Congrats to Ellie for her blog. Not to take any thing away, but Steve Appel commented in the hot tub at Winter Park that there were lots of Takers of information on the AFI site and far fewer Givers back of information. I agree and wish more of the western folks would share their experiences at mountain states shows (AZ, NM, NV, UT, CO, MT, ID, WY). Some shows get zero reviews or blogs. I write reviews and blogs because I want to see top of the heap artists at the shows I do in CO. This is what is going to keep people coming back. I guess one can say if you don't contribute to the AFI site, don't complain about lousy shows for all geographic areas.
I agree that there are just very few posts about art shows here in the South-West.
I guess it's just what we, the artists make out of it, so I like to add some reviews for my city,
Santa Fe,NM:
I live and work in Santa Fe since almost 10 years and I make a living out of my art, well more or less good off course.
When I started here in 2004 the shows especially on the Plaza (our square) were very good,
never went home with less than 5k.
But times have changed dramatically here in Santa Fe.
The promoters jury more or less by the check, so if you apply for any of the big Plaza shows
you get in no matter what you do, even if you buy and sell stuff.
Also the booth fees have gone up from year to year and some shows that had like 400 artists taking part in now have like 100 - 150 participating artists only.
Three years ago I stopped doing Challange NM, than two years ago I quit the Pancakes on the Plaza and Girl's Inc. and now this will probably my last year doing the Fiesta Show.
The good thing though is that the shows with my guild as well as the Santa Fe Artists Market and the Farmer's Market work so well for me that I can afford not doing the bis shows anymore.
So my suggestion for other artists here in Santa Fe would be: do the smaller shows and do them regulary to build up a relationship with your customers and just forget the big shows as long as the economy is doing so bad.
I hope that helps a little, and please excuse any typos as I my first language is not english and it's not easy for me to write in english....cheeers
I haven't been doing much this last year so I can't say a whole lot about shows. I do think my favorite show from last year was the Winter Market in Birmingham in SE Michigan. It wasn't really an art show. It's more of a German/Christmas festival but I had the best sales there all year. Mostly little things like ornaments but I nearly sold out of them. It was a huge surprise and even though it was cold (it's held outside and they set up and decorate tents for everyone) it was a really festive event. We had electricity and were allowed to have a heater to at least chase off the chill. The organizers were very involved and helpful. For an nontraditional art fair it was very good for us.
Just heard from a Denver artist talking over dinner that she did two shows in prescott and Sedona in the fall of 2012 that really bad for her. I know most of the shows in prescott stink and Sedona has a cover of 10.00 for the public and is not that good so there you go
Amelia, you did great. I am taker too. I learnt so much from contributors here and a BIG Thanks to all. I wish I have read many of your inputs here before I step into my first time show (4 yr ago) and learn some wisdom from you.
Hum, am I a taker or a giver? So far, I've been a taker. I had hoped to do a number of shows last year and report on them, but because of back problems, I only ended up doing one show (and a one-day show to boot). This year I am recovering from back surgery and only doing three shows in Minnesota ... but I've reported on the one (Brainerd) and have two more coming up. This fall I will be back in our Arizona home and hope to do a couple of shows in the Southwest, which I will definitely report on! So, far, I've been a taker ... soon, I hope to become a giver!
We have tried very hard to encourage more people to participate. It helps everyone when more people participate. If you have never commented or started a post please don't worry. We don't care that you are not a spelling bee champ or have not won a Pulitzer for your writing, we just want everyone to feel welcome to share their thoughts and ideas.
Thanks for starting this post Richard and Steven for giving Richard the idea.
As to Ruth's point about not finding more interest about the Western shows, if more of that interest that is happening in the "Southwest group" would be added into the regular blog where all would be seeing it, I'm thinking it would generate more interest from people who do those shows. It is just like this site -- small bits and pieces eventually add up to lots of information.
Ruth is a great blogger and did wonderful reviews. Steph Mader also made great contributions. Brian too... thanks to those guys. He also posts his reviews at www.ArtShowReviews.com.
We have lots of chatter about the Midwest shows, Florida too, and getting much better on the East Coast, because people are making those connections online here and then at the shows.
Tim, we all want to help you make this work for you. It is a tricky business with lots of dead ends, but "doable" -- people do make a living at this and some a very good living. It is possible, but if we help each other and share info it comes back to help everyone. The old guys and the new ones. Sermon over (for today.)
Great post Richard. As someone who has only done regional shows, this is my first year venturing into NM. Not finding much information makes me feeling like I'm jumping into a dark hole. How deep is that hole? Please post a review after shows to help us.
I've only done a couple shows a year the last 4 years but this year I've jumped off the big end and pray to still be floating at the end.
Thanks, Richard. I think reviewing shows helps us all; knowledge is power!! If I can prevent another artist from driving home depressed after a bad show, then I've done my best to help. I also want to share the wealth of the good shows.
Comments
Hello Richard,
I agree that there are just very few posts about art shows here in the South-West.
I guess it's just what we, the artists make out of it, so I like to add some reviews for my city,
Santa Fe,NM:
I live and work in Santa Fe since almost 10 years and I make a living out of my art, well more or less good off course.
When I started here in 2004 the shows especially on the Plaza (our square) were very good,
never went home with less than 5k.
But times have changed dramatically here in Santa Fe.
The promoters jury more or less by the check, so if you apply for any of the big Plaza shows
you get in no matter what you do, even if you buy and sell stuff.
Also the booth fees have gone up from year to year and some shows that had like 400 artists taking part in now have like 100 - 150 participating artists only.
Three years ago I stopped doing Challange NM, than two years ago I quit the Pancakes on the Plaza and Girl's Inc. and now this will probably my last year doing the Fiesta Show.
The good thing though is that the shows with my guild as well as the Santa Fe Artists Market and the Farmer's Market work so well for me that I can afford not doing the bis shows anymore.
So my suggestion for other artists here in Santa Fe would be: do the smaller shows and do them regulary to build up a relationship with your customers and just forget the big shows as long as the economy is doing so bad.
I hope that helps a little, and please excuse any typos as I my first language is not english and it's not easy for me to write in english....cheeers
Heike
I haven't been doing much this last year so I can't say a whole lot about shows. I do think my favorite show from last year was the Winter Market in Birmingham in SE Michigan. It wasn't really an art show. It's more of a German/Christmas festival but I had the best sales there all year. Mostly little things like ornaments but I nearly sold out of them. It was a huge surprise and even though it was cold (it's held outside and they set up and decorate tents for everyone) it was a really festive event. We had electricity and were allowed to have a heater to at least chase off the chill. The organizers were very involved and helpful. For an nontraditional art fair it was very good for us.
Amelia, you did great. I am taker too. I learnt so much from contributors here and a BIG Thanks to all. I wish I have read many of your inputs here before I step into my first time show (4 yr ago) and learn some wisdom from you.
Hum, am I a taker or a giver? So far, I've been a taker. I had hoped to do a number of shows last year and report on them, but because of back problems, I only ended up doing one show (and a one-day show to boot). This year I am recovering from back surgery and only doing three shows in Minnesota ... but I've reported on the one (Brainerd) and have two more coming up. This fall I will be back in our Arizona home and hope to do a couple of shows in the Southwest, which I will definitely report on! So, far, I've been a taker ... soon, I hope to become a giver!
We have tried very hard to encourage more people to participate. It helps everyone when more people participate. If you have never commented or started a post please don't worry. We don't care that you are not a spelling bee champ or have not won a Pulitzer for your writing, we just want everyone to feel welcome to share their thoughts and ideas.
Thanks for starting this post Richard and Steven for giving Richard the idea.
As to Ruth's point about not finding more interest about the Western shows, if more of that interest that is happening in the "Southwest group" would be added into the regular blog where all would be seeing it, I'm thinking it would generate more interest from people who do those shows. It is just like this site -- small bits and pieces eventually add up to lots of information.
Ruth is a great blogger and did wonderful reviews. Steph Mader also made great contributions. Brian too... thanks to those guys. He also posts his reviews at www.ArtShowReviews.com.
We have lots of chatter about the Midwest shows, Florida too, and getting much better on the East Coast, because people are making those connections online here and then at the shows.
Tim, we all want to help you make this work for you. It is a tricky business with lots of dead ends, but "doable" -- people do make a living at this and some a very good living. It is possible, but if we help each other and share info it comes back to help everyone. The old guys and the new ones. Sermon over (for today.)
Great post Richard. As someone who has only done regional shows, this is my first year venturing into NM. Not finding much information makes me feeling like I'm jumping into a dark hole. How deep is that hole? Please post a review after shows to help us.
I've only done a couple shows a year the last 4 years but this year I've jumped off the big end and pray to still be floating at the end.
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