Upstate Visual Arts (UVA) is accepting applications for the 2^nd annual West Greenville (S.C.) Arts Festival on September 18-19, 2010. For more information see the following link: http://www.upstatevisualarts.org/events/wgreenvillefestival.php The deadline is July 15.

This is my hometown so I have a sincere desire to exhibit here, even purchasing a double booth. I have absolutely no travel expenses and I have so much “local” work that it is the best of all worlds for me. Yet with so much desire to take advantage of this great opportunity, and with the cost of only $100 for a booth ($175 for double), I really question whether I want to even apply. I share the following points to explain.

1. The most recent show that UVA did was on Memorial Day weekend at Freedom Weekend Aloft. Sold to the artists as a great venue with only 25 "juried" artists, 300,000 visitors over 3 days,
   tents were provided by the property owner and the booth fee was only $50. However the tents
   provided DID NOT have sides; it was a mere canopy top. You were not allowed to bring your
   own tent and it rained all three days. Artists were not told of the lack of tent sides until
   the artists arrived for setup.
   And UVA was only able to sell perhaps 6 spaces out of the 25 promoted. I was one of those
   6 and it rained all three days and even had a hail storm the first day. The last day was totally
   cancelled because of the weather. When asked how were we to protect our art in case of inclement weather, the UVA director said the owner had two storage PODS about 200
   yards away. So when were we to grab our art and run for the PODS? When the rain started or when we see the first cloud? And then you have all artists sharing the tiny PODS together walking over and around everyone else’s art. The planning for this event was non-existent. Most artists had serious damage to their art due to lack of sides and no way to protect as the rapidly approaching thunderstorms came up much to quick. I’m sure the UVA is in a learning curve; but at “our expense.”
2. The 1^st annual West Greenville Arts Festival was held last year. It rained lightly both days. Crowds were perhaps 300 to 500 visitors per day; many of which were simply other artists just checking everything out. Sales were virtually non-existent for everyone I saw and talked to, although I did manage to cover my $100 expenses. There were only about 20 or 25 artists at the show last year.
3. I have left numerous messages and emails for the UVA festival contact over the past three weeks. Finally, yesterday I got a return phone call. I asked a lot of questions and was told about how they were trying to attact some sponsors to help with the advertising, etc. Sounds promising; but based on past performance, I will have to see it before I believe it. The setup will be in the same parking lot as last year with 4 rows of tents. Artists tents will be 10’x10’, placed side by side with no room in between and NO space for any storage or chairs whatsoever. It was clearly explained to me that EVERYTHING must fit inside your 10’x10’ tent because the tents would be side by side and the two rows in the middle would be back to back with no space in between. I measured the parking lot this morning. The boundaries are not quite in straight lines but the width ranges from 58’ to about 70’ and the parking lot is perhaps 150+’ long. So if they are putting one row of tents on the outside boundary and two rows back to back in the middle (that’s 40’ of width taken up by just the tents). And if you have two rows of traffic, that’s only 9’ between the facing tents (assuming everyone is level – which is difficult on the significantly sloping parking lot).
   
4. With this cramped setup, I predict load in and load out will be total chaos as you cannot arrive and get your space assignment until 6AM Saturday morning.

What a dilemma for me. The one show that is the best financial opportunity for me is sponsored by the most poorly organized show promoter I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m not trying to grind an ax
here. Trust me, I could continue to write volumes if I chose to. I simply want to share what I know about the event. I will undoubtedly have more conversations over the coming weeks and months and will gladly share any new information as it becomes available.

It was the 4th of July .....and I was feeling very Yankee Doodleeee.......the dogs were all there.....the parade.....and flags....etc.....really it is the same at any 4th celebration. But you see old friends and socialize so that makes somehow different......

The "Bailey's" show was some fine art plus a ton of crafts and a ton of buy and sell.....really they take anyone who fits their definitions of "good stuff". They are booth fee hounds, I think....who just want to do what is best for Bailey"s Harbor according to themselves.

Low fee.....easy unload is a short carry.....

It is Door County or the thumb of Wisconsin.....so we have a huge Chicago crowd mixing with some Wisconsin and a few Minnesota people at this show.

The people come for the parade in the morning more than anything......sales happen more in the early afternoon. Lots of people....most walk by....but enough stopped by me to make it a successful day.

My secret is really to cater to Illinois people with my artwork....you must have something that appeals to an Illinois tourist to do well at this show.

Three Daveys......I cannot talk more.....gotta go paint the Cubs and Bears for next years show.....doing Butkus right now....do you know what a Butkus is?

MOSCOW (Reuters) –
The curators of an art exhibit that mixed religious icons with sexual and pop-culture images face up to three years in prison in a case that is testing the tolerance of Russia’s government and its dominant church.

A Moscow court is to issue a verdict on Monday in the trial of Yuri Samodurov and Andrei Yerofeyev, charged with debasing religious beliefs and inciting religious hatred for the 2007 show Forbidden Art.

The trial, which recessed late last month, was marred by rowdy shouts from ultranationalists and what Yerofeyev said were thinly veiled threats to kill him and Samodurov if they are found innocent. “The state is trying to selectively censor art,” Yerofeyev said, accusing the authorities of encouraging or supporting ultranationalists who took issue with the exhibit.

The mountains are great and HOT HOT HOT 90s// there were crowds and buying was happening although selective // I saw alot of satisfied artists, and then some that were down in sales from the past; The heat as always ends the shows, no matter where, earlier; as was the case here; Once again The Rothbards have had another successful Art Festival, and my experience was enjoyable,successful, easy load in-out, a great location and all in all a return is in the cards for next year..

BARRINGTON BREW REPORT//// Great homebrew at the Barrington Brewery; Brewed in the barn in the back I asked not but enjoyed alot/// BUT THE BEST was a local 1/2 gallon growler of OPA OPA BEER BREWED about 15 mies to the north// $6.98 a growler and then $2 back for the bottle deposit $4.98 I,ll go back //the beer was fabulous// Fair Winds, and Safe Travels with great fortunes

If you follow this blog, you probably figured out that Boston Mills ArtFest has happened. ArtFest is a two weekend event that happens on the last weekend in June (a party night and 2 show days) and the 1st weekend in July (a party night and 3 show days). Two years ago I did the show on the first weekend and this year I tried second weekend. In the past artists could only do one or the other, but applications were down this year and a handful of artists got to try their luck on both weekends. To my surprise, I did just about identical gross sales numbers this year as I did two years ago.... this is a solid show (but had still hoped to do a little better with the extra day).

Setup: The rendering above shows the layout. There are four large artist tents, facing in each direction and about 32 individual tents down the middle. The large tent, on the left, is considered the North tent, but the sun sets behind it; go figure. Setup and breakdown are not bad, but you have to dolly everything to and from the parking lot, that is unless you get one of the few areas where you can park behind your booth (North tent).

Both times that I've done the show, I pitched my own tent in the middle section. I recommend paying a little more for a spot in the bigger tents... weather is a factor this time of year... this year it was hot! The larger tents stay cooler and people linger longer. That said, sales were still strong for me.

Location: Where is Boston Mills? Seems like it should be near Boston, MA but not even close, Boston Mills Artfest takes place at the base of a bunny slope (err, ski resort) just south of Cleveland, OH in the township of Peninsula, Ohio. The show draws from affluent suburbs around Cleveland and Akron and they come in good numbers.

Sales: Very good art displayed at this show and patrons bought big, though with caution. Several painters did outstanding at this show. A friend of mine from OH was well above 5 figures with several commissions pending. I spoke with potters, stained glass artists, photographers and jewelers who had a solid show in the 5-7K range. Not all fared well; a painter I met had a very disappointing show as did a multi-media artist. Like all shows this year, some hit it out of the park and some don't.

The Organization: This is a well publicized and coordinated event. Show volunteers frequently checked in with me to see if I had any needs. This is a well oiled machine that has been coordinated for years by Ron Beahn.

Amenities: An opening dinner for the artists, which meant hands off on the food and refreshments provided to paying patrons during the opening drunken bash... I mean hors d'oeuvres, wine and beer tasting. With an artist badge, artists could enjoy the tasting during the last 15 minutes of the event and without a badge, could blend in for earlier tastings.

My booth was near the music performance stage, which is usually the kiss of death for any artist who draws that lot. It certainly was on Friday opening night, but for the rest of the weekend, this was a fabulous spot. The music was incredibly good!!... concert quality. Each performance drew folks from all around the grounds and many listening to the performances spent time in my booth - which resulted in sales.

Here's a group call Mo' Mojo. They are a mix of Zydeco, Blues and Cajun. They can draw a crowd. I'll go to any art show that they're performing at. Hear an mp3 from their web site.

Bottom line: Would I return to ArtFest? You betcha.

Cheers!

The only thing that beats sleeping in your own bed and doing an art show, winning an award and sleeping in your bed, and doing an art show- is having dinner with Nels Johnson, while you are doing all of those things! We did the show, won an award (so did Nels!), and had a fantastic dinner with Nels at the Blue Canyon restaurant in Twinsburg, Ohio. Nels was waiting at the bar for us to arrive-dirty martini in hand, we started drinking at the table..Bob and I love a drink we call the "Patti-thing"...Belvedere vodka chilled up with a float of cointreau- orange slice for effect, Nels ordered a very good bottle of wine for himself..a great dinner, good company, and two more days of the art show in store for us.

We did not fare that well at the art show..we were outside in extreme heat for two of the three days.The tents are where you want to be- rain or shine, you will see more people, and feel less stress.We hope next year we can be in a tent. I don't know how the customers perceive the artists outside, compared to the ones inside the tents.I think we are treated like step-children, as they hurridly walk from tent to tent...see you next year...in a tent!

It was held on June 27 in downtown Menominee, Mich......which is a small city at the most southern part of the upper Peninsula......across the river from Marinette, WI.....50 booths....drove up the grass of the park to load and unload. The park is right on the water and there is a marina too...nice crowd all day....weather was hot and humid.

Now the important stuff......nice eats for the artists.....inside bathrooms in the Yacht Club.....yes I felt like a member.....where is my captain's hat and telescope?

In the morn, lots of people, who bought little....and us artists all started to worry.....is it me?.....is it my art?..is my display not displayed properly?...is my name badge on crooked..did I miss a spot when I shaved this morning?......do I look too artsy for older lady buyers....should I talk more?....should I talk less? ......etc, etc.

Suddenly my daughter, Karen, arrrived at 1:30.....and people immediately started buying.....she was a good luck charm....for sure.....and cute too....she is my little girl....only 29.

So i finished with over 10 times entry fee......which was $65, I think. And someone wants 50 copies at wholesale prices.

Saw some old friends.....used to work nearby.....Show rates 3 DAVEY's......I paint pictures and sell mostly prints of same.