Blog

Deadline: February 14 - 6 pm ET

What was the best content on AFI in January?

• Carol Knox - "Mock Jury - St. Louis", Jan. 27
• Lori Kay - "Bye bye Suncoast "art" festival", Jan. 21
• Amy Fletcher - "Callanwolde: Has this ever happened to anyone else-juried in and then bumped?", Jan. 18
• Melanie Rolfes - "Las Olas Part I. 2014", Jan. 6
• Nels Johnson - "A Pirate Looks at 68", a 3 part series, Dec. 31-Jan. 2

Who was the best community member who shared generously and you could count on to help you out?

• Greg Little
• Karole Bowlds
• Jacki Bilsborrow
• Geoff Coe
• Larry Berman
• Karen Holtkamp
• Other

Vote here: Click here to take survey

 It will only take 15 seconds!

Many thanks to all of you who keep this community active and full of useful information and great stories about living the life of an artist.

Presenting this month: 2 show reviews, a report on an open jury and a philosophical discussion about owning art. Good job, folks!

Vote now for the people who won the weekly post of the week awards. Which one deserves to win "Post of the Month?"

• Ruth Finkenbiner - "Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival - October 19-20, 2013"
• Geoff Coe - "My Northeast Show Summer: Sandy and Sequester take their toll"
• John Hunsucker - "Ft. Worth Main Street Jury"
• Larry Berman - "The New Definition of Owning Art"

Next: 

Who has contributed the most to the community this month and deserves the Big Red Dot on their profile picture?

• nominate a member who has helped you most on this site

Click here to take survey

Deadline for voting: December 15, 6 pm

Let's reward the people who wrote the best content on ArtFairInsiders.com in May.

1. "Top Ten Lessons Learned from our First Show or Learning to Swim By Jumping in the Pool", John Smith, May 8
2. "2nd Annual Dewey Beach ArtsFest - The Rain Date May 12, 2013", Mark V. Turner, May 15
3. "Broad Ripple Review," Margaret Luttrell, May 22
4. "Musings from Mulvane .. in Topeka, KS", Brian Berkun, June 2

Also, many people keep this site helpful and the rewards are few. Let's reward some of the people who give so generously of their time. Who has been especially helpful to you this month? They will receive a fabulous Red Dot on their profile picture.

Choose 2:

1. Maryllis Wolfgang
2. Mark V. Turner
3. Bill McLauchlan
4. Kay Cummings
5. Pat Falk
6. Carrie Jacobson
7. John Smith
8. Brian Billings
9. Chris Pawlik

Many thanks to them specifically and to all the rest of you who make this site useful to so many.

Click here to take survey

Come on folks -- this is quick and easy. Let's reward the great folks who add such useful and entertaining content to this site. Where would we be without them? 

April's nominees are:

• Mary G. Holland's discussion, "Are Better Craft Shows Fizzling Out?" - April 3
• Gayle Weiss' 2 part blog post, "An Open Letter to the Jury, Part I" (April 9) and "An Open Letter to the Jury, Part II" - April 10
• Alan Anderson's blog post, "The Truth About Credit Card Processing" - April 17
• Oscar Matos Linares' blog post, "The Only Think I Ask You God" - April 28

We are always looking for nominations for featured members, people who really make this site a "must visit" site for art fair artists. You can give thanks to your favorite in the survey below.

Deadline for voting: May 16 - 10 pm

Click here to take survey

Thank you Mary, Gayle, Alan and Oscar and everyone else who contributed this month. Devoted to keeping AFI alive and well -- Connie and all the rest of you who make the community live! 

Here are the comments of the people who have entered to win the pass to the Zapp Conference in the order received. After you have read them all the poll is at the end to receive your votes. Be warned that you cannot change your vote after you have selected it. Deadline for voting is August 20 6pm ET.

1. The reason I want to attend the Zapplication Conference in Chicago is to learn as much as I can about the Zapplication process/system as possible. I’m new to Zapplication, even though I’ve been exhibiting for 22 years, one of my goals for 2013 is to exhibit at shows and in states I’ve never been to before. Attending this conference would definitely help me reach my 2013 goals……….please, please, please send me !
2. I have been exhibiting at Art Fairs since 1976. First 25 years with pottery and now with fiber, So, why would I want to attend? I believe the only way to be successful in this business is to continually learn, and learn from doing but also from others. Without continual change in product and in how it is marketed and sold, one can not truly be a full time exhibiting artist.
   
   I plan to be doing this another 20 years, so why stop now. The more I can learn the more opportunity to be successful and have the opportunity to exhibit at the shows that create an opportunity to sell and earn a steady income. I love to help others succeed in this business, but want to make sure I am providing good solid and current advice.
3. Why I want to attend the ZAPP conference: I need to move past the "You're so creative!" responses and reach an audience who will value and want to own pieces of my work. Also just reach a wider audience.
   
   Now on my own, I can work to develop my skill, etc., but to learn about the ins and outs of the industry takes an effort to seek out those with more experience and information than I can gather on my own. In short, I want to learn. Who doesn't? However, whatever I learn from this experience I pledge to immediately put into effective practice in my own work and share in a respectful way what I learn with others. And I'm a local if that matters.
4. I'd like to win the tickets to the Zapplication.  Just because I've never been to an art conference or to Chicago. I am 53 yrs old and have very mediocre career in art.  I have much experience in practice But marketing and selling hundreds of prints has not been in the cards.  I'd like to change that.  I want to get into this full time Art make me happy, Art makes me think,  Art makes me sane!  I want to go all over and visit art festivals and fairs.  I want to live my life the way God wanted me to live.
5. i am new to the art fair game, and need all the education and tips i can get-sure would be helpful to go to the conference!
6. My son Grant who has autism developed what some would l call an "out-of-sync" repetitive behavior of tearing paper for hours when he was very young (age 6).   He is now 17 years old and all those hours and people telling me to redirected an annoying behavior has turned into an art form and a possible career for my autistic son.   In the two years he has developed his ECo-Art form tearing and cutting recycling paper he has won major awards: Texas Rodeo Grand Champion (twice) and Houston Mayor's awards for  his outstanding volunteer work in the community teaching others to Eco-art and recycle.
   
   I would appreciate winning this conference because I have minimal knowledge of the arts.  I have had to learn quickly in these past two years in order to help my son develop a career for himself.  Having autism is a challenging disability in the employment world.   So I need to learn a lot and fast.  I believe this conference would help.
7. I want to go because I think it would be an invaluable experience not only to learn about applying for art shows, but to network with other artists.  I'm still fairly new to this and am a sponge for info!
8. I started doing shows back in the 70's as, believe it or not, a Broommaker.  I followed the show circuit on the East Coast traveling North in the summers and South in the winter months.  I did quite well with the brooms and would likely still be at it had arthritis not resulted in both hips being replaced with a long recovery period which ended the broom making as such.
   Up to date now, I've been working as a potter for a year or more and want to get back on the show circuit but am having a tough time with startup and entering shows.
   Attending the conference would give me an awesome leg up and allow me to find out what I need to do to get out there and start making a living selling my wares at shows.  Of course a comp ticket would really help me afford to make the trip.
9. I am switching careers ....from a postal worker to a full time jeweler.  This would benefit me greatly.  I have been on the art fair circuit for several years, but have never really been juried. Just getting some professional help would be a blessing. Thank-you.
10. You only get one chance to make a good impression. And when the room is filled with other competitors with the same idea, you gotta be your best. I wish to win the passes to move my images to the next level.  Then I want to show others how to do it. I belong to several arts groups in the Milwaukee area. I see myself giving talks to these groups. Helping others to help themselves.
11. I have been doing shows for awhile but I really need to get past the easy to get in shows and get into the harder to get in shows. This conference seems like it would be very educational and would help me move to the next step in getting into the better shows. Thank you!
12. I have been painting for the past 7 years. As of this year, I've been selling quite a few paintings. I've had quite a few commissions also. I think that my oil paintings must be getting better so I would like to expand my outreach to a larger audience. The Zapp conference sounds like just what I may need to achieve some of my goals.
13. Every once in a while, I want to meet someone. Every once in a while, I just want to know what they were thinking – or maybe what they are thinking.
    Occasionally I just want to sit down at a table, whether it is a dinner table or a conference table or some simple tavern's table and really try to understand the person or persons I am sitting with at that moment. Sometimes I just want to know when it all started to make sense. Specifically, I would love to sit down with certain people and just say, “Ok, at what point in time did you think this was a good idea and why?”.....
    Seriously. I want to go to the conference this year. I don't want to go and learn more about them. I want to go this year and write about what I see.
    
    I am an artist. I observe, interpret, and present my interpretations. I want them to know I am writing about what I see and hear. I have a show my home town the Saturday after the conference. I would like to drive to Chicago, observe and write about the the conference for every single bona fide, original, professional, artist that will read what I write before I drive to my show 400-500 miles away. I want them and you to know I will be there observing, interpreting, analyzing, and writing. Read this entry in its entirety.
14. I think I have lost my mojo.....I was working it, honest! - fifteen shows in 2010-11, I know there were things I could have done much better, but I felt pretty good about doing shows and selling (which I did ok at).  After a career in teaching high school for many years this was my dream to be a full time artist. Then I went to Switzerland for a year last year to teach at a boarding school- felt like I would never get an opportunity like that again and I rocked it-really- traveled like crazy, had some shows, it was fun but now that I am back I am having a really hard time trying to figure out how to make it work better. If I had the opportunity to attend your conference I think I might be able to get back on track and get a handle on what I need to do to grow in this business and in my art. I'm energetic, positive and in it for the long haul so I sure would appreciate any help.
15. I would love to attend the Zapp Conference in Chicago.  I have done only one art fair so far and feel very uncertain about this new business I have embarked on.  I  applied for three shows this year two of which I was accepted and one I have been wait listed for.  I know I have so much to learn and honestly I am not even sure of the questions to ask at this point.  I think this would be an invaluable experience for me to hear the experts talk about how the art fair world works, of which I fell I know very little about at this point and also hear the concerns of other artists that are present.

So there you have it folks -- great choices from beginners to seasoned artists. You will only be allowed to vote once. Deadline for voting August 20, 6 pm ET.

Here is the link so you can vote: http://www.esurveyspro.com/App/Polls/DirectPoll.aspx?id=13158