Blog

and it's a tie!

Congrats to Barbara Bloom for stirring up a lot of helpful information from artists young and old for her post, How do you Handle the Fluctuation of Income in your Art Business? Look at the discussion and check out some of the links added to help you navigate this very tricky terrain.

and R.C. Fulwiler (who had two posts in the running) for Something to Think About, which has garnered (so far) 2924 views on this site alone and five pages of comments.

Here is something else to think about:

R. C. also was chosen to receive the Community Leader award for his contributions to AFI.

Thanks to Barbara, R. C., Nels Johnson, Alicia Eskanos and everyone else who contributed to the site in January.

We had a good run of information in July this year. Scott Pakulski kept us abreast of happenings in his corner of the Midwest, including Toledo, Plymouth (MI) and his first year at Ann Arbor. Marge Luttrell got a good discussion going on the big CPFA in State College, PA. Sandhi Schimmel Gold shared the heartbreaking news of a fellow artist's tragedy and Jacki Bilsborrow shared a cops and robbers exploit.

Maryllis Wolfgang and Barrie Lynn Bryant were chosen to receive the coveted Red Dot on their profile for all their contributions to the site. Everyone, please join me in thanking all these people who keep AFI alive and well and bringing you the art fair news.

Deadline: 7/13/14 midnight

Many thanks to Karen Holtkamp, Kathleen Caid, Mark Loeb and Carrie Jacobson who shared helpful info on AFI in June that led to good discussions.

Please vote now to determine who will win AFI's coveted "Post of the Month."

Let's give these people a round of applause. They keep the discussion flowing on the site, keep you coming back for more, teach you a lot, give you some good laughs, etc. It's a COMMUNITY! Woo hoo!

Which one did you like the best?

• Kathy Oda's Show Review: St. Petersburg Fine Art Festival 2/4
• Barry Bernstein's tour de force 3 Part Series: Barry Goes Back to College-Life in the Twilight Zone 2/10
• Nels Johnson's nostalgia trip across Florida: Artigras: Some New & Old Thoughts for 2014  2/20
• Mary Johnston's Florida vacation that included 2 shows: Boca Raton Museum Show & Sanibel 2/24 

Click here to take survey

Deadline: March 11 - 6 pm

Deadline: February 14 - 6 pm ET

What was the best content on AFI in January?

• Carol Knox - "Mock Jury - St. Louis", Jan. 27
• Lori Kay - "Bye bye Suncoast "art" festival", Jan. 21
• Amy Fletcher - "Callanwolde: Has this ever happened to anyone else-juried in and then bumped?", Jan. 18
• Melanie Rolfes - "Las Olas Part I. 2014", Jan. 6
• Nels Johnson - "A Pirate Looks at 68", a 3 part series, Dec. 31-Jan. 2

Who was the best community member who shared generously and you could count on to help you out?

• Greg Little
• Karole Bowlds
• Jacki Bilsborrow
• Geoff Coe
• Larry Berman
• Karen Holtkamp
• Other

Vote here: Click here to take survey

 It will only take 15 seconds!

Congratulations to Alison Thomas, Michelle Monet and Warren Townsend -- all nominated from the AFI community as community leaders this month.

AFI continues to grow thanks to everyone's friendly participation and these three people are long time members contributing photos, advice, discussions, blog posts and so much helpful information that has helped a lot of you and kept you entertained along the way.

Michelle has been a member since March 2009 and asks great questions that bring out answers from others. Alison has been sharing her varied experiences (and using photos to prove her points) here since September 2009 and Warren has been lambasting, complaining and questioning everyone's sanity on the site since May 2009.

They join the illustrious group of "Community Leaders" recognized here: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/page/featured-members

Without participation we wouldn't have a community. Thanks Alison, Michelle and Warren!

Double congrats to Warren, winner of the best blog post for October, "Wake Up!", a solid assessment of the state of the economy at the art fairs. Thanks, Warren.