At long last, I'm back in the saddle after a bad back forced me to scuttle a scheduled show in Bethany Beach a month ago and then kept the kayak in the garage during a planned 2.5-week "staycation" back in Ft. Myers. I used the time to reload four shows' worth of inventory and ship it all to my rental home in Cape May County, then hopped a non-stop flight on Spirit Airlines, ready to sell 'em all...or at least a lot of 'em...while I photographed the fall bird migration along my beloved South Jersey Coastline.
Well, not so fast, cowboy. My first stop, The Wheaton Festival of Fine Craft, is as well-organized as any show you'll find, with friendly volunteers, well-orchestrated load-in/out, a beautiful 65-acre, tree-lined setting on the grounds of the WheatonArts Center, and a solid following among arts lovers. The site is home to the Museum of American Glass, the Creative Glass Center of America International Fellowship Program, the largest folklife center in New Jersey, a hot glass studio, several traditional craft studios, five museum stores, a 13,000 sq. ft. Event Center and a beautiful pond-side picnic grove. The center bills itself as "the soul of American craft and art." And their marketing program and mail list is top-notch.
So what could go wrong?
Well, in what seems to be a recurrent theme this season, it was the weather. A beautiful, summer-like Saturday with steady crowds was scuttled by the cold front that whipped through Saturday night to drop a half-inch of rain and chill the temperatures by 25 degrees. So Sunday turned out to be a fireplace-and-football kinda day for Philadelphia area residents, leaving artists to (mostly) talk amongst themselves. The 40 or so artists who displayed in one of the indoor venues, or under the ultra-long canopy outside, fared somewhat better, but even those crowds were way off from Saturday.
I wound up selling only slightly more than I sold at the previous weekend's "Margate Fun Fest", which was a popular community event for the family and kiddos, but makes no pretense of being a serious art show.
So Wheaton wound up 'way below my sales expectations, and it can't all be explained away by the weather. (I sold nearly as much on Sunday as Saturday.) So wha' happened?
First off, the quality of work was excellent, but as the show name suggests, it's heavily skewed toward fine CRAFT, not fine art (of the 2-D variety). Of the 125 artists, the show's beautifully designed, full color program listed only three fine artists and seven photographers, compared with 16 clay artists, 16 fiber artists, nine artists working in glass, 15 woodworkers, and 10 clothing designers. Jewelry (29) was the most heavily represented, by far--but nearly all that I saw was beautifully made. I had lots of time, unfortunately, to walk the show on Sunday, and I saw very little work that didn't belong at a high-end festival. But, many of the folks who strolled the grounds on Saturday were carrying crafts, not 2-D work. "If you're a 2-D artist, you'll build a following here over time," a ten-year veteran of the show told me.
There were plenty of savvy buyers who came in to meet me on Saturday, but they were making bee-lines for the browse bins of 16x20s and 11x14s, not my wall canvases. Another wildlife photographer friend who sells only canvases and notecards (no matted prints at all) said that his sales came almost entirely from ultra-small (8x10, 11x14) canvases, not his larger ones. One of the fine artists next to me had a "working display tent" set up next to her usual gallery tent, and she cleverly carved out a survivor's take by selling her demo 8x10 prints for $10-20. But she didn't sell any larger works, which were sized and priced similarly to mine.
(Photo, right: Saturday crowds)
The jewelers I talked with did OK "considering it was pretty much a one-day show", as one put it.
All in all, this is clearly an event run by folks who know what they're doing, and they obviously enjoy a lot of community support. Bottom line, I can't hold the weather against them. If you're a fine craftsperson within a day's drive of this show, I'd put this one on your list for 2013. If you're a 2-D artist, I'd consider it, too...but come prepared with smaller, less expensive work and plan your first year as a "seed investment" for the future.
(Photo, left: Late morning on Sunday)
Comments
Geoff, hope you back is as good as new. Back problems sure can be a pain. Thanks for your review.
No question about it, Connie. While I was in Cape May Co. I worked out an agreement to be a working artist-in-residence at a local well known wildlife refuge, and we'll be working on creating a marketing opportunity (read: one-person show) at the best gallery in town.
We never did many shows south of DC in the East, but the shows we did do in the East, Sugarloaf shows in Maryland mostly, Frederick, some nice ones in New Jersey, Boston, etc., there was always just much more craft. It is a regional thing. In the Midwest "craft show" means loving hands and sold in the school gym, but in the East "craft show" can mean fine craft and quite a different looking show. There are many fewer outlets for 2D work in the East and many small business types of craft producers, people who also wholesale. When we took our photos East we always knew we were in the minority and the sales were never as good because of the "expectation" as you said.
But you have regional work. I'd think you'd be able to build a following. Because, after all, don't you want to hang out in Cape May?
Hi Connie: Yes it was Wheaton Arts Center. And yes, fine craft nearly always SELLS better than 2D...but what I was pointing to (and perhaps didn't make clear) is that there was also something like "visitor expectation or "visitor paradigm" at work.
For example, at most arts & crafts fairs I do, people will buy more craft than art, but their EXPECTATION is that they'll be able to choose from both. At Wheaton, I think there was an element of surprise when folks saw my work, almost as if they weren't expecting to SEE 2-D. This was the context for the show veterans who said, "Your work will sell once you build a following."
Thanks for this thorough review, Geoff. (Btw, loved the "shadows" on the images that you added, a trick I haven't learned). Exactly how many people were there, what their media was, etc., is great to know and can help others make a decision. Who organized the show? Was it the Wheaton Arts Center?
I am not surprised at your surmise that fine craft did better than 2D. Honestly, I think this happens everywhere. If something is functional and lovely it is going to almost always beat out something (even something wonderful) that will be hung on the wall. It's just the way things are.
Jacquelyn, I appreciate your kind comments on my work. But I know Warren isn't attacking my work personally; he just has issues with the process of digital photography.
Anyone who wishes to continue THAT debate is welcome to start another thread. But this thread isn't the place for it. Let's get back to comments and questions about the Wheaton Arts show, please.
Maybe "add new inventory" would have been more accurate, Warren...and more soothing in your case.
At any rate, I (like many photographers) bust my ass shooting during the week while on the road doing shows, so that we can create work that will appeal to local markets. We don't have the "luxury" of creating it in a studio, like many artists can. But you don't hear us ripping other artists about that.
It's honest work, Warren, just like yours.
Well Geoff, it is less costly to ship 4 shows worth as a photographer than perhaps a glass artist. Just sayin'
Just for the record, while I was back in Florida I "reloaded inventory" with 18 new images, all shot in Delaware, Virginia, and New Jersey during my stay there in August. After I printed and matted them, I shipped them north so that I would have local and regional work available to my Northern customers while I'm doing shows in September and October. So I understand your premise, Warren, but it isn't relevant in this case.
Warren, it's a tough job but someone has to do it.
Actually what needs to be considered is the front end work for new pieces. That involves much time planning, traveling, shooting, culling through numerous images, post processing of each image to whip it into shape, multiple printing to fine tune the image, and finally you have an archived final image. Then you start the printing process, matte cuting, framing, and all the other little details. It's not an instant process. There are many of my own images that have several man days cumulative work in them. Yeah, once all that's done, it's nice to hit the button and get multiple prints, but that's at the end of the trail.
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