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It’s been a lousy couple of weekends in a row. Riverfront in Columbus, Ohio, was pretty bad with only $175 in sales, and who would have thought St. James would get worse? Hell, not only was it worse, the damn thing spiraled down in flames right through the rain and into the soggy ground. It was one of the worst shows for me in 25 years.

We’ll get the “Nels Stats” out of the way first, though. Set up would have been easy if you showed up early at 11:00 on Thursday morning. I didn’t and neither did half of the artists in the show who showed up about 5:00 in the afternoon, so I and others had about a 60-75 minute wait to go in line from Gaulbert up to Hill Street. After being on the road for about two and a half hours plus starting the wait time, my bladder was working overtime. Several of us folks jumped from the vehicles and hot footed it over to the bar at Gaulbert and Fourth to avail ourselves of the porcelain facility. Thank heavens the bar was open :-)

After we got into the artist zone, the place was packed with vans and trailers, and good luck, which was non-existent, on getting in front of your booth. Out came the carts and you started trollying things to your space and weaving between parked vans. Supposedly we had two hours to unload and set up before moving the vehicles, but by that time, the official set up time was over so you just kept on working. The smart thing was to use shims to level the Propanels, and mine were 2x4 blocks on the first panel from the curb. The curbs are crumbling badly at the edges and the best bet would have been to bring either 2x6 or 2x8 ten foot boards to bridge the curb from the street. There’s a hell of a crown on the street and almost a 6 inch drop from 10 feet out in the street to the drop off at the curb. A ten foot board is just about right to keep everything level. Too bad I didn’t bring mine.

Space behind the booth is ample to set up an awning that can go 7 feet behind the booth. I use adjustable painter poles, 3-axis corner connectors, and a couple of Flourish upper Sta-bar clamps on my EZ-Up to mount an awning frame work. It came in mighty handy when the Great Deluge hit on Saturday. The neighbors to either side had to contend with telephone poles and squeezed inward toward me so there was very little clearance between tents but still enough. Barely. Tubs can be stacked along the retaining wall at the back of the sidewalk or on top of the wall and still leave adequate room to walk through. Signs were out in force, along with pedestals and plastic chains, indicating that only artists and show staff were allowed behind the booths. Didn’t do much good as people still walked back there.

Power is not available unless you find a friendly resident and I assume a reasonable exchange of funds is done and you can plug in an extension cord. One artist about 6 booths further up did that. I brought the boat battery but thought there was enough charge in it. I was wrong and only had about 5 hours operation out of it. Lights are needed as it’s dark under those trees.

Friday showed up nice and clear, and people were wandering the show about a half hour early. Crowds picked up a little but not the hordes I’ve seen in past years. The TV stations were telling everyone to go on Friday or go on Sunday when "bargains would be available”. If someone can find that WAVE-TV dumbass reporter, be sure and pimp slap that twit until her ears ring. That kind of crap we can all do without.

I had a smallish number of people come into the booth, relative to the numbers out in the street. I had lots of oohs and ahhs, and compliments on my "eye". At least no one asked what camera I used. Unfortunately, no one bought anything on Friday despite that being rumored to be the best day. I guess they were planning to come back on Sunday and try to get that "deal" the TV station was talking about. Luckily I was staying with relatives and had supper with them or I would have been tempted to drown the disappointment of a zero day with excessive amounts of alcohol. Those compliments may be nice, but there is no currency conversion rate to turn them into bucks in the bank.

Saturday rolled around, and I left early in order to get a close parking spot again. Turned out to be a very good idea the way things turned out. Low lying areas were fogged in as we drove in from the south side of the county. That was a harbinger of bad s**t to happen later that day. We get in early, I set up the rear awning and wrap a couple of extra side tarps around the sides and back of the awning and close it in. Damn good thing as a few hours later it started to rain. And rain. Then rain some more. People were out with umbrellas. Some were wearing trash bags. Some were just wet. I still wasn’t selling anything. Finally someone comes in and asks if I had a small print of a larger framed piece I had. Nothing in the flip bin, but I did one out the print box I keep in the back. Sold it as is, no matte, tossed it a bag with a foam-cor backer for $20. That was my sole sale at St. James this year. A grand whopping $20. Damn, just kick me for good measure.

This was to be my make or break year at St. James. It’s broken; I ain’t going back. No way in hell. The staff and volunteers are great, they bend over backwards for the artists, I’ve got no complaint with them. I wish they ran other shows I’ve been at. I do other shows in Louisville and do much better with a lot less expense. My local relatives, who used to live in the middle of Old Louisville where the show is, tell me the show has become too unwieldy and large, and it’s difficult because of the size to find specific art you’re interested in. The cachet of finding something at St. James seems to be for lower end price points according to them. I don’t know, as all I know is first year was break even, my sales went up the second year and made some profit after all was said and done,and  last year I lost money although not as much. This year marks one of the worst shows in 25 years for me.

The crowd, for whatever reason, is not my crowd. My prices are middle of the road, not the lowest and not the highest, and it does sell occasionally. Damn near getting skunked is not a pleasant experience, and the time has arrived to pull the plug on it. Unlike other shows that did poorly, I can’t point a finger at the promotion or the way things were run. What I do and the prices I ask just don’t seem to be the right fit for this show. I read earlier on a thread that was deleted that several people had very good shows, and there are always some people who will do very well just as some are going to do poorly. If I’m going to do poorly, don’t count on me to be back very often. I may be stubborn but I’m not stupid.

I ran into one artist who was a prior customer at another show who is now doing art shows himself. He said this was his make or break year for the show, and I talked to a few others in the same situation. I chatted with another artist at tear down who was stuck in traffic in front of my booth and she related it was a poor show for her and she won’t be back next year either. It all makes sense when part of the promotion on the TV stations included information about how there were many new artists. Yeah, no kidding, I think I know why.

Now for the rest of the story. It rained off and on all during the day. The water started flowing in the gutters and started rising just like the Ohio River during the Great Flood of 1937. First there were trickles, then the water started running fast in the gutters. The drains couldn't keep up. People were still out there walking the show. What I did observe is that few of them would flick their heads from side to side to check out the booths; they just seemed to be on a mission to go somewhere and it wasn't in the booths. More than once, I overheard conversations about having to hurry up so they can “see” the rest of the show. My gut feel is that the show has become a social event where you see and be seen.

The rain kept coming down, the water started getting higher and pretty soon it was at least 5 inches and deeper as it lapped up over the curb and started back on the sidewalk. It reached about 7 feet from the curb up into the street, leaving only about 3 feet of “dry” pavement in the booth. The west side of the street was even worse with the water reaching 3-4 feet out in front of the booths.

The artist next to me said that several artists further up on the street were talking about pulling out that night because of low sales and conditions. That turned out to be a moot point as about 3:15 or so we got word from the volunteers to shut down at 5:00 and tear down with Sunday being cancelled. By that time several booths around us had already dropped their fronts and were closed, presumably with tear-down taking place inside. We started about 3:45 taking down prints and drying out a couple of tubs that weren't as water proof as I thought they were. Sunday was supposed to be high winds, heavier rain, and lightning. Given that forecast, it was a good call. There was a nice period where the rain stopped and we got a lot of stuff carted to the van over on Hill.

As neighbors left, we were able to get the van in and finish tearing down the tent. The last part was in the rain although everything was packed except the tent frame and the top. No way in the devil was I going to fold that John Mee top with the rain coming down, so I had the bright idea to collapse the frame, lift the back corners and start rolling the top like a giant jelly roll. I’ll be durned if it didn’t work and that sucker was taken down in a couple of minutes, folded over, and crammed in the back of the van. Woo-hoo, we were out of there. Sorry to say, but I won’t be back.

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Here are some photos I took about mid-afternoon, just before the water reached the high point. The view is from booth 625, a little bit north of Belgravia and is looking north. The black lines are not carpeting but are the water line inside the booths. Notice that a couple of booths are already closed.

This next picture is looking south toward Hill Street, still on 4th Street and from booth 625. There's another booth closed up

I've got one more show this year, and it's about 6-7 weeks off. I've got time to do some thinking about improving prsentation and getting some new ideas worked out. Next year is gonna be a strange one as I might as well stretch and have some fun with what I'm doing.

Ok, y'all!! Still have the accent in my head, I am going to break this down into two sections, the positives first and then the negatives and I will warn you now, there are a lot of negatives. 

The Positives:

Set-up and check in for this show was a breeze.  I had no issues at all and was alone with no help from any volunteers and I got the whole display up and polished in about 2 hours.  Security was very evident and I felt totally comfortable leaving all the art there overnight.  I had about $10,000.00 in inventory.  My neighbors were all very nice and friendly and the weather was perfect.  The weather for this show was perfect all weekend actually.  No rain and temps in the mid-upper 70's with a light breeze.  I returned Saturday and not a thing was out of place in my booth.

Saturday crowds were light and thready.  I would have a bunch of people in the booth, then a trickle and then a bunch more.  I recieved countless comments on my work, the people were very polite and kind and the compliments were flowing freely and seemed genuine.  Parents were controlling their children and their dogs and I met some very nice people and petted some wonderful dogs.  My neighbors were friendly and chatty and I enjoyed them.  Greg Little, AFI member was two booths down from me with his wife Carol.  Greg and Carol are wonderful people, very nice and fun to talk to.  The three of us had dinner Saturday night at a Greek restaurant and visited and ate good food.  I really hope to meet up with them again.  Greg had a great show and won the award of distinction.  Greg's work is amazing and I am so glad he won.  He said it was his first award.    

I had one sale on Saturday evening, toward the end of the show.  It is funny, I was in the bathroom when the sale occurred and my neighbor actually handled it for me. 

Sunday was more of the same.  Light, thready crowds, lighter than Saturday.  I had a zero sale day on Sunday, but again nice people, warm compliments and good weather. 

The negatives:  Stop reading this now if you don't want to be depressed or very mad.  If you are contemplating doing this show, please read it word for word and e mail me for pictures.  I have proof of everything.  I am not the type to critique without proof.....

I drove 650 miles each way for this show.  I chose to do that willingly, so no one is to blame there.  I arrived Friday night and while I was setting up passers by in droves going to and from a concert kept asking me and my neighbors, "What's all this for?"  They seemed to have no idea that there was an art fair there that weekend.  My neighbors were concerned that either they didn't promote this show or the promotions were centered on the music festival going on and not the art.      

Saturday was light, thready crowds as I mentioned earlier.  I would not say this show was well attended at all.  I was surprised at how many people were carrying these lawn chair in a bag things.  I had never seen these before and then it happened.  A very careless woman comes into my booth with her lawn chair strung over her shoulder and knocks over a pedestal.  She destroyed a $300.00 piece.  My claws don't usually come out, but they did then.  I told her she needed to pay for it and of course she refused.  I said some very unpleasant things told her where to shove her lawn chair and to get the blank out of my booth. 

Compliments galore all day from everyone who entered my booth, but these people were not buying.  I saw very few packages going by and most of them were carrying beers and ice cream cones.  I know a few people had a good show, but I did not and several other artists I spoke to didn't either.  One painter came up to me and was noticably upset with lackluster sales and I tried to council her as best as I could.  It was very hard to not break out in tears several times throughout Saturday.  I almost did once and had to go to the restroom and then call my husband. 

Due to the fact that they had no booth sitters and no volunteers checking on artists with the exception of the free lunch that we will get to later, I had to leave my booth unattended or under watch from a neighbor multiple times to use the restroom or take a refreshment break.  This made me nervous and I felt bad imposing upon my neighbors so much.  They were gracious though and I appreciated that.  My one sale from the show came late Saturday evening and was sold by my neighbor, Shirley while I was in the bathroom.  Go figure.  Thanks to Shirley for being an angel.      

Lunch:  Ok, this is where I get insulted.  This show gave the artists lunch both days as one of the very few amenities it offered.  It was a joke.  I recieved a 2 inch square sandwich/hors d'ouvre and a bag of crushed potato chips and a bottle of water each day for lunch.  I know how this sounds and it was so absurd, I took a picture of it, e mail me if you want to see the proof.  I am not one to be ungracious or unappreciative of anything.  I have manners, am polite and appreciate the effort, but come the f**k on!!  If you are going to do something, do it right or not at all.  I would and I am sure anyone with a modicum of class or respect for another person would have been embarrassed to serve that.  My advice to this show is to spend the money for the lunch on a volunteer coordinator or better advertising.  We can fend for ourselves and do much, much better.  Just about everyone I spoke to ended up getting something else anyway.  We were all starving again in an hour. Thank god they had good popcorn available in the arts center for purchase. 

Amenities for the artists:  the lunch both days as mentioned above, a beer cozy that went straight into the trash and a little promo bag of coffee from a local coffee distributor.  It was actually good.  That was it!! No booth sitters, no director's cell phone number in case of emergency, no artist reception, no t shirt, nothing!!  Again, I don't need much and I appreciate everything that anyone gives me, but this show advertises southern hospitality and falls flat on its face in reality. 

Ok, I met the director of the show on Saturday after I asked her who she was and then introduced myself.  She was talking to someone else outside my booth and I approached her because I saw her radio and had hoped she was a booth sitter.  She was too busy to talk to me and promptly left and said she would be back tomorrow (Sunday).  I never saw her again.   She has recieved an e mail from me already, I will update this blog if I ever hear back from her.     

I met my first volunteer on Sunday night as I was packing up my van.  A lady named Nancy, who was very nice, unfortunately got an earful.  I asked her where she had been all weekend and where the other volunteers were.  She didn't give me a straight answer, but did help me load up a few things.  In all fairness, I was told by another artist that they had a hard time getting volunteers for this show.  Appearantly this show was moved up a month earlier than usual so as to not compete with New Orleans and this was the first year for the new date.  It would have been nice to know that up front. 

Financial:  I did not come remotely close to making expenses for this show.  I had one sale, had a piece broken that cannot be fixed and was told by several other artists that the sales were way, way down from previous years.  At least four other artists I spoke to said they would not be back.  In all fairness, my neighbor, Greg as I mentioned before, had a great show.   I am so glad he won the award too, he certainly deserved it. 

I had to drive straight home on Sunday night becuase I could not justify the cost of spending the night in a hotel.  I drove the 650 miles home and got in at 5:30 this morning.  I already had incurred so many costs, and with one sale, I didn't want to go in the hole even more. 

Blacklisting:  Here's the deal...I will never review a show or say anything negative about a show that is not true and that I can't prove.  I am someone who struggles every month to pay the bills and can't afford to do shows that are this bad on a regular basis.  Occasionally, we all have bad shows, it's part of the business, but I also think there are things shows are responsible for doing/providing when they take our booth fees and I will hold them accountable.  I have serious concerns, empathy and respect for other artists that compell me to share information that may help them avoid situations like this.  I think that when a show is this bad and underperforms what it promises/sells to us as artists, we need to be informed about it.  If a show director is going to blacklist me for speaking the truth, be my guest!  I do not deal with people that are untrustworthy or corrupt, so if you are a director and want to avoid having me in your show because you are afraid I will speak the truth, go right ahead and blacklist me forever, take me out of your shows if they are in the future and send me my booth fee back.  I don't want to do your show if it is poorly ran anyway.  I simply can't afford to.    

Ok, bottom line is this:  I had high hopes for this show.  I went into it with an open mind, a positive attitude and spoke kindly to everyone around me and everyone who entered my booth and complimented my work.  I willingly and happily drove a long way and took the risk.  My attitude could not have been better for this show.  I am sorry to have to write such a negative review, but it is true and deserved.  I will never do this show again and will never recommend it to anyone.  If you are local and have low costs and a free weekend, it may be ok for you.  I did not make booth fee and application fee for this show.  Advice to anyone travelling to shows, avoid this mess at all costs. 

I will be at Great Lakes Art Fair in Novi, MI this weekend, I hope and pray for a  better show there, look for my review next Monday here on AFI.  Thanks! Elle     

I have a show this weekend where the weather is "iffy" rain-wise.  I've seen mentions of using "swim noodles" in the roof of the tent but never having seen these used, I have no idea what you're supposed to do with them.  Flotation devices in case the water gets that high??

Cassandra

Recently, an art fair friend of mine suffered unfounded accusations of forgery and/or copying from a person he has never met. These claims were posted on his business Facebook page. The language was a bit vile. An art fair show director looked at his page to see more of his work (beyond his jury photos) and saw this post. The director called my friend for clarification and was satisfied with the answers, yet it could easily have gone the other way. My friend removed the offensive post, but is understandably very upset.

We should all be aware of the damage we can do with social media and refrain ourselves. My friend's livelihood depends on his ability to get into good shows. This bad comment nearly ruined his chance for at least one show and maybe did eliminate him from others. Who knows?

Calling for self control!

Robin Ragsdale
www.evenbetterimages.com

I am licking my wounds right now and avoiding my credit card statements after the last two shows where I didn't even make expenses.  Two shows which by all research should have been at least paycheck shows, and I'm all out of Xanax.  What is an artist to do?

Setauket, a little village of wonderful demographics right next door to my hometown on Long Island, sorely disappointed in many ways, especially with the nighttime booth robberies.  But I'll address that in another blogpost.  I did well as a rookie art show artist here in 2008, and expected (perhaps delusionally, in retrospect) a sort of prodigal-daughter-returns-home kind of show.  It was a dogwalk.  There are some shows that urge me to take up pet portraiture again, because THAT would have sold.  The shoes were here.  The weather was perfect.  The wallets stayed firmly out of sight.  And every breed in the AKC was here too.  I had some maddening nibbles from two interior designers, who of course  did not have their business cards on them, one said she had a client on the Gold Coast who"didn't want a landscape, but something beachy" and my giant conch "was perfect".  Now I know how guys feel with a case of blue balls. 

Well, ok, I thought, this whole trip so far has been one good show, one bad show.  Onto Montclair, NJ.  Let's go wrangle this monster RV over the Cross Bronx Expressway and the GW into the well-heeled Jersey suburbs.

Aaaack.

Did I say my prayers Friday night?  Did I neglect St. Luke, the patron saint of artists?  Should I have conducted a small animal sacrifice? Should I have bought far more cheap wine and cigarettes to numb the increasing panic as the hours ticked down to five o' clock Sunday?

Oy vey. (I can say this, I just back from Long Island and stuffed myself on good bagels and lox)

Howard and Rose did everything right.  They advertised prolifically, and are wonderful people to boot.  The show is in a great area.  The weather again cooperated.  But the dogwalkers ruled the day.  Munks described in a recent post the vacancy in peoples' eyes, the absence of hope.  My booth buddy neighbor said, "These people could walk off a cliff."  I was not the only artist who didn't make expenses.  I'm stymied, and more than a bit anxious.  And I don't like the cheap red wine I'm drinking.  I'm second guessing my decisions made earlier this year (completely sober, thank you) on where in New England to show my very New England beachy work.  If it's true that it takes three years for an audience at a particular show to accept that you are here for real as an artist, well then, I'm screwed, because I'm basically unemployable at anything else.

So how do YOU prop yourself up after falling face first?

I am painting my studio floor so my lovely outdoor studio is out of commission until the paint dries.  What Framer Dude and I had anticipated to be a 36 hour project looks like it may be turning into a nightmare, and I am facing the next week possibly painting at my dining room table where the light sucks.  I have a commission on my easel mocking me next to its ersatz place next to the TV.

Home improvements rarely ever go as scheduled.  What should have been an easy DIY task has already led me to an aggravated call to Valspar, the possibility now of grinding up the two coats of Porch and Floor paint we've applied, and another several days painting in the dining room, and eating over the sink (well, in front of the TV)

Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy.  So what's y'all's beefs today?