Posted by Connie Mettler on September 21, 2009 at 6:04pm
An amazing digital artist (and I
really mean digital in that he uses the computer as his tool) used to
participate in the nation's art fairs. He took top prizes everywhere he went. About five years ago he dropped out to see if he could make it in another arena. It is no surprise to those of us who saw his work to read about his success. Read below and be inspired. From Kenneth Huff: Last week, during the 2009 Ars Electronica Festival in Austria, one of my time-based works was shown, accompanied by the Bruckner Orchester Linz. The concerto for piano, "Lousadzak (The Coming of Light)" by Alan Hovahness, was conducted by Dennis Russell Davis, with Maki Namekawa on piano. The piece was very well-received by the festival audience. There is a brief clip on my blog from the final rehearsal and a photo from the performance:
www.kennethahuffblog/comingofthelight I am looking forward to similar events in the future. ---------- * On-going exhibition of work at the Ars Electronica Center Also at the Ars Electronica Center, there is a three-year exhibition of a selection of my still images, Organik Constructions, that is showing in the center's Deep Space projection gallery. An installation photo and links to the exhibition pages can be found here:
www.kennethahuff.com/blog/ars-electronicafestival.com The exhibition opened 2 January. I was visiting the Center as it was being built in December and was thrilled to experience my work as the very first images shown in the space, the day the projectors were turned on for the first time.
www.kennethahuff.com/blog/2009/01/03/ars-electronica-center ---------- * Blog I have a blog where I am posting current events and news. Occasionally, I also post reference photography, the occasional technical detail and soon, stereoscopic images of my travels. You can find the blog here:
www.kennethahuff.com/blogRead more…
Posted by Susan Lukas on September 21, 2009 at 4:25pm
I too recently lost a friend. He was found dead in his studio from heart failure at age 37. Nick Rostagno was a potter who made beautiful crystalline, raku and high fire red ceramics. He worked hard, but always found time to have some fun. He had lots of friends and will be missed.
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Posted by J Arthur on September 21, 2009 at 1:31pm
Had my first ever art show this weekend. The weather was clear and cool. The show ran from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The crowds were steady except from 1:00 to 2:30, foot traffic was a bit thin. My sales came early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Being that this was my first show I don't know if it was a good one or not. Sold 7 pieces of scanagraphic art for just under $1000.00. Did not hear anyone say they did not like the art. Did hear some comment that the prices were too low, but they did not purchase anything. Now that I have my feet wet, I think we will do more of these shows.
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Posted by Sheldon Park on September 20, 2009 at 9:49pm
On September 26 & 27*Clinton Township Festival of the Senses Saturday 10 to 7; Sunday 10 to 5 200 ExhibitorsLive entertainment, taste tent and children's activitiesSeptember 26 & 27* Birmingham Art in the Park Shain Park, downtown Birmingham220 Artists Saturday - 10 am to 6 pm; Sunday - 10 am to 5 pmShain Park plays host to the original Detroit area art fair to benefit Common Ground Sanctuary. This is a lovely park with excellent artists. If you haven't had your fill of art fairs for this season you must attend this event which has a strong reputation among artists as the place to be on this weekend. Good food, kids activities and music will round out your visit.September 26 & 27*Lowell Fallasburg Fall Festival Historic Fallasburg Park Saturday & Sunday 10 am to 5 pm 80 Artists The Fallasburg Fall Festival is a unique event that develops the potential of its' extraordinary historical setting. It is held in a beautiful park with an old schoolhouse, a covered bridge and takes advantage of this lovely setting to present a small art fair that just suits the setting and its' community.If you want to spend a fall day outdoors, shopping for art, eating homemade food from local churches, watching artisans create craft objects...I'm telling you this is the perfect place. There is art for the sophisticated as well as the craft admirer. Pick up a fine etching or a dried flower wreath for your front door.For more details, kindly visit this site.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 20, 2009 at 7:48pm
The affluent Naples area is a much desired place for organizers to present art fairs. Times change and things change.
Here is the announcement from
Howard Alan Events about his popular downtown Naples fair: After 21 years on 5th Avenue South the March Downtown Naples show is officially moving the award Art Fair Calendar.comwinning show to Pelican Bay on Tamiami Trail (US 41). Pelican Bay: - To the South - Downtown Naples - To the North - Bonita Springs Alongside of us - The Waterside Shops, home to Saks Fifth Avenue, Gucci, Tiffany's, etc. This great area is surrounded by high end retail, million dollar mansions, and has great road frontage on SW Florida's most highly traveled road, US 41. Our marketing plan will target Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero, Marco Island, and Fort Myers. We will be attracting art buyers from all over SW Florida. This event is also being sponsored by the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce. We look forward to the continued success of this top rated event. Visit:
zapplication.org to apply, or visit
www.ArtFestival.com for more information.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 20, 2009 at 7:30pm
Howard Alan Events presents a new festival in affluent West Palm Beach. The message from Howard:
We are excited about the potential for this new event. We are closing down the major streets that encompass City Place, located in downtown West Palm Beach, a beautiful downtown shopping district. This retail empire, which is rich in European architecture, includes 21 fine restaurants, a 20 screen theatre, a cultural city theatre, scores of high end shops, and private high end residences. Combine beautiful architecture, breathtaking fountains, and quaint sidewalk cafes and we have the next great venue in fine art affairs. With an average household income in the six figures this wealthy area of art buyers is well prepared for this fine art fair. Downtown West Palm Beach looks out at the highly affluent island of Palm Beach. We will be putting out a diverse and extensive media plan to make sure City Place will be jammed with art savvy patrons for this can't miss event. To apply visit:
www.zapplication.org or for more information visit:
www.artfestival.comRead more…
Posted by Sheldon Park on September 18, 2009 at 4:00am
I am planning to go to the most historical churches in the world which is Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, this chistmas season. The oldest parish church is consecrated in 1300s. I heard that there are 2500 graves and 10,000 citizens of Amsterdam buried including some of the famous regents. that's creeepy!!! Well, I think it will be a good topic for our research paper next year. I am so excited to study this matter. But before thinking about academics; of course, I will enjoy first my vacation in Netherlands on December. I am more excited about this part!!! I will visit some of the famous landmarks like Van Gogh Museum, Nieuwmarktrellen, De Bijenkorf, Museumplein, and other places there. And also I want to see the famous and the largest legal designated area of prostitution called De Wallen it is also known as Walletjes. Woahhh! At first, I couldn't believe that there's such place like that...but there's really a place like thaaaaaaat! Amazing!.. and I am nervous now! hahaRead more…
Posted by R. C. Fulwiler on September 16, 2009 at 5:30pm
Michael Craven was one of my best friends. A phone call from Michael meant you would be "involved" for a while. His perception of this business was always interesting and often controversial. Our last phone conversation was just after Larry Berman published his interview with him. He had just finished jurying the Longs Park show. Michael had stated that a booth slide should be limited to a sanitized gathering of images with maybe a bin below; no canopy visible. I always thought a booth slide should be taken at a show, as your booth appears, open for business. At the end of our conversation neither of us had changed our minds, but we had a wonderful dialogue. We disagreed about many things but were never disagreeable. The first time I met him was at the Gulf Breeze show sometime in the '90s. I won second place in photography and went looking for first place.... The blue ribbon was on Michael's booth. A few years later, I couldn't find him at a show we had planned to do together. A phone call found him broken down in his RV somewhere on the east coast of Florida. He thought the RV was dead and he was in a jam because all his inventory was in the trailer hitched behind. He needed to get it back home to Charleston, SC. Sunday night, I packed up my booth and drove to meet him. I pulled his trailer home for him and we stayed up all night drinking Jack Daniels and talking "shop". That night, we disagreed on whether an artist should display his whole body of work or just his newest work. I love producing new work, but feel I slight my patrons if I don't show "my greatest hits" as well. Michael thought an artist should be producing great works all the time and should retire older images. He never wanted to be falling back on the tried and true.... And, he could do it! My wife always referred to Michael, affectionately, as a curmudgeon. And he was, in the sense that he didn't suffer fools lightly. I remember being in The Plaza with him one year and during a sale my customer said he had tried to buy a photo from a photographer down the way, but the artist had treated him with such disdain that he had to walk away. Kim chimed in, "Oh, that's just Michael. He's a bit of a curmudgeon!" When Larry asked Michael and me to join his Yahoo group "Artshow_photo" Michael made many enemies and had to quit the group in disgust. Here is an excerpt from one of his postings: "What would be beneficial to those beginning a career in the arts, more than an encouragement to find a place at the trough, is an exaltation to realize themselves as artist. That is find a voice that is uniquely yours, depart from the well worn trails and often trendy subject and/or technique such as the "wall and window" photographers or as I call them the "portals to mediocrity lot" and most importantly be about valid expression and communication which is supposed to be what it is all about to begin with. Communicative art first, decorative art second. As I walk the rows of plastic booths at a show I play a game when passing all the 2-D artist...upon looking in does the art DEMAND that I interact visually and mentally or is it just posing as art (and often for arts sake) very few booths grab these jaded eyes and beckon that I enter." To read more go to the very beginning of the group's postings (January '03). In the Autumn of 2000, while loading out of a show in Gulf Shores, AL. I suffered chest pains and Michael insisted I sit down while he and some fellow artists finished my load-out for me. Within a few months I had to undergo bypass surgery. He may have saved my life. Michael had bad knees and he couldn't get around as well he would've liked; hence the motorized scooters and cycles. He always tried to get to a show early enough to get a parking spot close to his booth. He told me the story of going all the way from Charleston to Memphis to do a show and when he got there they had put his booth where it would've been difficult to set up. When they wouldn't move him he gave them a piece of his mind and drove home. Michael burned a lot of bridges! I'm proud to have displayed his work in my Saugatuck gallery (Nels & Ron too). My personal favorite piece of his was one that showed a bowl of Cheerios; the bowl is cracked; the milk spilled... the title? "Cereal Killer" We have lost a great artist and advocate of excellence. I will miss him.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 16, 2009 at 4:35pm
Lots!!
Give yourself a well-needed break from work. Come to Peoria, IL, on September 24 to attend the NAIA Director/Artist Conference. This is an easy drive for many of you and on the way to the Plaza show in Kansas City.
Why?
* to network with other artists and art fair directors
* to learn what that "booth image" is all about
* get tips for preparing digital images for jurying
* how to battle imports with a U.S. trade representative
* mock jury - see how your images stand up to a jury of your peers. This alone is worth your time. (I sat in on one of these mock juries a few years back. The images projected were from some of the top artists in the
business. They critiqued one another's images and I learned a lot. Took that info home and voila! We snagged us some excellent shows.)
* Party! Peoria Contemporary Art Center
The conference is held in conjunction with the Peoria Fine Art Fair.
Have a desire to talk with other artists and art fair organizers when you are not in your booth? This is such a relaxing and hospitable atmosphere. You will be glad you joined us. I'll be there. I'd love to meet you!
ALL FOR $25.00!! Sign up now! You don't want to miss this! Visit: www.naia-artists.org or call 810-813-0500.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 16, 2009 at 4:18pm
One of last year's big art fair stories was about the volunteer at Indianapolis' popular Penrod Arts Fair, sponsored by the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Said volunteer stole $380,000 from the organization's treasury. Now what would this theft done to most art fairs? You've got it -- devastation, anguish, cancellation. But not in Indianapolis!
The show must go on! And on it did go last weekend, bringing thousands of people to enjoy all the arts on the lovely grounds of the Museum of Art. Proceeds from the event go toward non-profit grants to help art organizations in the community. Penrod Art Fair Chairman Bill Leppert said, "We're on great financial ground right now."
Read the rest of this story here: Penrod Thrives Despite Theft
Anyone reading this participate in this year's Penrod event? We'd love some feedback from you.
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Posted by Bert Herrera on September 14, 2009 at 7:45pm
The show takes place in the downtown area of Clayton, which is a suburb of St Louis. It's on the street with artists back to back, down the middle of the street. The show spreads to a couple of streets, including side streets, with 160 lucky artists present. There is about 4-5 feet between the booths, so plenty of space to hang on outside walls if you need/want to. Electricity runs through the rear of all booths, so we can plug in for the evenings. Show hours are Friday 5PM - 10PM, Sat from 10AM - 10PM and Sunday from 11AM to 4PM.While this show has music, entertainment, and community booths, art is clearly the king here. I'm talking about art which is truly of remarkable quality!One word sums up this show for me - BEST. It's the best run show I've ever participated in. The committee doesn't overlook anything -- starting with a very thorough packet they mail to you sometime before the show. They even come by the booth the evening before and give everyone a printed weather forecast for the next day! The crowds were the best I have ever seen in terms of energy, interest, attitude and caring. Oh, yeah, and sales - you guessed it, the best I have ever done. For me, Saturday was a killer day, especially in the evening. I had folks waiting to buy stuff on Sunday 30 minutes after the show officially closed. Some artists, who had done the show in the past, said their sales were down some, but were happy nevertheless.From my perspective, I really cannot say enough good things about this show. I would say to any show co-ordinators out there reading this, if you want to learn how to do it right, come here to learn. These folks have it!I don't have a tequila report, but there are lots of restaurants in the area, and I'm sure some have great tequila! My wife did enjoy the house Merlot at the Sharaton, and their long island iced teas weren't bad either. But after getting back to the hotel (4 blocks away is the Sheraton which is the show hotel), at about 11PM on Friday and Saturday night, all I wanted to do was crash - and hope I can get back in sometime!
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Posted by Moira Coon on September 13, 2009 at 1:58pm
I’m officially registered for exhibit space at the art shows at both WindyCon and Midwest Furfest.Now I just need to buckle down and produce some work! *laughs*
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Hello, My name it Teressa and I have been building a website for my jewelry that I have hosted from fatcow.com and I need some feed back on it. Can you let me know if it looks professional and if there is something that should be added or changed?Thanks,Teressawww.stylingwithbeadscrystalsandsilver.com
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 11, 2009 at 3:37pm
It is a beautiful fall weekend and here is where you should be right now:
1. Atlanta Arts Festival, September 12-13, beautiful Piedmont Park, 200 artists Lots more info here from the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution online Here's
even more info for you about the art. Competing with Atlanta for the top artists in the country is the very prestigious
2. St. Louis Art Fair, September 11-13, downtown Clayton, MO, 160 artists New show director, Cindy Lerick, steps up to the plate to hit a home run on this one (that's my bet anyway). Get more details at the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch and another story from the
Belleville News-Democrat with more tantalizing info.
3. A Fair in the Park, Pittsburgh, PA, September 11-13, Mellon Park, 100 artists This luscious park hosts one of Pittsburgh's most popular events. More info at
PittsburghGalleries.com4. West End Art Fair, LaGrange, IL, September 12 & 13, Burlington Ave in front of the Stone Ave. train station, 125 artists This 14th annual fair presented by the LaGrange Business Assn., learn more at
LaGrange Today.
5. Westport Art Fair, Kansas City, MO, September 11-13, in Historic Westport, 120 artists The opening of the fall art fair season in KC is this event, held specifically to showcase local Kansas City artists.
Learn more. The last time I did one of these wrap ups of the weekend's art fairs I had some wrong dates. My challenge to you: are these correct? Are you going to be there? If you are participating will you let us know about it afterward? Which one would you most like to be participating in? Comment below.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 11, 2009 at 11:04am
Michael Craven, a 30 years+ photography veteran, died in June after a long illness.
Michael was a great guy and his fine work was an asset to the art fair business. He really knew his way around a camera and a darkroom. He was a photojournalist and commercial photographer before he started exhibiting at art fairs. The integrity of his images made his work stand above many of his contemporaries. The work was original in concept and always great to see. No cookie cutter images here, just great conceptual pieces photographed and printed in the traditional manner.
"Leaks" by Michael Craven Here is his website:
http://brainfoodphoto.com/ and here is another site I found that has more of his imagery:
http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/a/artychoke/ Many thanks to photographer Robert Barab for passing on this information.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 10, 2009 at 11:37am
So here we are, everyone (and I mean everyone) working hard to keep up the spirits in a downtrodden economy, all the artists looking sharp with beautiful booths heading into what we all hope will be a profitable weekend. Everything is in place.
The show opens at 3 pm on Friday. Already on Friday evening we are hearing reports from the artists that one of the artists is announcing to everyone within hearing distance of his booth that he hasn't done a show this bad in 35 years. We continue to hear this on Saturday. When I visit his booth I hear him pissing and moaning. I look over his work (a jeweler) and think it's pretty nice, maybe I need some new earrings (did you ever meet a woman who didn't?) He starts in on his lament and finally I say, "don't you think it would be better for your sales if you weren't so negative? Maybe I was going to buy something here."
His retort was that I wouldn't be the first person to walk away. Already someone else who had the money ready had left him behind.!!! Geez.
Then we received this email in the Arts, Beats & Eats office on Tuesday:
I first would like to say our family has made it a point to travel from Northern Michigan for the last 3 years on Labor Day weekend to enjoy your wonderful festival. We love the atmosphere, and we do all of our school clothes shopping at Great Lakes Crossing mall. This year, however, I was very upset with the attitude of a certain vendor at your festival, namely XXXX XXXXXX. My 18 year old son recently enlisted in the Army and my husband was wearing one of his shirts that said "There's Strong and then there's Army Strong". I walked away from him for a moment to look at X's booth, and as I approached I heard him say to me (I was the only one there at the time) "Oh, there's an army guy. Why don't we all join up and go over to Iraq and steal all their oil and kill some people!" I was extremely offended at this comment and could not even respond. I simply walked away. I decided it would be better to let a committee member know the inappropriate comments made by this vendor, and my hope is that when I look at your listing of vendors for next year's festival he will not be on it. If he is, I and my family will not attend, and I will be sure to pass his name along to all I know. I'm sure you agree this was an inappropriate venue to air his obvious hostility toward the soldiers who are simply following the orders of command and risking their lives so vendors like him can safely sell their wares on the streets of Pontiac.
Thank you,
She included her contact information, which, of course, I am not including here.
What do you think? Any advice for this guy, or for us?
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 10, 2009 at 11:22am
It is official, the Brandywine Arts Festival, Wilmington, DE, is not taking place this fall. A change of organizers, back money owed for the event and three venue changes have stopped the event in its tracks after 48 years.
There seems to be a pattern of miscommunication along the way. The new organizer, Janie Blanch "said Friday that she would be calling each artist who paid for a space. She said she needed at least 100 artists to make the festival a go.
She didn’t get them.
Blanch said she cannot refund fees to the estimated 150 artists and craft makers who paid up to $360 a space to participate in the festival.
“That is impossible to do. We spent money on advertising and all this other stuff you spend money on, like the Web site,” she said. “I’m going to get in touch with a lawyer and find out what I do next.”
Read the rest of the article here: DelawareOnline.comRead more…
Sunday morning brings the artists breakfast where Lisa and I get to have our little party visiting and
feeding the artists. We love to pass out the awards and our ceremony includes lots of stories about artists and art fairs. I do believe a good time was had by all. This show starts with setup on Friday morning and then runs from 3 pm to 9 pm that day; 11 am to 9 pm on Saturday and Sunday and 11 am to 5 pm on Monday. It is an easy setup, drive up to your booth for unloading and loading up again. Free parking is nearby. Show fee includes 1000 watts of electricity so the show looks beautiful in the evening, like a small village. We have a terrific PR team and artists are interviewed on various TV stations, radio stations and thoroughly covered in the Detroit Free Press. The streets are full of viewers all the days. Now the tricky part, sales. No one will be surprised to hear there are economic challenges in this part of the country. We have made the show smaller each year to correspond to this. From a high of 195 exhibitors some years ago this year we had 135 spaces. We listen, we hear and do what we can. I got involved in this event in 1998 because I wanted to help
build a quality venue where artists could make money. There is no shortage of art fairs, what there is is a shortage of top-notch events where artists can count on decent sales. This year's festival walked the usual line with some artists having their best show ever, many in the middle, and some not so happy. We had beautiful weather until 4:30 pm on Monday just when those last minute sales were heating up. I'd guess that Monday is the best sales day. There is no lack of an audience. There are plenty of qualified buyers in the crowd and Michigan's knowledgeable art fair lovers. ABE is set in the heart of Oakland County the nation's third wealthiest county. If you've got the stuff you can find a buyer here. Our many thanks to the members of this forum who joined us this year: Jim Parker, Peter Katke, Mike Barnes, Jan Kaulins.
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You know it is time to be thinking about your 2010 art fair schedule. Today's newsletter brings you a great kickstart to the search listing 32 festivals presented by Howard Alan Events, art fairs that can be the backbone of your festival season.
Las Olas Art Festival, Fort Lauderdale, FL These popular outdoor festivals are consistently ranked among the top art shows in the country. Located along some of the most charming streets in the nation, Howard Alan Events brings the unique creations of hundreds of award-winning artists to thousands of art enthusiasts across America every weekend. For over 25 years Howard Alan Events has produced award winning art affairs throughout the US. Howard is known for always having something new to tempt both you and the art festival patron.
Howard Alan Events October-May Festivals October 03-04 20th Anniversary Hyde Park Village Art Fair 10-11 21st Annual St. Armand's Art Festival 24-25 22nd Annual Las Olas Art Fair
November 07-08 22nd Annual Downtown Venice Art Festival 14-15 Coconut Point Fall Art Fair (Bonita Springs/Estero, FL) 28-29 10th Annual Downtown Delray Beach Thanksgiving Weekend Art Fest
December 26-27 14th Annual Downtown Naples New Year's Weekend Art Fair
Art Fest by the Sea, Jupiter/Juno 2010January 02-03 2nd Annual Ft. Myers: Art Fair at the Bell Tower 02-03 22nd Annual Las Olas Art Fair Part I 09-10 13th Annual Downtown Dunedin Art Festival 09-10 23rd Annual Boca Fest 16-17 21st Annual Downtown Delray Beach Festival of the Arts 16-17 20th Anniversary Indialantic Art Festival 23-24 City Place Art Festival in West Palm Beach 30-31 7th Annual St. Armands Circle Art Festival 30-31 16th Annual St. Pete Beach Corey Area Art & Craft Festival
February 06-07 9th Annual Hobe Sound Festival of the Arts Point Art Festival (Estero) 20-21 22nd Annual Downtown Sarasota Festival of the Arts 27-28 20th Anniversary Downtown Stuart Art Festival 27-28 46th Annual Key Biscayne Art Festival
District Art Annual, downtown Kansas City March 06-07 9th Annual Downtown Venice Art Classic 06-07 22nd Annual Las Olas Art Fair Part II 13-14 22nd Annual Art Fest by the Sea (Jupiter/Juno Beach) 20-21 6th Annual Coral Springs Festival of the Arts 20-21 22nd Annual Naples Festival of the Arts at Pelican Bay 27-28 13th Annual San Marco Art Festival (Jacksonville)
April 10-11 21st Anniversary Hyde Park Village Art Fair 24-25 32nd Annual Siesta Fiesta
May 15-16 2nd Annual Birmingham Art Fair at The Summit (Birmingham, AL.) 22-23 National Harbor Art Festival (Washington, DC) 29-30 2nd Annual Hilton Head Island Art Festival at Shelter Cove Harbour For more info:
www.ArtFestival.comVisit Zapplication.org Today to Apply Howard Alan Events produces multiple shows therefore they have an ongoing jury process that meets twice monthly and juries by category. SHOW DIRECTOR'S SUGGESTION: We recommend that you apply EARLY as the show and/or most categories will fill quickly. Apply:
www.zapplication.org For more info:
www.artfestival.comRead more…
Posted by Connie Mettler on September 8, 2009 at 10:30pm
Normally pretty loquacious on this site, you haven't heard much from me lately because I've been up to my elbows in art fair preparation since late August in Pontiac, MI, where I am one of the art directors (along with Lisa Konikow) for this rambunctious festival.
Now I have to tell you, I'm feeling pretty intimidated writing this. Nels Johnson has set such a high standard on entertaining, yet informative, show reviews ... what's a girl to do?
First of all the tequila report -- oh, oh, I was too busy to get around to sampling the tequila bars in Pontiac. Suffice it to say a little Bud Lite Lime during the marking of the streets for the booth spaces does not count. Nor, a few glasses of red wine consumed at the wine bars available within the show site. Ever hear of "Little Black Dress" wine? Not bad.
Here's the behind the scenes report: there is limitless paperwork to be done for an art fair, applications, acceptance letters, databases, press stories, lists of artists, directions, maps, site access passes, rules and regulations, show information, credentials, booth signs, press releases, lists for the newspapers, lists for the printers. You get the idea. Readying it, writing it, proofing it, getting it printed, collated and stuffed in packets seems an endless job.
Finally it is Thursday afternoon, the materials are ready. We set up the check in area (we - Lisa Konikow; Farah Darwish, my daughter who has driven in from Kentucky to be our assistant; her daughter, Mariah, our go-fer) with check-in packets, maps, layouts, sign in information and the staff is ready to go with walkie-talkies and golf carts.
In the final hours there are four artist cancellations so the map, layout and databases have to be altered.
They finally close the street and a volunteer and I take the map, the layout, the chalk and the measuring wheel and spend three hours squatting in the street marking spaces. Definitely the most glamourous part of the job.
Late to bed, up at 6 am to meet the staff and be ready to let the artists setup. This is a very urban area, we are very strict about security and want to protect everyone and their property so we are sticklers about the rules. No one sets up without checking in.
We deploy the street team -- Farah, Lisa, and three volunteers. The rest of us meet and greet -- my favorite time as I get to meet new artists and visit with old friends. Everyone is happy at check-in because there is great hope for the weekend ahead.
New this year -- because we have lost the financial support of Chrysler this year we have gated the entire festival area, at least eight city blocks, so we can charge admission. The festival site includes two long blocks of art booths, around seventy restaurant booths, six stages, a carnival, a children's art street and a "Green Street." The large parking lot has large booths with automobiles from the Big Three. As a visitor there is a lot to see and do. The community loves the festival and attends in full force, usually around 250,000 people over four days.
For the staff Friday is the hardest day because we are there from 6:30 am until around 11 pm. The art section closes at 9 pm but there is always paperwork and phone calls to be made for problems that occurred during the day and also to prepare for the next day.
We had a new electrical company this year. The new generators were diesel and the fumes were pretty noxious and the sound not so great either. I spent most of Friday afternoon talking with the artists and the electrician, moving generators, deflecting exhaust and easing tempers.
On Saturday we had to shut down a quarter of the show's electricity while the electricians rerouted the wires and reconfigured the system. On Sunday we had to shut down another area while they moved a generator to another area. Finally by Sunday afternoon all the electric was meeting everyone's needs. (See I told you this wasn't going to be as interesting as reading Nels.)
Saturday starts early for us because we meet the jurors to get them started for the jurying. It always amazes me how thorough and conscientious the jurors are. We usually have one of them be an art fair artist because we feel they will "get" the whole art fair thing. This year we had jeweler Adam Shirley, who was taking the year off from art fairs to get his MFA at Cranbrook Institute. Our other juror was Maureen Riley, former director of the Detroit Festival of the Arts.
The winners: Best of Show - Clifton Henri, photographer
First Place - David O'Dell, printmaking
Awards of Excellence:
Bruce Holwerda - painting
Neptune Hot Glass - glass
Walt Majewski - drawing
Laura Junge - painting
Robert Trisko - jewelry
Paul Adams - painting
Zhou Yu - painting
Andrea Anderson - fabric
Spirit of the City Award - Jan Kaulins
We always give a cash award and a ribbon to the best artist helper, the Golden Dolly Award. James Greene, partner and schlepper for fiber artist Deborah Greene was the winner this year. It is represented by the traveling trophy, a bejeweled cart that is painted gold and signed by all past winners. Last year's winner, Bill Beaubien, presented it to James, complete with Bill's embellishment, a bicycle bell. My advice: keep your ears tuned at your next art fair, James may be rounding the corner with a load of goods!
More tomorrow.
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