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Hi everyone,

I will be in my first art show this summer. 

Should I bring my certificates of authenticity to the show and give it to the buyer at the show? Or should I mail it to the buyer after the show? 

let me know what you think! 

thanks! 

Briana 

ArtBirmingham, the perennial favorite once known as the Birmingham Fine Art Festival, returned to Shain Park in downtown Birmingham, Michigan for the second season since the park was redone in 2011. The show is run by The Guild, by artists, for artists, and generally they did a fine job. Put on in conjunction with the Birmingham/Bloomfield Art Center, this show attracts well-heeled buyers from Birmingham, West Bloomfield and the surrounding communities.

Setup on Friday afternoon and evening is well-orchestrated and orderly. The folks in the middle of the park and near the bandshell get to come in first and then the folks on the surrounding streets. The layout is open, and somewhat spread out, so it's pretty easy to drive to your space (if you're on the street), or dolly if you're in the park.

Saturday morning was chilly, as predicted, and cloudy. It got up to about 58 degrees or so, and people did come out. Last year's show was moved to the weekend of Memorial Day, and attendance suffered as a result. This year, the show got moved back to Mother's Day weekend, largely due to the efforts of Annie VanGelderen, President of the BBAC, and Max Clayton, Director of the Guild. And the turnout seemed to reinforce that good decision.

I saw quite a few packages walking by, and a couple larger 2-D pieces wrapped in black plastic. But it was a tad cold, colder than normal for spring in Michigan. Frankly, I was surprised to see as many people as there were on Saturday. I sold a few pieces, one to a previous collector, and had some good conversations with others, considering a purchase. Others I talked to didn't do as well.

Sunday was a different story. With temps predicted to rise only to the mid-forties, and 50 being a far-off dream, Mother's Day turned up a much sparser crowd. The sun was out in the morning, and made brief appearances all afternoon. But overnight the wind had picked up, and took out at least four booths that I counted. One glass artist near the fountain had left work on shelves overnight, and much of it bit the dust during the evening hours. Another clay artist lost a shelf full of work with a loud crash heard round the world. Several artists packed up and left early, expecting the worst, or having tents unable to withstand the predicted 40mph wind gusts. And it was cold. Did I say it was cold? At opening, it was around 40 degrees. Brr, chilly.

By noon, there were people walking the streets. Many of them walked quickly, only stopping at the booths they wanted to see. A $20 bill blew down the street, and I trapped it under my foot. (If you lost a twenty, contact me off-line with the serial number, and I will return it to you). Sales for me were pretty slim. Had lots of browsers, but it was too damn cold to do much but shiver. Then it started to sleet. Nice round white pellets of graupel. We took down some of the art in the front of the booth, as it was getting peppered by the wind and the sleet. The snow stopped quickly, though, and the sun came out again. A few more people trickled in, but generally nobody bought in our neck of the woods. My booth was on Martin Street, at the corner of Bates, near a new four-story condo, and got the full effect of those forty mile an hour wind blasts. It was a struggle keeping the tent on the ground, even with 75 pound weights on each corner. The wind was blowing straight into the tent. We left the back door open to vent the pressure, and that helped some. It was a bit like sailing a 40 yacht on Lake St. Clair in a gale. We kept trimming the sails, and turning the boat, to keep from capsizing. The sun went away, and it sleeted again, briefly. We did the shiver dance. A few patrons blew by the booth. As the afternoon wore on, we wished for an end to the deep-freeze. At three o'clock Max Clayton came by, and said, "Only two more hours!" Thanks, Max!

Saw a few friends. Barry Bernstein dropped by. His new work is captivating. He said he tried Nels' trick of running out into the street, and holding patrons hostage till they produced a platinum Amex card, but that didn't seem to work. Doug Remien was there, with his beautiful nature landscapes. Bruce Reinfeld, another photographer, was kitty corner from me, and didn't seem to have the trouble with the wind. Stephen Huyser-Honig was down the street with another double, showing photographs of Michigan in the lee of the condo, and didn't have the wind issues either. My advice? Stay away from booth 030 if you are accepted into the show! Elissa Brown stopped by and introduced herself. She had on the most marvelous blue hat. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to see her mixed-media work. Next time, perhaps. The inspiration for the headline came from Elissa's blog, though.

All in all, the show was a success for many. The weather definitely played a role, but I heard from several artists that they had good sales. Our sales were up from last year. Others did not fare as well. It did seem to prove the point that bad weather won't keep the serious buyers away, but it did keep the traffic down. The dog walkers were definitely there though. Lots of dogs. And a few strollers. Would I go back? Yes. It's local for me, and traditionally the start of the Michigan show season. There are buyers to be found, and the buy/sell seems to have been eliminated from years past. It's a nice venue, parking is within a couple of blocks, and there are many fine restaurants in the area. With the support of the artist community, this show could once again become the jewel that it was years ago. Certainly the venue is lovely, and the move back to Mother's Day marks the start of spring and the show season in Michigan.

After pack-up, we celebrated the warmth with painter Diane Sicheneder and her husband Gary with tremendous margaritas and mole enchiladas at Miguels in Rochester. Two pitchers of margaritas later, we rolled home and into our warm beds.

Some of my earliest summer memories are of the time I spent with my family in Rehoboth Beach, DE, so I was happy to finally have a chance to do the 39th Annual Rehoboth Art League Members' Outdoor Show.  It's one that many of my Northern customers have been urging me to do for several years now.

It's a one-or two-weekend show (your choice), and although all Art League members can apply, you do have to be juried in.  (It's your choice whether to exhibit at one weekend or both.  If you're juried in, your choice in honored.)  Even cooler, those who choose to show both weekends can leave their tents up for the entire time.  Convenient!  You can't ask for a prettier setting (the RAL buildings are listed in the National Historic Register, and the terrain is surprisingly hilly and tastefully landscaped).

The locals are a mix of year-round residents (mostly retirees), seasonal visitors who live in surrounding Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, and other Delaware seashore communities, and short-term visitors from Pennsylvania, DC, and Maryland.  This isn't a day-tripper crowd; it's a sophisticated art show crowd that knows what they're viewing, come to buy, and are anxious to engage with the artists.  Many of them come year after year to visit and purchase at this show.  A well-organized shuttle runs patrons back and forth from the K-mart on busy Ocean Highway to the art show grounds, where they pay a $5 admission for the weekend. 

The show quality is outstanding, and leans heavily toward 2-D artists, although a few fine jewelers and other fine craftspersons exhibited, too.  Nary a buy-sell booth on the grounds, as near as I could tell. 

Setup was a Friday event, for the most part, although as a concession (one supposes) to locals who like to walk their dogs before and after work without a lot of hubbub, you couldn't arrive before 8:30 a.m. and you had to be off the grounds by 4:30.  You couldn't beat the artists' amenities:  Free coffee, fruit and pastries each morning, a tasty lunch delivered to your booth on schedule if you ordered it, and an artist dinner each Saturday night hosted by a local homeowner. Local residents volunteered their extra parking spaces (and several large lots) for artist parking. 

This isn't an inexpensive show to do, if you were selling. The RAL handles all transactions (flawlessly) and takes 25% off the top for their trouble.  Each artist gets a triplicate-form sales book.  When a purchase is made, the artist fills out the sales information and the buyers' name/address/email, their name and booth number, and then hands all three slips to the customer, who pays at their choice of several cashier locations, then returns with paid receipts in hand to pick up their artwork.  The League delivered Week 1 commission checks to each artist on Saturday of Week 2 if you were still around; otherwise they were mailed speedily.   Although I had never done a commission show before and had some trepidation going in, their system worked perfectly, and I enjoyed being freed up from having to handle sales transactions for a change. 

How were sales?  One of the best shows I've ever had:  Fourteen large Gallery Wraps sold over two weekends, and well over $6500 in revenue.  That'll pay for a couple of plane tickets to Florida, for sure.  And after a bleak-to-middling string of shows since I killed 'em at Mainsail in April, it was good to see lots of packages heading out the door. Best of all, I had a great time plugging into the local art scene and getting to know the local artists.  Good karma abounded:  I struck up a conversation with an illustrator across the green from me, and discovered that she was living in the same house (near Reading, PA) that I'd lived in when I was a 5-year-old.  (My old playroom is now her studio space.)  The odds on THAT ever happening are beyond what I know how to calculate!  She has promised me a house tour next month when I'm in that area again.  And I enjoyed a long reunion with my old photography partner, Kathleen Buckalew, with whom I teamed up 30 years ago for a photo tour of Ireland and Wales and a number of gallery exhibits thereafter.  We hadn't seen each other since 1987 when I moved to Denver!

As for this weekend: On to Seawall in Portsmouth, VA--another first-time show for me.  Let's hope the run of good karma continues.

First off, this is a long, grueling show, and a long grueling post. It's four days of beer, tattoos, loud music and sweaty people. It's been this way for a while, and doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is. It is an entertainment venue, with some artists tacked on at the lower end of the show. The organizers do their best to segregate the artists, ease the load-in and load-out, provide some relief from the heat with water and an air-conditioned break area. Free electricity for your fans, your lights, your charge machine. The porta-potties are clean, there are enough of them and they never fill up. The artists breakfast is decent. Lisa K gets up and sings "Oh What a Glorious Morning" for the umpteenth time. She has an okay voice. It's a Kumba-Ya moment. And they have an award for the hardest working artist assistant. More about that later. Communication could be a bit better -- the many volunteers and helpers don't always have the right answer when you need it, but they try their best to be helpful.

Crowds at Arts, Beats & Eats, Sunday afternoon

But the hundreds of thousands of people who come to this event by and large come for entertainment. There are several stages, with well-known headliners, and quite a bit of local talent represented as well. There are a ton of vendors up the street, including the Detroit News photo archive booth, and a local photographer selling wood plaques and coasters of the old train station on Bagley and the "Enjoy Detroit" sign. This year, the quality of the juried show was reportedly not as good as previous years. Since I didn't get to walk the entire show, I didn't see it, but I heard from others that there were buy/sell booths in the juried section. There were rays of sunlight amidst the clouds of cigarette smoke, though. Barry was there, suffering in the sun. Nels and Ellen were there. Nels told me that the organizers helped him get his booth set up (Donna's son, Blake helped with a lot of it), and they let Nels rest in the library on a cot if he felt weak. Bravo, Nels, for coming out for four long days in the heat and putting up with the b/s. I hope it was worth it for you in the end.

This is a show that doesn't pretend to be focused solely on the artists, but is very upfront about the whole experience. If you don't like it, don't sign up. It's very hard to sit (or stand) there while masses of ignorant people shuffle by and occasionally ask the expected questions. It's hard work to stay upbeat, and many artists didn't return after last year's show, including the Sterns, my friend Dave Piper, and others. I don't blame them. If I wasn't local, I would think harder about coming. But since I am local, I do get some synergy between this show, (where it's tough to close a sale when folks have to carry it around with them to see the Guess Who, or Morris Day), and Art & Apples (another show that has many problems). Offering to hold a purchase or to deliver later is helpful when closing a sale.

Parking is tough, but not impossible for patrons. Parking is forbidden in most of the surrounding neighborhoods. There are parking garages, but they fill up quickly. The artists get one pass for street parking at meters (primo spots), regardless of booth size. Some artists stretch this and park their trailer hitched to their truck, causing grief for others with a single vehicle. Others park in the wrong spot. There isn't enough parking around Royal Oak for the hordes, but people come anyway. Many patrons ride the shuttle from Royal Oak High School. It's tough to carry larger work on the bus. Smaller work and jewelers seemed to do ok. Harry Roa and Trisko both seemed to make sales, although it was work for them as well. Our booth neighbors were both jewelers: Kristen Perkins on the one side, with lovely glass leaves in jewel tones on handmade silver findings, and Barbara Sweet on the other with more ornate work.  My potter friend Scott from Grand Rapids did well with his functional lines. I saw lots of Alan Teger's small prints walking by, and I sold mostly out of the small print bin myself. 

Bottom line -- it is what it is. Unfortunately, they will never get rid of the buy/sell, the food vendors, the music. It's a spectacle, a carnival, a festival for the great unwashed masses to close out the summer. It is what it is. And it's fun for the crowds. At a time where there isn't a lot of fun to be had, this is spectacle at its finest, and doesn't cost much more than $15 to park, and $5 a head to get in the gate. Not counting beer, elephant ears, turkey legs and corndogs.

Arts Beats and Eats draws a crowd from the entire metro Detroit area. People that never ever go to another art show go to ABE. It draws over 250,000 people even if the weather is crappy. Perhaps a crowd that is not entirely ignorant about art, but one that cares more about tattoos and beer than good raku and competent sculpture. It is an opportunity to expose your art to a very large audience that is desperate for art and doesn't know it. If you are willing to suffer for your art you can make a difference here. And every once in a while, you might make a sale. It's painful. On the bright side, I do make a profit here. I looked at my sales figures for the past three years, and I've done about the same numbers each time. I think the Royal Oak location appeals to a broader spectrum of people across the metro area than the Pontiac location did, but it tends heavily towards lower class blue collar. 

Barry Bernstein, Karyn Kozo and Ginny Herzog at the artists breakfast

I really enjoyed hanging out with Barry for a few days. Lord knows we had enough time for that. Most afternoons it was hours between sales, and then they came in spurts. The people to sales ratio is quite high -- sometimes several hundred people passed by without a single package showing. I spoke with Nels and Ellen a couple of times. I ran into photographers Pat Whalen and Larry Humphrey, who braved the heat and the crowds. And I did make a marginal profit here, which is more than I can say for shows in Florida this year. Big shows like Fort Myers and Artigras which are equally difficult, but for different reasons.

A word about Donna Beaubien, the new show director. She has had good experience managing art fairs. She was involved with the original Birmingham Art Fair in Shain Park. She handled the Greektown Festival in downtown Detroit before it folded due to parking and street issues. She runs two nice little shows in the Village of Rochester Hills, and runs them competently. She is a genuinely nice person, and cares about artists. Her shows, while still having some artists of less than national quality, attract the locals, and people do sell there. I generally try to do her summer show, first week in August. The spring show is more prone to rainy weather. The booths line one side of the street, and both sides of two smaller spur streets. Booth fees are reasonable, hours are easy, parking is free, people come to the show to look and to buy. They are nice local shows.

This was Donna's first year with Arts, Beats & Eats. Connie Mettler of AFI recommended Donna after Connie decided to retire from ABE.  Donna is a very diplomatic person. She chooses her battles carefully, and tries to always keep the needs of the artists in the forefront. On the positive side of things, the load-in and load-out went very smoothly, somewhat improved from last year. They eliminated thirty artists from the east side of Seventh and the parking cul de sac over there. The Lincoln Ave booths were lower cost than the booths on Washington (the main drag), and there were less of them. The sponsor booths were moved out of the artist area. The gate security guards let people carry in water bottles this year. The Royal Oak police were extremely helpful when my trailer was blocked by a media van at the end of the show. All of this was an improvement over last year. Donna may have had at least a little to do about that. She is very organized and very pleasant to deal with. And very visible. She spent time in each and every artist's booth, not once, but several times during the show. Kudos to her for taking on a very tough job.

And finally, the awards. At the Sunday morning breakfast at Jimi's Restaurant, there are several awards handed out for artistic merit. A Best of Show, several Awards of Distinction, and some third place awards. And an award that goes to the hardest working assistant at the current show. One year it went to Donna's husband, Bill. Another year it went to James Greene, and last year, Ginny Herzog's granddaughter Casey won it. All well-deserved. The award consists of a battered old dolly, painted gold, with embellishments. Each assistant adds something to it, and hands it off at next year's show. This year, my wife and partner in crime, Karyn, won the Golden Dolly. You should have seen the look on her face when Donna went into the description of this year's winner. Karyn does not cotton to public attention. I had nothing to do with the award, though, so I survived with all my parts intact. And it does come with a small honorarium, which I'm sure will go towards shoes. The rest of the awards went to various artists, among them Steve Anderson for his metalwork, and Alan Teger for his black and white photography. Michael Stevens won for his jewelry. I forget the rest. Look it up on the interwebz.

The dolly with the Golden Dolly -- she earned it.

Will I do this show again? Yes, since it's close to home, and actually a lot more fun than Ann Arbor. If you go, you must eat breakfast at Jimi's on Washington. I'd like to see the quality of the juried artists improve, but that may not be possible, given the venue, the long hours, and the audience. Consider it for next year, cause Michigan can use all the good artists it can get. 

Haven't written a review for a while. ArtBirmingham has a long tradition to uphold, and used to be one of the finest shows in the country. It takes place in an upscale suburban community (Birmingham, Michigan), in and around a pleasant little park that was recently renovated. Booths are set-up in the park and on the sidewalks and surrounding streets. Approximately 180 artists from all over the country. The show is run by The Guild, best known for its flagship show, The Summer Ann Arbor Art Fair. 

The fair staff does a great job organizing the load-in and load-out. They are highly visible before, during and after the show. Aside from a few glitches in the layout, which was tweaked again this year, load-in is very smooth. Artists are assigned times, staggered by about two hours on Friday afternoon and evening. The artists in the park load in first, followed by those on the street. The show itself runs from 10-6 on Saturday and 10-5 on Sunday. Alan Bogl, Operations Director and Nicole McKay are both experienced vets, friendly, visible and helpful during the process. When I found that my corner spot wasn't really a corner spot, but only a wide spot in the road, Nicole came by to soothe my ruffled feathers, and those of my neighbor, Debra Springer. Both of us had counted on the extra visibility in designing a show-specific display, so we had to vamp a bit.

Saturday the rains came off and on all morning. Starting at about 10AM, we had brief showers throughout most of the afternoon. Still, there were a few buyers, dedicated souls who remembered the Birmingham Art Fair of old. One friend, a jeweler, had a couple very good sales in the rain. I managed to make a couple of sales myself, but generally, the crowd was light, and the buying was thin. Great if you're on a diet. The video below (shot Sunday) gives you an idea of the size of the crowd.

ArtBirmingham Ersatz Timelapse

Sunday: much the same, except the weather was gorgeous. A bit humid, but the sun came out, and the temps climbed into the upper 80's. We didn't get the awful humidity and temps in the 90's that were promised by the local forecasters, and the storms that bruised central Michigan missed us by about ten miles to the north. And there were fewer buyers on Sunday than there were on Saturday. I had basically zero sales, zero interest and a few browsers all day. Don't know where they went, but some theories postulate that the folks with money were opening up the summer cabin up north, working on the garden or out on the boat. It was not a good weekend for an art festival.

Load-out was pain-free. A bit of dollying for those around the fountain, but pretty much everyone was gone by 7:30.

This is a show that I would love to see gain its former stature as a "must-attend" in the community. Unfortunately, it seems as if the community has deserted it. Local support seems slim. Rumors abound regarding the silly requests made by the city of Birmingham and merchants. The Guild staff works hard to make this show successful, advertising in the local papers, radio stations and with social media. Still, it's not enough to draw the crowds anymore. There were many nationally known artists there, including Bob Trisko (jewelry), Jim Copeland from Atlanta (photography), our neighbor Merri Patinian (mixed media), RJ and PJ Commerford from Florida (mixed media 2D), Bob and Patti Stern (mixed media 3D), as well as a few stalwarts like our friend Barry Bernstein (raku pottery). Most artists were crying the blues, but managed to eke out expenses. I sure wish this show could reinvent itself. But this is not the weekend to do it.

To add to what David and David have already said about the spring Bayou City show, here are a couple of videos I shot during the festival.

Business cards were a hot item here. For many, it seemed as if the free handouts were all they could afford. I gave away many, many cards. I have them in two locations, one on my desk in the front of the booth, as shown in this video, and at the back, near the guest register. We must have given away at least 250 cards over the weekend. They have my QR code on them, as well as the standard URL. I haven't pulled stats from the last week yet, but it might be interesting to see how many hits the QR welcome page got after the show compared to the main home page.

There was performance art. In our section of the show, "Tree Guy" was very popular. A stilt walker in a very well made tree suit, he would wander around slowly and talk to the crowd. Some kids loved him, some kids were scared to death. He told jokes, bad jokes. In general, he stole the show whenever he was around.

There is lots to like about this show. Setup is easy, especially if you come on Wednesday, or early on Thursday. But the park path is narrow, and you have a limited amount of places to park. Big rig? Get there early, as I did. I was able to unload and get my truck and trailer parked in the back forty early on Wednesday. 

We lucked out on the weather. Tuesday it poured all day. Houston and the surrounding area got nearly 6 inches of rain. But it cleared out Wednesday morning, and by noon, skies were sunny and the weather was cool. It was a gorgeous weekend for Houstonites. Normally, if the heat doesn't kill you, the humidity will. But this weekend, there was neither. Highs in the low 80's and lots of shade in our section made for a comfortable show.

Layout is average. Some spots had good park area behind them, while others had none. The whole show site is fenced in to control the gate. They charge $12 admission for adults and teenagers, kids are free. So they have to fence it. It has a big perimeter, too. Since the rains soaked the park, and many trees died in last year's drought, the park itself was in sad shape. Lots of lakes, puddles and swamps. This was one show that definitely required mosquito repellent. Some folks had a slough across from the booth, or behind it. My friend Randy Kuntz and some of his neighbors went to Home Depot and bought 4x8' sheets of CDX plywood to cover the mud holes. It worked, but it wasn't pretty. As David Forster commented, there was a stub near the food tents with about 12-14 artists on it. Bad idea, sorry. Both David and his neighbor, Brian Miller, complained about the slow traffic there.

But, despite the crowds, sales were slow for many people. The crowds were mainly there for entertainment. I saw a lot of 2-D prints walking by, but mostly smaller in size. Friday was quite slow for me, with only a couple of small sales. Saturday was a bit better, but way down in comparison to the fall show downtown. Expecting Sunday to be better, I was disappointed in the quality of the crowd. Many more walkers and folks grabbing business cards without really looking at the work, or engaging at all. Talking to this crowd usually scared them off. I did have several good nibbles on the larger pieces, but the bee-backs did not come back. It's just too hard to get into the park.

One detriment to buying anything larger at this show was the logistics of getting it home. With only two gates into the park, and very little on-site parking, patrons either had to lug their art on a shuttle bus or ask the artist to deliver it. The show does offer shuttle service to a nearby mall, but there really is no place for the patrons to park here within a reasonable distance of the show. VIPs were able to park near the entrance, but that's about it.

Nha Vuu and her three-year old daughter, in Nha's sunny new double booth.

Bright points:

• Box lunch, at a reasonable price ($5), delivered to your booth. Pre-ordered, it's a real convenience, especially if you are on your own. 
• Lots of volunteers to watch your booth, if you needed a bathroom break. 
• And real flush toilets in a couple areas of the park. Rudimentary, but running water. Shower curtains instead of doors made for an interesting experience when reading the morning news.
• Lots of bottled water, snacks and really hideous canned tea, also handed out by the volunteers
• Great hot breakfast each morning near the food booths. A wonderful quiche on Friday, breakfast burritos on Saturday, and quiche again on Sunday. Weak coffee, juice, fruit, sweet rolls.
• Free parking on the back loop. But you had to get there before 8 AM each day to get through the main gate. The show opens at 10. So there's plenty of time to eat breakfast, stroll the mile-long perimeter and chat witcher friends, hit the head, open the booth. Very relaxed.

Needs improvement:

• The park is in sad shape. If this park were in Detroit, I'd be scared to death that crack dealers were lurking in the johns. Hence the shower curtains, I guess. Many trees were lost in last year's drought, and many more look poised to go. But the park itself doesn't look like it gets much maintenance. Piles of debris, many holes where trees once stood, vines twirling up the trunks of trees. Lovely cement picnic benches, but overgrown with moss. 
• The VIP party is on Sunday afternoon, in contrast to the Fall show, where it is on Saturday evening. While donating a piece gets you in, in practice, it's pretty tough to leave the booth to attend from 2-4. The food supposedly was terrific, but we never got up to the tent to see. 
• Crowds were there, but they didn't buy larger work. There's no patron pickup program, since it's impossible to get a golf cart around when the show is busy. Certainly the artists don't have the time to walk half a mile to Gate Two to drop off a piece. Delivery to the patrons home is the only real option at this show. And I'm sure it hurts sales for some artists, including me.
• Music on the main stage was too loud, and sometimes inappropriate for talking about art. While certainly cultural in nature, having modern dance performances, mariachi bands and the marching band detracts from the focus on art. I have the same complaint with our local show, "Art and Apples".

All in all, it's a nice show, and well-run. But sales weren't there for many people. Would I go back? It's a long, long drive to Houston, almost as long as the drive to the east coast of Florida. I'll have to think about it.

Postscript:

I took a couple of days off before heading home, and drove west into the Texas Hill Country. The bluebonnets were in full bloom, and I wanted to experience them first hand. I would have stayed longer if the weather would have cooperated, but a storm front was moving in. I had one good day. This shot is from the area north of Frederickburg known as the "Bluebonnet Trail".

"Field of Dreams" -- the ball field at the Crabapple Community Center.

Passably good weather, a pleasant venue, close to home. What more could an artist ask from a local show? Good sales would be a start. And FAATV, run by long-time artist and organizer Donna Beaubien, did not disappoint this past weekend. Hooray!

parkerparker booth -- Fine Art at the Village, August 2011

The show happens twice a year in the upscale Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills, near Oakland University, in the Village Shopping Plaza, a manufactured shopping development with winding streets and the usual mix of Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Parisian and some nice restaurants. Setup is easy, with booths along one side of the street, all facing west, and along two short spurs, where the booths face each other. The show is small, and easy to walk, so there really aren't any bad spots. I was up near the Chico's, with a double booth. Setup runs from 5:30 Friday night til as late as you need. Since we live close, we showed up around 6:30, after the vans and little vehicles have had a chance to get in and get unloaded. It took about 4 hours all told, from setting up the booth to hanging the art and turning on the lights. We closed up and went home to a late supper of fresh tomatoes and basil pasta with salmon. Yum. No tequila, though.

The show opens at 10AM on Saturday, and runs until dusk, 8PM. Saturday morning started out cloudy, but warm. There was rain in the forecast, but it didn't deter a few hardy souls from coming out and buying. Our neighbors, Arlene and Michael Parker, veteran jewelers, felt the crowds were down from previous shows, and it certainly seemed that way. There were people on the streets, but it was never crowded. At about 3, we had a good downpour, which cleared out almost everybody. It rained for about half an hour or so, and then the sun tried to make an appearance. People came back, and did a little more shopping, and then it rained a little more. But the shoppers who were out did seem to be buying. The alphabet letter photographer kept selling pieces, and I saw other small 2D art going by. I sold quite a few smaller prints, and a couple of framed pieces, and by the end of the day was pleasantly surprised at the total. Better than Glencoe, and better than Ann Arbor's grueling four day slog, even.

Sunday the show opens at a civilized 12PM, but people are out on the streets looking for bargains by 11AM. Many artists opened, and while there was traffic, it seemed as if there were more browsers. My sales were down from Saturday, but the forecasted rain seemed to hold off. It looked as if it would pass us by, until about 4:30, when we got a brief drencher. The show closes at six, so most of the tents had a least a chance of being packed up dry. We took our time, and finished up with a nice quiet dinner at Bravo at 8:30. While we weren't the last to pack up, the circus had mostly left town by 8.

The art at this show is a pleasant mix of local artists and out-of-towners. Rich Wood and Paul James, both local photographers, were there. Diane Sicheneder, a watercolor artist, took Best in Show. Bob Daly, a wood turner also won an honorable mention. Newcomer Natasha Frederickson was next to us with some intriguing metalwork. SuEllen DeLong was down the street from us, and there was no lack of nice jewelry. Sponsor booth were interwoven between groups of artists, mostly at the intersections, and included Marvin Windows, and some odd local chiropractor or some such. There's a good mix of work, from jewelry to painting, and I think Donna does a good job keeping out most of the riff-raff. While there were awards this year, there was no prize money. The money that would have been used for prizes goes towards local advertising, and it does bring folks over to the show. You can even get a Hunter House slider from the tiny truck parked in next to the kids playground. They are tasty, too. Good fries. For healthier fare, the Whole Foods at the end of the block has a full salad bar.

Me and Maggie Moo (that's me on the left)

All in all, we enjoy doing this show, partly because it's so low-key and easy to do. We get to sleep at home, we see some old friends, and we make some moola. Some years we sell better than others here, but we usually make a little profit regardless. If you're in the Michigan area already, put this on your list for next year, either the mid-May show, or the August version.

Cain Park is a beautiful festival in a beautiful, tranquil park setting. We did Cain Park a few years back, and decided to give it another try. It is usually the same weekend as Madison and Krasl, and some of the other biggies, but is more of a local show. It's a short drive for me (about 3 1/2 hours from the northern Detroit suburbs). It's an old-fashioned show, too, with an online application, but you still have to send in a check for the booth fee after the application is sent. If you're accepted, they'll cash the check for the booth, but they give you a couple of weeks ahead of time if you need to cancel due to other obligations. Pre-show information just includes a map to locate the show, a load-in time and some lodging information, with a cordial welcome letter. Booth information is withheld until your arrival at the park.

The venue is a jewel of a park, tucked away in a ravine in Cleveland Heights, with a beautiful amphitheater and winding pathways. After checking in, you are instructed to drive down one of several service drives down into the ravine. These paths are narrow, but most vehicles, including the 40' Dolphin motor-coach near us, made it down with only minor damage to the trees bordering the path. When it rains, these paths get slippery, too. More on the rain, later.

We had an early start, which is helpful, since we've got a 20' trailer in tow. The art show is divided into two sections, with the amphitheater in the middle. Food vendors are limited to areas above the concert stage, so they don't impinge on the art itself - a good decision. Most of the artists on the north side of the path have loads of space behind the booth, and can park their trailers right there, along with a vehicle. Bonus! It makes setup and tear-down a breeze, even with the bottlenecks on the narrow paths entering the park. Park staff is on hand to guide you in every step of the way, and they bring coffee and donuts right to your booth! If you need help setting up, they are there to help you with that, too, so if you need some assistance getting that canopy into the air, they will jump in and give you a hand. Can't say enough good things about the staff!

My spot was midway down the lower part of the path, right in the middle of the park. It was a bit sunny, with loads of room with 2 feet on either side. At 7:30AM, we were among the first to arrive. We took our time getting the tent up and saying our hellos to friends as they arrived. Chuck Wimmer, the wimmsickal drawer from Brecksville, was right across from us. Tony Eitharong, a painter from Orlando, was next door. Lots of photographers, including Jon Walton from Wisconsin, Craig Brabson, and Larry Berman, back on the show circuit after a long hiatus. RC Fulwiler and his wife Kim were just up the street from us. Randy and Jackie Kuntz were near the Lee Street entrance, where they made a killing selling his lovely blown glass flowers. Stevie Ray Baldauf and better half Anita were in a primo spot near the amphitheater, where he was able to spread out and take advantage of all that lovely grassy real estate.

Tony "No Pictures" Eitharong

The show opens at 3PM on Friday. Most everybody has ample time to get in, get set-up and get sweaty before they open the gate to the anxious patrons at 3PM. The show serves a light snack around 1PM, and by showtime, we are rarin' to go. A few people came trickling in. Friday is free, but Saturday and Sunday the show charges $5 to get in. When we did the show a few years back, they didn't have enough staff to take money at the back gate, and actually turned a few people away. Years ago, they didn't charge for the show, but times have changed. Now they've worked that out, and people can access the show from Superior Park, Lee Road, Alma, and Taylor Street. Interest is always good here, but sales are hard. I had a couple of sales, and some of our friends did well for opening night. I thought that there were quite a few browsers, maybe due to the fact that it was free on Friday.

RC and Kim Fulwiler

Saturday, the show runs from 10AM - 8PM. Three judges wandered by, and spent quality time with many of the artists. Sales were brisk, but not stellar. The morning started slowly, with cheery announcements over the park's PA system. George Kozmon, the show director, delights in urging patrons to spend money, and he is not shy about it. He has a great sense of humor. Both George and Honey Feinberg make a point to stop by and visit with every artist during the show. Cain Park is one of the most artist-centric festivals around today, and they are proud of their efforts. It shows in every detail. The people that come to the park are respectful of the artists. Most of them, anyway. There is a bit of haggling, but by and large, people are here to see art and buy art. Closing the sale is a bit harder, as Cleveland is suffering economic woes, much as the rest of the country. People are cautious, but I saw lots of work being carried away. 

The one and only, the incomparable Larry Berman

Sunday morning, the show puts on a nice brunch, with fruit and pastry, before herding everyone into the amphitheater for the awards presentation. After introductions of some of the key players, George and Honey hand out a dozen or so ribbons, with hugs and smiles all around. Ceramics artist Adam Egenolf, digital artist Chuck Wimmer and  photographer Craig Brabson were a few of the juror's choices this year. The show runs from 12 noon to 5PM. Again, it was hot and humid.  Bring a battery operated fan or two! At least it didn't rain. When it rains, it can turn this park into a muddy morass. We were here a few years back during a Saturday downpour. Some booths in the lower section were under a few inches of water, and later the grass turned to mud. The show staff is very good about managing the mess, but there is only so much that can be done. The ravine is the former watercourse of a small stream, which has been channeled underground. If it rains heavily, the storm drains can fill up, much to the dismay of the artists near them.

Having the trailer right behind the booth is awesome!

Sunday sales were a bit better than Saturday, for me. Some artists did well over the entire weekend. Some did better on Saturday. The more unique, the better at this show. In my opinion, the painters, glass artists, non-functional ceramics and unique items did better than functional ceramics, jewelry and photography. Purely empirical. I had a slightly better show than the last time I was here. There were lots of times when there were only a few people walking the paths. It was very, very hot and humid, and that might have had an impact on the number of people who came out for the show. It did seem as if there was less energy. Logistically, it's an easy show to do. The staff is super. George and Honey make you feel special. And the patrons love the show and the artists. It's well worth taking a look at this show, as an alternative to some of the bigger shows in the Midwest. 

Tony shows off his extra gallery space. Note big paintings on right leaning against my trailer, too. I charged him for that space.

Labor Day Weekend, September 2 - 4

St. Louis, Missouri

35th Annual Fall Art Fair at Queeny Park

sponsored by the Greater St. Louis Art Association

Queeny Park in West St. Louis County

120 artists

Deadline: July 5  

11 Important Facts:

• Our 35th Annual Fall Art fair
• Limited to approximately 120 artists
• This is an AIR-CONDITIONED INDOOR ART FAIR. You don't need to worry about the weather, tents or security.
• Jury/Booth Fees ($25/$200);  FREE ELECTRICITY available for every booth at no additional charge)
• Cash awards totaling $4,500
• Booth sitters, 24-HOUR SECURITY. Rest easy knowing your booth is safely locked up at night.
• Excellent marketing campaign, including newspaper, magazine, television and radio advertising, internet and e-mail promotion
• Promotional postcards, business cards and coupons are provided free to exhibiting artists.
• Live music throughout the art fair
• Wine Tasting Friday and Saturday Evenings
• Interactive art program on Sunday afternoon to encourage families with youngsters to meet the artists

For more than thirty five years the Greater St. Louis Art Association (http://www.gslaa.or) has been providing opportunities for the public to see and purchase original works of fine art and fine craft directly from the artists who create them.

Every year we produce two juried art shows (Spring and Labor Day Weekend).  Artists in all media are encouraged to apply. These shows feature juried local, regional and national artists' original work. From the pool of artists applying, about 120 artists from all over the US and Canada are invited to exhibit. These artists are selected by a professional jury process in eleven distinct media categories.

Both shows are presented in the indoor, air-conditioned setting of the Greensfelder Recreation Complex at Queeny Park in west St. Louis County. Food and refreshments are available on-site, parking for the public and artists is free.  Live music playing during wine tasting and peak attendance.  During Sunday afternoon, an interactive children's art education program encourages families with youngsters to meet and talk with artists and learn about their work.

For detailed information and to apply go to:

http://www.gslaa.org/GSL_festivals.htm 

You may also contact:

Vic Barr, GSLAA President, 314 997-1181 vicbarr@sbcglobal.net 

What: 35th Annual Spring Art Fair at Queeny Park sponsored 
by the Greater St. Louis Art Association
Where: Queeny Park in West St. Louis County
When:
     April 8th through 10th, 2011
     Friday,    April 8th, 6PM -9PM
     Saturday,    April 9th, 10AM - 7PM
     Sunday,    April 10th, 11AM - 4PM
 Artist's entry deadline:  January 15, 2011 (postmarked)


For more than thirty five years the Greater St. Louis Art Association (http://www.gslaa.org) has been providing opportunities for the public to see and purchase original works of fine art and fine craft directly from the artists who create them.

The Art fair at Queeny Park is presented in the indoor, air-conditioned setting of the Greensfelder Recreation Complex at Queeny Park in west St. Louis County. Food and refreshments are available on site, parking for the public and artists is free.  Live music playing during wine tasting and peek attendance.  During Sunday afternoon, an interactive children's art education program encourages families with youngsters to meet and talk with artists and learn about their work.

Every year we produce two juried art shows (Spring and Labor Day Weekend).  Artists in all media are encouraged to apply. These shows feature juried local, regional and national artists' original work. From the pool of artists applying, about 110 artists from all over the US and Canada are invited to exhibit. These artists are selected by a professional jury process in eleven distinct media categories.

Highlights:

• Our 35th Annual Spring Art fair     
• Limited to approximately 110 artists     
• This is an AIR-CONDITIONED INDOOR ART FAIR. You don't need to worry about the weather, tents or security    
• Jury/Booth Fees ($25/$200; (FREE ELECTRICITY available for every booth at no additional charge)      
• Cash awards totaling $4,500     
• Booth sitters, 24-HOUR SECURITY. Rest easy knowing your booth is safely locked up at night. 
  
• Excellent marketing campaign, including newspaper, magazine and radio advertising, internet and e-mail promotion
• Promotional postcards, business cards and coupons provided free to exhibiting artists
• Live music throughout the art fair
• Wine Tasting Friday and Saturday Evenings
• Interactive art program on Sunday afternoon to encourage families with youngsters to meet the artists.

Important dates:

Artist's entry deadline: January 15, 2011 (postmarked)
Notification date: February 20, 2011
Booth Fee Due: February 28, 2011

Detailed information and to apply at: http://www.gslaa.org/GSL_festivals.htm

You may also contact:
Vic Barr, GSLAA President
314 997-1181
vicbarr@sbcglobal.net

In an apparent attempt to boost artist participation at this 3rd-year show, promoter Howard Alan lowered the fine-artist booth fee to $250 and invited crafters as well.  And the weather was sunny/partly cloudy and warm, with a refreshing breeze all weekend. 

Unfortunately, those things didn't help: there were only 90 booths this year, compared with about 100 in 2010 (according to my 2010 notes).  And whereas the show was crowded with patrons in 2010 despite chilly weather, there was a drastic downturn in attendance this weekend--my neighbor and I, both centrally located in the show layout, guesstimated not over 5,000.

Wha' happened?  The Naples New Year show on 5th Ave. was only 35 minutes' drive away, and many patrons I spoke with had also visited that show (which used to be Alan's, but is now run by the Naples Art Association).  They told me that the Naples crowds were wall-to-wall.  I'm not sure about the sales.  In addition, Alan's flagship Las Olas show occurred this weekend in Ft. Lauderdale (and reportedly was packed, as well). 

Sales-wise, Bell Tower proved (for the 3rd straight year) to be a 'Sunday show': I doubled my Saturday sales total and escaped with a $750 beating (down 30% from last year). That's OK only because I live less then 10 minutes away, and the show's a great opportunity to promote my classes and workshops and do home-town networking.  My neighbor, who sells clever, beautifully painted metal wall hangings, sold four pieces at price points in the mid-hundreds and up, and was pleased.  Another neighbor, who sold silk designer clothing at moderate price points, struggled, as did a nearby fine jeweler.  Most of the 2-D artists I spoke with were unhappy or, at best, resigned.     Bottom line: I wish it were otherwise, because Ft. Myers needs and deserves a fine show other than February's "ArtFest", but based on what I saw this weekend, it looks like the Bell Tower show isn't gaining traction in the marketplace. 

It would be great if some artists who participated in Las Olas and, especially, Naples, would weigh in to give their results and perspective.

July 23 & 24
Geneva, Illinois
175 Artists
Application Deadline: February 1

Geneva, a chic and charming historic town located on the Fox River, will celebrate it's tenth annual Fine Arts Fair in 2011.

Presented by the Chamber of Commerce, the show is tucked along shady streets among 100+ specialty shops located in Victorian-style homes and century-old buildings.  A "hands on" kids art area, awards for emerging and seasoned artists along with warm small-town hospitality, offer a picture-postcard setting for this juried art celebration.

Note: Prints, photography, digital art and computer generated art: Prints must be produced by traditional printmaking techniques.  The only medium where Giclee (ink jet) prints are allowed is digital photography and computer generated art work.  All artists applying to either print, photography or computer generated art must submit a brief description of creative process from start to finish.

Emerging artists are required to fill out and abide by the same rules as professional artists.  However the jury fee is waived and if accepted the emerging artists space fee is $100.  Please note: emerging artists are considered those artists who have never paid for a booth space at a fine art or craft fair.  Each accepted emerging artist will receive one "wall" to display artwork on that is approximately 6 foot high by 8 foot long.  3-d artists will need to supply their own pedestals.  A limited number of photography spaces are available.

Festival Facts:
     Jury Fee: $20
     Booth Fee: $280
     Checks payable to: Geneva Chamber of Commerce
     No prints allowed
     Ribbon Awards: $4,000
     Attendance: 20,000

For additional information please contact: Erin Melloy - 630-536-8416

emelloy@emevents.com or visit www.emevents.com
Please mail application and checks to:
EM Events Ilc, P.O. Box 4332, Naperville, IL 60567

The smiling, well-dressed lady in the bright blue bib strode into my booth, extended her hand, and said: "Hi, I'm Sharon.  I'm a Rotarian.  How can I serve you today?"

A Dr. Seuss couplet begins to spring to mind, but never mind that: Let's talk about this long-running show, held at the Venice Municipal Airport about 2 hours north of the Bonita Springs show. 

This local event with the hometown-y feel has been running for years, and deserves to.  Venice is a long-established town along Florida's Gulf coast, about a half-hour south of Sarasota. It's well known for its casual charm, beautiful beach, relaxed atmosphere, and an established working art community.  The Rotarians take over the outskirts of this active airport, just off the easternmost runway, and bring in artists, crafters, a rock band or two, an antique car show, and a smattering of food vendors to make a nice weekend for the show's dedicated followers.  Sharon the Rotarian was just one of the group's members who devote months and months of planning, and they do a fine job.

Logistics are a snap: You can check in on Friday, park right behind your booth location, and set up from there...a no-dolly weekend, nice!

And yet, there are challenges.  The crowd is unfailingly friendly, but it is an older one, much like the Rotarian membership itself, and not buying as much art as it did in the past.  I overheard the show director commenting that although the show is juried, nearly everyone who applied got in because the number of applications has been declining.  Accordingly, there was lots of low-end craft, bead-kit jewelry and other buy-sell, and "art on a stick". 

Although quality, sales and crowd size aren't by any stretch in a league with Barry Witt's Bonita behemoth, you can have a decent weekend here at minimal cost: Booth fee is about $235, and if you have a camper or RV you can stay overnight right behind your booth (though I commuted from my home in S. Fort Myers).  There's a decent artist dinner on Saturday night with free beer and wine, breakfast both mornings, booth sitting by the likes of Sharon the Rotarian on request, and a crowd that enjoys and buys. The Rotarians even grant awards in multiple categories (first place is $250), plus a best in show ($500). 

I made about 5x my booth fee plus the blue ribbon for photography, against expenses that were otherwise limited to a tankful of gas and a couple of bucks for the coffee vendor.  Not a bad way to spend a weekend if you weren't in Bonita.

This would be an EXCELLENT show for a less-experienced artist/crafter to "get their feet wet," with lots of experienced veterans around to learn from. 

And if you're one of the artists who complain that there's a dearth of community-run shows that love what they're doing and care about the artists, put this one on your list for 2012.  The Rotarians work hard to serve up a slice of the "good old days," and they deserve our support. 

We traveled to Purdue country, the home of the Boilermakers and the setting for the Round The Fountain Art Fair. It was the 37th year for this 1 day event and my second year participating.

The event is held in the center of Lafayette around a grand old courthouse (pictured here). Most of the artist's booths (75%) line the sidewalks that circle the perimeter of the courthouse and the remaining artists setup on the courtyard inside perimeter walls (yes, there is a fountain on one of the corners of the courtyard...not humongous.). Setup is the Friday evening before but only after 6PM. There is little coordination; mostly artists are left to their own good manners. From a sales perspective, this setup works fairly well; there is a small enough number of artists that everyone is visited. However, as an artist it is much easier setting up on the street since you must dolly everything into the courtyard from only a few entry points (a wall circles the courtyard).

Nearly 100 artists participated and the quality of the art work was good. The selection jury did a good job screening. The show offers few amenities: no security, no booth sitters, no water, there were coupons for a free cup of coffee at a nearby cafe. Parking is limited to a garage so trucks and trailers are on their own. They did have artist awards (several) and they did produce a nice brochure that is freely distributed to patrons by a team of volunteers. The amenities are not a big deal for me, keep the focus on marketing. That said, I think Friday night security is kinda basic and not all that costly. As artists, we all hung our wares and hoped for the best. I didn't hear of any thievery.

OK, the bottom line, How was the show? This is a solid little show and sales were good though maybe a little down for some (this is based on my very scientific survey of "So how ya doing?"). The weather was hot, high 80's, and most of the crowd came out to buy in the morning. By 1PM I could hear the crowd crying "We're melting, we're melting." and sure enough they did. Those few hours in the morning were great for sales! Sales at this show were interesting for me ... I sold a few of my most expensive framed items and many, many of my smallest items. Very few sales in the middle. Sales were either high or low. As the show was finishing, I had matched the exact number of items sold and total gross dollar amount to nearly the dollar from last year. But then ...in the last 5 minutes of the show, I made a custom sale of my largest piece... whoo-hoo, a great way to end the day.

Places for improvement: If there's an area that the show needs improvement on, it's communication with artists. The phone number was removed from the web site and was not published in any information package. Everyone was required to communicate via email. This would be fine if there was a response to emails... only cyber-silence. Many artist expressed frustration about this. Here's the show number for future reference: 765-491-6298

The jurying seems to work. Five images of your work and a booth image is required. They use a homegrown system and image size is limited to 400 pixels. That's rather small for viewing details. The jury image is about as large as the image I posted above.

Overall, this is a good show and I do recommend it. The community supports it, booth fee is low, layout is good, but you just need to know that there are not a lot of amenities.

Cheers,

“I’m really into lilies right now and hermaphrodites,” says Peregrine, like a 3-year-old turned artist, describing herself.

November 11-14 & November 18-21
Apply Today!
150 spaces
Application Deadline - July 2

1. Located in a new highly desirable location on 34th Street at 5th Avenue across from the Empire State Building and a block from Herald Square- 7W New York gives shoppers access to some of New York's best restaurants, hotels, entertainment, with convenient access to public transportation.
   
2. With only 150 spots available each weekend, this show is sure to be the best of the best!
3. Our extensive booth package is like no other show. We provide gallery like space that includes hard walls painted white walls, carpet, free drayage, booth signage and extensive marketing.
4. Unique Exhibiting Options:
   We invite juried artists to exhibit with us for 4 days
   Option 1: November 11-14
   Option 2: November 18-21
   We invite juried artists to exhibit with us for 8 days
   Option 3: BOTH weekends!
5. We work hard to promote you, the artist. Our promotion begins the minute you contract with the inclusion of your images and contact information in our online artist locator, which links to your website and lists your contact information. We provide complimentary show passes, full color brochures and VIP passes for your individual distribution! Exhibiting artists will be featured in an extensive online campaign and through our aggressive PR efforts.

2009 Artists Talk Shop:

Or, apply right now: www.zapplication.org