FABULOUS Organization for this Show!My medium is Great Lakes Nautical & Nature Photography http:www.andersonphotoworks.comHosted by the Wisconsin Designer Crafts Council (WDCC) the 35th was held in downtown Milwaukee on the grounds of the Marcus Center for Performing Arts and adjacent (across the street) Red Arrow Park. Marvelous area with great restaurants and along the Milwaukee River. Likely the best area in Milwaukee. Details about and list of this years artists can be found at http://www.wdcc.org/exhibitions/index.cfmI applied for this event in February and was placed on the wait list - but was notified early June that I was accepted. This is an easy 30 minute drive from home so I pulled out of another show with hopes I'd do well with "locals". Entry fee was $350 - less for WDCC members (I may join this great group later this year). Passes were given for access to the adjacent parking ramp for Friday & Saturday. Sunday we found very close downtown parking (free metered parking on Sundays).WDCC runs the event with the artist in mind. Many attending are members of WDCC. Setup is "dolly in", but depending on booth location, there are several unload/load areas and we found no waiting problem pulling up and dropping off. We opted to set up the tent and hardware on Friday evening as we heard we would have rain that evening into Saturday morning. We brought our stock on Saturday morning. Not sure of numbers, but they have a huge amount of volunteers assisting both days. The program is terrific, listing artist alphabetically by name on one page and by booth number on another. A well defined map is included in the program. Terrible rain/storms plagued the weekend, but I must jump to Sunday. Heat index was over 100 and was sunny but humid and hot hot hot for most of the day. Around 1:00 volunteers stopped at each booth to mention terrible storms were on their way and said we had about two hours. They continued to inform us with updates (4) times up to the point of a 10 minute warning. The volunteer in our area was in touch with internet radar so he could be very descriptive & I gotta say - these guys were great. All notices were much appreciated! We actually began putting some things down at 2:00 tent, propanels, framed items etc, but left the matted pieces out yet prepared to put into plastic bins in seconds. We were totally packed by 4 and I must say - as I sit at my computer now, listening to the heavy rain, thunder & warnings on tv - I'm so glad to be safe at home with my dry tent and art work.Back to organizers - Each morning included a wonderful breakfast inside the spectacular air conditioned Marcus Center - breakfast included hot quiche, bagels & locks, huge yummy fruit platters, coffee, sweet rolls & a variety of muffins. After the show ended Saturday they held an equally fantastic "artist get together" with taco salad/chips, cheese platters, tons of other food & a cash bar. I saw some artists working on closing for the evening and volunteers noticed & brought food to their booth! Saturday had a lovely silent auction I was happy to participate in (hope my kayak photo did well). Artist information packet included the address. I don't know why all events don't have this as it's great for artists to enter into gps. I'm not so sure I would have liked being in the Red Arrow Park area as it is across the street from the main show - but each time I looked, they had a good crowd as well. VERY cold water (in those big orange jugs) and insulated coffee cups were available at all times to artists in a covered "porch" area of the Marcus Center Building. So very appreciated as it was hot. I went through alot of water.As we expected - Saturday morning was a series of several downpours until about noon or so. Greeting us at our drop off point was our favorite volunteer we met Friday. Soaking wet, she kept drop off flowing well and she dealt with cranky artists with great patience. We had thought we were quite smart in having our tent up & ready for us to load our stock quickly during the downpour. Oh my..... as we stepped into the tent, our feet sank up to our ankles (no exageration) in half of the area. This is why I always take 2 sets of extra clothing and shoes to every event. We were fortunately near the side of the Marcus Center and had a porchlike area to drop our stock and keep it dry. The rain was loud and hearing conversation was difficult. As we sat in the higher area of our tent we just waited out the rain - great time for that yummy breakfast. I did feel badly for the artists that waited to set up until Saturday. Eventually, the rain subsided and all were assessing the situation. We were on grass but those on concrete were also flooded.Adversity presents opportunities for organizers to be either loved or hated. Well - WDCC rose to the occasion. Immediately several Marcus Center grounds crew were out with squeegies & brooms swishing the water as much as they could. They continued this for over an hour. The norm for this show was to keep everything in your 10x10 booth. Adjustments were made and artists were allowed to expand outside of their area the best they could. We ended up not even using the inside and just put the propanels up for the framed work and set up on the other side of the sidewalk in a cut out area of the Marcus Center Building. While we were exposed to brief showers, this worked out well for us. During the showers we covered the matted artwork briefly with plastic & uncovered shortly thereafter. It reminded me of the art shows of the 60's & 70's - before everyone had tents. Organizers brought large cardboard for those in need (none that I saw had the mudhole we had - just water). Again, volunteers circled continually offering any assistance needed. I think we started setting up the product around 1:00. The judges were exceptional and I have never had this kind of interaction (I do shows most every weekend). They were personable, asked several questions you would think ALL judges should plus some questions that are typical of patrons. They spent quite a bit of time in each booth. This may be the reason that there was absolutely no sell/resell attendees. Screening is terrific. The event is called a "craft fair" but I must say - these were artists! I've always said to many "fine artists" that would never think of themselves in the same category as "crafters"...... don't judge a show by the name. All work at this show was of the highest quality and far better than some "fine art" shows.Artists were given typical name badges, altho these also had Barbara's (head organizer) name & cell number listed. I called her immediately after the rain about the mud and she was at my tent within minutes. She also personally checked in with each artist several times during the two days and was clearly visible as she walked the event frequently. Security & grounds crew was through the Marcus Center and the two organizations worked well together using headsets. Every problem or concern was immediately addressed.There were no porta potties on site. I hate porta potties! Artists and patrons were allowed access to the Marcus Center. Class act here. For those not familiar with the area - Marcus Center for Performing Arts is as great as Broadway. This weekend they had Phantom of the Opera and we had several high sales from those attending. It was personally fun to hear their excitement of the play. I must see it soon. A very nice food vendor and a beverage vendor (speciality coffees and fantastic fresh squeezed fruit drinks) provided artists and patrons with additional refreshments.Patrons for the most part attend this annually and are very art savvy! I enjoyed meeting them all.VERY glad to meet Geri Wenger - a member of artfairinsiders. Hubby was minding the booth for a bit when she first stopped and I'm so glad she returned. Thanks Geri.... I enjoyed our conversations and hope we meet again soon. Thanks also for the purchases!Needless to say with all the rain and late start/early end my sales were not what I had hoped. But I did quite well considering and hope to be accepted next year. I have NO complaints (do you believe it ?) other than the weather. Great potential here in better weather. I will post my typical YouTube videos tomorrow sometime.
We were across the street in the Red Arrow Park, which is a skating rink in the winter. Flat concrete, easy setup, good traffic flow. Very good report, Linda, and I just want to add that the judging for this show is phenomenal! Both judges spent time in EVERY booth, so much time in fact that they were late in making the awards. They and the patrons tended to be interested in the work, but the weather did a lot to kill the show this year.
I do think that many patrons don't make it across the street to the RA park, which is unfortunate, as it is more open than the wooded muddy area next to the Marcus Center. It's an interesting layout, to say the least.
But we had a good time. First time back to Milwaukee since I lived there years ago. Downtown has changed greatly, for the better. Lots going on, many good restaurants, music in the parks, a thriving downtown cultural hub.
Okay.... (4) YouTube videos on Morning Glory have been added to our YouTube area. These were taken early Sunday - no rain yet, humid with 100 degree heat factor. Heat kept the crowd lower than on Saturday. As this area in downtown Milwaukee is wonderful and full of historical architecture, hubby did much of this video for our recollection so please pardon much of these videos are for our enjoyment. But.... you'll get the overall idea from pieces of each. I had to laugh that in one of them he could not find a way to get around a couple of patrons. Enjoy all!
Comments
I do think that many patrons don't make it across the street to the RA park, which is unfortunate, as it is more open than the wooded muddy area next to the Marcus Center. It's an interesting layout, to say the least.
But we had a good time. First time back to Milwaukee since I lived there years ago. Downtown has changed greatly, for the better. Lots going on, many good restaurants, music in the parks, a thriving downtown cultural hub.