Let me preface this by saying I have been a glass artist for 6 years. Started out doing small shows and I am slowely working up in caliber of show.
This is my third year doing Magic City. It has always been one of my best and favorite. The staff work hard to make it a good show. With all the tornado's and bad weather we almost decided not to take the trip. All the weather came in on Tuesday and Wednesday and we were to drive down on Thursday. We called and were reassured that the park and downtown were in great shape and they were. No damage. Driving down certian parts of the state looked like a war zone. Total disaster. But as we got into town everything looked good. You have to feel sorry for those people in the surrounding area though. Total devestation.
Anyway, back to the show. Layout is great. Load in is easy, load out is ok. Lots of ladies wearing red aprons eager to do what they could to help. We sat up pretty quick with not much trouble. Off to Dreamland to get ribs.
Day one of the show was slow. We didn't expect much. Citizens of that area had so much more to worry about than the art show. The crowd was sparce most of the day. We made a few sales but just a few. That evening after the show they had a dinner for the artist and gave awards. While I don't ever expect to win an award (there are people with much more experience than I who are far more deserving) I do have a couple of opinions. One of those opinions is that there shouldn't be only one judge. Although they brought in a young California artist who was a qualified artist there should always be more than one. Then it's not just one man's opinion. That being said I somewhat agree with who won the awards. A ceramist friend of mine won Best of Show and deserved it. Lots of awards were given. It was a nice evening.
Saturday the crowd was better. Weather was beautiful. Sales were pretty much confined to the $25 to $100 range for me but a glass artist across from me sold a $1000 piece and and $3000 piece. So money was out there. (I don't even have a $1000 piece in my booth). We did sell a $425 woven glass wall sculpture so all wasn't lost. The crowd stayed pretty much all day. We had a pretty good day.
Sunday started out slow. We had to wait until the church crowd let out. Around 2:00 the crowd started picking up. Sales were slower than Saturday but we did make a few smaller sales. The show was over at 6:00 and by 5:00 all the buyers were gone. So that last hour was a battle just to stay awake. Finally teardown. You had to be totally broken down before you could get a pass from one of the ladies in the red aprons. You took that pass and went to pay the taxes. Then you got a load out pass and were able to go get your vehicle. It got a little crazy trying to find a place close to your stuff to park but it all worked out.
My only problem with the show was how they placed the artist of the same medium. Within a row of 10 booths there were 4 glass artist. There were only 8 glass artist in the show of over 300 artist. They could have spread us out a little better. That being said everything else went great. You could tell much planning and thought went into the event. Lots of volunteers and it was easy to find someone to answer a question if you had one. All in all a great show and I hope to do it again next year.
Pat
Comments
Nice report Pat. It sounds like a show to do if you are less than an easy day's drive. Some issues, such as parking and load-out, and paying taxes right then, look like a real pain,
I always wondered about this show, now you gave me some really good info. Thanks, Nels.
Many thanks, Pat, for this review. Looks like you have covered all the bases.
I was particularly concerned about this show...I mean, when a tornado has just blown through town, who will attend? Good for you for making the drive even with all the questionable weather. I know this committee works hard and is very proud of their show. It had to be very scary for them. I was thinking would they just cancel the show? then not return the booth money and ask everyone to come back next year? Or would they refund the money -- either way they would be in real financial trouble and maybe this would be the end of the event. Looks like my scenario did not play out. Good for everyone.
One thing I remember about this show is there is no close parking and there is a lot of hauling, sometimes up a hill. Right? I also remember some wonderful regional artists that don't make the trek elsewhere, and an amazing library beside the park.
And the food!! What a great eating town! We even went to a catfish joint outside of town.