Passably good weather, a pleasant venue, close to home. What more could an artist ask from a local show? Good sales would be a start. And FAATV, run by long-time artist and organizer Donna Beaubien, did not disappoint this past weekend. Hooray!
parkerparker booth -- Fine Art at the Village, August 2011
The show happens twice a year in the upscale Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills, near Oakland University, in the Village Shopping Plaza, a manufactured shopping development with winding streets and the usual mix of Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Parisian and some nice restaurants. Setup is easy, with booths along one side of the street, all facing west, and along two short spurs, where the booths face each other. The show is small, and easy to walk, so there really aren't any bad spots. I was up near the Chico's, with a double booth. Setup runs from 5:30 Friday night til as late as you need. Since we live close, we showed up around 6:30, after the vans and little vehicles have had a chance to get in and get unloaded. It took about 4 hours all told, from setting up the booth to hanging the art and turning on the lights. We closed up and went home to a late supper of fresh tomatoes and basil pasta with salmon. Yum. No tequila, though.
The show opens at 10AM on Saturday, and runs until dusk, 8PM. Saturday morning started out cloudy, but warm. There was rain in the forecast, but it didn't deter a few hardy souls from coming out and buying. Our neighbors, Arlene and Michael Parker, veteran jewelers, felt the crowds were down from previous shows, and it certainly seemed that way. There were people on the streets, but it was never crowded. At about 3, we had a good downpour, which cleared out almost everybody. It rained for about half an hour or so, and then the sun tried to make an appearance. People came back, and did a little more shopping, and then it rained a little more. But the shoppers who were out did seem to be buying. The alphabet letter photographer kept selling pieces, and I saw other small 2D art going by. I sold quite a few smaller prints, and a couple of framed pieces, and by the end of the day was pleasantly surprised at the total. Better than Glencoe, and better than Ann Arbor's grueling four day slog, even.
Sunday the show opens at a civilized 12PM, but people are out on the streets looking for bargains by 11AM. Many artists opened, and while there was traffic, it seemed as if there were more browsers. My sales were down from Saturday, but the forecasted rain seemed to hold off. It looked as if it would pass us by, until about 4:30, when we got a brief drencher. The show closes at six, so most of the tents had a least a chance of being packed up dry. We took our time, and finished up with a nice quiet dinner at Bravo at 8:30. While we weren't the last to pack up, the circus had mostly left town by 8.
The art at this show is a pleasant mix of local artists and out-of-towners. Rich Wood and Paul James, both local photographers, were there. Diane Sicheneder, a watercolor artist, took Best in Show. Bob Daly, a wood turner also won an honorable mention. Newcomer Natasha Frederickson was next to us with some intriguing metalwork. SuEllen DeLong was down the street from us, and there was no lack of nice jewelry. Sponsor booth were interwoven between groups of artists, mostly at the intersections, and included Marvin Windows, and some odd local chiropractor or some such. There's a good mix of work, from jewelry to painting, and I think Donna does a good job keeping out most of the riff-raff. While there were awards this year, there was no prize money. The money that would have been used for prizes goes towards local advertising, and it does bring folks over to the show. You can even get a Hunter House slider from the tiny truck parked in next to the kids playground. They are tasty, too. Good fries. For healthier fare, the Whole Foods at the end of the block has a full salad bar.
Me and Maggie Moo (that's me on the left)
All in all, we enjoy doing this show, partly because it's so low-key and easy to do. We get to sleep at home, we see some old friends, and we make some moola. Some years we sell better than others here, but we usually make a little profit regardless. If you're in the Michigan area already, put this on your list for next year, either the mid-May show, or the August version.
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