This show is not an easy one to report about. Many artists plain hate it. Some swear by it. Others would not be caught dead going there.
I was there, so was my wife,Ellen. So here is my take.
Truthfully, I am no great fan of this show, more-as, I am no great fan of the committee that runs it.
But, when it comes down to making a practical business decision (like, am I gonna make any real money here) you have to give this show some credit. A lot of people made moola here--more than 5K.
I have been avidly following all the posts on Facebook the last three days. I have read Amy Flynn's (good stuff, by the way), Will Conners (thought-provoking) and even Barely Bernstein's icy laments from the UP.
David Piper, a great showman and an even greater showman summed it up quite well. "They charge big bucks to ride the shuttle, then make the public wait almost an hour-an-a-half to get in the show, then charge $15 at the gate, charge $7 for draft beer, $8 in a skinny can, $4 for soda, and $3 for water. Heck, a family of four has to shell out serious bucks before they even get a chance to look at the art.
Then they gotta walk all over Memorial Park in infinite directions on endless loops, sometimes the booths end for a while and you gotta walk 100 yards along the concrete before booths start again. Then good luck getting back to an artist for a second look. People are exhausted trying to walk this show once, let alone a second time.
450 booths, some with 6-foot sheer drop-offs behind them (I had one, luckily I had a corner to store stuff on--but what the heck, it only costs $750). Other booths have oodles of level grass behind, even beckoning picnic benches. The drop off along the circular concrete drive is extreme at times. One artist, at teardown, managed to slide off the edge of the walkway, meaning his van slid. Pics on FB showed the van nosedown, endup sticking halfway out onto the walkway. How would you like to maneuver around that.
The committee ran around putting band-aids as remedies for situations that were not well thought out. For example, how do you get three artists into spaces that are only nine feet wide instead of ten? Oh, you just set them up across the path from existing booths and create a choke point for the public to traverse.
You gotta love it when you get a guy who makes the kid's teepees gets called off the wait list a full month ahead of a very talented mixed media artist.
This show is not on a level playing field. Everybody pays close to $500 for a 10x10. Trouble is some some 10x10s are way better than others.
Like I said before, a lot of booths had no room for inventory storage behind, while others had mega-acres.
The booths at the beginning of the show, say the first 100 in each direction, got 100 per cent of the crowd coming by. Booths in the add-on loop, had empty sidewalks a lot of the time. Many patrons were just too wearied to make it back there.
OK, there are some of the knocks, many you have heard already.
Now look at the pluses. There are several good ones.
Hey, Houston is either the third or fourth largest city in the USA. There is lot of wealth here.
More than 12 corporations have moved their national headquarters from California to here.
There are not a lot of other competing art shows going on there.
There are a ton of young folks with disposable income here.
The show is held in early spring here, and most years the weather is wonderful--unlike Gasparilla's.
Many of the most talented artists and craftsman on the circuit come here--tells ya something.
If you build up a following you can make better than $5K here.
Many people this year made way better than that. There were a lot of five-figure sales here.
Two artists who work in wood, killed them here. One had to cancel Main Street Fort Worth, because they just did not have enough work left.
On Sunday morning, doing my walk-around before show, I heard variations on the same subject from at least 12 artists. They all had one customer who had come in and blown $3K or better on a sale.
I heard it from two glass artists. One guy told me he was wrapping up glass from a $2K sale, and the the guy kept adding on items, and he finally ended up with nearly a $4K sale. And these guys still had Sunday to sell.
For every artist who made big moola, there were equally artists who barely covered expenses.
My wife was one of them. They were virtually ignored, or not that many people wandered by.
This is a show where you have to show up and take your chances. Some win, some lose.
Here are some relevant observations from this year's show.
Cowboy art, overall, is not a big seller here. Houston is an international city with people from all over the world. They don't necessarily embrace the Cowboy heritage like they do in Fort Worth.
People who depend on lots of multiple sales in the low to midrange levels did not do as well as people selling high end work.
I saw countless big paintings going out of the show. Big sculpture, big glass, big clay--and yeah, lots of photo-giclees.
The line of people waiting at the shuttle with art in hand was very long. There was lots of action.
Then you had the opposite effect too. Two local painters who made five figures here last year, did not make expenses this year. Go figure.
Abstract as well as realistic sells here.
For me, if I did not have my humor images, I would have been a dead doggie here. I made most of my sales off 10 images. I had a real good show.
This is the third time for me at the spring show--and it was my best, even though I had a shitty location on the back loop with a sheer drop off behind me.
It is a long drive for us. Heck, from Tampa to Lafayette,LA is 13 hour drive and then another 5 hours the next day.
We took advantage of the option of tearing down on Monday morning, we were in there at 6:30 AM and on the road by 8AM just in time for morning rush hour.
This show is a tough call. You are dealing with a committee that is not going to change much. I think they are very greedy. They are trying to make up for losses from the fall show by putting it all on our backs.
Also, the lucky artist near the front of the show will be there again next year. Good luck trying to get one of their spots.
Well, that's my story.
I am numero uno on the wait list for Fort Worth. Ellen is in. I am going with her Monday in my van hoping to get a spot. It is a gamble and a lot of gas, but, I will take my chances because the show is worth it. I have been in the last four years--hope to make it five.
Hey Terri, now you got some reading material while on the road.
Barely Bernstein, hope you were taking notes.
Adios, amigos.