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Seems the organizers of the Space Coast Art Festival in Cocoa Beach, FL, couldn't get it together and have cancelled the event just now. 

COCOA BEACH — After a 52-year run there will be no Space Coast Art Festival this year and, apparently, no refunds for artists who signed up to participate in the event.

However, next year organizers have secured Manatee Park after reaching a deal Tuesday with the city of Cape Canaveral. John Alexander, chairman of festival, known as SCAF, said it was too late in the game to get the park for this year's show.

"It just wasn't humanly possible," Alexander said.

Sounds like there won't be refunds for artists. 

Learn more: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2016/09/29/bdb-rp-space-coast-art-festival-year-boil-your-water-and-fires/91234006/

Were you planning on being there this Thanksgiving weekend?

Last weekend was the 2nd annual River Clay Fine Arts Festival in Decatur, Alabama.  We were there for the first festival last year, making this our first repeat show. Decatur is located in north central Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake, a part of the Tennessee River system. The site is the park surrounding city hall in the downtown area and adjacent to a new arts center located about a block away. 

There were approximately 80 artists.  From our observations the quality of the work was very high, which made what happened later all the more surprising. Set up is on Friday based on an on line sign up. You have to dolly to your space which is not that big of a deal since there are volunteers and jail trustees to help with the heavy lifting. At 5pm there is a preview party and reception for folks who bought a ticket.  Artists are allowed to partake of the wine and beer, as well as the great food at the art center afterwards.  

It was very hot all weekend with temps in the mid to upper 90s.  Saturday started with good crowds but faded in the afternoon as the temps rose.  Toward 3pm the crowds picked up right until closing at 5pm. Artists we spoke with at the Sunday hospitality were generally very happy with their sales. Ours were OK. 

Sunday was better for us.  We made two big sales with some smaller ones mixed in.  Others we spoke with reported mixed results.  Quite frankly as hot and humid as it was, I am surprised the crowd was a big as it was.  We had the best spot in the whole show with constant shade and breeze. It was actually pleasant most of the day. Maybe that was why folks lingered more than usual in our booth. When we added up the totals we did very well here, especially since we had minimal expenses.

Break down was uneventful.  You grab a spot at the curb when you are ready to load.  Again, the trustees and the local hockey team were there to help. One of the high school hockey players asked Sara what all the sand bags were for.  I guess he was tired of the heavy lifting.  

This is an artist focused show that is a lot of fun to do.  It enjoys great community support, even with unbearable heat.

Here is the best part, we won Best of Show. There were three judges who took the time to speak with everyone.  They traveled the show in a group.  They asked a lot of questions and were very interested in how we processed our images.  Sara was in the air conditioned bathroom when they came by the booth with the awards.  I asked them to come back so she could be as surprised as I was. We had hit a sales lull due to the heat on Saturday afternoon.  I told her I felt our day was going to get better and at that moment the awards group came back, perfect timing. DSC_4180.jpg 

Well, its off to Ontario for my daughter's wedding.  

November 12 & 13
Midland, Michigan
Presented by: Midland Center for the Arts
90 artists
Deadline:  September 30

Application Fee:  $35

Recently received an email telling me that someone in australia wanted to purchase my work in quantity.

this is what i got, i would like some opinions from anyone.   I have heard these email's are not to be trusted  

How are you doing today! I'm very much interested in purchasing some of
>> your products but firstly i want to make an inquiry if you can ship
>> directly to us here in Australia
>>
>> 1. Do you accept credit card   Yes / No   ( Answer )
>> 2. What type of card do you accept ?
>> 3. Do you ship to Australia  Yes / No  ( Answer )
>> 4) Can you work hand in hand with my freight forwarder personal shipping
>> agent? so they can Pickup the products directly from your location down
>> to
>> us here in the Australia Yes / No   ( Answer )
>>
>> I will await your reply

      General Manager
>> SR PTY LIMITED
>> 90 Hay Street Perth
>> WA 6000 Australia

February 25
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo Expo Center and Fairgrounds
Presented byRoad Wife Productions LLC 
(Bonnie Blandford & Michael Kifer)
150+ artists depending on the number of double booths
Deadline:  October 1

Application Fee:  $20

It's 7 hours of as much fun as we can make it and the focus is all on helping you sell your work.  This is the show to sell your leftovers, seconds, the last one left and those pieces that only you love at a discount.  

Along with your art, you're welcome to sell items you've traded for over the years and some supplies although the work you applied with must be primary in your booth.  

No buy/sell.

In 2016 we had 5,000 people come through the show ($5 paid admission so we know exact numbers).  Weather is rarely an issue, they are lined up and waiting.

Rent a couple of tables, make some fun signs and sell it! 

                 Learn more:  www.GarageSaleArtFair.com 

I noticed on http://festivalinthepark.org/ that Charlotte’s “Festival In the Park” this weekend is still going ahead as scheduled, despite the Charlotte riots and curfews.  I was wondering how that is working out.  Are the artists and crafters actually setting up?  What were they told by the promoter?  Will anyone show up tomorrow and Sunday?  Are the police actually able to provide credible security?

March 17, 18 & 19 
Winter Park, Florida
Central Park along Park Avenue
225 Artists

The 58th Annual Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival is one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious juried fine art shows. It consistently ranks among the most highly regarded outdoor art shows in the nation as artists compete for one of the largest cash awards ($72,500) among the top shows.

Along with cash awards our enthusiastic Patrons Program is expected to spend more than $70,000 in Patron Bucks this year. 

The show is conveniently located in Central Park, a beautifully landscaped area whose surrounding streets are closed during the festival to allow for foot traffic only. 

Artists' booths nestle under large oak trees in the park and line Winter Park's Park Avenue, the heart of a charming downtown with brick streets, unique boutique shops, and inviting outdoor cafes and bistros.

Attendance usually reaches 350,000 people for the three-day event. 

Highlights:

• Ranks #5 in the nation and #1 in the southeast by Sunshine Artist magazine in their 2015 list of Best 200 Fine Art and Design Shows
• Ranks #2 in Art Fair Calendar's 2015 America's Best Art Fairs survey
• Presents $72,500 in 63 cash awards including a $10,000 Best of show purchase award, a $5,000 Art of Philanthropy Award purchase award and a $2,500 Award for a Distinguished Work of Art given by the Morse Museum of American Art
• Lists artists' names, art image and contact information in Art Festival Magazine and on the website
• Celebrates with a Saturday Night Artists' Award Dinner
• Produced by an all-volunteer board that focuses on the artists' success
• Booth sitting on call
• Remember, no signatures showing on artwork, not signage or people in booth shots
• Emerging Artists encouraged to apply, see  www.wpsaf.org for details

Apply today: www.Zapplication.org

 
For more info: www.wpsaf.org

E-mail: WPSAF@wpsaf.org, (407) 644-7207

How does an art festival plan its budget? What's so hard about putting on a small event and what about those big blockbuster events with sponsors, good prize money and hopefully buyers.

Show organizers and those who are curious about the work involved should find this article from the Chicago Tribune really interesting. Expo Chicago, September 22-25, is one of those big international events. Like the ones we do? Not exactly, but the planning, risk taking and dreaming sounds very familiar.

I loved this article about how Tony Karman brought an international event back to Chicago (Navy Pier) and made it competitive, luring galleries, patrons and artists back to the city. 

"For years," says international fine arts consultant Helyn Goldenberg, "before Miami and all the other shows that we have now, Chicago had an art fair, which was the best art fair in the country, period. It lasted a long time, and then like many things outlived its usefulness and it went away."

Karman is dedicated to keeping the arts alive and vital ... "Still, when he steps forward to make his opening remarks at the fifth Expo Chicago, the moment won't lack emotion. "Tony doesn't stand at home and practice his speech," his wife Sondra says. "He can put all the pieces together, but until the doors open and the people walk in, you never know what the energy is going to be. For him it's like opening a present and seeing what the package holds."

Everyone is working hard here, sometimes when you open the present it is coal and sometimes it is all you hoped it would be.

Read it here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-tony-karman-expo-chicago-ent-0922-20160921-story.html

Lu was accepted for the first time in at least 10 years. This is probably the most artist friendly show that we have ever done. Lu was impressed from the moment that she went to check in and came back to tell me about the most helpful woman who checked her in.

We then went to set up our tent and found that we had a fence post in the middle of it, as we were trying to figure out what to do, our block captain came by and asked if their were any problems, we told him about the fence post and he said wait a minute and I will make a call. The show director showed up and said to move our tent down a couple of feet to where there was not a post to interfere.  Lu ended up being able to hang on both sides of her display.

The show has a catered breakfast each morning and a catered supper on Saturday night. we were constantly being asked if their was any thing that we needed and being told that this was an artist first Art Show.

On Saturday I noticed that one of the grease covers on my trailer axle was missing and I needed to replace it. I did not have a caliper to measure the size that I needed to replace it with. I asked our block captain if he knew of anybody who could help and he said he would check, about 20 minutes later one of the volunteers known as AKA McGyver showed up and asked what he could do to help and I explained my problem and he said he would se what he could do.

The next morning (labor day Sunday) we are walking to our tent when McGyver shows up and he has the right size grease cap for me. He had come back to the show after he had gone home and measured for me and then went out early Sunday morning an purchased the grease cap. He even refused payment for the grease cap and his time.

Now to the show! It was one of the best shows we have had in sometime, probably back to last years FT,. Worth Main Street. We sold one large painting and 18 in the $100 -$500 range. We were amazed at the buying that was going on around us. We had a furniture maker across from us who sold a $14,000 table and several other smaller tables and at lest one standup desk. Next to him was a Metal sculptor who sold several $500+ sculptures.     

2016 Saint Louis Art Fair Artist Award Winners

Best of Show

Paveen “Beer” Chunhaswasdikul 

Ceramics

Trudi Van Dyke Jurors Award

Deborah Falls 

Fiber

Karla Prickett Jurors Award

Susan Mahlstedt

Jewelry

Maria Phillips Jurors Award

Matthew Cornell

Painting

Emerging Artist Award

Laura Lloyd

First Place

Susan Ebright & Sally Linville

Sculpture

Donna D’Aquino

Jewelry

Thomas Wargin

Sculpture

Aaron Hequembourg

Mixed Media

Suzanne Schmid

Jewelry

Thomas Spake

Glass

Susan Hill

Fiber

Robert Farrell

Metalwork

Micheal Paul Cole

Photography

Delores Fortuna

Ceramics

Second Place

Gena Ollendieck

Mixed Media

Deborah Mae Broad

Printmaking

Hetty & Norman Metzger

Fiber

Lawrence W. Oliverson

Photography

Steve Jones

Mixed Media

Kreg Yingst

Printmaking

David Bryce

Sculpture

Paul Eshelman

Ceramics

John Herbon

Ceramics

Kemper

Painting 

PODCAST: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 5 PM ET

The fastest way to earn money with your art is to participate in art fairs. The buyer enters your booth, loves the work, hands you the payment and your work has found a new home. It's not always that easy of course, but it has worked for years for thousands of artists.    

Many artists have multiple streams of income including gallery representation, selling work online, image licensing, hosting studio tours, participating in small boutique events and being in gallery shows. How about your own gallery? The nearby empty storefront beckens you.

Today's show includes digital artist John Leben, supporting himself for over 40 years in the arts who is contemplating opening a gallery. Unlike art fairs this is a 365 day commitment. John wants to know: should he do it? Read his opportunity here.

Joining the discussion is artist Sandhi Schimmel Gold, the "Queen of Junk Mail Art." About a year ago she posted Towel ... Throwing ... in on ArtFairInsiders.com where she announced she was opening a gallery. Sandhi will share her adventures in moving from the streets to her own art gallery.

Terri Belford is a business consultant. She started her first business in her 20's and has developed numerous others since then.  Her last business was a gallery of fine art and contemporary craft that continues to thrive under the direction of a new owner. She blogs at craftbizblog.com.

Should John open a gallery? Sandhi and Terri give him some answers.

Have you been part of a gallery operation? Do you have some useful information on this topic? or questions to be answered? Put them in the comments below.

Do you want to be part of this podcast? Comments welcome, contact me, and I'll add you to the program. 

Click here to listen live: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artfairs/2016/08/30/judges-jurying-awards-at-art-festivals

This was last weekend in downtown Birmingham,Michigan right on the street--Old Woodward Avenue. This show is produced by the Ann Arbor Guild but you do not have to be a member to do it. It is on Zapp.

For the second year in a row, weather killed the attendance on Saturday--rain, until about 3pm. The crowds never showed up even though we still had over three hours to sell. This basically made it a one day show.

A couple of artists that I know made serious money that day. One, a batik painter sold a very expensive piece--the right person came along. The potter behind me sold steadily in spite of the rain. Me, I barely talked to 20 people, I had. $200 day, whoopie!

This is a long-running show, but it is newer now on the street. Originally, it was held in nearby Shain Park (Ironically, they hold their May show in the park, but not this one--go figure), that location was a killer show for most of us for many years.

Also, the Arts n Apples show (nearby Rochester) was the same weekend as Shain Park. Customers would visit both shows and we all made out. Now AA Rochester is a different weekend. For me, the street show has never been a winner, I make a slight paycheck but I cannot even gross 2K there. Others do.

Birmingham is a very wealthy north Detroit suburb. Lots of moola here. They dress very nice and walk around with expensive dogs. Once in a while they buy something. Overall, they are very traditional in their choices of art. They are not my crowd.. I need younger, hipper customers. Not many here.

The show is a typical Guild scrimmy layout. They give you a whopping two feet of common space to share with your rear neighbor. Inventory storage is tricky here. Side to side the booths are squeezed so tight that it is almost impossible to get to a side tarp and roll it up or down. They have plenty of room side to side but they squeeze us all in. The Guild used to be smarter years ago, but the present regime is not as kind. Hey, they do give you cold water. And, they have a tent with the usual goodies for artists. Lots of bananas. OK enough beating up on the Guild. They do an adequate job.

I saw more serious art bought in 3D than 2D. The glass and metal sculptor couple next to me cleaned up on Sunday. Lots of 1K pieces went out of their booth.

Sunday was a beautiful weather day with better crowds and sales were improved. I did almost $1500 then, if I had a similar Saturday this would be a good show. Sales started around noon and petered out by 4pm. Show was over at 5pm. This is one of those shows you just have to try once and see if it is your crowd.

Now, I will give a sort of Tequila Report--The wonders of downtown Pontiac after dark. I can hear the snickers, read on, you might learn something.

For the show I got to stay with good friends who are longtime residents of Pontiac. Since I got to stay free, I took them out for dinner and drinks Saturday. We hit Mitchell's Seafood for dinner in nearby Rochester Hills. Parker and Parker country. After dinner I got a bug up my ass. I said, "show me downtown Pontiac, I have never been there." I was buying drinks, and not driving, they gleefully obliged.

I had this preconception of Pontiac. I figured it was this big industrialized town with great buildings and lots of grit. I know it has fallen on hard times. And, I figured if I got disappointed with Pontiac, then they could take me to downtown Buick or Cadillac. Whatever.

Boy was I wrong. First off, there is no downtown Buick, I guess they sold it off to the Arabs and they made an amusement park out of it. Actually, downtown Pontiac is a very small, compact town. Not much larger than the village of Saugatuck where I live in the summer. There are lots of cool old buildings. It is very walkable, and there are a jillion bars and restaurants there. Granted, many are closed now, but many are on the verge of reopening.

Lots of new lofts and apartments where millenials are inhabiting. They do not have to get in their car. They can easily walk to and easily crawl back. This town is on a comeback. And, as my friends so astutely pointed out, it is at the epicenter of a whole bunch of highways that take you everywhere in a matter of minutes. You have Woodward, Telegraph road (alas, I could not find Dire Straits anywhere, it put me in dire straights) M-59 and I-75 all there. Pontiac has a future.

We did copious shots of Makers Mark at the Liberty Bar and the bill was cheap. Check out Pontiac--but do not go to the Buick Amusement Park.

Later Gators.l

Four Days of Incredible Art & Events

With the fall art show season rapidly approaching, now is the perfect time to finalize your exhibition plans. What better way to showcase your extraordinary work than to exhibit at the 8th annual Art San Diego this November 3-6? We anticipate that over 18,000 art enthusiasts and more than 60 galleries will convene at Art San Diego 2016. Take a look at video highlights from last year's show, then register today to get the best booth space possible for 2016.   EXHIBIT AT ASD > JOIN THESE EXHIBITORS When you present your work at Art San Diego, you'll be among a select group of 60+ exhibiting artists and galleries from around the world. Here's a sample of some of the esteemed exhibitors you'll be joining in 2016: JBIS Contemporary * Empress Contemporary Gallery * Carini Arts * Vermeeren Fine Art* James Paterson Fine Art * True West Gallery   REGISTER TODAY > WHY OUR SHOWS? The most meaningful reviews come from our exhibitors themselves, who have witnessed all the ins and outs of creating an amazing show. Here are just a few sentiments from past exhibitors:  "I would like to personally thank you for putting on such an excellent event. Art San Diego was my first large art fair and it couldn't have been better. I really appreciate the staff and volunteers for all of their help and assistance." -Angelo T. Robinson, ATR Fine Art "Your staff at the show was fantastic! We had a great experience as participants at the show and will certainly consider doing the show again next year. We sold five pieces for a total of $17,000." -David Bardwick, David Alan Collection   SEE PHOTOS >   WE'LL COVER THE SHIPPING Interested in exhibiting at more than one RMG show? We'll provide complimentary storage and shipping between shows as part of our Free Freight Program, saving you thousands of dollars. That's right-we'll get your artwork to Miami from San Diego or send it on to Indian Wells or New York. You tell us your next show and we'll help you take advantage of this huge opportunity to save money while showcasing your work to multiple audiences!   LEARN MORE >   Got any questions? Contact our team; they'll be happy to help you in any way possible. We hope to host you in San Diego's beautiful Balboa Park this November! Sincerely, The Art San Diego Team

	CONTACT US: sales@art-sandiego.com

Made in Ohio is always labor day weekend, held in the historic living museum known as Hale Farm and Village.  Hale is a representative of an 18th century Ohio farmland village, made of buildings brought to the property.  From the parking lot you can see the Hale house and Barn, and through a short trail you walk into a village green lined by vintage homes and buildings.  For labor day weekend this bucholic sight is embellished with 100+ white tents filled with amazing art, handcrafted furniture, clothing and so much more.  Its a favorite event of ours - but i have to say we always take a deep breath at the start wondering what the weekend will hold because some years have been stellar, others a drought of buyers.

But this year surpassed our expectations.  The organizer and promotor went beyond expectation with her efforts to publicize the event, and her efforts showed with substantially larger crowds than usual.  And they were buyers.  By the close of the first day we had exceeded sales for the entire weeked the year before.  Sunday was the icing on the cake, with brisk sales.

Im not sure of all of the dynamics that made this such a great weekend - I can tell you the weather was perfect mid 80s sunshine with a gentle breeze, and everyone was enthusiastic.  but i am wondering if one thing i did made a difference -

I paint silk - in the studio i drew the outline pattern on a piece of silk, then stretched it on a stretcher, and dragged it with me to the show, and spent the weekend painting it, and allowing kids try their hand at painting inside the gutta lines.  Amazed how many kids were entusiastic to try (and a couple adults too...) and overwhelmed by the crowds that would gather, ask questions, watch, etc. 

So my question is this - do you (if you are able to) demonstrate your work at art shows?  If you do, in your opinion might that have an impact in increasing sales? 

I loved the experience, and learned so much watching and talking with the patrons that weekend.  As an introvert this was quite a challenge to step out of my box, and provide a visual education of what i do.  I was stunned by one guy that said "oh heck, you actually paint your silk scarves? I thought you just buy them that way and sell them."  My only thought is if i offered a touch of education to that misguided person Yeah!!! 

If you are ever considering this show in Northern Ohio on labor day weekend - go for it.