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Although I certainly wanted to be accepted into the Upper Arlington Arts Festival -- a show in a wealthy suburb of Columbus OH that my customers say I HAVE to start doing -- the sting almost went away when I read the line in the rejection email that said juror comments were available upon request.

What???  They'll actually share the jury notes and we don't even have to beg?

Thinking this was too good to be true, I jumped on the offer right away and shot back a request for comments.  And today, about a week later, the blessed news arrived.

First there was a brief description of the jury composition, the judging process and the scoring mechanism.  Then my score on a 7-point scale.  Then the median score in my category.  Finally, the jurors' verbatim comments.

Wow.  Really impressive.  More detail than I've ever received.  A little confusing because all the jurors' comments were quite positive, yet I didn't even make the wait list.  The other applicants must have been really good, and I say good for them.

I feel so positive about this show's transparency and respectful behavior that I will happily donate my jury fee again next year.  I'm even feeling inspired to pull out the sketchpad and try to up my game with some new and improved work in the hopes of improving my score next year.

So if you'll be in the Midwest over Labor Day weekend in 2015, give this show a try.  You'll find them on Zapp.

i didnt think that nels and others questions were out of line . if its really none of our business why post at all? it would be good to have a reference points as  to what sales were in round figures, what was being sold, price range of the work and anything else that might help us out .i had read aa posts about how bad it is but leslies post has me rethinking about applying to aa. is so. univ. part of something else or is it a show by itself? more info never hurts, im not the irs . im just trying to figure out a show that ive always heard great things about. recent posts had me wondering. im glad you had a really good show mary and that you knew what ques to ask. i dont...yet, but ill never figure it out if i dont ask. as a general rule i think a lot of posters are too ambiguous. give up the details, good or bad and let us figure it out for ourselves. we thank you.

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 have been noticing lately that there does seem to be many members on the site on a daily basis.  As I look around and read the posts I can see just how many other people have also read the same posts.  We are glad that there are many people reading the posts and blogs.  Do you know what would make this site better?  If you would take a few minutes to leave a comment or a question others will get to know you and what you are all about.  By posting and leaving a comment you will be making friends in the Art Show Business all over the country.   This will be great networking for you, too.   It is very rewarding when you finally get to meet other artists that you have interacted with here at AFI.   Meeting artists at shows allows you to actually put a face to the name that you have been conversing with for months and maybe eventually years. 

As I have been looking around and reading blogs and posts I can actually see that many postings have 100, 200, or more views but maybe only 5 people have left a comment.  I understand that we can't always leave a comment because sometimes we don't have a background on a particular topic.  Sometimes just leaving a simple "this has been great reading" or "I have enjoyed reading all these comments", or even "thanks for starting this topic".  We will all benefit as more and more people take part and get involved.  Reach out, welcome new people, comment, that is the kind of interaction and activity that makes this such a great site.  If you have just been a lurker for a while break out of your shell and get to know us so we can get to know you.  Lurkers, we are calling you to come out and get to know us. 

I think it is safe to say that we would all be disappointed if there weren't blogs and posts to read here.  We would soon become bored and wouldn't be coming back here.  Don't be afraid to leave a comment no matter how small.  It is appreciated.  Start a post or blog.  What is on your mind?  What are you having a problem with?  Take a few minutes and welcome the newbies.  Just make sure you leave a little comment so that we know you are here!  The AFI members are what makes this site great.

Jacki B