This week, it appears as sales of my photography will be great. The good sales did get me thinking – if I can achieve this type of sales in the future, should I quit doing art fairs?
After debating this question with myself, the answer is a most definite NO. Art fairs are one heck of a lot of work, the hours and long and exhausting, sales are a game of chance and a strong potential exists for a negative profit. But, art fairs provide about my only chance to see how others react to my images, view what images grab attention and to talk to potential customers. As my primary reason for selling images is because I am passionate about my art and to have fun, I need the art fairs to see if I am communicating with the public and the impact of my images and what images.
I also enjoy just interacting with the public, seeing what other artists are doing and building relationships. Art fairs have also provided me with additional opportunities to sell my work from contacts established.
If I can establish good sales through methods other than art fairs, I may reduce the number of art fairs that I do but I will not cease doing them.
Comments
I live in St. Louis and only do local shows - should be 8-10 this year. My best for last year were Art in the Park, a one day event and strangly a 5 hour event that cost $20 in Webster Groves.
My worse show was fairview Heights in Illinois - in the past it was one of the best shows and in the past one had to be a group winner at another show to be accepted. Things change.
Thanks for sharing your good show news with us. We like to hear about good shows here. What show did you just do? I am sure others would like to know that.
How many shows do you do a year Charles?
Last year, received the following message at a show "Major storm coming, you have less than 30 minutes to tear down". Oh what an adrenlin rush. Oh, what fun.
This is the model which I am working toward. I love talking to people and engaging with them around my work. If there were some magic genie who would go and do all of my setup and breakdown and guarantee me good weather,I would do a show every weekend . Reality being so much different, I find that I would rather put my time and money into building my business mostly online, out of my studio and local galleries. I will still do a few shows a year.
Thanks Margaret, good info.
Everyone who has ever done shows gets stung once in a while, nature of the beast. Even shows that are advertised on Zapp and JAS can be duds. I subscribed to Greg Lawlers Sourcebook last year and that was helpful in deciding what shows were particularly good for what mediums. It was broken down really well. I do contemporary work and I need to get to shows that bring in crowds that particularly like that type of art. Lots of great stuff here on AFI of course, but you need to match the medium with the show. When someone on AFI writes a great review you need to be aware that their buying base (based on the medium) might be much different than yours. Don't give up...just get more savvy about your choices.
I am just getting starting at this game of art fairs. I went to 2 shows here in Dallas and sold nothing. At this point I paint huge flowers and get huge praise but no sales. No one sold a thing at these two shows, which told me the shows were bad with very little turn out. Now I am not sure how to choose an art fair.
I am doing sales at art fairs, galleries and exhibitions. Other than art fairs, I have absolutely no idea of how many people view at my work, what pieces do they gravitate to and I have no ability to engage in dialogue on what thely like/dislike. This feedback is invaluable.
Although I hope to make some additional money to supplement my meger retirement income, making money is not the primary reason to doing art - although my sales are ok, on an hourly pay basis, I most likely could make more money as a greeter at Walmart. I most likely give away more than I sell but my issue with giving away my work is that I do not know if it is appreciated or if they are only taking it to be kind. Knowing that people are willing to pay good money provides me with reinforcement that it is well liked. Art fairs provide an opportunity to compare my selling prices with others and to gauge if my price points are correct.
It has been said that a photograph captures the soul of the subject, I believe that by showing ones art, one is also baring ones soul for all to see. To do an art fair, is similiar to standing nude in public, nothing is hidden and it takes a degree of courage to view the reactions.
I know what you mean Charles. I just did my first show of the year in Florida last week, and although it wasn't a cash cow, it was nice to interact with the public. Robin, there is no better way to gauge how your work is doing than to get out there and see how the populance reacts. I have spent the last three months working on a series of work based off astronomy and myth and I am not sure if all my time was worthwhile. Although I sold one big piece of the series, they just didn't get the reaction I was hoping for. At least I know and can adjust things. Saying that, I also have to remember that Florida is a "mature" market and pretty traditional and these are anything but. Plus, I have come to figure that encaustics is a hard sell in Florida except for the really big shows such as Coconut Grove and Winter Park, because the fair goers are a bit more open and educated to newer genres there. Still, I love it. I just turned down a teaching position for the next five years to teach at a private school in Switzerland because I love doing my work here. Crazy...yea, I know I am. But I was a teacher for a long time and now is my time to be an artist and as exhausting as it is...the juxtaposition of quiet time in my studio and the crazies of setting up and talking to the public is what i really enjoy.
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