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Here's a solid article about abstract painter Frank Stella who is putting together a retrospective of his work for the Whitney. What does he say about earning a living as an artist?

Among other things: 

People get excited about the high-end numbers,” he said, “but almost all artists, even the really successful ones, are basically hand to mouth. If you’re self-supporting, no matter how successful you are it’s not easy.

Read the article here: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/sep/01/frank-stella-art-money-whitney-retrospective?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&mc_cid=03fbdd49ba&mc_eid=68d259417b

Arts, Beats & Eats - Royal Oak, MI - Labor Day Weekend

Some of you may know that I used to be part of the "Art" at Arts, Beats & Eats. I came from a background of being the schlepper at the art fairs as my husband showed his work. One day when I was helping run the show I watched a fine man sweating his a__ off pushing a dolly up the street laden with his wife's art. 

How many times had I done that? That winter someone left a dolly behind at an art fair so I confiscated it, painted it gold and added "jewels." We presented the 1st "Golden Dolly Award" (plus a check) to that man. The next year it went to Mike Strailey, then Carol Weber, etc. You never heard of those folks? That's because they are the "woman behind the man."

Each winner added his/her touch and this year Nate Burch (assistant to photographer Jan Kaulins), last year's winner, did it up very well and presented it at the Artists' Breakfast to Jeff Kutno who hauls his brother's (Phil Kutno) "stuff" at the shows. 

Many thanks to all those wonderful people who help us look good. Congrats to this year's winner.

The rest of the prizewinners at Arts, Beats & Eats:

Best in Show:  Carl Crawford, Columbia, SC - Mixed Media  

1st. Place:  David Barkby, Dover, PA - Wood

2nd. Place:  Michael George, Scottsdale, AZ - Sculpture

3rd. Place:  Sidney Carter, Powder Springs, GA - Painting

5 Awards of Excellence:

1.  James Parker, Rochester Hills, MI - Photography 

2.  Don and Serena David, Cleveland, OH - Jewelry

3.  Jack Valentine, Akron, OH - Ceramics

4.  Meredith Kuntsch, Lago Vista TX - Painting 

5.  John Wayne Jackson, Black Mt. - Sculpture 

Spirit of the City:  Debbie LaPratt, Commerce Twp., MI - Ceramics

Golden Dolly (Best Helper):  James Kutno, Phil's brother, Tucson, AZ

Street Judges:  Sara Shambarger, former Director of Krasl Fine Art Show, St. Joseph, MI

George Barfield - Former Consultant from Krasl also

Jurying for a total cash amount of $7,500 spread over all categories.

So how did you ever learn the art that you take to shows? I'm sure your style has evolved over time and that you could write a book on how much your work has changed.

Here is a post I wrote about one of my best (not favorite) teachers. It's not the work I currently take to shows- I am a jewelry artist. However this year I am transitioning back to painting and plan to spend my off show season doing watercolors of the woods.

http://sandyartparts.blogspot.com/2015/08/one-of-my-best-teachers.html

So, what's your story?

Estes Park is the gateway to the east side of Rocky Mountain Park and this year was its 100^th anniversary.  There are many summer homes in the area and it is a destination for a broad spectrum of nationalities, income levels, and interests.  I started doing this show in 2010, and I have done it every year since then.  I also do the Memorial Day show in Estes Park.  Gross sales at the September Labor Day show since 2010 have been in the $3-$5K range, and I have considered it a good solid show.  The show is produced by the Estes Valley Sunrise Rotary, Inc. and they do an all-around EXCELLENT job!!!!  The town is packed for the weekend, and leading up to the show there was a lot of promotion on Facebook.  The show is setup with 103 booths set up around the perimeter of Bond Park and in the parking lot for the town hall.  Clean, indoor, accessible restrooms are in the town hall.

SETUP AND TAKE DOWN.  Set up officially begins at 9:00am on Friday but Rotarians are present to check you in as early as 7:30am.  If you are early you can park at your site to unload.  Street parking is available within a block of the show, but oversize vehicle and trailers have to park at the fairgrounds.  Free shuttle service is available from there, and in town.  Volunteers are available to assist with unloading and set up.

     Takedown begins at 3:00pm on Monday and volunteers were there to help.  Like set up, traffic was controlled and vehicles were not allowed in until you were ready to load.  After paying your sales tax, you get a yellow ticket.  When your booth is knocked down and you are ready to load you get a blue pass to bring your vehicle in.  We loaded around 7:30pm.

WEATHER.  Temperatures were in the 70’s.  There were brief showers Sunday.  An unweighted booth went over in a gust of wind Friday night and another had breakage knocked off a wall. 

 THE SHOW.  The town was packed with people and thousands went through the art show.  There was seldom a time when people were not in my booth, and I had several repeat clients.  Belts were my top seller, with holsters, suspenders, spur straps, and several custom orders thrown in.  My sales were in the $4-5K range, and my largest sale was $475 for a silver mounted headstall and two breast collars (horse gear).  There was a good balance of all art/craft mediums including edibles like jellies and salsas.  There is no buy/sell at this show.  Nuts and bolts for the show are in www.artshowreviews.com.  The Rotarians have coffee and goodies in the morning, and booth sitters. All taxes are paid to the Rotary at the end of the show.

ANALYSIS.  I have come close to hitting the “home run” of $5K gross sales at this show a couple times.  My inventory of flasks and checkbooks was pretty lean by this, the last shown of the season.  Most of the belts sold were plain, and only a few were the more expensive carved with or without silver buckles.  I sold out of some sizes and some styles of buckles but didn’t loose and sales because of that.  The Estes crowd is definitely middle class and families visiting the park.  It is also a destination for Denver motorcycle clubs making the run up Big Thompson Canyon and over Trail Ridge Road.

THE OTHER FUN STUFF.  There were lots of different dog breeds and babies at the show.  Interacting with both was fun.  We were able to rent our favorite cabin that is just up the hill from Bond Park.  It was built in 1898 but it is modern and cozy. The hot tub is great after a day on the street.  Our son and his family came up for a cook out Saturday and we got to visit with our college and high school age grandsons.  Tuesday after the show we headed to the park and drove up Fall River Road (one lane dirt one way) up to Trail Ridge Road.  We saw elk and mountain sheep.

I cannot emphasize enough the need to be in top physical condition for doing shows.  I will be 72 in a couple weeks and Jean is 68.  Set up takes us 7 1/2 hours of steady work and take down is 4 1/2 hours.  We don’t diddle around, but we have lots of inventory.  At the end of the days we are still energized and not exhausted.  We do yoga 1-2 times a week and work out with a personal trainer once a week.

Photos:  1. Setup Friday morning, Longs Peak. 14,259’

             2. Saturday crowd

             3. A pampered dog with green paws, pink and purple tail and ears.

             4. Fall River Road

             5. Longs Peak from Trail Ridge Road

             6. Bull elk 

             7. Bear Bottom Cabin  

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. I took a lot of them, made a few more paintings, hung them wet, and my husband used a different lens. I think there are still some issues with this, and I might send it to Larry, who helped with my most recent one, but I do think this one is worlds better. 

The tent is up in the side yard, and my husband is shooting with his real camera. Before I finalize this, I'd appreciate any comments you all might have. This is pretty much all the art I have right now, so I can't add any. 

Thanks! 

PODCAST: Thursday, Sept. 10, 4 pm ET

The interested parties have come to your party: that Art Festival you have been planning and marketing for 364 days. How do you make sure they love the show, bring their friends, buy art, spread the word about what they found there and can't wait for next year?

Successful show organizers Sharon McAllister, Executive Director of ArtFest Fort Myers (FL) and Jenny Wright, Festival Director of The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival (TX) join the conversation and share their best tips for building a memorable experience for their patrons.

Show directors hear what you can do for your show to connect with your desired audience. Artists, learn what you can do on your part to help shows be successful and in turn contribute to your own success.

Learn more: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artfairs/2015/09/10/keep-them-coming-back--marketing-to-the-art-fair-patron

Then be sure to join us on Thursday for this helpful information and to meet these show directors.

Today while doing a show I had a discussion with another artist who said he uses Square on his iPhone 6 and always closes the Square app after each sale because it would use up too much data.

I disagreed and am under the belief that it only uses up data when you are processing a transaction. Leaving the Square app, or any other app on when idle does not use up data on you plan...just battery.

I asked others at the show about this and everyone had an opinion and said "I Think" this or that but no one there could say they were 100% positive about their answer.

My opinion is just as everyone else's....not totally 100% positive.

Has anyone researched this and have accurate facts?

Looking to convert my credit card terminal and move strictly to square and researched this add-on (Miura device) that can swipe and read chip cards. It has a key pad and runs off blue tooth. Just wondering how well it works.

February 6 & 7, 2016

Downtown Fort Myers, FL

9 am to 5 pm

215 Artists

Option to participate in Opening Night - February 5, 2016

Deadline:  September 14, 2015

ArtFest Fort Myers works year-round to produce the best fine art festival in Southwest Florida and many artists agree that this fine art festival puts all the right components together to create a very successful weekend for artists!

Ask the artists - - -

"ArtFest Fort Myers was, by far, one of the top shows we have done in the past several years." Debo Groover, a MM2D artist who participated in ArtFest Fort Myers 2015. 

ArtFest Fort Myers has a comprehensive marketing campaign targeting art buyers throughout Southwest Florida and beyond.  Between TV, radio, newsprint, billboards, glossy magazines, ads in theatre & symphony programs, as well as a vigorous social media presence, they concentrate on bringing art savvy, motivated patrons to you.  Their web site is mobile friendly and the on-line Artist Gallery gives buyers a sneak peak at your work, in anticipation of your arrival!

"Thanks for hosting a terrific show - I have done your show five times, and this year was my best ever. What a great way to start a new year." Michael Brown, a digital artist from the 2015 festival. 

I just got a call from my credit card processing company asking if I wanted to update to a new terminal that can read chips? My understanding is that all new issued credit cards will have chips (sooner than later) and was wondering before I shell out another $500 for a wireless terminal what everyone else was doing for the short and long run . So far I have only had one credit card that I could not accept  so it has not been an issue. I assume most are using the square and was wondering how or if that will be affected? I personally dont like the square but that's just my personal preference.

Feel free to search the main site for "Affordable Arts" reviews from the past. I wont retread what's already been said.

Reflections on this years show: The "promoters" job, after we've paid what continues to be exorbitant and rising booth and jury fees is to do just that, promote the show and get buyers there (by the way this is NOT one of those overpriced shows). Okay, enough editorializing.

Maybe it is the nature of this particular beast ($100 or less) but Jim Delutes continues to bring in a buying crowd. Does there need to be 300,000 visitors to make a good show? Not if the ______K (fill in the number Jim)  that do show up actually BUY! My sales at this show, unlike the others I've done this year, have been consistent. Not to say I wouldn't mind having them trend up but given the paucity of sales I've experienced at other shows I've done this year it was a welcome respite. The few other artists that I spoke with felt it was a worthwhile experience as well.

Jim has continued to make adjustments to the show to keep them there. This year there were two food trucks (Indian cuisine and pizza) as well as an ice cream vendor and water sales. Additionally, there were three tents set up as, what I'm calling,  a "shade station". Boy did they need it! I saw a cluster of patrons amassed under the shade of one tree late in the day. Given that the temperature was in the mid 90's with nary a cloud in sight, if these amenities were not available it would have been a very short show! Just stepping out of the shade of my tent made me sizzle! So cudos to those patrons who stuck it out and made the show a success. I saw one poor woman trying to carry a framed piece of art that was almost as tall as herself! Which, if suggestions are solicited...how about a "large item art pickup" sited in either of the parking areas north or south of the food area? That might also be cordoned off as a handicapped parking area?

Jim doesn't have a large staff of people helping so what he manages to do with what he's got is commendable. In the past I noted that there was some booth sitting relief. If they came around this year I didn't notice it but I was sweating so much I didn't need the break!

Parting shot: This morning, as I write this, it is overcast and 20 degrees cooler! There is NO justice! ;-) LOL By the way, I haven't been paid a promotional fee to say nice things about this show.

Is the digital art vs. photography line moving and isn’t it time the shows updated their categories?  I do heavily digitally modified photography.  Recently I was faced with this choice:

Digital art - Two-dimensional work created by the artist using computer technologies. May include scanned images, from the artist or other sources that have been non-trivially modified through the use of computer programs.

Photography - Two-dimensional work created by the artist that includes digital and film photography that has not been manipulated to achieve results beyond what could be produced in a traditional dark room. Hand-colored photography and emulsion transfers are accepted in this category. 

I applied in digital art and the show disagreed.  On one of our emails back and forth the show person put forth this description – “ I personally feel that you should enter under photography since your work takes a photograph and enhances it through digital means but does not totally create a new image from the photograph.  I see the digital category as taking parts and pieces from different sources and creating something new with them, or creating an image using only digital programs from scratch.”  What a wonderful clear description that puts me into photography which I ultimately applied in.

When I first started applying to shows, digital photography was brand new and most shows didn’t really recognize it.  In fact, to a lot of them, digital was a bad word.  There was certainly no digital art category.  Photographers who heavily manipulated were placed into categories like print making or lumped in with photographers

Then shows started adding a digital art category which in the vast majority of shows looks like this – “Any original work for which the original image, or the manipulation of other source material, was executed by the artist using a computer.  Work in this category must be in limited editions, signed and numbered on archival quality materials.  Traditional photographs taken with digital media should apply in the photography category.”  In my opinion this puts me in digital art, which I usually apply in because I am manipulating source material with a computer.  But that word “traditional” can go either way so I am always questioning if it is the right category for me.

At that time (8 or 9 years ago) I don’t know of anybody who was doing pure digital art not involving photography of any kind.  But – the tools are better now, art that is being created today with computers and no photographs at all is very impressive.  And I believe that most photographers, even if their images look completely unmodified, are making use of techniques that could not be done in the darkroom. 

The line is moving and I think shows need to take a good look at their categories and make that division more distinct.

Tell me what you think that description should be.

Not a festival, not a happy place, not a fine art show...This was my first official show. It was small but smaller than expected. Matter of fact the promoter and another promoter are at odds because said promoter #2 was kicked off the team of Promoter#1. It seems the Fine artist of this show that got the memo moved over to Promoter #2's show. I had talked to promoter #2 and I was accepted but opt out of her show because she didn't want me to bring my nudes to the show. By the way most of my nudes aren't nude(long story) anyway so I stayed at Promoter #1 which was enlightening. 

I set up for the first time and just thought maybe I was there early, we we told we could set up at 10 am. I got there at 2pm. Yes my husband and I saw only 4 other booths up before ourselves. I set up in the wrong place and had to move my booth. How did this happen? I looked at the number wrong and there was no one to ask questions to. So I re set up. By 6:30 there were about 8 booths set up, and 7pm was suppose to be the deadline for setting up. Free booze and food that night at 8pm so I showed up with my hubby.

More people now had set up but there were only 11 people at the Artist opening, I'm not much of a drinker but at that point I managed to down 3 Corona beers and some of my husbands drinks. The map online indicates spaces for 94 artists. Once I received my map for the show it indicated 50. By the time of the show there were 32 booths filled but not all were artist. Some were timeshares, buy sell, crafts and that sort of thing. There were 12 Fine Artist and really not in my opinion there were 3. Mine was the most professional booth. How does that happen when it's your first show?

I had lots of people wanting to know where I get my ideas, if I take drugs (NO) and if my photos on my website were clear enough so other artist could copy my work. RUDE.

I broke 2 of my sculptures and lost it on a woman talking on a cell phone who picked up one of my sculptures by the head. I turned from pleasant sweetie to rabid dog B in 5 seconds. I shooed dogs away, concerned just one leg lifting would send my husband into a fit. No peeing on the pedestals.  

I sold $25.00 worth that day and it cost me about 3000.00 if I cant fix my sculptures. In actual money out it cost me about 900.00.

Day 2 the Forest caught on fire so 2 hours into the show I began to pack up slowly, since campsites were evacuated and people were either watching the fire or fleeing for their life. Last year apparently there was an earthquake instead! 

So I look at what I learned.

1. If you get right into a show without an effort, ask why.
2. I was able to set a goal to get ready for a show and I made the goal.
3. I set up and learned about anything that might go wrong. I should change my banners and get an easier website address. Now I know why I needed in my list a fire extinguisher. I need to find a new way to move my sculptures.
4. I learned how to use square for credit cards.
5. I talked to many people that I feel I really connected with.

I had people come to the show. One my mother which means she also brought her husband. Which means next time come up with another way for them to visit cause there is not enough room for visitors and what people talk about that are visitors can make me look bad. Politics, Race, Other People. Uggh I had to tell them to shut it.

Also, by husband has a man he is doing a lot of construction work for and he told this guy, his wife and him knew the show wasn't what I said it would be and they felt sorry for me. I was a little embarrassed, they traveled 2 hours to get there and stayed over night. They bought us an expensive dinner. All this time I was trying to be positive.

So I found out at least the promoter will yell at the vendors and cuss them out. The promoter wanted us to not start packing until the end of the show at 4pm.  I never asked his permission.

I am like the animals, when the forest is on fire I flee the forest. I was calm and began to slowly pack small things. One other woman moved her truck closer.

The promoter yelled and screamed carried on like a banshee. The woman was selling candles in the sun of 100 plus degrees. No customers in sight. She yelled back. She wasn't trying to leave, she was by herself and wanted to be able to leave quickly at the right time, so she moved her truck closer. My independent self openly with a smile began to pack quickly. That was it for me. Why do people ask permission? Why hide it, why be subtle? for who?

The Promoter might have a nice part to him but I didn't experience it. When I made it obvious I was leaving he walked past taking notes. One artist asked me if I was leaving I said no, I was packing and it takes me a long time. The stores around us had already been told to volunteer to close early. I said I was a free individual who doesn't ask permission. That artist sat until then end. Yes I was still wrapping my sculptures and I could see the flames.

George my husband said the man who bought our dinner was stuck in traffic trying to get down the mountain. We got finished just in time to cruise without fighting traffic. We could see the flames above the tree line and the fire helicopters were diving down to scoop water next to us in the Lake where the festival was. Definitely something to remember.

Many of you might know about this already.... and I am coming to the game late...but it is something we have all heard of somewhere on the trail out there- and we definitely need to be aware of.

Yesterday afternoon I received a post on Facebook from an artist in Asheville who posted a painting and said that a company was selling it on-line without her permission. Of course my ears perked up and I thought if it could happen to her-it could happen to a lot of us.

I had heard through AFI about a scam where people come into your booth and shoot pictures of your work and then reproduce it.....so I went on the site to see if this was that was....and if my own work was on there. It was...a lot of it- and so was my daughter's, my son's and my husband's (we are all artists-different mediums). In fact a ton of my work was on there... all for the lovely price of 5.75 each. Of course my first reaction was to freak.....Someone posted a site to complain and get them closed down and I signed up for that. (so dumb). This is a hack (from Russia)- you sign in and they hack your computer. How far this goes- I have no idea-and truly it just sucks. This is the link that is an article that tells you about what they are doing-Whatever You Do... don't go to the site and type in your name to see if they have your work-they are pulling everything off our websites and sizes are incredibly small anyway. Things like this make you feel incredibly violated and sick.....and like you are a stupid sitting duck. I'm pretty savvy and watch my computer but this one took me by surprise and I reacted...beware- don't do it. 

here is the article about the site:

-https://fstoppers.com/news/website-will-steal-your-photos-and-then-hack-your-computer-77511

Let me premise this one by a wonderful quote from someone a few of you may have heard of:

God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style. He just goes on trying other things. - Pablo Picasso

Think God would make it past most juries these days?  Sure doesn’t seem like he has a “cohesive body of work” according to many jurors.  Guess he never had to face an art show jury in his day.

Also, if jurors are composed of "art experts" or "experts in their fields" - should definition of terms really be so widely interpreted and varied in their application?

Such terminology or dare we say "definitions" as "consistent body of work", "cohesive body of work" or "breadth of work" are thrown around IMO carelessly without definition or example in the prospectus and then again in the jury process, without supervision creating a confusing and in many ways lethal scenario for the fate of artists and patrons.

If a show prospectus says something akin to: the jury slides and booth slides you submit should represent the body of work, or breadth of work ...... what exactly are they saying?  How are we interpreting these words and combinations of words? Are we to micro-interpret that if the wording is "should" rather than "must" that leaves it more open to open interpretation by the artists?  Or is the intent clear either way?  Clear to the show?  Clear to us?  Do shows evaluate their documents to see if their choice of words (i.e., wordsmithing) is crystal clear?  Clearly transmitting their intent without ambiguity? Is whatever the definition of these words by the SHOW that wrote these terms clearly and unambiguously communicated to their JURORS?  Can jurors score submissions based on a different set of definitions or interpretations?

So for your consideration, some examples. All these where the prospectus says the jury and booth slides should (or even if they say "must") represent the "breadth" or "body" of work to be shown":

• Your a photographer shooting both black-and-white and color, about equally.  Do you only submit B&W?  If you perceive, based on your experience, jurors will respond more positively to B&W than to color - or - believe that jurors seeing a mix of B&W and color are more likely to say that is not a "cohesive" or "consistent" body of work and score them down - either way - would mixing B&W and color imagery be an inconsistent body of work?  If you only show B&W in the jury slides, should you be allowed to also show your color work? Is the B&W imagery just one manifestation of the body of work, that cover the body of work, the style, the vision?   What if that ratio is not 50:50 but more say 80:20 of B&W vs. color images?  Does THAT matter?  Would showing only say B&W images then also be considered representative of the "breadth" or "body" of your work?
• Your a ceramic artist creating both functional (e.g., bowls, plates, mugs) and nonfunctional works (e.g., wall pieces or large decorative vases).  Should you only submit images of your functional work? Only of nonfunctional? Are you compelled to show both in their jury images submitted?  Show the functional pieces as their jury image slides and include the nonfunctional pieces only in the booth image and assume that is okay and meets the definitions/rules of the prospectus?  Are you okay with the show saying "you didn't include images of your nonfunctional work in your jury images so you cannot show them at the event?"
• Your a painter creating images of flowers, seascapes and pastoral landscapes - must you show them all in the jury slides?  Does a mix of flowers and seascapes and landscapes, if that is what your paint, demonstrate an inconsistent or non-cohesive body of work for which you might be penalized by the jurors for showing an inconsistent body of work?
• Your a jeweler doing typically jewelry (e.g., necklaces, rings, earrings) yet also create non-functional sculptural pieces.  Must you show examples of both in your jury slides?  Just show the traditional work in their jury slides and the nonfunctional pieces in their booth slide?  Okay if the show says you can't show one or the other because of what you submitted?

Okay.  Now let's put you in the seat of a juror.  

• You see a submission of 3 verticals and one horizontal - then the booth slide.  Is that an inconsistent body of work because horizontal and vertical images are mixed?
• You see three images with strong reddish colorations and one with a bluish coloration.  Consistent body of work?  Not?  Consistent presentation?  Not?
• You see two large outdoor installation sculptures, and two small table-top-sized sculptures.  Consistent?  Inconsistent?  Penalty in scoring? Or none?
• You see a handmade large wooden table, a large wood rocking chair, a standing clock, and a small wooden jewelry box.  Consistent?  Inconsistent?  Penalty in scoring?  Or none?
• You see a giraffe, an elephant, a cat, and a bird ...... okay - I digress

These aren't meant to be laughable, nonsensical examples (except that last one of course).  These are real.  They have happened.  

Definitions have a purpose - to clarify.  These terms referring to a "consistent", "cohesive" and "body of work" among others are in no way - IMO - clear.  They are written as words by a show in a prospectus that represent a binding legal contract and equally binding ethical contract with us - artisans - to say this is what we expect you do to, to submit, and then how you will be judged and what you will be allowed to show - based on these characteristics of your work as represented by your jury images.  Are these terms clear to you?  Are you okay with them not being clear?  And are you okay with thinking in reading the prospectus that you understand and choose your images and pay your fee accordingly, only to find out later than that is NOT how they were judged?  Perhaps that show staff pre-juried you out because of such inconsistencies, or perhaps that jurors applied a different interpretation of those words or concepts?  Part of this absolutely is Show Management (last topic to be posted here shortly) - clear and unambiguous teaching of the jury what the rules, definitions and interpretation of those definitions are.  The other part is a clear stating of what these terms, concepts and ideas are to us so we have a target to shoot for.  No?

Your turn.