite nice, actually, even though I miss the spring-loaded tyrannosaurus rex to ride on. Booths were laid out on the sidewalks through the park, but not on the grass. Booths surrounded the park, on Henrietta, Martin, Merrill and whatever that other street is, Bates, I think.
But they are all spread out, and many are orphaned in little stubs of five or six booths on one side of the street. The booths at the end of these stubs are not going to get the traffic that the park does, and forget trying to remember where anybody is. The map might help -- I know the town and the park, and I still had a hard time finding people that I KNEW were there.
The Old Woodward merchants evidently didn't want the show cluttering up their street, although the Common Ground show will repeat its performance there in the fall. I don't get it. Downtown Birmingham can use all the excitement it can muster up. Alan and crew know how to run a show, with minimum fuss and hassle. But the city seems to hamper efforts to keep this show electric for the artists, the patrons or the merchants. I heard that the Fire Department wanted 70' between runs of five booths! Luckily, THAT didn't happen. Maybe an art show rumor. I don't know. Factor in bad weather, and there isn't much of a show. Drat.
Meandering. Maybe next year the weather will cooperate. And maybe we'll all sell a little more art. Ever hopeful. Isn't that why we keep coming back?
Comments
Well Jim, we keep coming back because we think this show is going to be like it was years ago. At one time, this show attracted crowds of interested buyers and was in an intimate setting. "Shain Park" used to have large old trees, grass, a playground for kids, and a pathway that criss-crossed the center. They replaced it with cement, brick, small trees, and hardly any grass. It is devoid of any personality. Because I want to get the scoop on the show I'm doing, for AF Insiders, I ask a lot of questions. I found out that the city of Birmingham doesn't want this show, which is put on by the Ann Arbor Guild in conjunction with the Birmingham-Bloomfield Art Association. So, why have a show where we are clearly not wanted and not supported? It's telling that the BBAA is too lame to put on it's own show. No energy there. That was no rumor that the Fire Marshall wanted 70' between every set of 5 booths.
I asked for a booth space on the streets around the park and I wrote in caps that I did not want to be on a side street. So, they gave me a space on the side street. When I looked at the map I thought I was facing the Townsand Hotel and thought it wouldn't be too bad because I would get people coming out of that upscale hotel. Also, there was supposed to be a number of booths on our street. As it turned out, we were facing the service entrance to the hotel and there were only 5 booths on our short street. Consequently, nobody came down our street except for a few stragglers. Jim had the corner space so he wasn't effected as much as the rest of us. However, if his best seller was the pic of the chipmonk, the crowd wasn't going to be interested in what I had in my booth.
I think Jim downplayed the weather. Saturday was too cold to be out walking a show and there was always the threat of rain. There were hardly any people there. On Sunday, I showed up at 8:30 AM and started packing right away. I wasn't going to wait til the committee called the show. It didn't stop raining until Sunday night. Btw, the forecast for next weekend is 75 deg and sunny.
Because it is in Birmingham, this show could rebound and be great, again. However, as it stands, there are too many other shows in the same area that have overtaken this one, like Arts, Beats, and Eats, Funky Ferndale, the Royal Oak Clay and Glass Show, Patty Narozny's shows, and the Great Lakes indoor shows.