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Ocean City Holiday Shoppers Fair: Review, my Shoplifter experience and more

Posted by Michelle Sholund on November 30, 2010 at 12:34pm
Hey all. While I usually am doing the Craft Artist Blog Series I thought I should actually do a review of at least one of the shows I have done this Fall/Winter. The one that was the most intersesting was the one I did last weekend - Black Friday Weekend. It was the Ocean City (MD) Holiday Shoppers Fair. As you notice the name doesn't say "Art and Craft Show" - I knew that going into it. I know it is safe to assume that more re-sale would out number true handcrafted art work - and it was true. Not upset though - it wasn't miss represented. Despite that I had to say the show was well run - in its 28th year. What I liked about it was it was $275 per 10x10 space (included electric) indoors at the convention center for 3 days. Loading and unloading from various points of the convention center were good with the only exception being the "idoit" vendors who don't understand common cureosity things like not blocking aisles and such. But the heart of the matter is the crowds came in droves maxing out the parking spaces at the convention center where some customers ended up coming the following day as they couldn't move around and actually shop. Sales were good, but mornings were very slow - at least until they made it to the middle and farther ends of the event. I couldn't help but see some that only came for the "street vendor" types with some booths carrying - everything just $2. But it seemed some others had sales, but as a whole not everyone had a pleasureable experience. Some of that was due to theft and what they sold - not for everybody if you know what I mean.

My shoplifter tale was fun. A notorious "potential" shoplifter made her way to my booth and actually made a great sale from her yet some of my neighbors were warning me about her and one thought they saw her stole something from one of my shelves and put it in her bag. I alerted security and they acted fast. I did have to say I would press charges in order to nab her and search her bags. Someone else came forward and said "she" stole $100 necklace - this is from a Slipada person however decided it wasn't worth pressing charges as she didn't want to have to drive there again. This has been the pattern for 5 years - shoplifter is thought to have stolen something, no one wants to press charges, then she gets away. This time she actually didn't steal anything - the thing she put in her purse was a free sample that I encouraged her to take. So, she and her friend was left to go. I do plan on doing a topic on the blog series about this when it comes to spotting a shoplifter and what you should and shouldn't do when you suspect someone of shoplifting. So the good news was nothing was stolen and perhaps she might think twice before coming to that show again.

Of course I have been getting a lot of questions from friends, family and even customers if I would be back and Imost likely not, IF I can get into a better show. I love the handmade shows - everything I do is handmade by myself and more high end than traditional crafts/country crafts which is where my target marketing audience is. A nice added plus is that I did get to talk to a local store owner who most likely will be a new wholesale client of mine, I think more will happen once the holiday rush is over and after narrowing down some fragrance specific ideas for her area geared for tourists in the area. All in all nothing horrible to sneeze at. I also am starting to get orders from the sample tea light candles that are of some of the fragrances my larger candles and past repeat customers. Tis the Season right!

Well, I have to run - I have an order to fill for another wholesale client that is due Friday. Not enough time to find the photos from the show, but hopefully will post it via the Facebook page or something like that... Thank God my shows are over for the year now.... Ahhhh! - Michelle, By the Bay Botanicals






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poor Nels

Posted by Jack Stoddart on November 30, 2010 at 10:51am

What happened? Did Nels take a picture of some guys painting hanging on a fence? Really? Let's organize a bunch of torch holding town "folk" and go chase him out of his castle. Where was the outrage when the 10 or 11th "art" photographer shot the same slot canyon? Once again...with feeling. The problem is not that Nels did this, any more than several of the "art" photographer's, when not totally ripping off good men like Ray Hartle, are out shooting statues and such. Once again my children...you are killing the goose by becoming a decorative market place...Instead of rising up like rabid dogs in opposition to the tape measure and swatch caca that prevails, it appears you jumped on a poor old guy for doing wrong...and maybe it was. The problem however, is not Nels. it is the constant pandering to the swatch/tape mentality. As long as fine art/craft biz is dictated to by decor there will be an ongoing march towards average.. Remember, if you can't make it good, make it big...and if you can't make it big, make it blue...or watever this years color is.. F..k it, who wants pie? . .

Generalisamo Hippie

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Rio Grande Arts and Crafts Festival

Posted by steve appel on November 30, 2010 at 9:54am
Just got done doing the Rio Grande Arts and Crafts Festival this past weekend Nov. 25-27. My report is as follows.
Set-up was real easy, Tear-down not so easy. The parking behind the hall that the show was in looked like a trailer park. I got there real early on Sunday morning to get a place for my econoline, so it worked out for me. Fri morning got there just before show opened and had to go across the street to park as well as Sat. Morning. There was parking at the show for exhibitors but it was mostly trailers. Vans parked where there was space. HA HA! The show cost the public approx $5.00 but there were coupons galore. Newspaper had $1.00 in it. She does a lot of advertising. I believe this is the last show of year in albu. but could be wrong. I thought there were less people this year than last. I did not do as well this year as last. Location is not that important since people walk the whole show. A lot of lookers at the show but then there are the people who come to this show to buy xmas presents. I usually hand out a lot of business cards but not so much at this show. I told my wife if i lived in California I would stay home this weekend I used to do a show in Palm Springs thanksgiving weekend but those days are long gone. The aisle that was crowded all three days was food. Someone selling bread sold out and was gone by noon on Sunday. It says that the artist must be there but there were a few reps. Sunshine supposedly has this ranked very high on their list. Not sure about that. It is inside which makes it nice. Ruth Gore treats everyone real well. More promoters should be like here. I think Ruth is one of the best promoters and i am not just saying that. I enjoy working with her. I had help setting up and tearing down and that made a world of difference. Quite a lot of new artists this year.
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Delray Beach Thanksgiving Weekend Art Fair

Posted by Geoff Coe on November 30, 2010 at 8:00am
If visitors were largely keeping their hands in their pockets at Howard Alan's Thanksgiving Weekend Art Fair in Delray Beach, you could hardly blame them. After all, they're going to have a lot of buying opportunities in the next couple of months.

This was the first of three winter-season Howard Alan shows in Delray, an Atlantic coast community just north of tony Boca Raton. HA will be back for two days right after Christmas (Dec. 26-27), in Boca on January 8-9, and back in Delray the following weekend (Jan. 15-16). Patty Narozny's HotWorks show comes in to Boca the following weekend. Allan is bringing a craft show to Delray in mid-February. Then there's a breather before the well-known, locally-run Delray Affair show on April 16-17.

Attendance was pretty good at this show. The streets were active, if not packed...and people even came back out on the street several times after Sunday squalls moved through the area (which shows me that they're interested in being there, not just trying to find a way to pass the time).

Which led to an increasingly common dilemma: Visitors were unfailingly pleasant and appreciative, but there didn't seem to be much energy around actually buying anything--particularly at moderate and high price points. Artists with large canvases and few or no reproductions were having a tough time. I had several customers offering to pay cash for small ($20) prints, but when I managed to offer them add-on sales that boosted the tab to $40 or $50, they switched to credit cards. I didn't have any cash customers at all until mid-day on Sunday.

One of the most common questions I fielded was: "Are you coming back for ?" And for most of the weekend, I responded the way I always have: I took their question at face value and talked with them about my schedule, or asked them which show they were planning on. But sometime Sunday morning, as I pondered that question, I thought of Einstein's quote: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

So I paused, smiled, and responded: "Honestly, I'll make the decision on that show based on the results of this one. And right now, I'm very much on the fence. So how can I help you today?" Two minutes later, the customer walked out with a decent-sized print. And later that afternoon, a similar response kept the customer engaged, and eventually netted a sale of two large canvases that saved the weekend for me.

The lesson for me is: When we artists are presenting work to under-funded customers in overworked markets, we need to think not just about the quality of our art, our display, and our email marketing, but also about how we respond to questions we've heard a thousand times before.

So, some points to ponder:
What kind of questions do YOU hear that cause you to go on "autopilot", like I did?
And what can you do or say differently in order to create opportunities to buy today?







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Climate Change Affecting Outdoor Art Shows?

Posted by Gary Haynes on November 30, 2010 at 12:28am
That's the title on a Nov 2 article on the Huffington Post. Can't believe I was on the Huffington Post but saw it after I googled 'cleaning trimline canopy' triggered by a question from Josh over in the discussion section on how best to clean a canopy. Up pops this item. Turns out to be a pretty good article for anyone considering changing canopy types.

Check it out.

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Hi all- total newbie here! So glad to find this wonderful site

Posted by John Gault on November 29, 2010 at 7:08pm
Wow, I just stumbled upon this wonderful site and I'm hoping someone can help me here. A little about myself, I'm an aspiring photographer, freshman in H.S and went to my first art show, Ann Arbor MI show last year. I saw lots of great great artists and a cool photographer who's work particularly intrigued me, I can't remember for the life of me who it was. How inspiring- Anyway, I aspire to create work kinda along the same lines of his great work that I saw in Ann Arbor, with my own little creative vision of course... I'm attaching a couple samples in hopes someone will see some kinda sorta similarities and direct me towards the artist i am looking for :) BTW I haven't paid for the plugin yet -hence demo stamp... Here they are:




I'm hoping maybe thru someone's help here that they can help me find out and contact the artist and see if he's taking any apprentices or anything like that. (cross my fingers! :) ANybody recognize any similarties or know familiar with artist I saw? In case your wondering my technique here is simply a snap on a digital camera manipulated thru a really cool little plugin called Redfield Fractilius for Photoshop- then adding some rainbow gradients in layers for color. For anyone else looking to share/learn- Flickr has amazing stuff. These plugins are somethin else. What I like to do is be real creative thru turning everyday snapshots into surreal works of art thru lots of really cool Photoshop manipulations and little plugins that you can download and just play around with the sliders, for endlessly creative results... turning snaps into true works of art! IMHO It is so amazing what you can do nowadays with learning Photoshop- from "sepia toned" or whatever toned black and whites to crazy looking HDR to this kinda stuff- saw all of this kinda of digital photoshop at the art show. And with inkjet printers nowadays and how they've really come down in price, just about anyone can give it a go. I think I can make a good go at doing really well in art shows? As long as my mom will buy me a printer. What do you think? I'm hoping some veteran photogs that do really well at the shows might want to share some love and help out a newb :) I think I have some really good stuff and would be forever greatful..

Wow. What a great resource for aspiring artists. How cool! I look forward to meeting many friends and learning lots of stuff here. Another question. Would this be in digital category or photography?


Thanks a lot for this site and great artist community :)

-John Gault




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Sanibel Island, FL, Nov. 26-27; Sanibel Masters Art Festival

Posted by JoAnn Wedge on November 29, 2010 at 5:24pm
I have not done a show on Sanibel Island in a long time but only because I have not been in the area this time of year for the last 3 years. Boulderbrook Productions promoted this one and as usual, did a great job getting top notch artists from all over the country. It was held on the grounds of the Sanibel Community Center on Periwinkle Way- the main street in the center of the island so you couldn't miss the show if you went almost anywhere. We had 65 artist in a semi-circle around the center; some grass, some hard top sand/gravel but flat and level. This was a Friday/Saturday show; very smart as the tourists/shoppers were still here and not focused on leaving til the following day. There was a great mix of mediums and styles in glass, metal or stone sculpture, wood, clothing, pottery, watercolors, oils, and, of course, jewelry. etc.

Set up on Friday was easy as you could come anytime after 10am and there was security both nights.
With a long setup, there was less congestion trying to get vehicles in/out during the day. Tear down was a bit more hectic since the sun sets at 5:30pm and the show ended at 5pm. If you did not get it well organized and packed, you were working in the dark.

Sales started out a little slow on Friday and Saturday morning but picked up during the middle of the day. I did about as well on Friday as I did on Saturday but it was not quite up to the usual flow as
I and others I talked to were accustomed to at this show or for this area. Sales were better for me in the low to mid range but my neighbor with mixed media sold a $2 grand piece early on Friday and another big piece on Saturday along with a good number of middle range ($50-75) pieces. Sales were mixed but I felt it had a better overall rating than some other shows I have seen this fall. Several returning artists to the area had returning customers who looked for them and bought; it helps to have an email list especially for traveling customers who make this their destination every year.

I had a few customers say they come to this (or an event) at this Community House every year at Thanksgiving but were not aware of any printed advertising, just saw the road signs on Periwinkle to jog their memories. I would do this show again and think most of the artists had a good enough show to consider it again. There are always exceptions but then it depends on what you are selling and the price range. High price things definitely have a disadvantage for this year.
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Cyber Monday - Are you participating?

Posted by Connie Mettler on November 29, 2010 at 2:42pm
This excellent newsletter arrived in my mailbox the day before Thanksgiving and again today:


It features the website of Marcia Leben who features the work of art fair artists in her online gallery. Everything is handmade and one of a kind. The site has been around for a few years now and you can tell because she has really doing a great job. The website looks great, the selection is great and the marketing is great.

Marcia is the wife of printmaker John Leben, featured artist on this site this summer and, as a result, deeply connected with the art fair business. Take a look at her site: www.Bumbley.com

Can any of you tell me about other websites that feature for sale the work of art fair artists? I'd love to see them.


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Spacecoast Art Festival, Cocoa Beach, FL

Posted by lori kay on November 29, 2010 at 10:43am

This is my third year participating in this long running Florida art show but due to the layoffs at the Cape I was a bit concerned about sales this year. I need not have worried as this turned out to be my best sales year yet at this show. It was perfect weather for an art show, the crowds came out, and if you had the right price point they were buying. This show has fairly decent prize money so it attracts all the artists who depend on prize money for their earnings, but there are only so many awards. I spoke with several artists who zeroed out because they didn't win an award and had nothing on the lower price end for the people to buy. The crowd was VERY cautious about parting with even a small amount of money, all of my sales were under $100, fortunately I had a lot of them. Most of the people were on vacation so they were looking for smaller gift items and my jewelry fit the bill, but I had to work for every sale.

Logistically easy set up and breakdown, artist ammenities adequate, boothsitters available, the Cocoa Beach police very laidback about artist parking, and good overnight security.

I'm going to get on my soapbox for a moment but it's a positive rant. When most people come to an art show they want to meet the artist but they can't do that if you're not in you booth. My neighbor this weekend was a ceramic artist who didn't have a good day on Saturday so decided screw it and on Sunday spent the day socializing, shopping, anything but staying in his booth and trying to salvage the weekend. When he did have someone who wanted to buy something because he wasn't there they would come in to my booth to ask if I knew where he was. I didn't want him to loose any sales so I would track him down. As I work alone that left my booth full of jewelry unattended and my customers waiting on me. I know I could have said I didn't know where he was, but I will never dissapoint a customer when it's in my power to help out. A couple of the ladies ended up buying from me. Ok I'm stepped off my box now.

I wish you all happy holidays and a succesful new year.

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Feline-friendly graffiti felon is out of the clink

Posted by Connie Mettler on November 27, 2010 at 3:00pm
Time to take a little look at the street scene in the arts...not the Ann Arbor streets, or the Plaza streets, but graffiti and so-called "street art".

Here are two interesting articles from the LA Times Entertainment section: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/11/graffiti-art-cats-police.html. Looks like they put graffiti artists in jail there!

This one is about an upcoming Street Art show at the Geffen MOCA in Los Angeles. I've been to the Geffen for a Murakami exhibit -- it is perfect for this sure to be "out of the box" (sorry for the cliche) show:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/09/graffiti-and-street-art-show-to-take-over-mocas-geffen-contemporary-in-2011.html



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Call for Artists: Downtown Art & Living Expo

Posted by Connie Mettler on November 27, 2010 at 8:00am
Art Fair Calendar.com
February 19-20, 2011
in the City Beautiful - Orlando, Florida
7th Annual Orlando Downtown Art & Living Expo
175 Artists
Application Deadline: January 17


February is one of the most wonderful months of the year in Florida with 76 degree temperatures and delightful sunshiny weather. Each year the Art & Living Expo has grown and we have some exciting plans in store for our next edition.

This year's Expo will feature 175 juried artists on Robinson Street and North Eola Drive along Orlando's signature location Lake Eola Park. Because of its success we are growing again to accommodate the thousands of attendees and for more spacious artist locations.

Art Lovers of Central Florida have strongly supported the festival. So, to make sure we are presenting the Best Art Talent, we are rewarding you with more Art Awards:

(1) $1,000 - Best of Show
(6) $500 - Awards of Excellence
(3) $250 - Judges Choice
(4) $100 - Awards of Merit


Our jurist panel will consist of three independent judges selected through our event partner ArtistsRegistry.com and the Downtown Orlando Arts District.

What you can expect:

  • The festival will also feature live entertainment, street performers, children and family activities in the Park with the Orlando Museum of Art and the Orange County Regional History Center and so much more.
  • The Art & Living Expo will be strongly promoted throughout Central Florida, with newspaper, radio, social media and cable/TV promotion.
  • Exhibitors will be allowed to drive up to their booth locations to unload and 8871847895?profile=originalload. We will offer early set-up on Friday February 19 at 3pm or first thing Saturday morning of the event at 6am.

To find out more information on our festival and review our Artist Applications visit: www.downtownorlandoproperties.com

Jim Barton
407 592 0002
Orlando Downtown Art & Living Expo

Learn more about this event: www.downtownorlandoproperties.com

******************************
Looking for more art fairs to fill your 2011 season? Visit: www.CallsforArtists.com

 

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Featured Artist: Marina Terauds, printmaking

Posted by Connie Mettler on November 26, 2010 at 8:00am

Born in Siberia, Marina was eight when her family returned to Latvia, where she studied and spent the main part of her life. Her parents were not connected to arts in any ways, but they both liked to draw, and in the mornings she could often find delightful surprises in her pad: drawings that her mom and dad made for her while she was sleeping. They always had a lot of books at home, and her favorites were books with old engravings and pen and ink illustrations.

In Latvia she was an artist animator for a film producer, a printmaker and illustrated over twenty books, mostly dealing with fairy tales and fantasy.

Skip to today and these early experiences are evident in her finely detailed work. Drawing is the base for her intaglio prints. Intaglio is a technique of deep printing (like embossing with ink), and there are many ways how to make image on metal: etching, aquatint, drypoint, mezzotint, engraving. She uses all these techniques and often combines them in one piece.

The next time you see her at an art fair do yourself a favor and devote some thoughtful time to exploring and understanding her fine work. Better yet, take some home, you will have art to treasure for a lifetime.

Here is the rest of Marina's fascinating odyssey: ArtFairCalendar.com/featured artist

In the Chicago area? Meet Marina December 2-5 at the One of a Kind Show at the Chicago Merchandise Mart.
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What do eggs, baskets and art careers have in common?

Posted by Connie Mettler on November 25, 2010 at 5:30am
We’ve all heard the expression “Never put all your eggs in one basket,” right?

But how many of us make that a plan of action?

Are you, as an artist, focusing all of your attention on one stream of revenue? Maybe you only sell paintings at one gallery (or from your website or Etsy), or are you all art fairs?

It’s time to step out of your comfort zone and step into the world of a booming art career.

Come watch and listen as Ariane Goodwin, host of the smARTist Telesummit, joins me on this open telecall to talk about new ways to help you diversify how, and where, you sell your art so you can flourish.

Sign up for the live event on November 30 at 7pm Eastern (4pm Pacific) by clicking here: http://smartist.com/live-telesummit/2011-2/connie-ariane/

See you there!
Connie
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Paradise City Marlborough (Boston).

Posted by Marina Terauds on November 23, 2010 at 11:30pm

I did Paradise City Marlborough show for the first time, and it was good. It is expensive show, but it paid off for me. First thing: it is very intelligent show, and I like it. Also it is very comfortable show, and "soft animal of my body" likes this comfort very much. Also I like how it is organized, and quality of craft (it was mostly craft show) is very high: the jury has very good taste and knowledge. Show was in Royal Plaza Trade Center. Space is very good: big, warm, light. Nice gallery-holidaylike atmosphere, good food in cafe, great security. Set-up/tear down was ok, we dollied from/to building (it is 1st floor) to parking lot. All artists were very polite and friendly. Sales were good for me. I sold large framed pieces mostly, and very small amount of unframed small etchings from bin. At other shows it goes in opposite direction usually. Maybe I was just lucky this first time. I want to return to check it out. I know how 3 other artists did. Beautiful and expensive fiber wearable did ok. High end jewelry did expenses + a little bit more. Great photographer was not happy, and does not want to return.
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Remembering Holly Mull

Posted by Connie Mettler on November 23, 2010 at 9:31pm
Atlanta, GA. In a 30-year career, she worked for mayors Sam Massell, Maynard Jackson, Andrew Young and Bill Campbell. She helped plan and organize major events as a public servant and later as president of Holly Mull & Associates, her events production agency.

Holly Allen Mull, 64: Holly Mull of Atlanta, the eldest daughter of a Michigan mayor, served as an assistant and director of festivals and special events for four Atlanta mayors. Mull died from complications of a massive stroke at Emory Hospital.
Read the news obituary.


http://www.atlantaintownpaper.com/2010/11/remembering-holly-mull/

Thanks to Holly our festivals will live on and on... http://saportareport.com/blog/2010/10/thanks-to-holly-mull-our-festivals-will-live-on/
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How to Bridge the Gap Between Making Art and Making a Living

Posted by Connie Mettler on November 23, 2010 at 8:00am
Making art and making money is not always a match made in heaven. And... that doesn’t mean it’s not doable; in fact, quite the opposite.

With the right tools, the right information, and the right attitude you can turn your passion for art into a thriving income.

Join me and Ariane Goodwin, host of the smARTist Telesummit, on an open call, this November 30 at 7pm Eastern (4pm Pacific). And we’ll make sure you can start laying down the foundation for your Bridge de Triumph.

Ariane has been helping artists turn art into money for nearly a decade. And after four years of organizing and hosting the only annual, professional conference for visual artists, she has gathered top information from 49 leading authorities and successful artists who have given keynote presentations at smARTist.

You can sign up right here > http://smartist.com/live-telesummit/2011-2/
...and then, get your questions ready.

See you there!
Connie
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Historic Downtown Winter Garden Fine Arts & Crafts festival Nov 20/21

Posted by Tom Baron on November 22, 2010 at 2:13pm

Just completed the 9th annual Winter Garden Fl art fest. Because it was downtown, there was no Fri set up. But set up went relatively well Sat am. Able to drop off your stuff, then park only a block away. Tear down was similarly easy. Weather was pretty good although it was overcast Sunday and we had a couple short, very light, sprinkles. Crowds were a little light both days although Sat was busier by far. This was a small show, only 20 - 30 artists (if that), but good ones. The rest of the booths, located on the next block down, were vendors, food, and re-sellers. It was good that the artists were segregated in the same area.

Nice setting all in all. very pleasant old down town area. Lots of good retaurants, cafe's etc. Public bathrooms easily available in the Edgewater Hotel, near the booths.

The show was run by the downtown merchants guild. Sherry DeWeese, deserves special mention. She seemed to be the main organizer/manager, and she was all over it. Came by the booth several times. Very attentive, friendly and helpful. Sherry mentioned that although this was the 9th annual, that this is only the 2nd year that they've been running the show in house. Reading between the lines, my guess is that prior years were run by a commercial organizer and they were not happy with the end result. I got the impression that the merchant's guild were in a building process, not only for the art show but for the entire down town venue. So, although the crowds were a bit light and the show small, I think the show will only get better next year.

We hit our financial goal, thanks, in part, to a $250 award check (pleasant surprise & blessing), but would still have been happy even wiithout it. It wasn't our best show, but even with the light crowds, we did well enough. I'm planning to go next year.

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Indianapolis Garfield Park Autumn Arts Festival

Posted by Karla Ries on November 22, 2010 at 11:21am

This was our second year doing this small show (it's third year in existence) and we were overall pleased with results.

This is an indoor show held in the small but lovely Garfield Park Arts Center. The organizer is very accommodating and goes out of her way to communicate all aspects of the show - from advertising/publicity to food arrangements. Organizer also arranges to have a few musical/dance groups perform periodically which enlivens the crowd.

The unjuried show is supposed to be a fine arts show and for the most part succeeds very well - the calibre of art being fairly consistent and not "craftsy" in nature.

Load in is very easy - you're able to drive right up to doors that open into the main vending rooms. You can load in late Friday afternoon prior to the Saturday/Sunday show dates as well as Saturday morning. I like to take over my display fixtures and set up Friday and then bring in my art Saturday morning to finalize the set up. Total set up time alotted between 2 days is 6 hours - which is more than enough.

For a small fee - food is provided for both days (breakfast, lunch and snacks). Beverages are provided to all artists at no cost.

Cost for booth is nominal ($75 for a double booth - which is well worth it space wise).

As to traffic - about 1,000 attendees over the 2 day event. Not a large crowd overall - but for the size of the venue not too bad. Saturday was the better day sales wise, we always contend with a drop off on Sunday because our local Pro Football team is very popular (although they ultimately had a loss this weekend).

We work in a variety of mediums: Painting (watercolor,oil and acrylic), Photography, Pencil Drawings and Wood Turnings. We sold a bit of all this event - mostly in the under $50 price range. Small items: miniscapes - (miniature acrylic paintings complete with easels) and photo card sets sold the best at $20 and under.

Most artists around me seemed to be doing well also - in the smaller price range and I heard a couple had nice larger sales.

Load out was just as easy as load in - we were packed and out in about an hour.

I was disappointed to hear two artists talking - and one said she was going to have buttons made up to wear that read "Cute doesn't feed my kids" and "Pretty doesn't pay my bills". I found this to be a very distasteful attitude - our booth visitors are not obligated to buy - and nobody forced us into this art venture.

For my husband and I - this has been a wonderful experience. We are producing and sharing our love of art in a way we enjoy. And while it's not today enabling us to quit our "day jobs" it does provide an outlet for something we would be doing anyway. We both demonstrate as we work our booth - I work on commissioned pet portraits (it's great dedicated time to paint) and he draws. We have found this draws people into the booth and stimulates conversations. We also very much enjoy talking with kids that are interested in what we are doing and think we might be encouraging future artists in this small way as well.

Next up for us: the Winter Market at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis December 4th. That show's a bit more costly but has been a good show for us in the past as well. I'll review it after the show.

Happy and safe holidays to all and happy arting!

-k-

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