Ive been waitlisted at the big ones, bayou, woodlands. Are there any other decent shows for painters in texas or nearby in the spring. I'm either leaving florida to go to texas in late march for bayou city if i get in, or april then to the midwest for the summer. I travel full time so I'm flexible. I've applied to many, but havent gotten a good schedule sorted out as of yet.
So ya, looking for some recommendations, I havent done any in texas yet.
good (5)
Hi Friends.....Here is my review of The Main Street Festival in Franklin, TN. It is a good review and one caveat...I was awarded first place, so I might be a bit biased and still very thrilled; this is my first first place award ever.
I arrrived Friday evening and checked in with show director, Rene Evans and her staff. They are all very nice people and very helpful. We had to wait until 10pm to begin setting up unless the cars were moved from the area where the booth was. The police were closing the streets at 10 and I got lucky and my booth area was clear by 9, so I started setting up. The weather was not good. It was pouring down rain the entire time I set up. It took longer than normal, due to the rain, but I got it all done and went to the hotel to dry out and get some much needed rest.
I overslept a bit on Saturday due to the short night and being so worn out, but managed to get to the show about an hour before it opened to finish the finer details in the booth. Saturday's weather was horrible. It poured down rain all morning and into the afternoon. Fortunately, there was no wind, just constant rain. Naturally, the crowds were very light in the morning, but the best part was the serious buyers were there. Parkas and umbrellas in tow, the people who love art and the festival still came and were shopping. I had very good sales on Saturday despite the rain. I thanked each person who came in to my booth for being out in the weather and many of them bought. There were several empty spaces where artists had not set up and in some ways I can't blame them and in other ways I think they lost out on the good buying crowd on Saturday. The rain slowed down in the afternoon and eventually stopped about two hours before show closing. The crowd picked up and everything got more lively.
Sunday was much better weather, no rain and pleasant. The crowd was totally different. It was a crowd of after church people, families and lookie loos! Very, very big crowd on Sunday. This festival is well attended when the weather is good, there is no doubt about that. Unfortuantely, the Sunday crowd was more conservative and not nearly as many buyers as on Saturday. I sold one piece on Sunday.
Jurying....This show is a mixture of art and craft. There was some beautiful fine art there, some very nice crafts and of course, obvious buy/sell and some things that I would not jury into a show. I am not sure what thier goal is during the jurying process, but I felt they did a pretty good job of it, with a few things that I wouldn't jury in, but maybe there is more to that than I know. (There may be exceptions made for local businesses/artisans, I got that vibe, and that's totally ok with me!)
I had very nice neighbors at this show, they couldn't have been better or more helpful. The show director is very involved and was my booth sitter on 2 occasions. I felt that this show is well organized and well ran. My sales at this show were good and after all expenses made a modest "paycheck" profit. I think if Saturay had not been so rainy I could have made more. I did have a few pieces that got wet and needed repair, so they were not out. I think if they were out, they likely would have sold too, making my sales total better. Overall, I am pleased with this show and feel it was worth it. Having won first place in the show, I am automaticly in next year and I will do the show again. I will give this show a solid A in terms of organization, staff, attendance, sales and overall artist experience. I encourage anyone who is thinking about doing Main Street Festival to apply for it and if accepted, by all means do this show!!!!!!!
Recently, an art fair friend of mine suffered unfounded accusations of forgery and/or copying from a person he has never met. These claims were posted on his business Facebook page. The language was a bit vile. An art fair show director looked at his page to see more of his work (beyond his jury photos) and saw this post. The director called my friend for clarification and was satisfied with the answers, yet it could easily have gone the other way. My friend removed the offensive post, but is understandably very upset.
We should all be aware of the damage we can do with social media and refrain ourselves. My friend's livelihood depends on his ability to get into good shows. This bad comment nearly ruined his chance for at least one show and maybe did eliminate him from others. Who knows?
Calling for self control!
Robin Ragsdale
www.evenbetterimages.com
Well, my inlaws are on their way back to AZ, but that is NOT why I'm doing a happy dance . I am going to be the "Official" Photographer for the Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival Oct. 7-11th in Alpena, Michigan! Last year I did a bit of a photography gig for the Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival Museum and this year have been asked to be the official photographer for them and making an historical CD for them. I will have a booth at which I will be offering not only my photographs of lighthouses and the like for sale, but will be offering a CD of the Festival itself, for those who sign up and pay for the CD. A portion of the proceeds will be going to benefit the Lighthouse Festival Museum and to the lighthouse preservations funds. I'm hoping that there will be a lot of interest in the CD's and photos. If all goes according to plan, I will be doing this photography gig every year, so wish me luck!
My studio renovations are just about complete and I'll hope to be in there working by the fall. My dear hubby says it may even be earlier than that. We have a little bit of the ceiling to finish, trim between floor and walls and install cabinets, book cases and the like and I'll be ready to go. We did finish installing the wood laminate flooring and I have hung curtains so it has a semi finished look to it.
I may post some pictures of the semifinished studio - we will be adding more cabinets as our finances allow in the future. At some point, I will even have a long arm to help with my art.
Have a great day all!
Terri at the Drake's Nest in Ossineke, MI where Giant River Otter play on my pond.
webpage: http://www.drakesneststudios.com
