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Has anyone done the Funky Ferndale art fair and if so good or bad. Thanks

August 3-5
Park City, Utah
Presented by the Kimball Art Center
220 artists
Deadline: March 12

The 43rd Annual Park City Kimball Arts Festival will be held August 3rd – 5th. Each year, the first full weekend in August, 220 juror-selected artists in 12 media categories fill Historic Park City Main Street attracting over 55,000 attendees from 41 states and Canada to experience this multi-sensory Festival.

The Festival showcases and promotes:

• visual arts
• live art demonstrations
• diverse musical performances on multiple stages
• a kids art area
• art-focused films
• and the incredible cuisine of Park City through the Festival’s Taste of Art program

Please apply to participate in The Park City Kimball Arts Festival which is one of the longest running and largest arts festivals in the Western United States and serves as the nonprofit Kimball Art Center’s primary fundraiser.

Learn more about our show: www.kimballartcenter.org

Artists may apply at www.zapplication.org.

Deadline EXTENDED to March 12th, 2012 – PLEASE JOIN US!

Application fee: $35

I'd welcome suggestions about how to do this without obvious bungee cords - also how to hang curtains. I have an EZ Up tent.  Thanks! 

I was wondering how you all sign your works of art.   I have an electric engraving tool that i scratch my name onto the piece of steel that my work is on.   My signature is faint that is the problem.  I am thinking of getting a stamp and put my name in that way.   Has anyone done this and if so would like to know the results.   The other thought is weld a small metal plaque on each piece .   I have seen it once.  Has anyone done a lasar label.   I am just curious to know what people do these days.   Seems like someone has decided to copy my work,  think it is coming from overseas but not sure.    

May 5 & 6

Sanford, Florida

Historic Downtown Sanford
100 Artists
Deadline: March 16 

$14,000 in Awards ~ $3,000 Best of Show

A NEW art festival experience... 

We  are very excited about our inaugural event and plan to make it one of  the South's premier outdoor fine arts festivals. A different festival  experience awaits you! Over 100 Premier Artists will be selected to  participate in this art festival.

Throughout the festival we will  also include 12 demonstrating areas for artists selected through our  jury process. These artists will have adjacent spaces to demonstrate  their artistic process along with their finished artwork to sell.  

There will be eight (8) defined categories.

• Painting includes: watercolor, oil, acrylic
• Fine Craft includes: wood, glass, leather, basketry  and fiber
• Sculpture
• Drawing, Pastel, Pen & Ink
• Digital, Graphics & Mixed Media
• Jewelry
• Clay
• Photography  

Anticipated attendance: Approximately 30,000 visitors over the two day Festival run.  

Entertainment: Soft acoustical music artists perform throughout the festival footprint. Performance  art students from Midway Elementary School also will be featured.

More info at our website: www.stjohnsriverartfest.com 

Jury Fee: $35.00

Booth Fee: $225.00    

Artists must apply online at www.stjohnsriverartfest.com or print out application on the site and mail via USPS.   

Each  artist is required to send (3) images of their work and (1) of their  display. These images must be on a CD with artist info (name, phone  & email) written on the disk.    

Please mail completed application, booth fee ($225.00 or $450.00) and jury fee ($35.00) to:

        
Contact Information:  riverartfest@gmail.com
Phone: Rae Marie: 407-324-1577
Alt Phone: Kim House: 407-323-9272

I have an opportunity in my schedule this year to do this show.

10x10 corners are $100 shy of 3k. That's just the booth fee.  I would like to try this show, but of course hesitate at the thought of just breaking even, or even losing money. Photography (subject not Chicago) might be a tough sell at a holiday show like this.  Am looking for some feedback re: do attendance numbers/exposure support the booth fee? What is the attendance trend the last few years? Would love to hear from anyone on their thoughts on the show. Deadline for app is March 5.

June 23-24
Des Moines, Iowa

10th Annual Artfest Midwest
Iowa State Fairgrounds (indoors)
Show hours:  10-6 Saturday, 10-5 Sunday
Over 230 artists
Application deadline (on www.Zapplication.org):  March 3

Presented by Stookey Companies, Chosen as a "Show Stopping Startup"
    by Sunshine Artist Magazine

Highlights—

•    Iowa’s largest fine art show!
•    Tenth anniversary
•    Affordable, alternative to the outdoor downtown Des Moines art show
•    Free admission, free parking,
•    Free shuttle to and from the downtown show (10 minute ride)
•    Air conditioned, indoors
•    Goal of presenting this show is to contribute to the enjoyment of the arts during that weekend in
      Des Moines and to provide a complement to the downtown show.
•    Estimated attendance 30,000 (according to “Sunshine Artist Magazine”)
•    Extensive media plan, including TV & radio
•    Friday set-up
•    Easy and convenient loading and unloading—flat access

Stookey Companies is a family-owned, Iowa-based event coordination business that has specialized in organizing Fine Art, Craft and Antique shows for over 17 years in Iowa.

To apply:  www.Zapplication.org
For more information: www.ArtFestMidwest.com, suestookey@att.net, 515-278-6200,
    PO Box 31083, Des Moines, IA 50310

Hello

I am new here, and looking for advise when it comes to Credit Cards. I will try to get in to a local Winter craft market this year and sell my knitted items. I understand that it is a must, to accept credit card, not only cash. I will probably use the machine  once or twice a year. What solution do you recommend ?

September 29 & 30  

Peoria, Illinois

50th Annual Peoria Art Guild Fine Art Fair
Peoria Riverfront Festival Park 

Peoria Riverfront
150 Artists 

Deadline: March 9 new deadline: March 14

$10,000 Total Awards

Best of show: $2,500

10 Awards of Excellence of $750 each 

Location: Peoria is half way between Chicago and St. Louis

Friday: Patron Preview Party

Saturday: 9am-5pm

Sunday: 10am-5pm

Rated #73 in the Top 200 Art Fairs by Sunshine Artist Magazine

Ranked in the top 200 Fairs from 2008 Art Fair Sourcebook 

• #103 in Fine Art
• #131 in Fine Craft

Whether you're a first-timer...

"This is my 1st year and I had a wonderful time. We don't always get treated well (after booth fee is paid). So the Peoria "Pamper the Artist" program is very much appreciated. Thanks to all who made it happen." 2010 Fine Art Fair Artist 

Or back for more...(noted by Sally Bright, returning artist, in the Peoria Journal Star, Sept. 26, 2010)    

"I love this show.  It's a whole community thing, not just an elite group of artists.  It's super fun to be around, and we feel appreciated by both the producers and the community at large.  One of the best things about the show is the location, and not just because it's on the beautiful riverfront."     

The Fine Art Fair is known for ...

• An appreciative buying audience for ALL mediums
• After-fair sales
• Easy set-up and teardown/level and accessible
• Convenient reserved free parking for artists
• Affordable and close accommodations (over 800 hotel rooms within walking distance of the venue)
• Over 450 energetic community volunteers-willing to please and deliver refreshments
• Booth sitters available if you need to grab a snack or take a break
• Overnight security Friday & Saturday
• Complimentary breakfast, lunch, and dinner all weekend
• Saturday night complimentary artist awards dinner (with entertainment)
• Opportunity to mix & mingle and pre-sell at the Friday night preview party
• Artist-only break room and information center
• Beautiful outdoor Riverfront venue
• The company of highly respected, nationally recognized, award winning artists
• ATM on site for IMMEDIATE CASH PURCHASES!
• Good old-fashioned mid-western hospitality!!

Ask the artists who have exhibited in Peoria.  No one does it better.  We excel in artist amenities from complimentary lunch and breakfast to an Artist Awards dinner that is standing room only.  We work hard to make your experience in the heart of the Midwest one you won't forget.  With 35% of our exhibiting artists new each year, we never tire of hearing, "Wow, I never thought I'd do this well or have this much fun in Peoria, IL!"

Visit our Facebook pageto become a fan and view photos from the 2011 Fine Art Fair.

Application available at: http://www.zapplication.org  

For additional information, please call 309-671-1093, visit www.peoriafineartfair.com

or email: artfair@peoriaartguld.org

We are not doing our usual east coast  trip this year.  Lots of disappointments last year. We have applied to a number of shows in Colorado and Utah. Has anybody doen any of the three Breckenridge Mountain Art Festivals? 2 in July, 1 in September? Need soem direction. We have applied to  Downtwon Denver, Salt Lake City Utah Arts fest.,  but need to fill in July and August.

During this week's Art Fair Insiders podcast, Connie Mettler spoke with Stephen King (Des Moines Arts Festival) and Cindy Lerick (Saint Louis Art Fair). Both of these events utilize the ZAPPlication® system to collect and adjudicate their applications. If you missed the podcast, you can find out all about it and how to listen to the recording at: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/podcast-5-pm-2-27-art-fair-directors-cindy-lerick-stephen-king

During the podcast a question came up regarding how applications can be sub-sorted within the ZAPP® jury process. Events that license the ZAPP® system can choose to sub-sort applications within each medium category by Application ID#, Date Received, or Last Name. Here's what each of those options means:

Application ID#: A number generated when the application is first started. This number is unique to this application for this specific event and event year. Artists who started applications early in the time the application was open will appear before those who started applications later in the cycle.

Date Received: This option sorts the applications based on the submission time stamp (date and time the application was submitted). Artists who submit applications early on will appear earlier in the slide-show. It is our understanding that most events which utilize ZAPP® use this option so that artists who submit first are given the first look by jurors.

Last Name: This option sorts the applications within a medium category alphabetically (A-Z) by last name. Sorting in this manner does not necessarily mean that jurors can see applicant last names. We believe most events do a blind jury process (meaning artist last names are not visible by the jurors), so for events who might utilize this option, only the jury administrator would know that the applications are sorted in this manner.

Hopefully this information is helpful to you and clears up an unanswered question from this most recent podcast! As a reminder, ZAPP® is a software tool that events can use for their application and jury processes. Events determine their own individual policies regarding deadlines, jury processes, and other related items. The ZAPP® system provides options and tools to help administrators with their event management but ZAPP® does not manage these events nor dictate their show policies.

Artists with questions about an event's policy or jury process should contact the event directly as each show has varied policies and procedures.


Cheers!
Leah, Manager of ZAPP®

May 19 & 20 

Oak Park, Illinois

Art in the Park

Historic Mills Park

presented by the West Suburban Artists Guild

80 Artists

Deadline: March 15

(late applications will be accepted if a category is not filled)

Set up: Sat. 6am-10am

Show both days: 10am-5pm 

Please join us for our  juried fine arts show, showcased in the heart of historic Oak Park.  We  are looking for handmade unique items designed by exhibiting artists  only.

Highlights: 

• on the grounds of Pleasant Home, a National Historic Landmark, in the Frank Lloyd Wright district of Oak Park, IL
• two days
• overnight security provided
• $1,000 in prize money
• children's art table area
• live music
• food vendors 
• free artist exhibitor
•  breakfast on Saturday 
• Booth fee $150; Jury fee $15   

         Mill Park is located at Pleasant Street and Home Avenue, 3 blocks north of Madison Street and 3 blocks east of Harlem Avenue.

For more information, visit:  www.westsuburbanartistsguild.orgfor photos from the previous show and this year's application. 

Questions: Mary Meike at troutt7@comcast.net 

***********************************

Looking for even more 2012 art fairs? You'll love this new website that includes events around the country brought to you by the big promoters and the small arts groups  

www.CallsforArtists.com  

Hi All,

We currently use a Nurit 8000 wireless terminal and are coming to the end of our agreement. One of the providers we have checked out is 1st National. On a side by side comparison with a recent settlement statement it looks like we could have saved $30 + for the same amount of business by going with them. That is just one month's worth. We were wondering if anyone uses 1st National and would like some feedback about service, fees et. Also, they want us to go to a Verifone VX610 wireless terminal, anyone use it? Any information from real world experiences would be helpful in making our up our minds. Sqaure is also an option but we are not completly comfortable with the process at this time. Thanks for the input.

Well, Naples National was certainly the big dog this past weekend, and even I looked forward to hearing how everyone made out (feel your pain, Jon; good work on your sales and post, Nels).

Not everyone could take a ride at the Naples merry-go-round, of course.  And for some of us, that meant taking the ride up I-95 to Stuart, for Howard Alan's 22nd installment of the Stuart Art Festival.

This is a quintessential old-style Alan show.  Street setup starting at 5 AM Saturday, with tents facing each other on narrow Osceola Street, which passes for the main drag in downtown Stuart--which, by the way,  has more narrow streets, blind alleys, and high-risk, death-defying traffic circles than anywhere I've ever traveled. 

Making sense of the weekend's sales was no less confusing:  I talked to probably 20 artists, and it was a mixed bag. One large-scale mixed-media artist from Delaware, with price points over $2K and a minimal number of small reproductions, and fresh off a Best in 2-D award from Barry Witt's February Bonita Springs show,  gathered lots of compliments but zeroed on the weekend.  But another large-scale 2-D artist made two huge sales on Saturday alone, making it his best show of his season.  "Pelican Steve," who like me had a prime spot just inside the show entrance, put it to good advantage and nearly sold out his wood sculptures.  Most folks I spoke with who had done this show frequently said their sales were at, slightly above, or slightly below, their take from the last two years.  So it seems like if you do this show consistently, you'll build a following, but that it won't necessarily make you rich.  Compared with Naples, for sure it was a smaller pie to share.

There was a LOT of photography at the show (I didn't count the artist list, but I'm betting shooters outnumbered jewelers at this one.)  Lots of wildlife and landscape photographers, including the estimable Mr. Steve Vaughn and Tim Kiusalass, who creates awe-inspiring large-scale, beautifully-framed landscapes and displays them in a beautifully designed booth.  Steve and Tim joined me for a great dinner on Saturday night where we swapped lies and neatly solved every burning issue in the art show business (email Steve for details on the forthcoming book). 

I had only nine sales all weekend, with a total take of about $1600, and I felt lucky indeed to eke that out.  Three sales were pretty big 'uns, including a custom order for a large canvas that accounted for half the weekend's take.  But the rest were all single-item $30 sales.

The show was well organized and ably run by the HAE staff.  And the crowds did come, as they usually do at an Alan show.  But it didn't seem like there was a lot of buying energy around.

The Treasure Coast area (which includes Hobe Sound and Jupiter) is pretty well saturated with shows, and it might be the time of year when buyer's fatigue is setting in. There are some beautiful, high income golf course and gated communities not far away from the show venue.  But I'm not sure they attended this show: Many of the locals I talked to over my three-day stay told me that they avoid downtown congestion and parking hassles. And many of the very nice folks who came through my booth were elderly retirees who'd lived in Stuart many years, not new-to-the-area homebuyers.  (My two largest sales, tellingly, were to seasonal snowbirds.)  

In addition, there was a discernible mixed vibe from the downtown merchants. Although the show definitely puts feet on the street, some merchants are unconvinced that they make their way from show to storefronts.  Alan mitigates this by having frequent breaks in the rows of tents to allow access to the shops and restaurants, but in an already-touchy downtown economy, some merchants fret about their regulars losing parking to the show patrons, having their signage blocked by tents and the sidewalk blocked by artist storage.  Accordingly, the show layout moved the tents forward into the street a couple of feet, so that artist storage is on the street-side of the curb, not on the sidewalks. That solves one problem, but creates another, making the already-narrow streets a bit tougher to navigate.  (It also makes it a good idea for artists to make sure they store their work off the ground in case it rains.  Which, during Saturday morning setup, it did--but luckily, not for long.) 

This show isn't nearly as expensive as a Coconut Grove (hotel rooms could be had for $75 a night), and the booth fee is at the lower end of Alan's shows.  But as gas rises toward $4 a gallon, the nearly 400-mile round trip blew the budget I'd laid out only two months earlier, when a gallon of gas was "only" $3.30.  All told I spent about $750 on the weekend, plus massive but futile tips to cute waitresses. So although Stuart definitely served as a "paycheck show," on the whole I'd rather have been in Naples, only 30 minutes' drive from my home.  

 I've got one more shot in Stuart: I'll be returning on March 24-25 for Stuart ArtsFest.  Sponsored by the Martin County Arts Council, it's located only a quarter-mile or so east of this week's affair.  It will be interesting to see how the two shows compare. 

Can't wrap up this post without sharing a pretty funny Saturday-morning slice o'life:   I had just finished up with a customer when I heard three women arguing behind me.  Wondering if they were upset with my neighbor, or with me,  I stepped back to see what the commotion was about.  Two women who ran the restaurant were berating the owner of the shop next door, gesturing and pointing at the wooden signboard the shop owner had placed in the street, complaining that it blocked access to their restaurant.  The shop owner's explanations weren't calming the situation, and the women continued yelling at her to move it.

Then, the lady saw a man walking past the sidewalk sign.  "Sir! Sir!," she said, and he stopped, startled.  "Did you have any trouble walking past this sign just now?" 

Nonplussed, he said, "Well, no, I didn't. "

The shop owner threw up her hands in triumph.  "Hah!!" she said.  "Didn't think so! THANK you, sir!"

The man, bewildered, stepped away and into the front door of the restaurant for breakfast.

She looked at the two restaurant owners, who were still barking at her, and gave them a tight-lipped smile.  "I'm just going to let you two shout among yourselves," she said, quietly.  "The sign stays!" 

And so it did. 

" First off I want Jon Leben to know I feel your pain.  Florida is really tough for most of us this year.  There is no consistency going on in sales.  I want him to be able to go back to hometown, and my summer home, Saugatuck, Michigan with a big wadful so he can eat and drink to his heart's delight at Wallys, Phils and the EPC Cafe.  I am pulling for you John.

I have been lucky to do this show at least 15 times or more over the years.  I did it back before Naples blossomed into bigtime.  Used to be only one restaurant on Fifth Avenue to get dinner at.

Consistently, it has always been one of my top-grossing Florida spring shows, usually $5K or better.

Now segue to this year.  I do the downtown New Years show, run by the same organization, the the Naples Art Association, and I do a blistering $710.00  I was devastated.  Year before, same show, over $4K--WTF!

So I slid down I-75 last Friday with great trepidation.  So far shows in Florida, the six I have done, have been less than stellar.  And I got new images out there from the Florida Keys, it is not the same old, same old.  That is not my style.

Got there in time for our late Friday setup.

Here is how they do it.  John touched on it lightly--I am going to give you a little more meat--especially if you have never done it and are thinking about it.

A little aside.  A few years back, Greg Lawler's Sourcebook quoted this show as having an average per booth sales total of $7500.  Higher than anybody else in Florida.  I know, I know, you can have one or two artists do $40K and it skews the whole average.  But the point was, you could make a lot of moola here with the right stuff.  The people here have disposable income--what a concept--and, a lot of them spend it on art to decorate their winter homes.

OK back to the setup.  This show is held one block off the main drag of commercial downtown which is South Fifth Avenue. It is both in a lovely treed park and on the the street facing it.

Everybody gets good storage space behind their booths, most get room enough to hang work on one outside wall.  That's what you get for your $450 booth fee.  They provide free food, ample booth sitters and a very well-organized show run under the capable hands of on Mrs. Marianne Megala.  She is the major-domo.  All decrees run thru her.  She has to put out numerous little artist-fires all weekend long, and she does it well.  She has excellent volunteer support who take care of garbage, artist direction and traffic control.  The show runs like a well-greased machine.

Before you all think I am putting on my "Cheerleader's Uniform" listen closely.  There are serious flaws to this whole system.  Easily correctible, but time will tell.  Mrs. Megala does it her way, or you hit the highway.  But she is fair, she doesn't play favorites.

The artists on the street are setup with backs to the curbs or fences with a wide width for patrons to walk between.  Many long-timers consider this "Position A" in the show for sales over spots in the park.  Many ask for it, few get it.

The park is lovely, although shaded, work can look real dark in your booth depending on the light.  My good friend Luciano, a great photographer, loves to be in the West end of the park, doesn' hurt his sales one bit.  His oppposing countepart, John Galbo wants to be out on the sreet front and center.  They both make serious moola.  So go figure.

Here is my criticism about the park.  There is an area we all call the "Circle of Lost Artists."

These people die in this spot.  One noted photographer who does gripping dark images of Ireland, and its graveyards, made less than $300 in there on Saturday.  There is a narrow lime-stained border on the grass that leads you there.  Most people miss it.  I have been there before, it is not pleasant.  It needs to be gone.  They pay the same booth fee as the rest of us, and yet they get a fraction of the crowd.  It just does not work.  Hello Marianne are you listening!

This year especially, you needed big expensive pieces to sell.  The $50-$250 price range was deader than a doornail.  I sold six biggies, $450 each which accounted for seventy-five per cent of my sales.  It was my best show this year.  Over $4K.  That is the now "good" for a lot of us.

Now lets have some fun.  I am gonna tell ya about individual artist experiences as seen though my good buddy Webbie's eyes.

Many of you newbies don't know about Webbie.  I have written about him for the last three years.  He is a hearty show-goer, much like our Geri Wegner, who gets around to a lot of shows.  He has a keen wit, and knows the ins and outs of our biz, he tells it like it is.  He is fond of drink, and hangs around with questionable characters like Munks' Bill the Cat.  When I saw him Saturday, he was fresh out of rehab and full of himself.  So put yourself in the moment as he strides up Eighth street to the front of my booth.

THE RETURN OF WEBBIE

I could tell by the stride and the glide it was Webbie coming my way.  He had on a colorful Aloha shirt half unbuttonned and proudly festooned with his leftovers from the morning breakfest.  The orange piece of Lox attached to his collar was nice touch.

He gleefully bellowed out to me, "Hells bells if isn't Nels."

"Long time no see-um Webbie," I replied.  "Where have you been, it has been a long time since I saw you last."

"Nelsie baby, I keep up with your daily blabberings on Facebook.  See ya posts on AFI, although not as many as you used to do.  Just got out of rehab in Key West and decided to dry out at Holly's Flying Broom Factory (Holly Ollinger).  Bill the Cat and me tried out one of her newer brooms but I cant seem to get the girth to lift ratio right.  Keep crashing in the dang Des Moines cornfield.  The cat might have to go."

"Well buddy," I replied,"What good observations do you have about this show so far?"

"Thought you'd never ask bubba.  First off, I think it is pretty clever that the show committee was able to slide a little GPS device in all your artist packets.  They know if you are in that parking garage or hidden behind the Post Office.  They want ya all out in that field past 41."

"Hmmm.  So that's how they found me."

"Another thing Nelsie baby, you are across from one of the most 'Baby-Licious Artists on the circuit--C.L. Cunningham.  I think me and her need to find out about my "Hunk of Burning Love", whadda ya think?  Do I have a chance?"  "Webbie, C.L. is a very refined woman, you better set your sights elsewhere."

"Who else have you seen of note?"

"Well I saw photographers Larry Humphry and Patrick Whalen getting ready to have wienie roast in the "Circle of Lost Artists.  Humphry aint selling much and Patrick even less.  So they were gonna burn a few canvases and roast some marshmellows and wieners.  Kind of like a Euro-Irish Wake with the trimmings."

"Then I went down the street from you and saw the Marquette Marauders--Barely Bernstein and Patrick the Dragon. They can hurl day-old pasties at each other all day and the lovely Rona will be in the middle as the ref."

"Barely-Bernstein was down to 12 pieces, how does he expect to make any money?"

"First off it is Barry, not Barely, and he sold a bunch at the get-go at Ft. Myers show.  This is all he has left."

"Yeah, but they are pretty dark.  Cant he run those babies thru PhotoShop.  Maybe crank up the saturation and hue about 75 points.  He could call it "Photo-Raku without much Ado" it would be killer."  " I said, "I will tell Barely, I mean, Barry, that next time I see him sleeping on the curb in Ybor."

Then Webbie gave me a big grin.  "I just figured it out, all your Lakeland Photo buddies are not here this year, you got the bathrooms to yourself."  "Well, if you must know, they are down in Key West on an "Artist Working Vacation."  They will do quite well I am sure.  But it was nice of them not to hog into my show this year,"

Then Webbie really grinned.  " I gotta hand it to the Seslars, they are pulling off a righteous "Gary Slidel right now."  (Authors note.  Gary is a noted photographer who gets in the best shows in the country, wins big awards, sells mucho moola, and is married to an awesome wife--Rita--the guy has it made--when are you going to retire.  He is also known for his tireless sales techniques which result in mucho sales, so I guess this is what Webbie was alluding to.) "So",Webbie, what were they doing?"

"They were doing a Coconut Grove technique.  They had all the Europeans corralled in the rear of their double booth.  They wouldn't let them out til they forked over their Gold AMex Cards.

Patrick was writing chits like crazy and Lynn was letting them out with precious little pieces of paper.  It was awesome."  Might be lesson there for all of us.

"Also I saw that Chow-Chow girl across from you selling like crazy."  "Webbie, I think you mean Christine Reichow."  "You say Reichow, I say Chow-Chow, all I know is that girl was wrapping pieces all day long."

"Anything else you want to add, Webbie?"

"See ya Nelsie, I am off to to the Key West Show tomorrow.  I hear there is alot of  tearful discussions going on there.  Something about this incredible hunk of burning love, and crying in the streets.  I gotta see this.  See ya down the road Nelsie."  

And then he was gone.

FINAL OBSERVATIONS.

This is still a great show--but not for everybody.  People this year either did real good or barely made expenses.  There wasn't a lot of middle ground.  
They love Florida imagery big time down here, especially the birds and the flowers.  There are a lot of competing shows going on down here all the time.  You have to work harder for your dollar.

The people are rich and they want the uncommon.  Barry Witt, the director of the Bonita shows, summed it up succinctly for me in  a recent conversation. 

"He said,"Nels, these people have money and they have taste, but they don't want the same thing that 10 other people are going to buy.  Yes you want precious little things in their appropriate place, but you need the show-stoppers out there to entice them."  I think I paraphrased him pretty well with that.  If not, we will hear from him shortly, because he monitors this site regularly.

That doesn't mean that only "Florida-Style" sells here.  People with good abstracts, uncommon clay, glass and sculpture do well here.  But you have to resonate success to click with these Mid-Westerners.

All I know, is I would take two Naples shows over a handful of other Florida shows anyday.

By the way, Barely Barry and I are taking donations for money, we hope to collect enough to give an annual "Cheer-Leaders Outfit Award" at Christmas.  Either sex is eligible.  Want to contribute?  See Barely, see me.  God Forbid, don't give it to Connie, she will just use it to buy IPhone Lessons on EBay.

Whew, and Aloha, Nels.  I think I smell fish burning--gotta go.

This was discussed on one of Larry Berman's posts. I'm going to try and summarize what I gleaned out of the workshop, and what is applicable to most artists.

It was a long workshop. It started off initially with the organizers expecting 25 artists, and it grew, and quickly swelled to over 190 artists submitting work. Very much to the credit of the organizers, they agreed to address each and every artist. It started at 9:00 AM and was slow to get started, as was expected, while the judges got used to the public forum and personal critique and start picking up steam. Instead of the one hour lunch break, the judges got twenty minutes, and soldiered on with a few potty breaks tossed in until after 8:00 PM. I stayed there until about the last three or four artists were reviewed, and then the judges talked one-on-one to the few remaining artists that needed some additional help. For the artists, who weren't present, a webcast was available and IMing allowed questions and clarifications to be put to the judges.

Much of what has been preached in these forums about cleaning up the booths and consistency of work was hammered home by the judges.

Consistency of work doesn't mean all identical pieces or same subject material, but it does mean that all the pieces need to be in the same style. Two bodies of work or occasionally three bodies of work would be evident in many of the  submissions. All B&W photos of a waterfall, a couple of flowers, and a meadow are not the same body of work, even though someone might think, "They're all outdoors shots of nature, and they're all in the same style; i.e., Black and white". Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Many repeated examples of it does drive it home that the pieces need to be strongly connected and not tenuously connected by a wish. A comment was made by one of the jurors that they don't want to see examples of luck in getting some pretty pictures. Wood workers, as an example, were in for the same reasoning. One artist had a couple of outstanding tables and wood sculpture. The two different bodies of work could be enough to block them from going past the first round. They want to see a unified body of work whatever the media. One of the  painters had some plein air work that had the consistency of subject material, where water was a unifying theme, but the style of brush work was sufficiently different from piece to piece that it would be difficult to make it into the second round. There had to be consistency that linked everything together.

One of the comments I picked up was that a strongly consistent body of work  would stand a better chance of going forward than some outstanding work of higher caliber that was not consistent as a unified body of work. It may not have been spoken in that fashion, but that was the distinct impression I picked up. It has to do with the vision and direction of the artist. It's hard to understand the direction and vision of disjointed work, but the unified body of work is what will grab the understanding and appreciation of the judges in the brief moment of time they have. If they have to stop, think, and ponder what you're doing as an artist, you're done for the day as it were.

You can't slack off on the artist statement, contrary to what some of us have thought. For the photographers, you can skip the part about what printer you're using as part of the statement. I heard that quite a bit and it's irrelevant. If there is a part about materials, place it there. If anyone uses something recycled or repurposed, that seemed to register highly with the jurors. If you draw on influences from whatever movement or an artist, place that in the artist statement. Whatever you can say in the materials statement or artist statement that will make it easier for the judges to understand what you're doing and understand your vision, the better off you'll be.

The much maligned booth shot turns out to be a much more critical piece of the puzzle. It can make or break your entry at the get-go. Don't slack off on it, ot you'll be wondering why you're having to apply to so many shows just to get into a few. The issues that have been preached ad infinitum really are true. Here's the mantra I heard the entire day; Simplify and  unify.  I don't care if it seems false advertising, it's the same thing you do when you want to sell a house; stage the damn thing. If you don't get past the gatekeeper, it's all academic. Here's the big secret about staging the boothshot; it gives you an opportunity to submit more of your work and show the breadth of it. You want the jury shots in there, or you're screwed. No visible jury shots and they wonder what you're selling. No one says the jury shots have to be front and center, place them on the side (still visible) and get some more work in there on that back wall. Now you can have 4 to 6 more pieces with which to impress the jurors, and yes the work in the booth slide is visible.

An awfully high percentage of the booth shots were just not good, and more than once (actually many times), what was good competent work would have been knocked out because of an atrocious booth shot. Different work from the jury shots would seem like a no-brainer, but it happened many times and that would have been enough to be knocked out in the first round. The judge's comments were frequently, "You don't need to show or hang everything you've ever done in the booth shot".

Keep the booth simple, keep it clean, and get the frou-frou plants and tables out of there. You're not selling plants or casual tables with a guest book on it. That stuff can go back in during the show as far as I can tell, but they don't want to see it in the booth shot, and particularly as frequently the artwork was blocked by the extraneous stuff like that.

Gridded walls came in for their share of grief in the comments. Not because of what they were, but because of how they were used. Fabric artists seemed to get the worst of that, as only two or three shots of their booths made effective use of the display. Most wearable fabric booths had clothing on hangers packed in tightly, and the grid walls would obscure the work. The most impressive wearable fabric artists had their work hanging flat and straight on to the viewer, and would hang a piece of the gridwall more like a retail display. Show the work, not the grids.

Potters seem to have a problem with the work all merging into one undistinguishable mass. Arranging pedestals in descending order from the back corners forward seemed to be a good visual method of seperating them out away from each other. Jewelers seldom had display photos across the back, and those are relatively inexpensive to have printed.

A key issue in booth design was to make sure the booth had a visual rhythm to it. As the jurors pointed out, you're spemnding large anounts of time and money on your work, don't blow it with an amateurish display, Some of the booth shots had 2D work sitting on the ground, and that received a fair amount of scorn as it looked like a trunk sale or yard sale. Place the same amount of thought and art design into the booth as you do your work.

The salient points of the booth shots are to get in close, crop out the ceiling as much as possible, show all the walls as best as possible (no corner shots), light it well, no open back walls showing the landscape behind, keep it clean and neat, and minimal.

Much of what has been said about the jury shots themselves is what we've been hearing around here. Gradient backgrounds, don't use a white background, and keep all the jury shots in the same lighting style and make sure they match. Don't get too fancy wit the Photo Shop lighting effects to the point where the lighting becomes the focus of the shot.

I'll add more later on, but this gets the gist of what went on. Again my hat is off to the organizers and jurors for a job well done.

cfe_12-13_web.pdf

Gifts of Art - Call for Entries

Dear Artist,

Gifts of Art is currently accepting proposals for our September 2012 through August 2013 exhibit year.  One of the first and most comprehensive arts-in-healthcare programs nationwide, Gifts of Art brings the world of art & music to the University of Michigan Health System.

Our nine galleries display 50 exhibits a year.  They include 2-D and 3-D spaces that are viewed by approximately 10,000 people a day, or about 3.4 million people a year.  This makes our galleries some of the most widely visited indoor, non-museum exhibit spaces in the state.

Entry Requirements
Selections will be made from online submissions or submissions by mail.  Emailed JPG images or in-person submissions will NOT be considered.  Individual artists must provide a minimum of 12 professional quality images.  Group shows must provide a minimum of 24 images. Only submit images that reflect the proposed exhibit.  Successful exhibits have a cohesive focus, theme or feel.  All submissions must also include a completed Exhibit Proposal Form, a reference sheet and a resume or CV.  A biography is optional.

  
Submissions must be received by May 15, 2012. 
All forms are available on the web at: www.med.umich.edu/goa

Selection Criteria
In selecting artwork, Gifts of Art’s primary mission is to create a more comfortable and calming atmosphere within the often stressful environment of a hospital and to provide a positive distraction for our patients, visitors and staff.  We take into consideration the medical and emotional sensitivities of our viewers.

Submissions must be received by May 15, 2012. 
        Final notifications will be mailed by July 16, 2012.
      
        To receive the proposal form in hard copy, please contact Gifts of Art
        or download them from our website. 

        A PDF document of the Proposal Form is attached to this email.

 Questions?
  Call Gifts of Art at 734-936-8829, 734-936-ARTS (2787) 
  or email GOA@med.umich.edu
  www.med.umich.edu/goa

Kathi Talley

Visual Arts Coordinator, Gifts of Art

University of Michigan Health System

734.936.8829 desk

734.936.6266 pager id 30402

734.936.9431 mott workroom

734.998.2396 fax

NI-5E06, NIB

300 North Ingalls

Ann Arbor, MI  48109-5470

kmtalley@umich.edu

www.med.umich.edu/goa

Our first show of the year was February 10-12 at Springtime in the South at the convention center in Savannah, GA hosted by Carolina Shows Inc. The crowds were there - as usual for a show put on by the Hunt family.  Thankfully it was rather cold outside so folks might as well come to a fun indoor event.   It seemed to be feast or famine from what I observed.  The booths across from and next to me did not seem to fare so well.  The metal bird hangers were seen passing my booth on a regular basis.  There were lots of folks carrying purchased items.  I was really happy with sales (photography).  My matted prints (16x20  and 11x14 size) made up the majority of my sales but it did not hurt that a couple of my larger ticket items also found happy homes.  I had several repeat customers from my participation in Christmas Made in the South.  Friday sales were good.  Saturday great.  Sunday some of my be-backs came back.  I went home well in the black with a smile on my face.  And lots of inventory to print in preparation for my next show this coming weekend at Craftsmen's Classics (Gilmore Enterprises Inc) in Columbia, SC.  Which reminds me...I better get back to work! 

I have tried searching the blog posts for discussions about woodworking art at the shows and I was not able to find anything. I notice alot of artists here are photographers, painters, jewelry and numerous other categories. but no wood art.

I was wondering why I do not see more woodworkers and wood artists at shows. Most shows seem to have a huge number of all categories ...except woodwork. Are most wood artists not interested in doing  shows?

I am a wood sculptor creating jewelry boxes and furniture and have started doing shows during the last 2 years after retiring... What I have done so far in the way of shows has been well received and finiacially rewarding.

What, if anything, have you noticed about woodworkers at shows?

Thanks!

Greg

www.FineArtBoxes.com