Quick few lines before I pass out, the heat took it out of everyone...we're at the COC Old Saybrook arts and crafts festival, and I can't complain. I saw more people in the first hour here than all weekend at Hyannis last weekend, and although the quality ran the gamut from those bedeviling BS to a few really high end fine artists, turnout was great on Sunday and people were pulling out their wallets. Did the requisite 10x booth fee, sold originals, and lotsa contacts. More to follow. Must rehydrate now. On to Mystic!
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Lisa, it just bugs me people bring their pets to an art show!! Pets aren't into Art. There are usually so many people that pets can get stepped on, the cement is hot, artists don't need animals coming into their booths and, then, they do end up going to the bathroom where people are walking. People need to leave their pets at home! I am always glad when I see an art show or fair that doesn't allow pets. More shows need to do that if only for the reason that pets shouldn't be relieving themselves where you are trying to work.
Jacki B
I have just arisen from the necessary post show snooze and charging of the batteries! Framer Dude always walks and inspects the show, and was stunned at the amount of BS. I spoke with one watercolor painter, who told me that because there needed to be 5 in any given category to have judging, and there was only 4 w/c artists at the show, there was no judging for his category. That struck me as odd, because there was no money attached to the awards anyway, which kinda bummed me out because I took 2nd in oils. Apparently it lets you jury in for free next year, and that assuaged me a bit until I found out that if you paid for next year's booth before you left on Sunday, you don't pay a jury fee either. Geez, a free coffee would have been nice. Or a bag of ice, in the case of this weekend.
Load in, for me, was pretty much a breeze only considering the lay of the land, it was mostly pavement. Friday's 99 degrees aside, there was a kids' bicycle fest going on right in the center of loading (at the middle school), with cops all over telling us first to park here and then, no wait, go over there...Now this aggravates the &^%^%^%* out of me and Framer Dude, because I am very clear when I speak in advance to whoever is running the show that I am arriving in a 40 foot 5th wheel toyhauler, and if at all possible, I try to arrive early if it's not inconvenient, so that I can get my huge ass in and out quickly, because I know I take up a lot of room. Most of the time, the show director actually prefers us to arrive on site early and get out of the way. Well, the cops had their own agenda, and just as we were about to drop our tailgate where the show director told us and unload, we were told to move. Trying to maneuver the Artship Enterprise is like parallel parking an aircraft carrier. There was strength in numbers, because a couple of fellow artists with equally large RVs also came early, and we finally explained that once we park our rigs and the other smaller vehicles start to park around us, we can't just drive through that teeny space between two vans and make that tight little turn. Don't ask me why this was such a hard concept to comprehend. So one cop tells us fine, how long will it take you, oh, and by the way we're not holding your RV parking spot. ARE YOU SERIOUS?? Because I sent that form in two weeks ago and was assured a spot!!! At the same time, the one officer was literally timing us on unloading so the kiddies' bike fest could have its parking back, during which time two little kids drove right into Framer Dude with a full dolly load!
Seriously, the right hand needs to talk to the left hand sometimes. It's really aggravating when the local law enforcement feels it necessary to step in and "coordinate" (read: make much more difficult) the show when artists and show directors know what they're doing, especially after 48 years.
OK, I admit the heat magnified some of those issues, and overall, it was a pleasant show to do. All it takes for me, as a high end oil painter, is that one fairy godmother/father to happen by my booth and buy one single original, and they visited me and sprinkled their Tinkerbell fairy dust and made me oh so happy this weekend. My small prints sold like hotcakes, which are my bread and butter in this economy, and got me to booth fee on Saturday.
We had one of the best Happy Hours at Liv's, where the calamari and fried shrimp baskets were 4 bucks each and the best I've had in ages. Framer Dude, feeling very brave after finding out he actually liked calamari (pre Happy Hour: "I ain't touching that rubbery slimy sh*t!!") celebrated by ordering us Washington Apple shots which cost more than the food...oh well, we were pretty happy by then! Will I do it again? I didn't sign up right after the show, I'm going to wait and see how the rest of my New England tour goes.
Oh, Lisa, what a shame! We did a show in July where a dog peed on the tent and the owner didn't do a thing!What happened to being responsible for your pets?? And those jurors should lower their heads in shame. Regardless of their point of view, they have a responsibility to be respectful of every artist's work.