Blog

This is my first blog post here. Many of you have heard of the storm that hit the Columbus Arts Festival. This was my first time in the show, and the first show I've done alone since my last spine surgery 5 months ago. I really wasn't supposed to be lifting more than 20 pounds yet, but we artists must do what we do to make a living. Am I right? So off I went to Columbus with the hopes of sunshine and solid sales. Here's my report:

Fifteen minutes before the storm hit, a show person rode up in a golf cart and said "we had the possibility of some rain soon." Full disclosure here: I got a text message at the very same time from home telling me some heavy winds were going to hit and I'd better find some rope and something to tie down to. I immediately told my neighbors and started pulling everything inside the booth. Then I began the task of attaching my flimsy side walls of my EZ-UP tent knowing that the rain would KILL my pastels hanging on the outside wall of my booth. Yes, I'm not using my Craft Hut anymore. Three back surgeries will do that to an artist. (Ever notice how many of us are using pop-up tents these days?)

Just when I had one side wall on, all hell broke loose. I struggled to get the other two sides on while the rain blasted down at a 45 degree angle. I'd get one side wall on and another would "rip" off in the wind. The booth was starting to move, swaying and listing forward, Pro Panels were popping away from their moorings, paintings were falling and glass was breaking all over the ground. The rain was so fierce that within minutes my booth was filled with over a foot's depth of water. I ran to the front corner of my booth and pushed against the force of the wind. I knew I didn't stand a chance and was yelling at the top of my lungs, "help me, please, somebody help me!!!" I was terrified. A small break in the wind came and I lunged for the small original pastel paintings soaking in the water on the floor. My credit card machine was floating. All my LIVE electrical wires and breaker bar were floating! The wind kicked up again and more paintings came crashing down around me. I just kept yelling "no! no! no!" The booth gave one last kick in the wind and the upper bars smacked me in the head, snapping my neck to the side. This is where I had my surgery and the bone is not yet fused. It was a bump on the head that took me over the edge. I started crying....

I'll save the rest of the details. They involve many hours trying to pack up all my damaged artwork and equipment into my van. No one saw I needed help.....until......around 9pm Mikel Robinson's (2D mixed media photography) beautiful wife ran over to lend a hand to a fellow artist who just couldn't lift another thing. She whipped a couple of show people off their golf carts to help. Mikel came and helped, leaving their own mess of a booth and darling 2-year-old safely in their dry vehicle with the babysitter. They were so kind and compassionate. As for my neck, well...my fingers are numb again and I will need to go back in for another procedure.

So here I am today, a business destroyed and no money to pay the bills and no artwork to sell. It's a tough, tough place and I have no idea yet when or if I'll recover. But I'm not taking it lying down. I'm fighting. I've created a site where fans, friends and family can pre-order a calendar (first time I've ever done one), original artwork at discounted prices or simply offer a donation to my "PAY IT FORWARD" Save An Artist Relief Fund. I've reached out on my Facebook personal page and Fan Page, and had many good responses. I plan on reaching out to my customer base through an email newsletter blast. And I'm asking folks that if they believe in me, my work, and the arts, to please pass along this story to their friends and families. As one artist said to me, "Reach out to your fellow artists. They are the best people in the world." 

On Friday I leave for my annual mission trip to Peru where I take art supplies and teach the extremely impoverished children how to experience freedom and empowerment through the creation of art. When you have a great pain in your life, you need a greater purpose. This is mine, and even though it makes me very uncomfortable leaving in the midst of chaos, I know it's God's perfect timing. As it is written, "Give and it shall be given unto you."

For other artists who have lost their livelihood in the storm, hopefully my ideas will help you rebuild your businesses too.

To see my sales and "Save An Artist" donation page, visit: shopartworkbymeredith.bigcartel.com

To read more about my art mission trips to Peru, visit my website.

Separated by several city blocks, these two festivals could not be more different from one another.

Old Town is in a residential neighborhood,  quiet, genteel and filled with outstanding high quality art.  Wells Street is a party festival where food, drink and music seem to take a priority over the artists, who, while there are some excellent artists, the majority seem mediocre with buy/sell mixed in.  

I had never been to Old Town but had always heard it was a good festival.  I was not disappointed.  There did seem to be too much jewelry  which isn't good for the jewelers and it was of really good quality.  I had not seen most of the jewelers before.  It was an exercise in restraint.  The rest of the media seemed to be divided pretty evenly.  Placement of booths was strange.  There were glass artists next to each other and jewelers next to and across from each other.  I don't know if this was due to cancellations or poor planning.  

I got to see my favorite ceramicist, William Kidd, making his lone Chicago appearance as well as Stephan Cox, a glass artist whose pieces are unusual and hasn't shown in the Chicago area for several years.

I finally got to meet Phil and Amy of Fobot fame.  While it was early, their booth was filled with people checking out their whimsical pieces  (hey Amy, that is probably the best word)  They reported a few sales already.  Michael Stipek was away from his booth when I stopped by but I got to meet his better half.  His collection for this show would look perfect on the brickwalled  condos in Chicago.  Jay McDougall was taking down the canopy on his tent as we passed by and it didn't seem to be the time to stop and say hi.  I know there were other AFI'ers there but things got a little too hectic to try and meet everyone.

We made two mistakes.  We ate lunch at the Old Town Fair and it was so-so.  It was better than the usual festival offerings but nothing to write home about.  The second was going to the Wells Street Festival.  First we had to see all the wonderful food offerings that we missed.  This was all restaurant food, not festival food and the prices were reasonable.  As a food festival, this fair would have been wonderful.  With the exception of a couple of jewelers, including Heidi Sever (who was not at her booth when I stopped by, darn) most of the jewelry was not good.  There were several painters and photographers that had some nice work.  I would say that the majority of attendees were in their 20's, out to socialize and party and for them, art was incidental.

The food was at the beginnings and ends of artists rows  so this made it harder for the art show goer to navigate the street.  

Similar to Coconut Grove, this was a weekend where a significant outlay of cash was necessary before you walked into the festival.  Event parking was $30 and it was worse for the artists ($50) and admission at each show was $7 per person.  My husband and I spent almost $60 before we saw art.  In this economy, it was a large chunk of change for people.  Heck, I bought a fun necklace for less than that.  (And I won't complain quite as much about the Grove)

All in all, we saw some great art, got some wonderful pieces but I won't be going back again.  Old Town is fabulous but it isn't an easy drive for me and at this stage of my collecting, not worth it for me.  I am just a suburban girl at heart I guess.  While I love seeing AFI'ers (everyone is so nice to me when I introduce myself, it is wonderful), I will have to meet you at other shows.  

Now, let's hear from the artists about the sales!!

Originally posted on my HappyArt.com blog

Recently I heard from a gal who is planning to set herself up in the self-designed note card business when her full time employment ends within the next year or so. She contacted me for some advice as to how to go about some of the basics. I’ll start by addressing some of her questions.

Marketing Yourself

Q: These are the things I don’t want to deal with but understand it’s all part of marketing yourself. I know that when I get to the point of selling that I want to do it online mainly because that seems to be the most simple way of marketing products.

A: She uses the phrase “marketing yourself” which is an awesome starting point because as we who have been doing this for awhile know – it is all about marketing yourself. There are a zillion super talented artists out there in the world so one of the major tasks of any successful artist is to find a way to get noticed and separate yourself out. This is accomplished using a matrix of available tools not the least of which is building your own tribe of ardent followers.

Hello shows, competitions, fundraisers and social networks; face-time and online versions. As with any new product seeking entry into an overloaded world of buying opportunities what sets your work apart from the rest, what makes it unique and tempting usually has a lot to do with the back story of the product; its promise. Your Mission with it.

Simple? Ummmmm…..

The other word that caught my fancy was “simple”. When done properly and well coordinating your online presence probably couldn’t be characterized as simple. Able to be done in one’s pajamas, yes. Simple, not so much.

Set up an Etsy Shop

Use Etsy Well

Q: One area I get stuck on is where to market online, do I open an Etsy account or create my own website

A: Yes! Both. Without question. Esty is a nice interface for creating a safe shopping experience for your potential customers. It’s also hugely popular and thus jammed with page after page of awesome items created by others! But no matter who you are or what you’re selling you can’t count on your Etsy store doing all the work for you.

Happily there is a network devoted to sharing insights as to how you can maximize your potential selling experience on this super-popular art buying site. Check out: the Estypreneur site. Join it and start learning from successful Etsy artists immediately. Also, friend me there when you join! I’m Songpony.

Same name as my Etsy store. (Why Songpony? I market several of my creative existences via that store – and quite frankly wasn’t entirely sure where Etsy was headed when it first came to my attention several years ago. I didn’t want to devalue my work if that’s where it was headed – much like I think eBay did to artists early on. Songpony was a pseudonym – I got HappyArtStudio later on – my dog is using it currently.)

Your Own Site

But Esty isn’t your only solution – you need to design a beautiful website where you can:

• tell your story,
• add layers to the experience of buying your work for your customers and
• personally connect with them.

On your own site you can control how your customers view your work and interact with you. There are so many options for creating gorgeous fully integrated experiences these days – I won’t get into them all here. I will say I use a self hosted site with WordPress and a ton of widgets installed to integrate my multiple online HappyArt presences with each other.

Here I can show people my new work, give them access to some of my archived things as well as create a sense of depth to the commitment I’ve made to my art through my lists of accomplishments, shows and upcoming plans.

Why blog?

To keep your information freshly updated for practical human and search engine reasons. Be real, timely and entertaining or informative when you can. Again we’re talking about creating legitimacy for your message and mission with your work.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Beyond

Facebook has become the king of all the social networking sites for artists (and just about everyone else) to connect with their tribe. I only just started using it for my re-entry back into the art career so I’m still in the beginning stage of gaining followers for my HappyArt Facebook page. Set up a page for yourself right away. Do not use your personal presence for your business.You want to keep your personal self sacrosanct and part from your professional self. Keeps your messaging better targeted and clear for your customers.

My Merry Horses account is a whole other story! She’s been at the Facebook thing for about a year and a half and has over 5000+ followers now. These are people who pay attention when this persona of mine mentions things. It is among my goals for HappyArt to eventually create a similar following.

Twitter is a bit wanky. It’s a great tool for keeping some buzz going – but you have to keep up with it and know that what your tweet slides down the feeds fairly quickly. There’s all sorts of interesting articles available about how best to use your Twitter account. Again it’s all about relationship creation, building and maintenance. Do avoid overtweeting your sales pitches. Big turn off. Instead Tweet about the behind the scenes entertaining aspects of your work, your travels and other relevant content that helps build your work as a brand.

YouTube is a great place to build depth to your process or inspiration to embed into your blog. Also if you’re a natural born teacher with something to teach you can set yourself up as the go-to expert on your particular subject via this fabulous medium. Lots of artists have which has turned into new ways to monetize their creativity!

Pricing and Marketing Logistics

Q; The other thing I get stuck on is how much to charge for my notecards and if I sell one card or a group of cards?

A: This is a biggie. Let’s break it down.

How Much to Charge

Ah, the age-old question. Materials + Time + Related Expenses (marketing time, packaging time, shopping and shipping, time to get materials in, professional services, taxes, etc etc etc) + profit. It’s as easy and as tricky as that. Oh and don’t forget to research what the typical price range is for what you’re selling! You don’t want to go too much over what people typically pay for something like yours – nor do you want to under price your work. Do your research! And do be sure to compare apples to apples. If your note cards are giclee printed on acid-free recycled paper with earth-friendly soy inks – you can definitely get away with charging more. AND you’ve identified some very marketable selling points for your work!

You can work your equation backwards or forwards depending on your expectations for this new career. If you intend to clear $50,000 annually you have a number you can work backwards from as to how to identify how many sales that needs to be. If you’re clearing $1 a card that’s 50,000 cards or an average of 136 a day. You get the idea.

So now she gets to decide how she wants to package them! As a group you probably want to put them in some sort of attractive display. These can be had – but they’re not free. Depending on how many you buy at once a note card display box can add as much as a dollar or more to your expenses. Again work your numbers – see what makes sense!

Building Your Tribe

Making money as a professional self-employed entrepreneur artist is a lot about being a successful small business person in addition to harnessing your creative excellence. To do so consistently is more about perseverance than it is about luck. You need to make your work known, make it available and stand behind it every step of the way. You have to be fearless, you’re working without a net. You have to make it accessible and available! Sometimes this means taking it to the streets. With this in mind street fairs are a wonderful way to spread the word about what you’re doing! Art Fair Insiders is an awesome network that connects artists with opportunities in this realm. Join! It’s free too. Friend me there as well.

Look for competitions – enter and when you win announce it! Again, it’s another way to build buzz for your ‘brand’ and add to your list of accomplishments – something customers love hearing about. Makes you all look smart with impeccable taste!

You will absolutely delighted to discover how nice and helpful other artists are. It is the one thing you can always rely on in this otherwise very challenging business. These are Your People. They are on your side.

Shows

Selling at outdoor or other venues with other artisans or at farmer’s markets, fundraisers, etc, requires a lot of thought and pre-planning. Just as an intro to what this entails you’ll need:

• a tent
• tent anchors (for wind)
• displays for your note cards
• will you accept credit cards? You’ll need to set that up
• receipts
• inventory (you have to know what will sell and bring a lot of it!)
• business cards, etc etc

There’s a whole lot of planning that goes into creating an acceptable and attractive booth for a show. If you intend to try for juried shows – then you need to look at a whole other set of accoutrements too – not the least of which would be the original art presented to the jury in gorgeous photos along with your jury fees etc. Farmer’s markets work for some people – especially if your subject mater can be related to that crowd and your price point is snappy.

A Whole Different Approach

If all of that seems overwhelming – luckily for you there’s a whole different way you can generate some income with awesome cool designs. Hello Zazzle and CafePress! On sites like these you can upload your designs and offer them for sale with a small mark up that goes into your own pocket. They’ll produce things like t-shirts, calenders, mugs and note cards, as well as a bevy of other temptations.

The Wrap Up

So creating a successful business for your art is a challenging but hugely rewarding line of work. For me having to wear so many hats to maintain relevance is actually one of the bonuses. It is hard to get bored! It’s risky, exhausting and very very challenging – which is why successes are so dang sweet!

I wish you much luck with your journey. And stay in touch when you start building your presence!

9 Mile Road at Woodward

120 artists

Deadline: June 30 

"Twice as funky as the average fine art show." The Ferndale fair focuses on work that skews a little younger, a little hipper.  While traditional artwork does sell here, this show focuses on less pastoral work.  As many as 40,000 art shoppers attend over the weekend.

Ferndale's vibrant downtown attracts people in their 20's, 30's and 40's.  It is a lively community with varied shopping and exciting clubs and restaurants.  These people have the means to purchase items that appeal to them.

The show is looking for work that challenges the mind, or simply sparks the imagination.  Artwork that does not sit quietly, but invites a reaction.  Overall however, keep in mink, this is a high quality juried fine art show.

The art fair is organized by Mark Loeb of Integrity Shows, a veteran organizer of metro Detroit events. Like all of Integrity Shows events, artists are assured of three year's of participation when accepted.  Why shouldn't you be able to plan your year?

Loeb's shows are widely praised for the effort placed toward supporting participating artists.  He understands that your success is essential and does what it takes to meet your needs.

Apply on line at: www.zapplication.org  

or visit: www.MichiganArtShow.com for more information 

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

Looking for more art fairs for your 2011 season?
Visit CallsforArtists.com - new shows added almost daily!

This show happened the past weekend, same time as Wells Street and Old Town in Chicago.

Right off I will tell you this is a filler show for me.  If you live more than a three-hour drive from it, it is not worth doing.  I make it there from Saugatuck, MI in two hours and ten minutes. Can do it back and forth on a tank of gas while driving 75 mph.  Bought the E-Pass and I zoom thru the tolls now, no more looking for quarters and waiting in a slow line of vehicles.

I have done this show four times over a decade  Like I said, it is a filler for me.  I make money, just not a lot.

Hinsdale is a very affluent SW suburb of Chicago.  You exit off the Thru-way on Ogden Road heading west.  Turn left on York and wind your way to downtown of this quaint village.  Show is held in a lovely treed park by the railroad tracks.  The village has five flower shops that all seem to make money, also three coffee shops and Pages Family restaurant where I get a great, cheap breakfest at every morn of the show.  There is a news station two stores away where I can get a multitude of newspapers.

It is a small show with a small booth fee held in a beautiful park.  Load in on Friday is very mellow, load-out can be a little hectic.  You gotta plan your escape route out.  As usual, I was one of the first ones in, and I loaded out in one hour.

Lots of painters and photographers at this show.  Lots of competition for those slim sales to buyers.  Many artists barely broke even at the show.  Saturday morn we had clouds and a drizzle for most of the morn coupled with chilly temps, I was wearing a long-sleeved wool pullover and glad to have had it.

Crowds Sat. were very slim with few sales happening.  I would guess if they had 1,000 people show up, that would be about it.

Nice thing is I got to meet up with a lot of fellow AFI-ers there like Paul Zerjay, Munks, Lynn Krause and Lynda Wallis.  A bunch of us went to a great Sushi Restaurant Sat. nite and ate like kings for mere pennies during its Happy Hour.  $2 Sakes, $5 Hamachi, pot-stickers for $3.  The place was a deal.  Zerjay ate his first sushi and loved it.  Couldn't get either Munks or Zerjay to take the big plunge--snort some Wasabi.  Bill the cat snorted some with me--the rest are a bunch of limp wimps.

Sunday brought perfect weather, still a bit chilly.  Crowds were much bigger and well-dressed.  This is a dog show, every other person is walking one.  They do pick up after them.

Sales were still so-so.  I don't think Munks will be back.  I made a big sale while loading up at the end of the show--paid for my sushi bill, and then some.

Next week I am off, then two weeks from now, it is off to Des Moines.  Aloha, Nels.

That was a lot of fun, with a wonderful response from artists, art shows, art fair patrons and advertisers across the country.

Here are the official winners:

1. Dorraine Watts - Kindle with built in Wi-Fi
2. Brian Bass - pottery by Sarah Silva
3. Tahmi DeSchepper - consulting services with Larry Berman
4. Shirley Baker - canopy weights from James Eaton
5. Kristen Walsh - Sunshine Artist subscription
6. Woody Smith - Auntie M's peanut brittle
7. Steph Mader -Sunshine Artist subscription
8. Lenore Lampi - free booth at a Howard Alan Event
9. Barbara Johnson - mobile Polaroid printer
10. Suzanne Krongold - NAIA membership
11. Barbara McLaughlin - consultation with Connie Mettler
12. Susan Miller - consultation with Connie Mettler
13. Melanie Rolfes - subscription to Sunshine Artist
14. Leslie Kaplan - Level 2 membership to Festival Network Online
15. Donald Dixon - CDs from Paul Adams and Dave Hoffman
16. Barbara Nelson - Expert Website Review from Scott Fox
17. Michelle Wermuth - pottery from Barry Bernstein
18. Carolina Niebres - t shirt from the Des Moines Art Festival
19. Barbara Berney - Frog Bag from Lynda Wallis
20. Jetze Beers - Sunshine artist subscription
21. Wendy Edwards - CDs from Paul Adams and Dave Hoffman
22. Anne Tindell - a year's membership  to ClickMillionaires.com Online Marketing Coaching Community
23. Jacqueline Gomez - Frog bag from Lynda Wallis
24. Ginny Herzog - Expert Website Review from Scott Fox
25. Julie Crouse - subscription to Sunshine Artist
26. Wendy Shattil - a year's membership  to ClickMillionaires.com Online Marketing Coaching Community
27. Br. Xavier Pankovits - candles from Michelle Sholund
28. Paolo & Patty DeMaria - Frog bag from Lynda Wallis
29. Peggy Whitson  - t shirt from the St. Louis Art Fair
30. Linda Shields - decorated cookies from Auntie M's Baked Goods
31. Don Lake - choice of tshirt
32. Terri Anderson - oatmeal cookies from Auntie M's
33. Terry McCray - Silver palm tree from Lynda Keen

A last thank you to the supporters:

Brian Bass, Michael Kuehl, Loree Rinck, Hyacinth Manning, Joan Tweedell, Stacey Miller, Bobby Schochet, Steph Mader, Anne Tindell, Roberta Starbird, Philip Marty, Paula Grill, Dorraine Watts, Sherry Martin, Margaret Hagopian-Slack, Geri Wegner, Charles Bingham, Barbara Berney, Ronald Gould, Don Lake, Pat Finney, John Leben, Jerry Maschinot, Jill Richman, Kay Foley at Ampersand Cards, Linnea Swanson, Michelle Wermuth, Emily Pezzulich, Shaari Horowitz, Silent Echoes, Howard Rose, Barbara Nelson, John MacDonald, Luisa Velasquez, Currie Silver, Bruce Eaton, Gary Willcock, Rick Hall & Tina Willis, Barbara McLaughlin, Melanie Rolfes, Wally Parshall, aLightGoesOn, Bo Mackinson, Harrison Otalor, Clair Thompson, Bruce and Christine Green, Ginny Herzog, Teressa Getz, Margie Luttrell, Dave Dinsdale of Pristine Images, Maija Baynes, Nancy Potts,Tahmi de Schepper, LJ Young, Susan Hohman, Lynn & Michael Krause, Nancy Wasserman, Richard Grossman, Shirley Baker, Danglez, Carol Faith, Kay Cummins, Betty Householder, Mary Hermansen, Sherry Curtis, Impact Gallery, Ilze Heider, Diana Bruni, Beverly Shine, Hannelore Jundt-Pritchard, Susan Russo, Karen Brown, Lenore Lampi, Lynda Chevrier, Crystal, Medusa's Stones, Annette Piper, James Parker, Michael Wommack, Patricia Simmons, Nicole Moore, Woody Smith, Christine Heisler, Susan Miller, Jennifer Thomas, Lisa Scheffer, Melanie Moore, Tara Dalga, Joanne Wendel, Heather Watson, Suzanne Krongold, Vinnie Sutherland, Sharon @1-2-3 It's Me, Xavier Pankovits, Gregg Gustafson, Paul Messink, Artwear Design, Jacqueline Gomez, Annie Omens, John Ziemann, Candy McFall, Scrap Felt, Helen Jarocki, Leslie Kaplan, Circle D Metal Art, April Schwaegerle, Sharon Fink, John Wilson, Creative Bead Connection, Joy Hafford, DeVer Originals, Karen Kress, Kathleen Clausen, Jill White, Kristen Walsh, Judith Weisblatt, our friends at the College Hill Art Festival, Michael & Carol Weber and Deborah Banyas & T.P. Speer, Leo Charette, Peggy Whitson, Jan Richardson, Ann Akland, Lisa Cutler, Denise Bizot, Rusty Leffel, Terry McCray, Mark Brodnan, Barry Bernstein, Wendy Shattil, Jan Anderson, John Pulbratek, Richard Freund, Wendy Edwards, Monika Green, Sarah Silva, Douglas Farrar, Donald Dixon, Lynda Wallis, Pamella Harris, Judy Zeddies, Ruth Finkenbiner, Zee Galliano, Marilyn Troutman, Donald Dixon, Marcia Grout, Donald Thompson, Michelle Babcock and old friends Gert & Sheila Olsen!

Patrons:  Beth Sergeant, Eugene Hughes, Debra Ehmann, Howard Rose, Deborah Gall, Caroline Niebres, Barbara McLaughlin, Wally Parshall, Jeanne Steck, Mary Johnston, Paolo DeMaria, Diane Rose Jewelry, Ariela Boronat, Jetze Beers, B. Felt, Judith Walton, James Nelson, Pat Falk, Julie Crouse, Mark Sarlson, Ed & Carole Schmidt

And the "Angels": Linda Billet, Linda Shields, Allison Bernknopf, Melanie Allen & Ross Graham

Everyone send us your mailing address so we can send you your "Red Dot" bumper sticker and award ribbons for the Patron and Angel sponsors.

Deepest apologies if anyone was left off this list -- I truly appreciate this support and look forward to year 3 of ArtFairInsiders.com!

I am seriously considering selling my property in Mississippi. It is too far from any shows and the house/yard are too big for me now. I love my studio, but I can build another where ever I end up. The question is "Where Do I Want To End Up?" I know I want to stay South of West Virginia and East of Texas, and I prefer rolling hills to coast, mountains, or delta. That leaves a lot of territory to consider.

I can build to suit if the perfect house is not available, but I cannot build an artist friendly community to order. I am looking for a small to medium sized town or city within relatively easy driving distance of some nice shows. I don't want to live in a large city, but 30+ miles away would be O.K.

 I have visited Gatlinburg, TN ( too commercial! ), and Mountain View, AR ( very nice! ). Then it occured to me that there are 5,000+ artists I could ask right here. So if you live in or have visited a town that you think would suit, please let me know.

Hey! We could start a list of Top Ten Places to Live for Artists made by artists! The list I found online was obviously NOT made by anyone having anything to do with art.

I am trying to find the name of an artist who exhibited at the Barrington Art Fair this year.  She is a fiber artist who works in light wool with felted wool flowers on the piece.  Does anyone know her name?  Thanks.

Terry Caufield

Kansas City (MO) Downtown Art Annual

The Good: Location, people, show staff, Horace Washington & Friends

The Bad: Results

The Ugly: Tornadoes

First let me say that I was impressed with what Kansas City has done with the Power & Light District, the downtown area where the show was held. It appears that the city has invested a considerable amount of resources to make “The District” a vibrant place. I have never been to KC prior to this trip so I have no idea what the area was like before, but now it seems like a happening, downtown area. Good job, KC.

Friday setup was in the rain the entire time, a drenching, steady rain. Fortunately by the time I was done with setup and got back to the RV to change into something dry the rain had stopped, the sun was making occasional appearances, and the streets were drying out. Reason enough to be optimistic since my show the previous weekend was a total bust. See other’s reviews of Art Birmingham.

The Downtown Art Annual is on fairly narrow city streets so setup/teardown can be a bit tight, but everyone worked pretty well together. The show is a three day affair with setup starting at 11:00 am Friday and the show running from 5-9 pm that night. By 9:00 pm it is pretty dark and lights are needed for your work to have any hope of being seen. There is power available but there is a catch. The city light poles have electrical outlets which we were allowed to plug in to, if we had a way to reach them, they are about 25 feet above the sidewalk. Needless to say nobody took advantage of the “available” power.

Sales, at least for me, were less than expected, I covered expenses plus a little. I am a black & white photographer and had a lot of interest in my work but couldn’t get enough people to pull the trigger. However, the mixed media artist next door did quite well. Saturday was the busiest day with a good sized crowd that seemed genuinely interested in looking at the art and talking with the artists, as opposed to just strolling through the zoo, looking at the animals in their cages, and eating a corn dog. For the most part I found the customers to be considerate, appreciative, and fairly sophisticated. Never once was I asked to give a discount, all of my sales were at full price. How often does that happen? Friday evenings crowd seemed to be the younger, hipper, KC downtown residents and if your art appealed to their tastes, good sales could be had. Sunday was the slowest day with light crowds and equally light sales.

As has been my experience at most shows that feature music, it was way too loud! During most of Saturday communicating with customers was difficult. I enjoyed the music, it was a nice blend of blues and jazz with a touch of rock n roll, but I wasn’t there for the music. Sunday’s music was a welcome relief. While still being a blend of jazz & blues, the volume was several decibels lower. Horace Washington & Friends, the first of two musical groups on Sunday were quite fun and entertaining from noonuntil 2:00 pm and continually urged the crowd to “buy art”. I spoke with him afterwards and expressed my thanks for his encouraging the folks to buy art and he said, “Unlike you folks (the artists) we get paid no matter what. You are the reason everyone is here, we are here to support you”. How refreshing!

There was no food court. This was a Howard Allen show, a first for me, and from my understanding HA shows do not have food courts. FYI.

As a side note, I have experienced just about every kind of weather in my years of doing shows except a tornado. I am from the Northwest and the T-word strikes paralyzing fear in me. I can deal with earthquakes, wildfires, rain, wind, snow, ice, but please, no tornadoes. Turns out that the tornado that destroyed Joplin, MO happened on the Sunday of this show and was only 150 miles away. Way too close for my comfort. My thoughts and condolences go out to the folks who were affected by this devastating storm. Makes my less than expected sales pretty insignificant.

Many thanks to so many of you who have pledged their support to our art fair websites. Most of our prizes are gone, but here is what is left:

1. Hand decorated cookies; oatmeal cookies from Auntie M.'s Baked Goods
2. 1 subscription to Sunshine Artist
3. Candles from BytheBayBotanicals.com from member Michelle Sholund
4. Jewelry from Lynda Keen
5. 1 Frog bag, "BuyArt", from Lynda Wallis, www.freelanceillustrations.com
6. note cards from the Anton Art Center and a one-of-a- kind tshirt: http://www.theartcenter.org/
7. t shirts from art fairs across the nation - view them here: http://www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/pledgedrive.html

And the winners are:

1. Steph Mader
2. Br. Xavier Pankovits
3. Paolo DeMaria
4. Peggy Whitson
5. Linda Shields
6. Don Lake
7. Danglez
8. Terry McCray
9. Roberta Starbird
10. Nicole Moore

Please contact me: info@artfaircalendar.com to claim your prize. Tell me your three choices and include your mailing address.

First time we were accepted at this show and after hearing so many good things about this show from other artists we were looking forward to a good weekend.  At the end of the weekend, everything was great, except the sales.  Weather was perfect, reasonable attendance, beautiful park setting, organizers were great, show was well balanced etc.  The locals were happy to be out in the sunshine and warmer temperatures, evidently this was the first really nice weekend of the spring for Spokane. 

Our sales were a lot lower than we expected.  Overall it seemed that sales were very mixed, one jeweler we know had her best ArtFest ever, 2 other jewelers said it was a good show for them, 2 other jewelers we knew had a mediocre show and ours didn't even qualify as mediocre.  A few of the other artists (various mediums) we know that have done this show before said their sales were down over prior years, but still felt like they had a decent show.  Others who were new to the show, like us, didn’t fare as well.  There were at least a few that didn’t even cover expenses.  We might try this show again, if we are accepted, it just seemed like a show we should be able to do well at so not sure if it’s just the current fear of economic conditions or something else that caused our sales to be much lower than expected.  We had a quite a few potential customers who said they’ve seen us and/or bought from us at Coeur d’Alene’s Art on the Green which we’ve done twice in the past and have done well at both times.  We’ll be doing the CDA show again this summer, hoping that some of those who saw us in Spokane, loved the new designs might return and actually buy from us in August.

We did get a chance to meet a couple of other Art Fair Insiders, Stephen and Bonnie Harmstonwere in a booth straight across from us and I had a chance to get reacquainted with Sheila Evans.  While introducing myself to Sheila I also met her cousin Tim, turns out we all went to the same high school, were in the same marching band, Tim was our drum major, Sheila was in the color guard and I was a flute player.  It did remind me that Spokane can be a very small place at times!

August 19 & 20

Where is Frankfort? High on a bluff in the heart of Michigan's summer vacationland, the hidden gem of Northern Michigan on Lake Michigan and Betsie Bay.

From the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce:

This very popular northern Michigan Art Fair has been voted one of the top 10 Art Fairs in Michigan! This two-day event provides a variety of artists and food. Visitors specifically look for their favorite artists year after year - We do our best to keep them in their same spot, so they know right where to find them!

The fair is in a beautiful park setting with up to 10,000 people in attendance. It is one of the most popular art fairs in Northern Michigan.  The Chamber also hosts a few other fundraisers that day to help with the cost of putting on a fantastic event like this! 

What's not to like? 

• two days
• beautiful time of year for weather
• spacious booth spaces: 12 x 12
• great booth fee: $105 - for both days!

Friday night at the show, looking down Washington St.

Ok, Nels, here are my thoughts on the festival, starting from the get-go. I should be getting ready for the next show, but I'll admit that I like recapping my experiences for the amusement of all. 

I got called off the waitlist, after applying to the show for maybe five or six years in a row. I was happy to accept, and found that communication from the show was complete, timely and useful. A clear festival map is provided, along with a detailed handbook a couple of weeks before the show. The only other shows that deliver such a comprehensive set of materials are Krasl (binder with tabs) and Artisphere in Greenville (a big binder with tabs). The show director, Leah Alters, works hard to answer questions via email quickly. At one point, she even inquired about my stolen trailer! How did she find out about it? Art Fair Insiders. She and her staff are definitely listening to the artists.

Friday Night at the show, looking down Long St. to the West

The load-in was super simple, although it had the potential for disaster. My assigned time was 6:45PM (the last of the day), which worked well for me and my trailer. Directions to the staging area were clear, better than my GPS, which had me running in circles in downtown Cleveland. More on that later. A brisk walk to the Art Center, where, after a brief wait, I SAT DOWN at a table with a show volunteer, who explained pretty much everything to me. She also delivered another copy of the show handbook in the packet, just in case I hadn't printed it previously. The booth signs are humongous, and nicely designed. Somewhere in that mass of information it said which side of the booth to hang it on, but we couldn't find it. There was some confusion on this important issue, cause some artists hung on the left and some on the right. My spot was on a corner, right behind the main stage. I worried that the stage might make it hard to converse with patrons, but it turned out fine. The show volunteers told me to drive the entire length of Long Street to get to it, but as it turned out, I was able to back up the trailer behind the stage, and dolly about 100 feet to the booth. Easier than navigating a show full of sweaty setter-uppers, cranky artisans and irritated vendors.

We got the booth up, the art hung, and parked the new trailer. We spent a few minutes locking the wheels, locking the hitch and installing the ball lock. Lesson learned in Fort Worth. It's worth noting that parking areas provided by shows, full of trailers, vans and trucks, with security, may be a better place to drop a trailer than parking alone at a hotel off in the distance. Just sayin'.

After checking in at our Priceline hotel about ten miles north of town, we went searching for food. This proved to be a tough task on a Thursday night after 11. We finally ended up at a Steak & Shake at the Polaris Mall north of I-270. Not optimal, and no tequila.

Karyn Kozo and funny painted mime guy. 

Next morning, we got to the show bright and early. Columbus' hours are a bit squirrely -- 11:30AM to 10PM. They do provide electricity, though, and it's a party crowd. Friday's sales were good for me, not as good as I had expected, but enough to whet my appetite for a gangbuster Saturday and Sunday. The music proved to be loud enough to hear, but not loud enough to be interruptive, and since I like music as background, I enjoyed the acts that played during the day. At times, crowds were wall to wall, but all told, I only had a few transactions. Friday, for me, was collector day, as I sold nothing but larger pieces.

Karyn went looking for food and Starbucks. Unfortunately, the easiest Starbucks to get to is almost a mile away. She took the truck, drove to another 'Bucks with easier parking, and took almost an hour and a half to find her way back to the booth, what with the one-way streets in Columbus. High Street alone has no turns posted during business hours for almost a mile. Finally I got my coffee. Lunch is the same problem. No restaurants, delis or other food emporiums anywhere that we could find, on Yelp, or Urban Spoon, at least within walking distance of the show. Luckily, the cuisine tents had decent, healthy options, if at expensive show prices. I tried the ancho pork skewer on basmati rice, and found it tender & flavorful. For $10, it oughta be! The gazpacho was good, and the cherry pie was outstanding. The diablo steak salad was also tasty. Afterwards, I was glad that the show provided trailer porta-lets in strategic areas around the show.

Friday night, we didn't bother with dinner. By the time we got the tent closed down, it was 10:30, and we didn't feel like repeating Thursday's drive-around debacle.

One cool promo that ran in conjunction with the show was @tweetandgoseek. Matthew Barnes, aka @misterbarnes, hid little pieces of artwork around the show that had coupons and freebies attached to them. He then tweeted clues to the location, and first to find the artwork got the prize. Effective, fun, and a great way to send folks around the show. I had one stuck to my sign, and met the infamous @misterbarnes. Great promotion.

Saturday sales were real slow. Surprisingly, the crowd changed. Many tire-kickers, lookers, gawker and freaks sprinkled in amongst the suburban families out for a stroll. Lots of sno-cones and beer consumed. We made friends with our neighbors. Bill Secunda, from Butler PA, with his giant nail sculptures, is a hoot. His huge sculptures always gathered a crowd, mostly to take pictures of their friends with his giant bear. Bill also had a big electric fan, which was a definite necessity. His crane broke down, and a very helpful fork-lift operator helped him unload and came back after the show to help him get these heavy monsters loaded back up on the forklift. Kudos to this nameless fellow!

Karyn said afterward, "Wouldn't it be a kick to see these rolling down the interstate?" 

Bill Secunda and Karyn Kozo. It is DEFINITELY Beer o' Clock!

Dave Johnson, enjoying a moment of piece and quiet in his booth

Dave Johnson, all the way from Seattle, with black & white photography right across from me, was dying in the heat. But we had a few good laughs. Lisa Ark, with her tiny miniature paintings alongside her larger (don't call it cute!) work, had a decent show. And next door, Mark Yasenchak had some exquisite porcelain skulls displayed next to his beautiful towers and boxes. Down the street we ran into Pat Whalen, and Sam & Jeannie Maddox, who were our neighbors at Main Street Fort Worth in April. Mark MacKinnon was there with a double booth showing his ethereal photographs in simple yet elegant white frames. We talked to Leah Cavanah on Cleveland, too. She wasn't having a great show. Rob Coomer, another tog friend, did have a good show, with his stunning photographs on steel. And of course we ran into Nels and his lovely wife Ellen.

Doug Remien, a friend from Waterford, MI, had told me earlier that Columbus used to be his best show of the year. This year? Not so much. The sales weren't there for him like before. And that seemed to be the story for most -- some made a little money over expenses, some made nothing. Certainly the artists whose booths were blown away missed out on the third day of selling, and will have some work to do to recoup the losses from the storm. I was happy to make a little money, pay a few bills.

If you don't know, the show has started a relief fund for those artists that had significant losses. If you are an artist who had losses, you need to let Leah Alters know that, too. The relief fund is at:https://columbusartsfestival.org/get-involved/artist-relief-fund.php

If you can afford to contribute a little to the fund, those artists that had big trouble will surely appreciate it. I will if you will.

Did I mention the artist breakfast that never was? We arrived at 9:10AM, for the breakfast scheduled to start at 9AM, and they were already out of eggs and meat. The staff said more was on the way, and at 9:30, they started the awards program, with artists still standing in line for food. The awards were given, and at 10, we finally gave up on free food, and walked to the nearest Starbucks, at Broad and 3rd St, about .8 mile away, for breakfast sammitches and real coffee. I would have preferred to have a full breakfast had I known the show one was non-existent... Ding the show's caterer for that. 250 artist, one steam tray of scrambled eggs? Back to counting and forecasting school for you, Mr. Caterer.

Saturday night - storm. Been covered. See my post over in Nels blog from the other day. Lots of damage. Lots of rain. Sunday, the show director sent everyone an email, letting them know that free tent space was available for those whose canopies were destroyed. They called the tent rental company and put up two big tents down on Cleveland St. Leah said that leaving the show would have no repercussions, and a few artists did pack up and leave on Saturday night, fearing more storms on Sunday. Coupled with slow Saturday sales, it might have been a good move. My feeling is, we're there, might as well tough it out. Sometimes that strategy works, sometimes it doesn't.

Bill Secunda and "Stove Man", enjoying a healthy discourse on the benefits of stove lurking

The human yearbook (ok, she was cute, and pretty normal)

Karyn (right) and "Painted Guy" (left)

Thumbs up on the black & white photos, dude! Ummm, did I mention the heat?

Sunday was hot and muggy, but no storms in the forecast. Sales were better, but the bizarros kept coming out. I've never seen so many oddly detailed people in my life. There was "Stove Man", who spent quality time with Karyn & Bill Secunda, describing in detail his fetish for crawling into stoves. There was "Painted Guy", a mime with a donation bucket. There was the "Human Yearbook", a girl who didn't want to buy a yearbook, so let her friends use her body instead. Many, many dogs, some of them cute. Many, many strollers. Many, many tattoos. And a few sales. Enough to say it was an okay show, but not enough to put it in the pantheon of stellar performers. It was free entertainment for most, and the heat made everyone lethargic.

Cumulo-nimbus pop-up storm about 5PM Saturday evening

Sunday afternoon, the radar started showing pop-up thunderstorms headed our way again. There was a giant storm out in Indiana, over South Bend, too. The show people came around and let us close an hour early. Most artists were already packing, as the crowds had wilted from the heat. But the rain missed us, thank goodness, and the packup went quickly. We were on the road by 7:30, and got home to bed by midnight.

I'm sure I must've forgotten to add something. But I really must get back to wringing out my knickers. Plus I've got to get on down the road on Friday. See y'all in Chicago, or Crocker Park, or wherever we'll be for next week's circus!

The Edina Art Fair is local fair for us, and this was Brian's sixth year. The crowds were good and sales were brisk, despite a distracting neighboring booth. We thank our customers and friends who stopped by to see us!

The vendors at this fair tend to fall into two categories: better-to-great artists and WTF (Wow that's fricking-crazy). WTFers diminish the experience of browsing through the art, because they're not artists. The differentiation is often blurred when one approaches the booth, because it might LOOK like they are selling art. In Edina six years ago, I noticed a booth selling Sprongs shoes. Interesting? Yes. Art? No. As Brian juries into better and better shows, we see the WTF phenomenon less. However at Edina, it seems to increase each year.

Topping the WTF catagory this year was Venture Photography--a portrait studio chain. The booth workers appeared to be college-aged kids on commission. Their objective seemed to get people into the booth, where each would be pressured into purchasing a $500 value certificate for $50. If the kid could not close, the boss man, who had been watching from the street, would come close the sale. These kids would literally follow patrons down the street with an open laptop or book, "Would you like to see our work? Will you give me feedback on my images?" To be fair, though, neither Brian nor I witnessed any waterboarding.

When I asked to meet the photographer, I was told they weren't at the fair, but three new ones had just been hired. Most fair-goers picked up their pace to avoid these relentless young folks, speeded right past real artists' booths without a glance, until they were safely in food territory.

In case my point has not been made, the inclusion of WTF booths along side juried artists seems unjust. It diminishes the reputation of the real artists by association. And it requires fair-goers to ask, "Which are artists and which are con-artists?"

It surely has been fun handing out the prizes to all of you who have been such great supporters of our websites. Many thanks to all who have pledged.

Here are the prizes that are left:

1. 3 memberships to the online marketing community - if you are trying to market your art online this community is run like AFI, but it is all about BUSINESS and making money online. This is an invaluable opportunity for you to get some great advice.
2. 2 expert reviews of your website -- great advice on how to make your website work better for you!
3.  2 - baked goods from Auntie M's  (peanut brittle gone)
4. 3 subscriptions to Sunshine Artist
5. candles from Michelle Sholund
6. jewelry from Lynda Keen
7. notecards from the Mt. Clemens Art Center
8. CDs from Paul Adams & David Hoffman
9. 3 Frog Bags from Lynda Wallis
10. vintage t shirts from the top art fairs

Here is the next group of winners.

1.  Barbara Berney
2. Jetze Beers
3. Gary Willcock
4. Wendy Edwards
5. Anne Tindell
6.  Jacqueline Gomez
7. Ginny Herzog
8. Pamella Harris
9. Julie Crouse
10. Wendy Shattil

Please visit the pledge/prize page and make a choice and send it to me.  Please send three choices as someone is sure to take your first choice!

Everyone who pledged should have this "Art Star" on their own page on this website by now. If you don't let me know so I can add it.

and also, if you don't already have a "Red Dot" please send me your mailing address.

Pledges are still being taken and many thanks to you who are just now getting around to it. Your names have been added to the list for the drawings.

We'll be doing our last drawing on Friday morning, June 10, for the rest of the prizes.

Second year for Barrington. May 28-29.  Great potential for the show. Saturday, weather threatened all day but no rain.  Threat apparently kept people away. Sunday started off cloudy.  Amy came around at 11:00 am.  Said no time to tear down, just buttom the hatches since severe weather headed our way in next 30 minutes and then sunny skies within an hour or so.  Storm hit at 11:15 severe rain, lighting and 50 mile hour winds.  Some damage to tents but not too much.  Four hour later, rain finally stopped and sun came out but show was basicsally over.  Probably had 2-3 inches of rain and heavy lighting.   Many exhibitors took life and limb in hand and tore down in storm...We rode it out in tent with no damage.  Had a lighting strike very close.  Nearly jumped 6 inched ouf of my chair.  Chain saws were busy After the storm. Total sales about $600 for the show.  Just can't compete with the weather. 

East Side Milleniuum- Downtown Chicage.  June 3,4,6  Great location.  North end of Grant Park and one block North.  Huge office buildings and condos all around.  Great weather Friday and great crowd but very few buyers.  Same for Saturday.  Less than $500 each day.  Sunday started out the same.  However around 2 PM the heavens opened and showered money from above.  We had our absolute best selling day in 37 years of doing shows and our best show in the last 25 years.  One finely dressed man came into the booth and was like a kid in a candy shop.  $5,000 later he decided he had purchased enough items.  Eight shopping bags and a large box containing our Noah's Ark.  Was still shaking an hour later after he left.  Sales were constant until 1/2 hour after the show closed.  Finally had to drop the curtains on the tent so we could get packed up and get out.

Also won best of categoy - Three dimensional - functional.  Goes to show that some people do appreciate good wooden toys.  Now have to cram for the next 2+ weeks to get some inventory made for the next two shows.  Always something to compalin about

Ed Schmidt

Wooden toys