Well, Marcia and I are off soon for our annual trek to Florida. I haven't done an art fair since Naperville last September, so the bank account can use a little help right now. I spent the fall and winter preparing for my one-man show at the Holland Area Arts Council, and stockpiling tons of artwork for all the Florida art fairs. I played "Tetris" in my van, cramming in enough artwork and frames for two months and six shows in the Sunshine State. Amazingly, there is still room for our luggage.
I didn't get into Winter Park, my favorite Florida art fair, or Vero Beach, but I'll be doing Ft Myers, Arti Gras, Naples National, Lake Wales, Gasparilla and Leesburg before heading home again at the end of March. I'm a little fearful of El Nino and the havoc its been causing in Florida this year. I can't remember a worse string of weekend storms in any State. After reading post after post of art fair disasters, I spent a couple of days last week creating newer and heavier weights for my Trimline. You can see them in my van picture. They're in that custom-made wooden rack on the right. They look like depth charges. Hopefully they'll do the trick if this stormy Florida winter continues.
I'm a digital artist/printmaker and I really kept my Epson Printer humming this winter. I also created a lot of new artwork that I haven't yet exhibited at an art fair. I've made a lot of guesses about which pictures will be selling the best, but I know I'll be running out of something. As a printmaker, I can sell multiple copies of the same picture, and I do pretty well with most of my images. I'm very thankful for that. I can't imagine how artists who focus on traditional painting can plan and execute a trip like this. I'm full of admiration for painters who produce and sell one-of-a-kind images.
Anyway, heading South. And I'm itching to get into that first art fair in Fort Myers.
Comments
Norm would take a polaroid of the loaded van and he would have several layouts depending on how many shows we were heading out for. Easy to access the "plan."
So there you go again -- heading back to Florida. I understand the compulsion. So dark and dreary here today I could hardly get up, but my work ethic did it to me again. Here I am.
I look forward to your reports, well written, candid confessions, etc. I love the folks who run Ft. Myers. I hope the show is good for you and everyone concerned. Is this your 4th row heading down there? Keep me up to date and say hi to my friends. I hope to make it in March so may see you in a sunny place.
Great photo, great write-up...best of luck to you in Florida!
LOL at "van-tetris", after my daughter and her family stopped by at a local show to help me pack up, my daughter looked at the loaded van and said, "Dad, I'll never make fun of you playing Tetris again".
HA! Thanks, Robert... I know exactly what you mean about packing the van. With six shows to do, I've really packed this van to the ceiling. I dread the end of that first art fair when I have to play "van-tetris" again to get everything back in.
I like the photo of the loaded van :-) I used to have to place everything in my minivans like a Rubik's cube or a three dimensional game of Tetris. I still recall getting POed a few times at the end of a long tiring show when I didn't follow the routine and would wind up with a tub or two that wouldn't fit in when packing up. Everything had to come back out and get rearranged. I thought it was just me until I saw another artist who used a large marker on the flooring carpet to layout lines which showed which packing tubs went where. Later on, I've found a few folks who have a notebook with diagrams to remind themselves where things go.
After getting a full size van, it's not quite so complicated but there are certain ways things still have to go in to fit right. After rotator cuff surgery a couple of months ago, they tell me I still shouldn't lift some of those large tubs with framed prints in them, so I have to take all three bench seats out of the van instead of two, and figure out a way to load the tubs up without having to go more than one tub up from the floor. I think making a loading chart may the way to go for that bad boy.
BTW, before settling for pea-gravel weight bags, I was considering using the square plastic fence posts for concrete weights since those wouldn't roll around on me. I still have a big toe nail that doesn't grow at the right angle since a concrete weight fell on it. Those round tubes may be convenient but they're a hazard if not secured well. Mine wasn't =8-O
Thanks for your comments, Tina, Margaret, Kathleen and Alison.
Hey Rich: Thanks for the offer. You never know what you're gonna run out of, no matter how much you plan.
You have a little space there in the center :-)
Best of luck, John! I'll be in Florida some of the time that you'll be there, but my shows don't match up with yours. Hope to meet you somewhere down the road.
John, if you need to print something while down here I can help you.
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