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This is the second year for this show.  I capitolized the craft part because it seeems that many artist get this show confused with the Chastain Arts Festival in the Fall.  The crowds, booths, vendors, advertising and time of year are not the same as Chastain Arts Festival.  This is the Buckhead Spring Arts and Crafts Festival.  Other then that lots of things are the same.  Same location, set up, amenities and great team that put the show on.   As I have said many times, I love working with Patrick and his team.  They are all great.

 The pics above are from my booth.  The first is the view from the back of my booth.  Second is a pic of the view across from my booth, then the other two are either side of me.  The crowds were about this size most of the time.  Sometimes more, sometimes less, but this was about average. 

Set up is from noon til 8pm on Friday.   I live about 15 minutes away from the show location with out traffic.  You go to your spot, unload, park in an assigned parking lot or on the street, then go back and set up.  It seemed like they got rid of the few spots that did not have back storage to the booths this year.  As we were setting up we were all told that hail and high winds were expected over night, so batton down and if you can wait till morning to set up, do.  I decided to set up most of my booth, but did leave some till morning just incase.  I went home and attended a Bard in The Yard that was also watching for bad weather, but we all lucked out.  No wind, hail or rain over night.  When I arrived to my tent in the morning I was suprised becasue all my walls were wonky and looked like it had been hit by high wind.  Well it was hit, but not by wind but with a cargo van ;(  My booth neighbor came over right away and let me know what happened.  None of my work was damaged, and luckily trimeline tent poles are easily replaced.  My neighbor offered to take care of it, and the directors of the show said they would split the cost and I know they will follow up with me to make sure this will be taken care of.   I think the replacement cost will be less then $50 so everyone else seemed more upset about it then me. 

So great way to start off the show!!!  Saturday we were supose to get lots of rain.  ATL was really hot last week, but a cold front moved in.  I wasn't expecting much for Saturday because of the forcast.  Some how we lucked out and didn't get any rain or bad weather.  It was a great day to be in the park, but not many people came to the park.  Suprisingly I had mainly 2d art around me.  Almost no jewlers and I like to have a jewler near by so I can use their mirror to make sure my mascara isn't running down my face part way through the day.   I had plenty of time to chat with the other artist around me.  All great people and work.  None of us did much of anything Saturday.  Some small prints here or there.  Some made expenses (around $200)  some made lunch money.  Who did do well was the booth you can see in the pics with the excellent beer drinking chairs.  I bought 4 myself.  He had a great show both days.  He had to restock a couple times.  Sunday started off really slow and I didnn't make a big sale until after 3pm.   I also had a few deliviers to make at the end of the show.  It seemed that most of the people I talked to made a paycheck but not a lot.  The booth next to me did zero, but he is new to art fairs and didn't pull out the right type of work for this show until late in the day on Sunday.  Break down, put everything to the side, get a pass, go get your car, park in your space, load, leave.  I like to go smooth and slow.  Break down started at 6pm.  By 6:45 I went to get my car with no problem and drove out with no problem.  This is a one way in and one way out show, so if not done right it can be a nightmare.  I am always out with out any hassle in about an hour.  Those that want to get out in 30 minutes have a harder time. 

This area has LOTS of money.    The contacts you make at this show are solid.  You have to work your contacts and make new ones if you want to do well at this show.  I met a few other artist that have experienced the same thing with this location.  Your sales from this show are not finished on Sunday.  Many people don't like to work this way, and if you don't live in the area then it can be harder to work the contacts.   I often deliver my work, and do custom work, so I visit many of the homes in the area all year.  These people have real money and very big homes.  I love my 99 Plymouth Grand Voyager, but it is sort of embarassing pulling it up to these homes sometimes.  This is also a great show for a local artist that is starting out because the booth fees are not very high, and the promoters are very artist friendly.  It is a good place to learn.   I always get to meet great new artist, many AFIers and see old friends.  Now if they can just get me a trailer potty it would be perfect. 

RIVERFRONT EVENTS ACQUIRES ARTISTIC FLARE
The Riverfront Art Festival will receive new direction this year with the guidance of former producer
 
(COLUMBUS) – Riverfront Events is proud to announce the acquisition of Columbus’ Riverfront Art Festival as the event enters its sixth year. The organization is looking forward to bringing a new flavor and dynamic to the festival, while maintaining its tradition of excellence in artistry.
 
Former festival producer Jay Snyder is pleased to see his legacy is in good hands. “After founding this event and seeing it through its formative stages, I can think of no organization better equipped to build upon our achievements,” said Snyder. “I am confident that Riverfront Events will carry on our traditions and offer an exceptional experience to artisans, collectors and fans alike.” Although Snyder will no longer oversee the day-to-day details of the event, he will stay on in an advisory role in coordination with Riverfront Events, the event owner and producer, to ensure the show’s transition into new ownership is a seamless one.
 
Riverfront Events is excited to embark on this new journey with Snyder. The organization’s management has an extensive history of successful event production in the Columbus area and the Riverfront Art Festival will undoubtedly be no exception. “The opportunity to take a solid, standing event and build it into a cornerstone of Columbus’ event and artistry scene in the next couple of years is our plan, and definitely within our capacity,” said Mike Collins, President. “We envision this festival as being one of the pillars of Columbus’ Bicentennial Celebration in 2012.” Collins is also President of Promotions One, Columbus’ largest producer of major events.
 
“We’re pleased that the Riverfront Art Festival will continue to grow and be a significant part of the cultural landscape in Columbus,” said Jami Goldstein, Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Events at the Greater Columbus Arts Council. “The festival is an excellent opportunity for Central Ohio residents to interact with high quality local and regional artists of various disciplines.”

Join us for the 2011 Riverfront Art Festival September 30 through October 2, when Genoa Park will play host to more than 150 local and national artists of the highest caliber, featuring a variety of fabrications and designs from fine oil paintings to functional pottery and textiles. While the heartbeat of the festival is the amazing selection of visual artists, the park also features a waterfront amphitheater, which will host our most incredible musical lineup ever - including two nights of WaterFire performances!
 
For more information please visit www.riverfrontartfestival.com.

Art applications for this event area available at www.zapplication.org. Show dates are September 30-October 1.

11am-6pm

75+ artists

Deadline: May 20 

Coffman, Missouri, outside of Ste. Genevieve.  

All artists' displays will be arranged on the parking lot of the Crown Valley Winery, the crafters will display on the parking lot of the Crown Valley Brewery.  Shuttles are available to move attendees between the sites.

The Art Fair will be promoted to the entire metropolitan area via billboards, newspaper, and radio advertising, Web sites, posters, stories and interviews in the St. Louis, Southern Missouri and Illinois media areas.

This year we expect 75+ artists and crafters to exhibit at the Art Fair, at both the Winery and Brewery, which we project will be attended by approximately 5,000 visitors.

Artists Amenities and Accommodations:  

• A box lunch will be provided each artist every day.   
• You will receive a voucher for this meal at check in on Friday.   
• A  complimentary artist cocktail party will occur on Friday night at the Winery at 6p.m.   
• Several options are available for lodging.  The bed and breakfasts are available at discounted rates as are rooms at The Tradition Inn for $49/night plus tax.

For artists that like a little ambiance with their art fairs: 

Crown Valley is a drop dead gorgeous place, great accommodations, great restaurants, most importantly great wine and beers.-- Larry Weinles, organizer

Deadline: May 20. 

Entry fee: $25, electronic payment through the web site with EntryThingy

www.crownvalleyartfair.com

Larry Weinles, Director

Shaw Fine Arts & Crafts Fest

Historic Shaw Art Fair

(314)406-9112, larryweinles@aol.com 

Better than words:

If you are not acquainted with the www.Artshowreviews.com, you really need to spend a few minutes checking this site out.  You will find reviews of Art Shows from all around the country written by fellow artists just like yourself.  These reviews are intended to help artists by supplying show information from the artists view point.  Stop by and check this site out.  While you are there feel free to write a review or two yourself.

There is a very good review just added about the Hyde Park Art Fair in Tampa, Florida.  It was submitted by fellow artist John Leben.   You can check it out here - http://www.artshowreviews.com/2011/05/hyde-park-village-art-fair-reviews.html?cid=6a00e54fba8a73883301538e6d2c79970b#comment-6a00e54fba8a73883301538e6d2c79970b.

The other day when I stopped to buy some E-6000, the woman in the checkout line ahead of me was buying an armful of jewelry magazines.

As we were crawling by inches forward, she turned to me, admired my necklace and asked, "Which magazine did you find that one in?"

I was surprised at the height, breathe and depth of my indignation. I have been thinking about this moment and I have an epiphany to share with you:

People who copy from books, magazines, websites or classes are not artists!

They are copy-cats.

I have never used a book, magazine or the web for my work. Every design comes from my imagination. I have taken certification classes in a process but never a class on how to make a pair of earrings. I have a book on how to use the various PMCs which I received in my cert class, my kiln operating book, a book on the properties of natural gemstones, one on pearls and a general How To Bible of tools and techniques.

Aren't there clear instructions at Art Fairs that nothing can be made from a kit?

Well, following the step-by-step instructions (with pictures) is just like using a kit. You just go to the local bead shop and they will read your instruction set and give you everything that would have been in that kit.

Today I was back at the store and thought I would look through the lot. I could not believe the silliness, the trashiness, the lack of balance or color, the ART-LESS-NESS of the patterns in these ad filled mags. This is a business: NOT one set to build the next Artist.

I am sure Michaelangelo wasn't pausing on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, waiting for his monthy magazine for inspiration.

I had to withdraw from this Novi, MI show and have been watching to see if anyone who was there posted about it.

Have I missed the post?  Any comments?

Thanks!

Cassandra

The first event of the season is always hard to do. You wondering if you are ready after some time off. You load your van or car. You triple check your list. Closed your eyes and relax and you head to the grounds of the festival. You look forward to some sales but you always want the hit home run. At the end you are happy with any sales.

I saw and talked old friends, artist and new people. Enjoy the people that visit my tent.  The thing that make this show special was talking to my artist friends, my friends and feel the sun after a long winter in Chicago, IL.

We just received a juried acceptance letter for Piedmont Craftsmen. They want us to exhibit at their holiday show this Fall.

Do you know anything about their shows?

TIA!

Lisa

MAY 28 & 29 

                                                                  

July 16 & 17
Art at the Shops

Yorktown Shopping Center

Lombard

Approximately 75-100 artists

www.dwevents.org

More questions? Contact Debbie Netter at dwevents@comcast.net

I am painting my studio floor so my lovely outdoor studio is out of commission until the paint dries.  What Framer Dude and I had anticipated to be a 36 hour project looks like it may be turning into a nightmare, and I am facing the next week possibly painting at my dining room table where the light sucks.  I have a commission on my easel mocking me next to its ersatz place next to the TV.

Home improvements rarely ever go as scheduled.  What should have been an easy DIY task has already led me to an aggravated call to Valspar, the possibility now of grinding up the two coats of Porch and Floor paint we've applied, and another several days painting in the dining room, and eating over the sink (well, in front of the TV)

Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy.  So what's y'all's beefs today? 

"Close to Home"

Born in Illinois, Beth has lived in Colorado, California, Maryland, New York, Mexico, East Africa and India before settling in West Virginia in 1977. Art school and a passion for drawing were bedrocks in her life. Selling images of mermaids to classmates in grade school, pencil portraits in Larimer Square in Denver for $5, being a courtroom sketch artist for CBS TV and then spending 15 years doing portraits from life as a member of the Artists Touring Association, traveling to shows in malls throughout the mid-Atlantic region prepared her well for her years on the road traveling to the nation's art fairs. It also developed her skills and her eye for catching the moment and the fleeting light.  

In 1990 Beth left portraiture behind and now focuses on rural landscapes and animals, sheep and more sheep. She says, "portraits are all about expression and people react to my sheep as adorable, without being cartoonish. In a small booth, rather than showing up with Noah's ark, I decided to be the sheep-lady. The public, for some reason love sheep, and they were the perfect counterpart to my haystacks. The shape, the skinny legs.
 
I always love my latest piece the most! Sheep or landscapes,  its the practice of applying the contrasting colors, like a tapestry or embroidery. Edgar Degas was my greatest influence, for his bold outlines and draftsmanship."

Upcoming shows:  

May 13-15  Artisphere in Greenville, S. C.,  

May 20-22  Artsplosure in Raleigh, N.C.    

Learn more about Beth and her find work: www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/featured-artist 

Whoo hoo!  Breakout the tequila, we just hit 5,000 members.

That is a significant benchmark.  When I joined a little more than two years ago I was like number 350 or something.

That is a lot of blogging, discussing and photoing getting around all over the world.  Right, Annette Piper in Down Under land.

Munks cat Bill is buying free shots for everybody tonite.  he promised me.  Now if I can only fiqure out which bar he is hanging out at.  Any clues Munks?

Everybody should give Connie a big hug, or a big sloppy kiss on the side of her ears.

Aloha, Nels.

Anyone here ever attend this show?

http://www.bigwestartsfestival.com/

The deadline for applications has been extended to May 31st.

I would like to share with you all the term paper I submitted at the end of the English Factual Writing class I finished a few weeks ago.

I am also adding the comments that Mrs. Sargent, the mean witch that gave that class, added to my paper.

It is a dictionary and dream interpreter, and it may be of use to the populace that abounds here. 

As the files are quite large I will release a couple of pages a week if enough interest for knowledge arises. 

The first release will be larger as I will include the first 7 pages. 

Careful reading is quite necessary in order to understand the depth of thought involved.

I hope it will be of good use to the readers, and your comments will be greatly appreciated ( I think)

When I applied for this show, I was looking for something close to the OKC 6-day show.  The Book & Art fair is held every year on Mother's Day weekend at the Century II exhibit hall in Wichita, Kansas as a fundraiser for the local art museum.  As the date of the show approached, my husband and I were faced with a couple of very unexpected and expensive events that had me questioning whether or not to do this one.  He talked me into going, but I chose to drive and set-up on the same day to keep my hotel costs down, something that I don't normally do.

Set-Up

Set-up is on Friday from 10 am 'til 8pm.  I arrived at 5pm and found easy parking at the loading dock.  I was able to unload quickly onto one of the provided flatbed carts and dolly my stuff to my booth space.  Set-up seemed to go smoothly for most people. Affordable electric ($35) was provided via an outlet on the floor right at your booth space, the floor was fairly level, and the aisles were wide.  I managed to finish setting up at 7:45, a respectable time when I'm by myself.

The artist's parking was an easy one block walk from Century II.  Because of my late arrival I didn't need to move my car to the artist's parking lot on Friday, just move it from the the dock space to another "loading" space.   Saturady and Sunday that short walk was much appreciated in the 100 degree heat.

The Show

The show opened Saturday morning at 10am, and there was a line of shoppers at the door.  Some of these folks went straight for the booths, others went right upstairs for the used book sale.  By 2pm the crowd had thinned out to a mere trickle and pretty much remained that way until the 6pm closing time.  Bargain shoppers abounded in the afternoon crowd, drwan in by the book sale.  The artists had plenty of time to walk around and visit in the afternoon.  I met many first-timers like myself, and one long-timer.  Several of the artists had been in OKC like myself.  All of the first-timers expressed that it would be nice to just make the booth fee for this one($200).

Sunday brought an 11am start time, and shoppers were once again lined up at the door.  Most folks managed to make early sales, but by 2 o'clock the crowd had shifted again.  The recycle metal worker across from me managed to keep the sales up for another hour or so, but most of the buying energy was gone.  At 3pm, an announcement was mad that all of the used books were on sale for $3 per paper grocery bag full, and that sucked some of the shoppers up to the balcony to look for bargains.  Several of the artists started a slow tear-down at 4:30 in preparation for the 5pm show close.  Those I spoke to didn't have great sales on either day and were gald when the show was over. 

Load Out

In anticipation of the forthcoming chaos of folks trying to leave a not-so-great show in a hurry, I brought in my own handtruck and packing materials when I arrived Sunday morning.  The flatbed carts provided by the site were in short supply at teardown and I was gald to have a place to stack my ProPanels off of the floor.  Everything was orderly and quick, and the hall was fairly empty when I departed at 6:30.

My Review

For some reason this show was very heavy on photography and jewelry.  The jewelry I get - Mother's Day and shiny, 3-D things to touch.  But photo?  I'm a photographer and this was totally not my crowd.  My stuff is higher-end, monochromatic, historic process work and this was a lower-end, 3-D, bargain-hunting crowd.  Unfortunately this show doesn't really have a website, and you're only given a list of participating artists at check-in (without a notation of medium), so reasearch can't be done prior to application or acceptance to see if your work is a good fit.  My hopes were that being sponsored by the local art museum the quality might be a little higher.

In terms of sales, under $100 seemed to be the hot price point.  A nearby jeweler sold a piece well above that mark but had give a significant discount just to make the sale.  In terms of 2-D, the hot item seemed to be the "print-in-a-bag" - no mat, just a flat print dropped in a clearbag.  Even notecards were a hard sell at this show.

In the past this show was held in conjunction with RiverFest (now held in June), which apparently brought in bigger crowds on Saturday.  This was the first year the the Book and Art show was on its own and despite a good advertising campaign the shoppers just weren't there.  And this is first and foremost a used book sale.  The art fair feels like a sideline - a few boothsitters, cookies at check-in, but that's it.  Everyone was very nice, but that doesn't put gas in the car to get you home.  If you live close by and need a filler show, this could be OK if you have lots of stuff in the $30 - $50 range.