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Now remember - these are just my thoughts and opinions from my experience and internal workings as an artist.  The point is not to discuss, support or argue with ME personally - but to think about and comment on these IDEAS.  And so importantly, ADD to the discussion other ideas and perspectives not broached here.  Growth the discussion with your view.  Just urge staying on point throughout.

Okay, onward. 

So many facets to this question it is somewhat intimidating.  Excluding commission-based shows, the tapestry of art that constitutes the show and from which the public and patrons have to choose is solely determined by the jury process (plus possibly a few award winners usually chosen by an even smaller set of “jurors” (aka: judges).  They determine the fate of each of us as an artist: the ability to show our work before any particular crowd, to return to a crowd that demonstrated through purchasing it likes our artwork – or not return because of the opinion of jurors.  No matter what we do or how much we ‘change’ or grow in our work, it ultimately seems to come down to the opinions of jurors.  Similarly, the juror node is the primary and sole determinant of what patrons get to choose from and the foundation on which the success, or failure, of the show is premised.

Who makes a better juror?  Academician?  Gallery owner?  Museum curator?  Peer artist?  Best friend?  Worst enemy?  Person who is color blind?  Why? What about an art patron?  I cannot remember seeing or hearing of an art patron on a jury.  And a rare instance or two of doing so by a show is not the point – as a regular course of events, why are patrons not jurors? 

Which ‘type’ of ‘qualifications’ best reflect the objectives of the show? The look of the show?  The ultimate success of the show? Hopefully at least one objective of the jury process is laying a palette of artwork the attendees and patrons wish to purchase, no?  Do any of us go to art show merely to exhibit?  Is a show successful merely if people turn out, crowds are large?  Or only if people engage the art, the artists and buy, at the show or post-show?

Do jurors typically buy artwork?  Patrons – do they merely come to look, as when going to an art museum where the work is not for sale?  Within the constraints of no buy-sell, no imports, no rep’s – handmade by the artisans present at the show, these events are about patrons of the arts and sales by the artisans, are they not? 

If a show thinks their jurors are good and doing a good job, why do none assess that characteristic?  For example, gather sales data from all artists, compare to jury scores, then ask a statistician (found locally at a bar perhaps) and see if there is any relationship that exists between jury score and sales, with sales being the response of the public to what was selected by the jury.  Or at bare minimum position staff at exits to see how much artwork is going out and from which artists?  Are these not doable? Important?

Fundamentally, jurors seem merely another manifestation of a critic – like a book critic, movie critic, music critic, Broadway play critic or restaurant critic. Does a juror bring to the table more than a set of personal biases, likes and dislikes, preferences - same as you or me?  Do they really know all art mediums?  In a jury room where images may be viewed for what – 10 seconds?  Maybe 20?  Can they really tell that much about the work?  And again to be intentionally redundant, what relationship do their opinions have to the art-buying public on which artists and the show fundamentally rely?  Do their scores in any way reflect how well artists will sell or the flip side, how the public will respond to the work?  Do jurors provide feedback to show management on how to better the process (e.g., display slides for a longer period of time to allow more ability to critically view the work, ability to read artist statement or description of techniques and materials they shows asked artist to provide then review the slides)?  

Interjection here:  I think of how the established world of art, primarily the painter community, critically viewed the emergence of impressionistic painters.  Also how critically derided by were the works of such notables as Norman Rockwell and Ansel Adams. I would also ask from your personal experiences, do you go see a movie, or avoid one, because a "critic" liked it or dislike it?  Same for books, eating in restaurants and the like.  Do you feel your sensibilities are in any way well-defined by critics?

Last, is it a good thing to have any juror sit on more than one event?  If they see your work at multiple shows, how much of your career is now tied to the opinion of a single juror?  If they recognize the work of some of the artists, that they may know personally, how do they not bring into their decision ancillary information other jurors do not have about that particular artist, with nothing comparable to bring into the decision process for those artists they do not know?  Effectively then, how can a jury process be blind if the juror is familiar with many of the artists they are jurying?

Okay.  Your turn.

I am posting three separate discussions on the issue of jurors and jurying at shows.  Please, do not write or respond on this particular discussion – it is intended only as the intro to the other three discussions.  This came about – besides the years of being an artist and previous good discussion on this site as recently as a few years ago – as a result of two comments made by artists responding to a post by a great friend of mine, Rich Fulwiler, in his blog “Total Disconnect”.  Most recently by Mark Turner’s post bringing attention to this subject.

In Rich Fulwiler’s original post, one comment from Thomas Felsted was “… jurors are soooo overly qualified elitist a who curate art to a level of snobbishness that is disconnected with the buying public.”  The second comment was from Barrie Lynn Bryant who wrote “I think that judges are usually quite qualified and only sometimes a little less than qualified.”  Defines a breadth of opinions about jurors.  

The issues being raised by these postings are related to jurors and the jury process.  Each aspect has qualities that need to be thought about and discussed separately – hence the separate discussions, even though they interrelate at some point. Because far too often each aspect goes awry – it is through their unholy union that we as artists, and art patrons suffer as the failing parts combine to make a failing system. 

In my opinion:

There is no single point at which our fate as artists, and those of art patrons, are more consequentially affected than through this single point of the jury process.

These topics would be somewhere in the realm of ludicrous-stupid-insane-ridiculous-hideous-mildly entertaining from an outsiders perspective versed in business as in “.. so THAT’s how they do BUSINESS???? Art shows are a business after all.   Since we are intimately involved in the landscape of art shows, the impact “jurors” have on our lives as artists is staggering and no, not funny or amusing.  Definitely stupid, ludicrous, insane and ridiculous.  An absent from the entire process in most all cases is the voice of the public that comes to shows and buy art – patrons.  Even more stupid, ludicrous, insane and ridiculous.

There also is the frustrating aspect that we as artists, shows, and jurors throw concepts around without ever stopping to define them as if we believed everyone defines something as we do – critical error.  We do not.  Defining what you are speaking about and relating to is crucial to understanding what you are talking or thinking about.  For example, what is a “good juror”?  What is a “consistent body of work”?  What is a “good jury slide”?  Why does a set of slides get you juried into 3 shows and not accepted into 8 others?  Or in your first year of applying and out the next four years?  Or four jurors think your work is stunning (i.e., highest scores possible) and one juror thinks it sucks (i.e., lowest score possible).  If jurors were so “knowledgable” and “expert” and “experienced” – should they not be more consistent?

The four major points about the jury process that I take serious issue with – and wish fervently that all artists did– are the following.  I will ask PLEASE do not ramble on about your personal experiences (e.g., “oh I get into this show all the time and thus the jurors are good and I never get into these shows and thus those jurors are bad”).  As the TV character Perry Mason used to say:  “Irrelevant, incompetent and immaterial”.  Think about things like when you get into a show and do poorly, did the jurors choose unwisely?  When you are one of the best sellers in your category at a show and next year get juried out does that make sense?  When you see a fellow artist win an award from a “judge” (aka: another iteration of a “juror”) and not sell a piece of art at the event – and you know THEY are back in the show next year because of winning the award while the person across from them who sold out may NOT because of ….. juror response, reaction, scoring next year?

The major points I wish to bring up for thought and discussion, one-by-one, are the following:

• What makes a “good” juror?  Why?  What characteristics should be considered?  Are they “experts”?  Or merely critics?  Knowledgeable of all they see?  Or merely opinionated?  Representative of what the public wants to see and purchase?  “Or merely responding to some ‘pushing of the envelope’?

• What is “good management” of the jury process by a show?  For example, To what extent, if any, should jurors be allowed to go outside the guidelines written by the show in their prospectus to artists as to how they will be juried?  One of the chief issues being booth slide and cohesive body of work? And should not the top level show management ALWAYS be present THROUGHOUT the duration of the jury process to answer questions from jurors and monitor the jury process itself?  Is that not a critical aspect of “show management”?  One that we pay for with our jury fees?  And necessary to ensure the jury process is fairly applied?

• What are the definitions for such important jury concepts as “cohesive body of work”, “representative of the body of work” and “good jury slide”?  How do these concepts relate to what the show says in their prospectus – if anything – about the images submitted representing the “body of work” of the artist.  How is “body of work” defined?  If a “body” of work is diverse (e.g., color & B&W photography, functional and non-functional ceramics or functional and nonfunctional glass) is the artist mandated by show rules to show the breadth of work?  Or just a selection (e.g., just the black-and-white photography or just the functional ceramics or glass) that they artists believes may be more positively perceived by the jurors as a “consistent body of work”?  However, if they do so, will any portion of that body of work NOT shown in the jury slides be disallowed at the event?   And should it be? 

What relevance or correlation exists between juror scores and sales? It is not a moot point.  Sales is the voice of the public speaking from the very people the show asked to get off their butts and put the event into their schedule, to drive to the event, to walk the event and – purchase artwork.  Also the very people we, as artists, rely on for our success.  If listening to those that actually BUY art isn’t critical then we are all deluding ourselves about what we do.  And what business in America does not listen to what people in their ‘store’ buy?  How do they expect to succeed if they don’t listen, don’t care?   Art patrons are the essence of this whole exercise.  If they don’t exist or come support the arts at such “art events” then we don’t survive as artists.  Shows can ALWAYS find SOMEONE to give them money for that piece of pavement or grass on which to set up a tent and sell or promote something, even if buy-sell or totally unrelated to art. The “art show” component however will go away.  As will we.

So, following is the first part - The Jury Process: Part 1 - What Makes a "Good Juror".  Remember, it is an exercise about expressing your thoughts, ideas, perspectives on these points and listening to what others have to say - seems the essence of the learning process.  Understanding viewpoints on how the system works - or doesn't - and what positive things can be done to improve our artist environment.  

January 23 & 24, 2016    
Coral Gables, Florida
Downtown Coral Gables
on Ponce de Leon
10:00 A.M. TO 6:00 P.M. 
Presented by:  Unlimited Sales Group Inc.
150 Artists
Deadline:  September 7

Application Fee:  $25
Booth Fee:  $395 add $50 for corners
As the names implies we are a festival of the arts with the main focus being on visual art.  However, we also offer more reasons to visit the event --culinary arts (not festival food) performance arts and audible or musical arts. 

We also have an art auction for charity, emerging artist section (at only $100 per booth once approved by the jury) live demonstrations, a VIP area and much more!

We learned our lesson in the first year and have significantly fine tuned the event.  The Show is almost twice the size as last year.  We have removed the music stage and instead will have musicians strolling the event.  

                                       Contact Person:  Mario Pi

Winners from the 2015 Seawall Art Show, held Aug 22-23 (left to right):

Kristine Kennedy, Savannah, GA,  Jewelry (4th place)

Michael LaRoche, Christiansburg, VA, Clay  (J. Howard Johnson Award for Clay)

Jacob Pollock, Williamsburg, VA, Mixed Media (Best in Show)

Susan Wolf, Toms Brook, VA, Gourd Art (5th place)

Elise Iglio, Prince George, VA,  Digital Art (3rd place)

Ernest Taliaferro, Virginia Beach, VA, Wood (Albert Morris Artisan Award)

Matt Leverett, Virginia Beach, VA, Wood (Arengee Design Award)

Paul Stevens, Achilles, VA, Photography (2nd Place) 

Jana Baker, Pelham, NC, Acrylic (Labyak Award for excellence in acrylic) 

(Photo: Geoff Coe) 

Prize money ranged from $500 to $2000, I believe: Not bad for a show with an under-$300 booth fee. 

This show is held literally along the seawall of Portsmouth, part of the Virginia Beach-Hampton Roads-Norfolk area.  Portsmouth is rich in nautical history, has a charming downtown area, and several hotels within easy walking distance of the show.  

Weather this time of year can be a factor--brutally hot, squally, or just downright windy--but it wasn't this year.  Blue skies and cirrus clouds all weekend, with gentle breezes from the southwest and temperatures that peaked in the low 80s made it a pleasure for artists and show goers alike.  The show is kind of a Y shape, with the base of the Y a double-row of booths, back to back, along a single block of High Street.  The southernmost booth (mine, this year) is in direct sun all weekend, but most of the rest of the booths in this row get shade nearly all day, afforded by trees lining the street and the urban shadow from surrounding buildings.  (Not a bad idea to bring battery-operated lights in you're on High St., just in case, especially if your walls and/or work are dark.) 

Much of the show runs along the seawall itself (a tiered area that forms the "arms" of the Y).  Here, it can be a bit windier even on nice days, but this year the breezes were gentle and didn't cause any issues.  There's a nice student art program here, an easy-to-find Show Headquarters booth, and, at the end of the harbor, live music.  Although the bandstand is about 100 yards or so from the closest booth, the sound easily carries across water.  And yet, on only one occasion was the band too loud.  I walked over to show HQ, let them know, and the director was on her walkie-talkie to request a volume adjustment before I'd even finished talking.  

Many of the artists have done this show for years, and the incredible dedication of the volunteers is a big reason why.  This show truly gives you a first-class artist experience: They'll remember your name when you check in on Friday night for setup; you'll get a barbeque awards dinner on Saturday night, a coffee cart with juice and pastries makes the rounds each morning, and volunteers bring chilled water throughout the day.  Plus, the prize money ranges from $500 to $2000 (I think)--not bad for a show this size.  

It's a small show--about 90 artists, total, with about two-thirds from the immediate area--and yet sales were perplexingly so-so for most artists I spoke to, and for myself.  Portsmouth can be difficult to get to on weekends, with a long-term construction project on the downtown tunnel often closing westbound traffic from Virginia Beach and Norfolk.  There is an inexpensive ferry that comes right to the foot of the show with regularity.  Although many ferry passengers visited the show, it's not a given that passengers would want to carry heavy, bulky, or large artwork on a return trip.  (I sold several pieces that I wrapped in oversize plastic bags for just that reason.)  People enjoyed it, were complimentary, and overall were pretty art-savvy...but generally, they didn't spend a lot of money.  

Setup: Friday night, with checkin 5-8 pm. A few chose to set up early Saturday morning.  The show volunteers and police assigned to this detail know what they're doing, and they've been doing it for years.  Very easy to manage, despite the narrow street.  Ditto, breakdown on Sunday.  
Hours: 10-6 Saturday; 10-5 Sunday.  The hour between 5-6 was S-L-O-W for everyone. In that, Seawall is not alone; I've done VERY few shows where extended Saturday hours were worth it.  

Recommendation: Quality show and great artist amenities. OK for artists who live locally or farther-flung artists with a place to stay. Can't recommend it for out-of-towners with hotel bills and road expenses. 

Paragon is changing its rules on limited editions of photographs.  Paragon’s website now states:

“Each image must be signed and numbered with editions being inclusive of all sizes and not to exceed 250 prints in the edition.”

On Zapp, you can still find their old rule under their Greater Charlotte Festival, where no mention is made of limited editions.  For their Sarasota Festival, they state a less onerous version of the new rule: “All images are to be editioned with editions of each image not to exceed 250.”  But on their website, all listings have the new wording I quoted above.

It appears that the website version of their new rule is what they intend to use for all festivals, and they just haven’t updated all of their Zapp listings yet to match that rule.  The version of the rule listed on Zapp for the Sarasota Festival was probably an in-between version in the evolution toward the new rule.

I'm shooting Booth Pictures at three shows in a row coming up. If you are doing one of the shows and need a booth picture, please give me a call. 412-401-8100. I'll be walking Shadyside and Fair in the Park and exhibiting at Long's Park.

Shadyside August 29 - 30
Long's Park September 4 - 6
Mellon Park ( Fair in the Park Pittsburgh) September 11 - 13

That's where I'll be for the next three weekends.

And a new picture of me if you don't know what I look like.

You can read about our new hair styles here:
http://bermangraphics.com/blog/the-new-mary-larry-and-xena-look/

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100

November 6 & 7 

Learn more & apply:  

www.rglmarketingforthearts.com

I participated in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park Art Festival last weekend, and I found myself spending a lot of time worrying about something I don’t normally give much thought to: parking.   So I was wondering if there are other art fairs with parking situations as bad as Piedmont or perhaps even worse.

The promoter offered no parking for artists, but did post a list of local parking lots on their web page, and let us know where not to park to avoid getting tickets.

Piedmont Park is in Midtown, Atlanta, and most close-by hotels don’t have surface parking.  I had to start planning where to park when I made my hotel reservations.  The vertical clearance and whether trailers would be welcome in their underground lots is not clear in advance, and they charge dearly or insist on valet parking.  So my search for a hotel with free parking and a surface parking lot led me to make a reservation about 12 miles (20-30 minute commute) from the fair with a hotel promising “truck parking”.

But that still left the question open as to where to park my SUV and small trailer during setup and breakdown, and my SUV during the show.  The promoter only offered parking in the park on Sunday, and only for trailers.  So I had to travel to Atlanta a day early just to figure out a parking strategy.  That included checking out all surrounding parking lots for vertical clearance issues and willingness to accommodate trailers.  Also, I had to drive around the local neighborhoods and carefully read their “no parking” signs to see if parking was at all possible on the streets.  Instructions and hours varied from street to street.  Finally, I had to check out a local high school where the promoter said that they might (“unconfirmed”) sell tickets to their parking lot as a fund raiser.  It turned out that school was in session already, so parking in their lot would not be possible on Friday, but might be on Saturday and Sunday.  My driving around discovered that parking on neighborhood streets was possible on Friday, even with a trailer, as long as I removed it by 5PM.  Even so, it was a 20 minute hike between my booth space and the car/trailer.  On Saturday, such parking was not legal, but the local high school did go into business selling $10 tickets to their parking lot presumably only for normal size vehicles.  Again, a 20 minute hike was in order.  On Saturday, I had to leave the trailer at the hotel.  On Sunday, we were allowed to park our trailers in the park, if we arrived at 9 AM.  But we had to unhook and park our tow vehicles elsewhere.  So after breaking down the booth on Sunday night I had to hike to the high school to collect my SUV, then drive halfway around the outside of the park in city traffic to get to the approved entrance, and drive at 5mph halfway through the park to get to my trailer, hook up, then drive at 5mph to my booth.  Total time: 30-45 minutes.  And that was without encountering any traffic in the park.

Although this all worked out in the end, it cost me considerable time and effort, plus at least an extra day’s hotel expenses.  Note that all of this was for a small SUV pulling a 5x8 trailer.  I can’t imagine what the drivers of bigger rigs did (maybe not participate?).

It also had additional consequences: it was impossible to use the trailer for backup inventory storage or to store packing material for breakdown.  Fortunately, there was space behind the booth, and nobody bothered my containers sitting there overnight (this in a neighborhood with high crime statistics).  Also, I have to wonder how parking problems affected attendance, especially from other parts of the city and the suburbs.

So parking was a big issue with this fair.  It probably does not faze the locals, but for me, I would prefer to avoid fairs with similar parking issues. That begs the question: what other fairs are as bad or worse from a parking standpoint?

Piedmont Part Arts Festival was this past weekend. It is in Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta. This is the 6th year for the show and my fourth time doing the show. I live just a few miles from Piedmont Park so I am always happy to do a show in this location. There are two other art shows in this Park throughout the year. Atlanta Arts Festival, a fine art show, Dogwood Festival, mega monster festival, and this show. PPAF is a mix of fine art, some fine craft, craft and other stuff. There are around 250 artists booths. . The booths are set up around the lake. There is a small area with acoustical music, a nice backdrop to the arts. A guiness book of world record hula hoop contest takes place in the sports oval which attracts a lot of people and is a fun event but doesn't compete or distract from the art show. I actually mentioned this event to many patrons who came for the art and they were excited and many decided to stay the day and join in the event, which means they had more time to shop for art. The food trucks there are a higher end type food than normal festival food. I know there are other events and attractions to bring people in but I am usually in my booth area so I don't get around to see it all. These thing are unique to this show so it attracts a different type crowd than the other two shows. There is a ton of advertising . Newspaper with artist interviews, billboards, radio and Saturday morning the entire 30 minute CBS 46 morning show Public Affairs on Peach was dedicated to Piedmont Park Arts Festival. Around 55,000 people came out. Now this is August in Atlanta so yes it was hot, but not as bad as it can be. It was in the high 80s Friday, Saturday and Sunday with no rain. We can't ask for much more than that and I think everyone was ready to enjoy a day outside.

Set up this year was 9am-9pm all day Friday. The show ran Saturday and Sunday. Those of you who do shows in the park are use to being marshalled in. I know many people like this but I am not a fan. One it cost the show $$$ which means it costs us $$$ plus it takes forever. This show you arrive between the set up hours, drive in the park to your booth spot and unload. After you unload you need to go park your car. This is where everyone who isn't from the city gets nervous but there is a bunch of parking along the streets. I have always found a space within 2 blocks of the park. The booths are set up on the street that runs through the park and most people have a ton of room in the back. You can even bring a second booth to set up behind you if you wish. There is also a lot of room on the sides of the booth and you can walk between the booths in most cases. This is not a tight set up. There are booths only on one side of the street.

Now to the fun part, sales. Saturday morning we arrived early. People love to run and walk their dogs in the park. Open up early or at least open the front of your booth early so they can get a sneak peak. This is the case for all shows in this park. I very often have people who are running or walking their dogs early morning then come back later to buy. The show opened at 10 am but people were making sales much earlier. I had serious buyers right off the bat for the big ones. Before lunch time I had already met my goal for the show. The rest of Saturday was strong and that night after I got home I had people contact me who wanted me to deliver Sunday morning. Sunday there were the be backs who needed to go measure. Needless to say this was an awesome show for me. Best of the year for a local show and if I close some of the opens I have than it will be the best of the year so far. Of course not everyone had a stellar show but many did. A sculpture practically sold out, another 2d artist sold over 20 original pieces. Many of my jeweler friends were doing the happy dance.

Load out. It is never fun loading out of a park, especially this one. Normal drill, break down and get your stuff off the road. Receive a load out pass then get your vehicle. Drive up to your booth and park in your booth spot and load up. The show ended at 6pm. They started letting people in around 6:20 if you were broken down. This show is usually a nightmare with people blocking the road but it was better than usual. We broke down our double booth and packed it up and drove out by 7pm. That is not bad at all for a Piedmont Park show.

I've been painting all my life, mostly wall art and murals, and I've loved it. Recently I was invited to a Meet-up for Children's Book Illustrators, and I've been intrigued ever since. I just self-published my first book "Olivia Ocelot Comes to the Rescue: Adventures in the Rainforest" which is set in Costa Rica. I am already cranking on the sequel, "Olivia Ocelot Saves the Day: Adventures in the Saguaro Desert" which is set in Arizona. This work combines my love of painting with my attraction to nature and animals. My husband said it's also because I never really grew up. Hmmmm?

My website is http://www.annejantz.com

After reading all the gloom and doom from the east coast, it is time for some good news from Colorado where all shows are not like the one in Longmont, CO discussed last week.

PHOTO: Crowd at 9:30 before show opened at 10:00

This was the 12th consecutive year that I have done this show.  Golden is the county seat for Jefferson County whose motto is “Gateway to the Rocky Mountains”.  Golden is known for the Colorado School of Mines and the Coors Brewery.  The weekend of the art show is the time that students are moving into dorms.

The show is set up for three blocks along Eleventh Street.  Food courts and music stages are at both ends of the show.  The Golden Chamber of Commerce manages the event.

This was the 25^th anniversary of the Golden Fine Arts Festival. In my opinion, the show is successful with buyers in attendance because it is run by local business people who understand EFFECTIVE advertising and marketing.

SET UP & TAKE DOWN: Both are usually easy, but this year their seemed to be less control. “Traffic Czars” keep the center lane of the street open and you can drive to your booth location. I did not have any problems as I completely unload and remove vehicle before setting up and completely knock down before bringing the Suburban in to load up.  Other artists had problems with vehicles with trailers taking up space in front of their booths for several hours both during set up and takedown, making their work difficult.  No vehicles are to come on the street until 5:30 or half an hour after the show closes, but rain at 5:00 drove patrons off the street. There were vehicles on the street at 5:10.

Most booths have space behind them but some have bushes with only a gutter width.

ATTENDANCE: The Chamber states that the attendance is upwards of 30,000.  The event is well publicized in the Denver metro area and online in advance of the show.  People show up an hour ahead of the official opening time of 10:00am and start buying, and the crowd is there until closing time at 5:00pm both days.    

AMENITIES: The artist reception is put on by the Table Mountain Inn and they don’t cut any corners.  There is great food and a selection of beers and wines.  I did not attend this year as we had dinner with family.  The Golden hotel maintained a break room and provided sack lunches for artists.  There are booth sitters, and morning coffee with pastries. There were indoor rest rooms at the Golden Hotel and porta-pots closer to the show.

SALES: My sales at this show have consistently been in the $3K-$5K range.  This year’s sales were up about $1.2K from last.  My average sale was $65 and 74 sales ranged from $3 bandanas, from the sets for napkin rings, to a $310 special order belt.  The best sellers were belts in the $45-$85 range with some $100-$200 belts, holsters and cases thrown in.  The rest were a mix of gun leathers, dog tack, horse tack and personal leather goods.  I have a bunch of special orders to do, and I discussed even more with locals who may order later (mostly gun leathers).  Comments on sales from other artists were generally positive.

     I received the 2^nd place award for Fiber this year. The last time I won an award at Golden was 2010. This was the first time at any show that the judges took time to ask me some questions about my work. Local merchants support $1800 in awards.

WEATHER: Friday afternoon during set up was clear and warm.  Saturday was hot in the 90s, but Sunday was cooler with some cloud cover.

GENERAL: Nuts and bolts are in Art Show Reviews on this site.  There was a good mix of high quality art and absolutely no buy/sell. There was also a good mix of out-of-state artists with the Colorado crowd.   Artists at other shows have commented that it is difficult to get into the Golden show. City tax of 3% is collected at the end of the show, but you pay the remaining 4.5% state and county taxes on line. The tax rate was 7.5%.

PHOTOS: Typical Saturday crowd, Crowd at 4:30 Sunday, my award.  

I did the regrettable act this weekend of leaving money in my cash box while I took a bathroom break at a show. A thief seized an opportunity and stole my cash box that was in the back of my booth. The booth sitter felt horrible and I felt like an idiot. This show, being so close to home I was a little too comfortable and let my guard down. All it takes is a minute. Fortunately, the majority of my sales were on credit.

The staff at Woodland Park reacted incredibly and got the word out to other vendors immediately. The police wrote their report and there was a volunteer that stayed with me most of the day. The community stepped in and collected donations at breakfast the next morning and presented it to me. It brought tears to my eyes reassuring me that people are good! The entire experience brought such comfort and relief knowing that our art fair community is so strong and supportive. I am so grateful to everyone who helped.

This is my first post and I am a new member to the Art Fair Insiders group. My booth neighbor at Woodland suggested I join and post because I wanted a way of thanking my fellow artist community and the staff at LAL. Thank you! -AS

Schedello! was billed by Zapplication as a premier music and art festival set in the beautiful botanical gardens of Schedel, in Elmore Ohio, about 15 minutes east of Toledo.  The back-story was that last year was their inaugural year - an ambitious one day event with music, food, art and a vintage car show was planned.  This year they dropped the car show, increased the event to two days, and made access to the art venue free (although to get to anything else there was a ticket price of $25).  Last year that day proved to be a wash out with 6 hours of driving rain and a water crisis of epic proportion for the Toledo area due to toxic levels of algae bloom in Lake Erie.  

So with the memory of last year fresh in our minds, many of the artists decided to apply and attend this revised event held this past weekend believing the potential was there for a great weekend.  The grounds are beautiful, and when the rain actually stopped last year people came out and bought from the artists. Weather issues are beyond anyone's control, as were the natural disasters like toxic algae bloom in the water supply of Toledo. Weather was warm, brilliant sunshine.  Like our hopes everything seemed bright.  We were very hopeful.  Radar showed no signs of rain or adverse weather for the weekend.  The bands began warming up, and the sound was great.... but.....

But there were few people coming into the gardens. We counted perhaps 30 people sitting in the music venue set up for 500, and continued to look up and down the aisles of the art show only seeing other artists looking back at us.  The people were not coming to Schedel.  And most of the sales were to fellow artists.

Seeing that we had all the time in the world i started an internet and social media search... what was published, what was the feedback and how much media coverage did they get?  It became painfully clear that the promoter did not do their part because there were not crowds.  There were sparse handfuls of people and very few were buying.  Many of us had not just show expenses but lodging, food, and gas...   so it was a stretch to sit there for 2 days and barely cover the zapplication jury fee and the booth fee.  We did not cover our booth fee until 1:30 on Sunday.  We really never made it to a profit level, selling only $40 on sunday.

And as my artist neighbor said "It's a tell when all of the booths are breaking down hours before the event ends."  We were to be there until 4pm, and just about everyone was there, however a majority of the booths were broken down, and the contents packed up long before and waiting for the 4pm marker to begin loading the vehicles.  I don't believe i have ever seen such behavior before.  (As a rule if you want to return to a show you abide by and respect the show agreement.  It was clear many were not planning to return.)  And there was much buzz and chatter about the disappointing low attendance, and the impact this weekend will have on the budgets of self employed artists.   

In the boredom of sitting around watching empty aisles, and yawning with fellow artists i took to the internet to see what was out there about the event...a few posts on various radio stations, and one rather sparse article in the local Port Clinton paper.  No big splash in the Toledo media.  Social media was even more sad.  twitter posted only 2 tweets advertising.  Facebook's event page had a total of 77 people invited, of which 34 said yes, they would attend.  The family we stayed with in Toledo knew nothing about the event, heard nothing on the news, newspaper or tv.  

And the show had judges who would award prizes... however it was highly apparent the two judges had planned in advance who they would reward, and visited no other booths.  When i saw they were next door i was preparing my samples and explaination of how my work is done but they flat out walked past my booth, and walked past  the beautiful art glass booth next door, never stopping, never bothering to even give a nod to any other mediums.  When they announced the awards it was no surprise... only the booths they stopped at were rewarded.  There is no grudging this, but there is such a deep sense of bias and unfairness to the rest of us that create in medium the judges don't value.  

We try to overlook silly things like biased judging, but this was one more factor heaping on a pile of problems.  The event had such potential, and we wanted it to find its stride too.  

And as we were officially breaking down and loading out a younger man stopped to chat with us wearing an official event volunteer t-shirt .  He was the first person associated with the festival to ask how it went.  But he also indicated he knew it was not a positive weekend, and he expressed his regrets that more was not done to make this event well attended, and prosperous for all.  We never saw the organizer, or the paid staff, other than seeing them driving around in a golf card, keeping a far distance from everyone.  

Are there take away lessons from events like this?  Yes, there is always a lesson to be learned.  Here are a few things we took away from Schedello!

• As an artist you can investigate and plan everything out, but have no control over weather, or the effectiveness of the promoter.
• Beautiful locations do not guarantee a well attended venue, or prosperous sales.
• Expensive booth fees and listings on Zapplication do not ensure the event is going to do well.  At one point i thought there was a correlation between cost of the booth and amount of proceeds.  I know this does not prove to be true, and often all events have potential, but cannot be predicted.
• sometimes the promoter is out for just the booth fees as revenue- and they express little interest in the success of the event event though they jury the show, and curate it well.
• Disappointment spreads very quickly through a group of artists.  The hopes that were high on Saturday morning were fading and non existent Sunday afternoon.

Will we do this event next year if they have it and jury us in?  Right now i am tending to say "Absolutely Not!" and i have anticipate this might be the thought of the majority of the artists who attended from as far away as Florida, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky.  

Let me preface this review with the fact that I am a positive guy.  Read my reviews - my attitude is that even if you are up to your neck in horse manure, the has to be a pony in there somewhere!

So, let me begin with the positives about this show

• Venue - a beautiful waterfront view of the end of the Susquehanna River and the beginning of the Chesapeake Bay, overlooking a Marina full of expensive boats, in a park filled with huge trees.  Ok, so the grass doesn't grow so good because of all the shade, but in mid-August I will take the shade.  Add in a very nice playground to keep the kiddies occupied and you have a great spot.
• Sales - pretty decent, nothing to complain about.
• Weather - perfect.  Mid-upper 80s, low humidity, nice breeze

So why the 'debacle'?  Now we have the negatives

• Hours on the application were different from the reality
• Arrive to set up at 7 am per the instructions, promoter not present.  Artists found the programs and helped each other find the spots
• Map of the venue in the program was a couple years old, layout was different
• Because they sell alcohol, the entire venue was fenced.  The Playground was cordoned off (the seafood festival the week before doesn't do that, not necessary.  The playground is at the top of a 20+ step stairway from the huge Marina parking lot, no signs indicating that you could not access the event from the top of the stairs.  You COULD walk all the way around the other side to the entrance.  The 4' high plastic fencing did get trampled by kids pushing it down eventually, and after many many complaints on Saturday, they opened up a 3rd entrance on one end.  Should have had at a minimum 5 entrances to begin with
• 2 entrances, both in the middle on both sides of the rectangular setup.
• Porta-pots at the extreme end on one side, 100 feet OUTSIDE of the venue on the other end.  8 total. From our space, 100+ yards to the nearest.
• We requested a corner.  Offered to pay extra.  Bought a double space.  Arrive to discover we don't have a corner.  At least 3 buy/sells on a corner, and at least 3 NEW vendors with a corner (this is our second year)
• Buy/Sell.  This is supposed to be an ART fair.  At best a loosely juried Arts and Crafts show.  3 times as much Buy/Sell as the Seafood Festival last week.  A lot of crap, and then Hudson Bay Inlay.  One Double Corner with tables loaded with Chinese Jewelry.  Ok, so maybe they did put the fake murano glass pendants on the ribbon necklaces.  At least they didn't win an award.
• Speaking of awards, the judging was all over the place.  Glassblower won a blue, and deserved it.  Photography was well judged, as was Pottery.  Jewelry was a joke.  Never saw the blue ribbon, second place was mundane beaded stuff, 3rd place was sea glass (mediocre wire wrapping and pewter charms), and honorable mention was one of the best Silversmiths I have seen, using unique and artsy components.  By far the best jeweler in the show (and we are jewelry), deserved a blue ribbon and probably best of show!  Miscellaneous was silly.  Soap got an award, while one of the best Psanky(sic?) egg artists in the country got ignored.
• Management was not engaged, did not seem to care
• Promoters were non-existent at the end of the show, no traffic control, a total cluster.

There is more, but I will leave some room for others to fill in the blanks.  End of day, we made decent money, but will not return, even for free.  Easily the worse run show we have done this year, and we do 40+.  This is allegedly the 52nd year for this show, they have had plenty of time to get it right.  One bright spot - there were several great artists there, and we bought our first original piece from Mark Turner - Thanks, Mark!

This year's new creation: The flour sack Bubble Tower.

Made from cotton four sacks from the Philippines and
discarded banquet table cloths from the rental linen
industry.
The Philippines may be the last country in the world to use cotton flour sacks. 
The US switched to paper in the 1960's.

The Bubble Tower uses sacks from El Superior ,  Liberty Flour Mills,
Red Bowl, General Milling, Wooden Spoon , Pilmico ,Amigo Gold, Sampaguita,
  Bakers Choice, Montana Spring,  and other brands and designs including Cinderella, Swan and Pine Tree.
The new design is made from poly cotton flour sacks sourced from Pruiba Provisions, a charity group in the Philippines who collect the used sacks directly from bakeries in the region. They then sew aprons, bags and caps from the flour sacks. http://www.pruibaprovisions.com/  The Philippines is a top five market for U.S. wheat,importing over two million metric tons of US wheat last year.
http://www.uswheat.org/newsRelease/doc/D7FD10C14A9BE29F85257D2B00600CC7?Open

I expect this to be a popular design for county fairs, combining the features of an education exhibit
with great fun!

Cheers!
Bill Coleman

http://www.bubbletower.com/

Home of the solar powered BubbleYou® Bubble Tower -the world's biggest bubble toy® !
Eco-friendly FUNtertainment!

It was a hot for Colorado 93 degree day, sales were equally hot stating an hour before the show opened at 10:00 am. More later.

This years Stone Harbor was not a good show for me at all.  Unfortunately, it was my first show ever.  After speaking with other artists, many of them were saying sales were very slow this year.  I barely paid my booth fee.  Did not sell enough to pay for my hotel.  The parking for vendors was insufficient.  There was nothing done for the artists at all.  (i.e. name tags, water bottles...)  Don't think much advertising was done for the show because it just wasn't the usual crowd according to return vendors.  We had to submit a lot of documentation to the jury to get in, yet there were still buy/sell vendors there.  Very frustrating.  I wish I had paid closer attention to the previous vendor comments.  Seems like things have been declining for several years.  The folks putting on the show may say they want to improve it, but they aren't doing enough.  The organizers were very hard to contact.  I left three messages, never returned a call back.  This should have been a sign.

Just curious if anyone on this website has anything else to add.