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Wyoming Art Show, Cincinnati OH, Sunday May 15, 2022

This show is located on a tree-lined street in front of the neighborhood civic center. Tents are aligned against the curb on both sides of the streets. The length extends approximately 200 yards. The Civic Center held an art contest which all artist were able to submit one piece and kids craft section in the front lawn. There was a food truck section adjacent to the art show. The show was held in an older section of town. Large well built homes from the early 1900s fill the area with a mix of millennials who appreciates quality and established residents in their 60s and 70s. Load-In started at 7 a.m. and Out at 5 was fine. Everyone seemed to come at different enough times that there wasn’t too much waiting or any bottle-necks. This show was pretty much “no-frills” except for coffee and donuts. No water, no booth sitters. I heard they had a hard time finding volunteers which is understandable in this economic climate. I didn’t feel the people who were running the show were especially friendly but I wasn’t bothered by that.

Now there was a rather critical AFI blog post about this show from 10 years ago. This combined with YouTube videos I found led me to have low expectations. I’m an acrylic landscape painter with 3 different sized canvases ranging from $100-900. No prints. I wanted to get my feet wet and work out the kinks I may have for my 2 larger June shows. I am also trying to build a contact list for the Cincinnati area for potential future sales. I’m in this for the long haul so I have a particular strategy in mind.

The show started at 11 and the foot traffic was relatively consistent. The forecast was sunny with high of 85. It got rather warm but a beautiful day nonetheless. I would say there was a few thousands people there from mostly nearby, within a 10 mile radius. I heard an ad for the show on the radio. I thought it was good mix of people. I felt people were there for the art even if they weren’t buying it. I had many great conversations, received good feedback and ended up selling 6 paintings and even won a small prize at the art contest. While I did see people walk off with art I also heard the show was much lighter than previous years and some artists left disappointed. I only need one or two dozen people to be really interested in my work and I achieved that.

All in all, the show really surpassed my expectations. I have a couple of people anxious to buy some of my smaller pieces when it becomes available and a couple more interested in my larger ones. This is a neighborhood show with a few people who are willing to spend. Plus the show costs less than $100 (including jury fee) and I made half of that back with the prize I won. One of the criticisms of this show was that it wasn’t publicized. When they charge so little for artists to participate and they include cash prizes for the art contest, there’s not going to be much left for paid advertising. If you are within a 2 hour drive of this show, I would recommend it.

last weekend in Greenville,SC.

In my humble opinion, still the best one in the Southeast, better than Naples,Winter Park or the Grove. A five figure show for most artists.

I have only gotten in five times over a thirty year period.

Each time it was a killer, including this one.

I am a good photographer with a fair track record of getting into some of the biggies each year.  I just do not get into five or six of them like the Flynn's and Bjurstroms of the circuit.  They are a rare breed apart from me, and they deserve all the success that comes their way.

So when I got my acceptance from A-Sphere last October I was truly elated.

That coupled with Winter Park and Vero gave me a shot at accruing some moola in my meager bank account.

I last got in the show in 2018. It is a small show with 170 booths this year.

Many selected artists are from the nearby states that surround South Carolina.

They keep a small waitlist, but if you are not number one on it, chances are slim to be called.

That was different this year.  I will talk about it later.

Here are the nuts and bolts that shape this show.

Read closely, take notes.  I tell you useful info that almost nobody else dishes out.

The show is held downtown in Greenville on their Main Street that crosses a beautiful creek.

It is three days with an optional Thursday nite setup or early Friday morn.  I chose the Thursday setup.

All booths are 12 foot square with room to hang on at least one side with a three foot wide aisle between booths.  Double booths are available and go quickly.

Ample rear storage, you can have awnings front and back.

Booths are on pavement, you need ample weights.  This is a town with tall buildings and the many winds come rolling off them into booths.  Lots of rocking and rolling.

Most spaces, especially those at the beginning, are on a slope.  Shims helpful.

They have great food for artists.  Plenty of volunteers to spell you.

Now, I will talk about Greenville.

This is a beautiful and prosperous town.  Lots of young people, all well dressed. Men in suits and ties, women wearing great new outfits.  Lots of baby carriages everywhere.  The Main Street has a canopy of trees that stretches thru the whole downtown.  Lots of Tony eateries and retail.  Condos everywhere.

Greenville was not like that until about twenty years ago.

In the late 1980s and early 90s I would always begin my summer trip away from Florida by visiting a great artist friend who lived in Greenville.

His name was Loren Marshall and he was one the best flat glass artists I ever met.

Loren lived at the upper north end of Main Street where it intersected with Academy Street.

He lived in a vintage two story house that screamed the word "Hippy!" all over it.

I would arrive with my cargo van towing a nineteen foot travel trailer.  This was my home for the next five months as I did my Midwest circuit.  I was younger then, it was all a great adventure and I got to be stoned,smoking great pot everywhere.  But it always started in Greenville.

I would park my whole rig next door to his house in the Huddle House parking lot(a southern version of a Waffle House).

I would stay about three days and get some canoeing in on local whitewater rivers.

Back then downtown was deserted,  Bunches of closed up warehouses everywhere. Restaurants and bars nowhere. We had one so -so Mexican restaurant to eat and imbibe at. Greenville was so nowheresville.

Eventually, a small artsy-crafty show evolved, this would be the genesis that would become Artisphere.

Also, at that time the town got a forward thinking mayor.  He saw the potential that lie at his feet. "We got this great flowing creek right downtown. Let us build a great sculptural bridge over it.  Let us have all kinds of special events. Let us fill those empty buildings with new eateries, bars, condos.  Young people will flock to it."

And it happened. They built, they consumed, and they built more new places.  People thronged downtown. The mayor persuaded BMW to locate headquarters near downtown.  This brought in big European money and European tastes for the better things,

Eureka! A whole new metropolis rose from the ashes of bygone warehouses.

Heck, now you could get 25 different tequilas at the Mexican restaurant.  Drinks now came in freepour tumblers rather than one ounce nip bottles.

I saw this slowly happen over the span of the next 32 years, it was a sight to behold.

The town tapped a great inner resource, a man I was introduced to this year at the show.  The mayor brought him around to every artist booth and introduced him.

He saw the potential of the little art show and decided to make it very precious to attract the best of artists from the surrounding areas.  He did it well. This was now known as a hard to get in show where artists could make serious moola.

And that was how Artisphere was born.

OK Nels! Nice history lesson. Pour yourself a shot and tell us about this year's show.

Thought you never ask.

ARTISPHERE 2022

I still was suffering from a punky back which was still not right since Mainsail in mid April.

I was cranking out new inventory all along, but the back kept hurting.

I was doing my stretches, icing it, taking Tylenol and trying to avoid the dreaded bolt of lightning which can hurt so bad that you cannot do your biz in the bathroom.

We planned on going in Wednesday, day before setup.  I was taking Ellen along.

From NSB, where I live, it is an eight hour drive to Greenville.

Straight up 95 go northwest on I-26 from Charlestown. Head for the foothills.

South Carolina cops are sneaky.  They now use almost invisible smoky grey cars with radar.  They are lurking everywhere.  I have a sixth sense about them.  I never go more than 5mph over the limit.   Plenty others for them to grab.

I got a great Red Roof just outside downtown, six nites for under $300, including taxes.

Had not been there in five years and things had changed more.  Took me a while to figure out how to get there,signage sucks, especially at nite.

Finally found parking for a great steakhouse that sat high above the creek downtown.

Used to be called High Cotten, now Hall's Steakhouse, very expensive. I just wanted to eat. We shared a filet, two baked potatoes and a Ceaser salad. I ordered a Knob Creek Manhatten on the rocks.  Should have enquirer about the price.  It was $22, Gulp!

Food was good, but I was already out a couple of Benjamin's.  Sales better soar.

I slept very well and awoke refreshed, a little broke, and prepared for setup at 6pm.

Then, a major complication happened. Later in the morn I went to the rear of the van.  My left door was stuck, would not budge open.I was screwed for setup if this door did not open. I was packed to the gills.

I called the Ford dealer.  No luck, they could not help me for two days.  I have a 2004 Ford E350 extended cargo van, 450,00 plus miles on it.  Runs like a bat out of hell. 
I called AAA, no help either.   I was about to call and cancel.

Then my beautiful wife made a great suggestion. Ask for help from the Red Roof staff.

I flagged down a gent who was painting the rooms. Told him the problem.

He grunted and pulled violently on a release cable on the door.  It opened.

Trouble was, when I closed the door the same problem arose.

He showed me how to gently close the left door til it caught.  Then  I could gently close it and lock it.  
On to the show.

The Friday forecast was foreboding.  Rain expected at noon, heavy winds, tornado warnings.

I left Ellen behind.  Figured I would finish setup, tarp up the booth, call it a day.

But at noon, opening show hour, everybody was open and selling.

Lots of suited gents with frames in their hand, coifed ladies laden with goodies.

The lunch crowd was buying, and the weather was being nice.

I did a quick $800 from the crowd.  By 2 pm it was slowsville.

Around 4 pm it got windier and cloudier.  Then we got a storm warning.

At 4pm the show told us to close up booths, possible tornado heading our way.

An hour later, no storm, show reopened.

Trouble was the buying stopped.

Different crowd, looking, not buying.  Dressed more casually-- not our crowd.

The buying never returned, we were cooked for the day.

But no tornado, booths all intact.

Saturday forecast said no rain but chilly and very windy weather coming.  A big front.

My neighbors Lightdome swayed like Tina Turner  all day long.  My dome stayed rocksteady, just like Rod Stewart.

This was not a high end buying crowd.  Not as nicely dressed.

I never sold a piece over$200 the whole day.

I was not alone.  Not a lot of happy smiles on my neighbor' faces.

This was mimicking what happened on Saturday at Winter Park weeks earlier.

I talked my butt off, doing my best story-telling.  Results were meager.

Sunday had to be big, because this is not a Monday show.

We ate some great local barbecue that night at a place called Rocket Chicken.  It was delicious! I came back to the hotel, had a little Elijah Craig nite cap, and slept dreams of hope and grandeur.

We awoke Sunday and Ellen had a severe sore throat.  I went to the show alone, but spirited.

I would not fail to make my goal.

Bingo! First sale was a guy buying three 16 x20 framed images,  $600.00 sale.  Who Hoo!

It was off to the races.  Nonstop sales rest of the day.

Also, all my neighbors had giant smiles.  We were making serious moola.

Made my goal and was out of there in an hour.

More great barbecue that nite, sndpraise Elijah Craig ( great Kentucky bourbon).

Woke up happy Monday morn and drove like a bat out of hell to NSB.

Then we found out we both tested positive for Covid.

That is a story for another time.

Hope you enjoyed the ride.

+

October 15 & 16

• $7000 in awards: Best of Show ($1,500), 2 Awards of Distinction ($1,000 each), and 12 Merit Awards ($300 each). Award winners are automatically invited to the 2023 Festival
• A new jury panel every year
  
• Booth sitters
  
• Drive up unload/load
  
• Security overnight and during the Festival
• Qualified buyers. Admission per day is $10, with children 12 and under free with a ticketed adult
• An artists' hospitality tent where fresh doughnuts and hot coffee are available at 7:00 a.m. Saturday and Sunday morning. Drinks and snacks are served throughout the Festival.
• ATM on site. Credit card processing is also available for a 6% processing fee at the Information Building
• VIP program featuring pre-paid Kentuck Bucks that can only be used to purchase art from artists at the Festival
• An artists' party with dinner and live music Saturday night at Kentuck Art Center. Judges are introduced, and awards are announced

I just did the art fest in my birthplace and it is still an uncommon experience--for the better.

Mainsail is St. Petersburg's premier artfest.  This is now a town where downtown condos start in the low two millions.

I was born in the forties there.  It was a whole different town.

As Johnny Carson (I know, some of you are thinking, "Who is Johnny Carson?).

used to say,"St. Petersburg is God's waiting room.

In the day, forties, fifties, sixties, even seventies, almost eighties, it was an inexpensive town to retire to. A town blessed to be by two beautiful bodies of water. Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

Retirees flocked here.  It was affordable and the weather was perfect.

As Carson so sardonically observed, people sat on Green Benches-up and down downtown.

Early on,I observed a very important lesson about life.

I was going to my Little League practice, across town

We passed by Webbs City on our bikes, this was the fifties.

I looked at all the retirees sitting on the Green Benches.

I looked at my buddy Dave Pontious, who threw the most wicked curveball, ever, and said, "Dave, you notice there no big dogs standing there.  They are all wee little people."

An important lesson about life I learned at age 10.

And so, in the mid fifties, age 10, I became an entrepreneur.

At Christmas, I would gather holly berries, pine needles and cones and make them into wreathes.  I would board the bus from the south side, and for a nickel, ride downtown with my wreathes.

I would sell everything I had to all the retirees on the Green Benches.

Fuck, Johnny Carson, they were my nirvana.  I would come home with more than twenty bucks, in change. That bought a lot of baseball cards and bubblegum.

So now I live in Mellow Yellow New Smyrna Beach and I was returning home to Mainsail.

For crying out loud, Nels, were you ever tell us about the show.

Thought you would never ask.

Plus, I will tell you more useful information than you will ever find on any other social media.

So Here Goes.

HOW I LEARNED TO LIVE WITH WEAKEST CROWDS EVER AT MAINSAIL AND STILL COME HOME A WINNER!

Mainsail was cancelled 2020 and 2021.

People were rolled over.

I took my refund in 2020, so I was not  rolled over.

I juried and got in.  They added 50 extra booths, over 270 artists.

I figured with no show for two years, and people buying two million condos, they would be chomping at the bit.

I was woefully wrong.

First, some useful info about the show.

Most people never talk about this.

It is held at a treed, waterfront park with lots of bare dirt and some grassy areas.

Monthly, there are usually two to three events going on here.

The show had been cancelled, due to Covid, both 2020 and 2021.

This year they expanded it by adding 50 extra booths--totaling 270.

They give 12 foot square booth areas with booths in rows. Booths are back to back.  Rear storage can be tricky.

Setup is Friday afternoon.  The committee does not give out booth space numbers in advance.  Only Godknows why.  When you apply on Zapp you can request a specific booth, that is the only time.

They have reserved parking for artists.  The show is two days.

Here is some demographic info.

St. Petersburg has become a very hot destination.  Lots of young, very monied people moving here.  Downtown condos starting at $2 million and being snapped up.

Lots of great restaurants everywhere. SP is blessed to have two water locations.  Tampa Bay with Tampa 20 miles across.  Then the Gulf beaches. Both locations hotly sought after.

Kids on motorized skateboards, bikers everywhere, morning joggers by the hundreds, incessant traffic, hard to find parking spaces.  This town whirls and whirls.

Usually this show attracts multitudes of buyers looking to fill their condo walls and decorate with fine sculpture. In the past 30 years that I have exhibited here I have always done nearly $4K on Saturday.

Being a hometown product probably helps.  I have patrons who tell me about buying my images in the 1980s.

That said, this show was disappointing for the majority of exhibitors this year.

One, it was held on Easter weekend.  Never good.  Fewer buyers on Sunday.

Two it was warm and humid. 
Three,and most important, the crowds were way off both days.

Of course, there were a small percentage of exhibitors who had a five figure show.

But most were lucky to get to $4K.

You would think that having no show for two years,that they would be chomping at the bit. Not!

I saw very few Good Shoes people there.  I had almost zero conversations about a patron looking for a big piece for the living room or bedroom.

I sell mostly color photos printed on paper under glass, matted ones in print bins, and large metal images on aluminum.

My prices range from $40-$1200. I mostly sold framed 16x20 images at $200 each.

I sold about nine, then other sales were for small mats.  No interest in my larger images.

The crowds were very thin both days.  Usually by noon you cannot see across the aisle because of the crowds.  This time I could have thrown cinder blocks across and hit nobody.

Most people were just walking their dogs, no art in their hands.  It made for a very slow, boring show.  No great conversations.

Several artists I know said their sales have been going steadily down the last five years.

I concur.

Unfortunately, I think people just think of us as just another event like a blues fest or seafood fest. Art is not for most.  Too bad.

My main gripe with the committee is their lack of caring where the event is held.

Too many of us were on black dirt, not a blade of grass near.  This is very disrespectful to the artists. I know of no other show of this stature that allows this to happen

I do not think things will change.

So, if you come, now you know what awaits you.

Nobody else gives you a blog with this kind of info--Nobody!

July 23 & 24
Shelby Township, Michigan
4300 Main Park Road
Saturday & Sunday 10am-6pm
75 Artists
Deadline: April 24

The Stony Creek Art Fair is in a beautiful setting next to a lake. The large parking lot is within 100 feet. Close to large homes and wealthy patrons, this show should be good for most price points.  Stony Creek is a popular park in northern Oakland County near Rochester, Birmingham and other high-income cities. Millions of people visit the park annually. 

Last two days to apply for the mock jury on Zoom. Deadline is April 5th, though I'll probably be able to take submissions up until two hours before the jury which is to be held on Wednesday April 6th at 4PM eastern time. Tell all your artist friends. You can read the entry instructions on my web site and see how the images are going to be presented.
https://bermangraphics.com/blog/holding-a-mock-jury-on-zoom/

And don't forget my weekly Zoom meeting with artists every Tuesday at 4PM eastern time.
https://zoom.us/j/4338895789?pwd=NXFRME9JRFdMK3VDUEJhdHJ5T2daQT09
Meeting ID: 433 889 5789
Passcode: art-show

Anything art show related can be discussed.

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100