Blog

Well, I have been vey quiet lately, in case you noticed, not many show blogs out of me.

My philosophy being, if I can't say a lot of good about a show,why tear it down with criticism.

This spring has been one of the worst for me in the last ten years.  And it is not just me.  I have talked to countless friends who do jewelry,ceramics, photos, paintings, etc.  They too, for the most part, are crying the blues.

Out of 14 shows I have had maybe three that I called a real success--where I made serious granola.  Most  barely paid expenses with a little left over.  Then three were absolute stinkers.

Here is my assessment on what is going on.  It is only that.  I have done shows for more than 30 years and now weathered at least three great recessions--this one being the worst--with no end in sight yet.

Our beloved middle class buyers out there are decimated in their spending of disposable income.

The rich and well-off still got it and are buying big expensive pieces.  The middle has down-sized their buying--think $50 and under.  The lower middle--they are just looking, they are not even buying pop corn or ice cream.

My sales of 16x20 framed photos, that readily sell at $160.00, are down 60 per cent.  That is a lot.  Even the matted sales at $80 are down 40 per cent.  Low end,$40 and under, are barely holding their own.

My large sales, $200-$500 have held their own with last year, with a slight increase in framed sales.  When I run into a couple decorating their walls of a new home, I have good sale.  There are just not enough of them for me and everybody else out there.

We are more and more standing around at shows twiddling our thumbs and subdueing yawns because there is no action in the booth.

The Bonita-Naples market is over-saturated.  I will probably pass on those shows on Fifth Avenue in downtown Naples.  The sales do not merit the 3 am setup and nearly $500 booth fee.

The patrons are jaded, they walk their dogs, and keep moving on.  It is hard to get them excited about anything other than an upturn in the stock market.

For artists doing originals only, like my wife Ellen, a pastelist, it is especially brutal.  Yeah, if you are in a biggie like Winter Park, you can make serious granola.  But how many Winter Parks are there?

Last weekend at Melbourne she got a nice big red second place ribbon worth $850.00.  How were her sales for the show--zero.

We asked the wonderful people at Bank of America who hold our mortgage if they would consider adding her ribbon to their corporate art collection and gives us a partial payment credit--they said, "Nada."

So I will suffer the crowds and heat at Fernandina this weekend and make a little bit of money--probably more like gas money to power the Ford van north to Saugatuck for the summer next week.

After East Lansing in late May comes the real "tell" Columbus Art festival in June.  Most years it produces steady, great sales. But this year, who knows?

It will be very curious summer, I can't wait.

     This was my 4th year for this show and I had a great feeling going into the weekend.  MCAC is a Friday - Sunday show.  The last couple of years has had terrible weather.  Last year was the tornado outbreak that rolled through the area just a couple of days before the show so people had much more to worry about than an art show.

     All that being said this year started out good.  Set up was on Thursday.  Set up in my location went great.  I was able to back right up to the booth spot and unload.  I was lucky because most artists had to dolly into the park to their site.  We set up the tent, all the walls and some of the art.  I am a glass artist and it was a little windy so we didn't set up all the glass until Friday morning.  We visited with some friends we see every year, some great artist.  Friday night went to Dreamland for the best ribs in America.  When in Birmingham or Tuscaloosa you have to go there.  Ribs and mac and cheese.  Stuffed myself.

     We finished setting up Friday morning.  It was a beautiful day although a little warm.  We waited for the crowds.  And waited.  The traffic flow was sparse but steady.  The judge came through.  A complaint I have with this show is they only have one judge.  I never go into a show expecting to win an award (and most of the time I don't) but when you only have one judge their taste is what wins.  The "Best of Show" award went to a good friend of mine Shadow May.  Well deserved.  He is a talented ceramist and just a good guy.  Some of the other awards were not what I would have deemed award worthy but that's just me.  That's why there should be more than one judge.  Friday turned out to be a fair day.  Friday night the show had an awards dinner.  It was pretty nice for a show dinner.  Lot's of good food and wine.

     Saturday morning was sunny, warm and full of expectations.  The day started out slow but finally the crowds showed.  Items priced between $75 and $150 seemed to sell well.  We did sell a couple of pricer items.  Overall Saturday was a good day.  You saw lots of bags and packages in peoples hands.  It did get hot but the crowds stuck it out.  Saturday and Sunday from noon till 4 was their Corks and Chefs event.  It is on the show site in a tent behind where our booth was set up.  You buy a ticket ($35 I think) and you get to sample food from 10 or so resturants from the area.  You get 7 chips and each chip buys you a small plate of whatever the resturant brought to sample.  Wine, beer and cold drinks were free.  I didn't drink anything but again I stuffed myself.  I spent the next hour setting in my chair trying to ward off a nap while my wife worked like crazy trying to keep up with the customers.

     Sunday was about like Saturday.  It got hot with little breeze.  Crowd was good and steady after the church crowd came out.  People were buying but again the medium priced objects.  I talked to several artists and most said they had a fair show.  I don't think but a few had great shows but I don't think very many had lousy shows either.

     Load out was hard.  It's one of those you have to be totally torn down before you can get a load out ticket from a wandering staffer.  Then you go pay your taxes and you get a pass to go get your vehicle.  The street behind us that we used to unload was where Corks and Chefs took place so we couldn't back up to our site.  We had to dolly out to another road down a bumpy, uneven sidewalk.  The staffers working traffic were easy to work with and let me park as close as possible. 

     I like Magic City.  I will apply again but as with most shows there are some things that I wish were different.  They had a NBA basketball court set up next to the Corks and Chefs tent directly behind us.  It was for young kids to come in and learn technique and play games.  All weekend we either were listening to loud music designed to bring in young people or we had to listen to a guy with a mic call the play by play of the games and basketball drills.  Several older people who came in my booth said they couldn't stand the loud music and said they were sorry but had to leave.  I'm not sure what the basketball drills had to do with an art show.  It was just loud and drew crowds of young kids who had no intention on buying art.  I would also try to get more than one judge to evaluate the art.  It's more fair to those who might not be the kind of art that the one judge liked.  All this being said MCAC is a good show.  It seems like you ramble about the things you didn't like and don't give credit to the hard work of the committee.  I do appreciate the hard work they put in to make Magic City a good show and hope to see them next year.

June 16 & 17

Evanston, Illinois

Custer's Last Stand Festival of the Arts 
Main Street Station Shopping District, Downtown Evanston
10 am to 9 pm daily

Deadline: May 15  

375 Artists  and craftspeople from across the nation come together every  year to  exhibit and sell paintings,  ceramics, pottery, photographs,  jewelry,  graphic arts, wearable art,  country and home craft, antiques  and  collectibles. They are joined by  150 local businesses and  commercial  exhibitors who put on an old  fashioned Sidewalk Sale. Over  30 food  vendors offer a full international menu featuring the old  favorites as  well as new fare. Showcases entertainment on three  different stages.

The Custer Fair attracts over 70,000 attendees.  It has been called, "The North Shore social event of the year."  This fair has been twice voted the best art fair by North Shore Magazine and it is an inaugural inductee into the Illinois Festival Hall of Fame.

The  Chicago Sun-Times says, "This 38 year-old fest of chompin', stompin',  and shoppin' isn't just any old street fair."

The Custer Fair is located  in the Evanston Main Street Station Shopping District.

E-mail: office@custerfair.com

I have been collecting various types of art for for over 30 years.  I collect glass, pottery and jewelry primarily, but in all those years, I have amassed a collection of probably all media.  I buy what I like, not worrying about investment value, usability or popularity.  These pieces are for me to enjoy and if others do, wonderful but my feelings are what count here.

Everyone has bought things that they wish they hadn't but  that is part of the process.  Things will look good in a booth but once you get them home, they just don't work.  That is when I wish that there was a return policy at art festivals!

We are fortunate enough to have homes in Miami and the Chicago Suburbs.  I have art in both places and while both places are totally different geographically, the styles of both homes are similar.  I like what I like so naturally I would be attracted to the same things in both locations.  The overlap of artists in both areas is far greater than I would have imagined.  (although who wouldn't want to be in Florida during the winter than Chicago?)

So what makes a successful piece?  Barring a total change in my taste (and that has happened)  I find that I have pieces that I love just as much now as I did when I first saw them.  When we arrived in Illinois this week, I sat on my couch and just looked at all the art work that was here and it was a visual feast.  I had forgotten a lot of the pieces I had here because I have enough to look at and enjoy in Miami.  When I look at a piece of pottery or put on a bracelet, I will have a visceral reaction to it.  I really enjoy what I have.  

Sure there are those people that want a picture to match their sofa or a pair of earrings to go with that new outfit but I think that most patrons buy instinctively and enjoy their pieces more as time goes on, at least I hope so.

So, if you wondered what happened to that piece that you sold, it is probably in a very happy home.

Bloomington, IL just completed the Spring Bloom Art Show. This one-day show is put together by the McLean County Art Center. This year, they needed to move the show to a different building on the edge of town and move the date. Those are 2 factors that could have affected the show. There were less artists available, because of more options in show for this weekend. But it did not seem to affect the attendance of the show, when it came to buyers.

This is the 3rd or year we have done the show. And it was a good year! Our sales were double from last year. Attendees are very friendly. The staff and volunteers from the Art Center are helpful and take good care of the artits. There is plenty of time to set up on either Friday or Saturday. Coffee and donuts are available on Saturday morning. Sandwiches and soda is available at noon time for artists at no additional costs.

Bloomington Spring Bloom is quickly becoming a tradition for us.

We all start wondering when to give a break to a show.

I apply four years ago to the South University section of the Ann Arbor show. I got in the show and did a grand total of 2000.00 the first year. After all the expenses that was not great but I consider a vacation week from my regular job. Also is the first time I did the show so it should get better.

I got an invite for next year(2010) and ask for what I consider a better spot. I end up making 1200.00. I was wondering if I should do the show or not but I got an invite again for 2011. In 2011 show came and end.  In the 2011 I only make 400.00  and one of the Captain during the show ask me if will come back next year and respond was I need to think about because I only make 400 during the show but I had a wonderful time.

Some reason or another I did get an invite I was told to reapply. After these three years I choose not to do it because it was insane to do it.

So the question when you decide to drop a show? Keep in mind (sales wise) to me a good 2 day local show 2000 to 3000 and 4000 to 5000 for an out town show.

I have been doing commission work for... well, it seems all my professional life as a costumer!  Most of my independent costume design work is done with a contract for a stipend to design and produce the costumes.  It was part of my job to figure out what was needed and to make it happen.  It's not much different than any commissioned art piece--I talk with the customer, find out what they need, and then make it happen.  Just one costume at a time...

Over the last couple of years, I've been doing a lot more commission work for individuals that want a specific variation on one of the products they've 

seen in my shop, or they are looking for a specific item and they can't really find it for sale on the market.  I've made 1980s ladies velour vests, wired lace ruffs, and vests for the groom in bridal parties.  I've been hired by friends for my costume construction skills, and even made capes for drag queens!

But my latest piece was made for a performer who completely fits my style:  a juggler in a cabaret act.

This client found the listing in my Etsy shop for my "Ringmaster Vest".  It was very earthy in tone, with a swallowtail back--a very unusual piece fit for a specific look or need.  But when you're looking for a costume for your act, my work can fit the bill...

He wanted to know if I could make him a similar vest in different colors.  I said I could, quoted him a price and made a listing on Etsy.  When he purchased it, I went to work.

I gathered fabrics that I thought were indicative of what he was thinking, scanned in a photograph of them, and sent him the update.   We had conversed about his situation and the style he desired over email previously, so I was pretty sure I was moving in the right direction.  After some feedback, I gave him a rendering using the fabrics I'd swatched so he could visualize the vest more specifically with a bit more of a guide rather than words...  With his okay, I started assembling the vest.

And here's the finished product! I had to modify the pattern I was already using for my Ringmaster vest to incorporate more fabric choices and make it a smaller size.  I also used rhinestones to enhance the fabric motifs and decorate the collar.  So it wasn't an exact duplicate of the Ringmaster vest by any means, and that took a bit of coordinating and adjusting, but in the end I think the piece is incredibly effective.

I may end up doing more commission work in the future, but I have to really evaluate the price structure.  I'm learning that I have a tendency to underestimate the time investment in my projects...  I guess I never really learned to get over my eyes being bigger than my stomach...  Which could be dangerous in the future, so I have to be diligent.

Do any of you do commission work?  Do you use a specific form/format/method/system for engaging in commission work with clients?  Do you have policies that facilitate the process for you?  Do you use contracts or rely upon email agreements?  Do you have set prices, or do they vary depending on parts of the artistic process?  I'd really be curious to know.  I have not found a formulaic "structure" for the process myself, but I don't ever make anything until they've paid me first.  I spend a lot of time going back and forth in discussion prior to even starting, but I think that's better than finding out after-the-fact that what you've made isn't what the client wanted.  Being a costumer, I find that the artistic side of the process isn't my problem--it's the business side!  Go figure!!  Haha!!

I plan on taking a "catalog" of my commissioned works and other costuming items with me to the fairs and festivals so potential clients can peruse possibilities.  Anything "outside the box" of my catalog would need to be hammered out, of course.  But I think it might be a good tool to have on hand to facilitate future sales and work.  We'll see if it's effective or not--I haven't done my first fair yet, so it's all theoretical at this point!

Until next time, Live Life With Relish!

In submitting photos along with a show application, would it be considered a "no-no" to submit a photo that has two different pieces in the same photo?  I have a photo that illustrates two different types of wooden carrier.  They are very much alike except one has a swinging-handle and a lid while the other has a fixed-handle with no lid and the interier is divided into sections.  In essence, they are two different versions of the same piece.  Since a juror only has a few seconds to look at the photo would it be too confusing and might it also give the appearance of trying to show a juror two pieces while only using one of your photo choices?  I think the photo is a nice illustration  of the two different versions but I'm wondering if I might cut my own throat by  submitting such a photo.  Would appreciate others' opinions.

Saturday - June 9
Jackson, Michigan
Ella Sharp Museum of Art and History
11am-7pm
Deadline: May 11

The Ella Sharp Museum of Art & History is pleased to issue a call for artists for our annual Ella Sharp Art & Wine Festival.  Now in its eighth year, the festival has become an eagerly anticipated event which features the best of local Michigan art, beer, wine, and music. Festival goers can enjoy live music and artist booths nestled on the grounds of the Ella Sharp Museum.

There is a $5 dollar entrance fee to this year's event, that includes gallery access, live entertainment, artist booths and opportunities for tastings.  
The Festival takes place within the courtyard of the museum's historic Hillside Farm Lane and surrounding grounds. There is no entrance fee to the event itself for guests wishing to peruse artists' booths and take in the live entertainment.

The goal of the Ella Sharp Art & Wine Festival is to showcase the many talented artists, musicians, wineries, Michigan breweries and local businesses available here in Michigan and to connect them with an appreciative audience.

In addition to artist booths, the Festival will offer

All proceeds from the festival benefit the museum and our educational department which runs such  programs as Pioneer Living and Arts Go to School.

The Ella Sharp Museum is situated in a beautiful 530 acre city park and includes five galleries, historical buildings, a museum, fine restaurant and a full season of events that are popular through- out the region. I live nearby, it is a beautiful place that brings fine cultural events to the community.

Sell Your Art!

Register on-line at: http://ellasharp.org/art_wine.html 

Here's the link to info on registering each selling location in California.

 You must register each location that you plan to sell in. It's as easy as a phone call, so don't fret. 

http://www.boe.ca.gov/news/pdf/l306.pdf

Welcome to our newest advertiser, Bumbley.com, where artist John Leben and his wife Marcia host a lovely online retail store, full of fine American-Made fine art and craft.

Maybe another income source for you? Click here now!

June 8-10
Peculiar, Missouri
Fri.: 5pm-10pm; Sat.: 10am-10pm:
Sun.: 12pm-5pm
Deadline: May 7

Uniquely Hometown - Uncommonly Fun

The Clara Brierly Festival of the Arts is held in downtown Peculiar. A twenty minute drive from Kansas City.  The three day outdoor festival is in its fourth year.  There is live entertainment throughout festival, including Nashville recording artist, Drew Davis.  Events are all strategically timed to ensure sustained foot traffic.

The festival is sponsored by the Downtown Peculiar Arts & culture District and has ongoing art workshops and demonstrations.

We have both indoor and outdoor spaces available, Purchase Awards, and a special homemade breakfast is provided on Sunday for our artists.

Reasons you should consider the Clara Brierly Festival of the Arts:

• Our reputation is important and we want you to love us 
• The jury process is very selective in order to have a good mix of mediums and styles and that these are of a high quality
• The hosts of this art festival are a non profit organization dedicated to small town revitalization through a well-planned arts and culture district and artist outreach.  Making sure artists are successful in the keystone of our mission.
• Publicity in  newspapers throughout Missouri and Kansas, as well as radio, TV, and online social networks and media outlets.
• Fees are very reasonable.

How is this art fair peculiar?  Our overall vision of a small townartist community is growing and developing.  We are extremely active in state and local art and tourism organizations, and a very dedicated and invested group of visionaries.  This is evident in the way we develop our events and by the manner in which we treat artists.  We are a small group of volunteers with a huge vision.

Learn more and download the application:  www.downtownpeculiar.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking for more art fairs for 2012?
Visit www.CallsforArtists.com where you'll find art fairs looking for you!

Congratulations to the prizewinners at this past weekend's Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival. Many of them are members of ArtFairInsiders.com and old friends of mine and certainly well-deserved. It is a pleasure to see such fine work being rewarded.

Thanks to Jay Downie, director of the MSFWAF for sending me this information.

Award stipends of $10,500 were distributed to Best of Show and seven Merit Award Winners.  Jury exemption for 2013 has also be given to fourteen Juror Award winners.

Best of show - Matthew Hatala*

wood sculpture by Matthew Hatala

Merit - Alison Antelman

Merit - Sally Bright*

Merit - Glen and Gayle Wans*

Merit - Ray Jones*

Merit - Timothy Marcotte

Merit - Tanya Doskova

Merit - Marilyn Endres

Juror Award - Steven Olszewski

Juror Award - John Ames

Juror Award - Greg Barnes

Best Emerging Artist - Pam Stern

Juror Award - Lisa Telling Kattenbraker*

Juror Award - Renee Engebretson*

Juror Award - lisa burge

Juror Award - E. Douglas Wunder

Juror Award - Carol Hearty

Juror Award - Randall Riemer

Juror Award - Theresa Honeywell

Juror Award - Phil Singer

Juror Award - Mark MacKinnon*

Juror Award - Kim Obrzut

Juror Award - Richard Carner

Looks like cash prizes divided up between eight winners, but, of course, we all know the biggest prize is the invitation to return. Congratulations to everyone!

*member of ArtFairInsiders.com

Should I be flattered or disappointed?  As a "newbie" to the art fair circuit, I guess that I should be pleased that I have been accepted to most shows that I have applied for and I have been wait listed for a couple of really reputable shows...My question is.... does anyone know the percentage of artists that get wait listed for a show and what are the real possibilities of getting accepted once on that list?

Some really nice award money was passed out this past weekend at the Mainsail Arts Festival. Congratulations to the winners!

Best of Mainsail Award – $10,000

John Mascoll of Safety Harbor, Wood

Award of Excellence – $1,500

Holly Hambrick, Mixed Media

William Kwamena-Poh, Watercolors

Laurie Coppedge, Photography

Mary McFarland, Fibers

Renee Dinauer, Sculpture

Jean Yao, Fibers

Duncan McClellan, Glass - "Life is a Vase Full of Cherries"

Nicario Jiminez, Mixed Media

Peggy Furlin, Watercolors

Marlene Rose, Sculpture

Award of Distinction – $1000

Anna Shapiro, Fibers

Greg Thomas-Moore, Wood

Pam Fox, Jewelry

Scott Hartley, Watercolors

Mina Heuslein, Ceramics

Charles Hazelaar, Sculpture

Chuck Boux, Glass

Z. L. Feng, Watercolors

Mark Wagner, Jewelry

Vonnie Whitworth, Watercolors

Jon Smith, Oil/Acrylic

Nancy Cervenka, Sculpture

David McKirdy, Mixed Media

Erica Hall, Mixed Media

Christian Nevin, Jewelry

Award of Merit – $500

Sue Archer, Watercolors

Jennifer Ardolino, Watercolors

Minh Martin, Glass

Debra Blazer, Jewelry

Ummarid Eitharong, Mixed Media

Vicki Tindal,l Ceramics

Jeff League Mixed Media

Richard Auger, Photography

Dianne Caton, Ceramics

Jeff Eckert, Graphics

Thomas Sullivan, Wood

Lynn Ferris, Watercolors

Bill Sargent, Photography

Lorri Honeycutt, Photography

Katherine Linn, Graphics

Gael & Howard Silverblatt, Jewelry

Joyce Nelson, Jewelry

Richard Currier, Oil/Acrylic

Harry Welsch, Ceramics

Georgia & Byron Knight, Ceramics

Purchase Awards – $200

Ellie Diez-Massaro, Mixed Media   Interior Motives – Leslie Curran

Renee Dinauer Sculpture,   The Mahaffey Company

Jean Yao, Fibers   Anthony J. LaSpada, P.A.

Cesar Nogueira, Sculpture   Douglas C. Buchan & Associates

Martin Taber, Jewelry   Mary Beth Morrow, Unique Art

Keith Kinney, Wood   William & Sally Snyder

Hua Tung, Watercolors   Fred & Monika MacFawn

George Bragg, Metals   Wells, Houser & Schatzel, P.A.

Rocky Bridges, Mixed Media   Eric Lang Peterson/Art Appraiser

Jim Holehouse, Watercolors   Cadillac

This is a long list of artists. I'm pretty surprised how few of them are members here. Congratulations to our group though -- some impressive people.

June 9 & 10
Atlanta, Georgia
Peachtree Hills Festival of the Arts
Deadline: May 5
150 artists

The inaugural Peachtree Hills Festival of the Arts is a two day outdoor local arts and crafts event located in the very heart of Atlanta connecting Buckhead with Ansley Park along a tree lined thoroughfare near Peachtree Hills Park, easily accessible from Peachtree Road. and the Lindberg Marta Station.

Located in the heart of the City minutes from Midtown and Buckhead, the Peachtree Hills Festival of the Arts will bring more than 150 artists to the shady, tree-lined historic neighborhoods. The Peachtree Hills area is rich with one of the largest and most enthusiastic art buying communities in the Atlanta area. This event will feature up to 150 fine painters, photographers, sculptors, leather and metal craft persons, glass blowers, jewelers and more!

This one is really about the community as they have embraced the event to really make it a stand out affair, with homeowners and local businesses posting signs inviting visitors to their historic neighborhood, volunteering for everything Events will be held in and around the Peachtree Hills Park & Recreation Center, including food, music, and a 5K “Commissioners Run” to honor Atlanta’s park commissioner, George Dusenbury.

Presented by the AFFPS, Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces, LLC, a non-profit group established in 2005 to support the arts community by operating arts and craft events and festivals in the metro Atlanta, Georgia area.

Learn more: www.peachtreehillsfestival.com

Apply today: www.Zapplication.org

Is anyone reading this doing Early American, Pennsylvania-Dutch inspired work or primitives?  The contemporary shows snub us and the traditionnally-oriented promoters are becoming few and far between.  Yet I hear so often from customers that they love us.  At least in years past I sometimes was accepted into a contemporary show (for variety?) and can remember customers telling me, "Oh, you are what we really want!"  It was indeed gratifying.  Of course, that was also back when people had money to spend.  But these days I feel like a poor, little orphan.  It has been an interesting experience to apply to A-list contemporary shows and be rejected by all but two.  And accepted into a very prestigious traditionalist show.  

With Goodrich all but gone, we seem to be left with Country Living and Barn Star.  They do a fine job, but please tell me somebody else is out there!  We traditionalists have a special message and a special following.  As with everyone else, we so want to get who we are - as presented by the art we do - to the people who are on our wavelength.  

I would really love to hear how you traditionalists are faring, your struggles and successes, and how you see yourself in today's art world.      

Yesterday I got two "friends" asking why I do the shows and work at the frame store. One told me that my work may not sell well enough and stop doing shows and just work.The other one said he has done well at the shows what he should not work in this dead end job.

These comment remind me of Christine Mount Knapp post (Thank you I Have a Job). At this point since I was at work I could not answer but I just smile and told them let me get your stuff so you can be in your way. I got a lot to do. what is wrong with keeping a job and do about 16 shows a year or even 30. The job provides income to cover the rent, health insurance, food, the basics. The art shows provide for the extras, the luxury items. The most important thing the shows provide sense in my life and quiet my soul.

What is wrong with picture. Does mean that I am fail as an artist?