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Overall, this was an excellent well run show and an excellent weekend for us. 

We applied to this show in 2013 and were rejected.  We usually have our best shows in the mid-Atlantic so we decided to try again. Happily, we were accepted.

Bethesda is just inside the DC Beltway and traffic in and around the area is usually a nightmare.  But, that also means lots of people in the area.

The show stretches over portions of two streets that make up part of the Woodmont Triangle area.  The show is produced by the Bethesda Urban Partnership (non-profit) and is not affiliated with the also well-known/respected Bethesda Row festival in the fall.

We arrived on Friday to scope out the layout and look for our spot.  We park the van, turned the corner onto the closest festival street, and started looking for space numbers.  After staring at the curb for a few seconds, we looked up toward the middle of the street and discovered we were standing in front of our space!

And a perfect space it was.  We were a few feet from the entrance to a parking garage that had plenty of clearance for the van, a few more feet to a building that had really clean, artist-friendly bathrooms, and a few more feet to the breakfast/lunch/show info desk. 

We also noticed that the space next to us near a fire hydrant was not marked.  A miracle – a free corner booth.  The next day when the tents were all up, we realized the practically every booth was a corner with the tents set in pairs and empty space on each side.  What a great way to set up a show.  (The booth fee was on the high side - $425 – so I guess that corner wasn’t really free.)

Each artist was given a set-up time.  Ours was 7AM, which meant we would have to hustle to get ready for the folks that showed up before the official 10AM start.  We decided to test the waters and arrived at the site at 6:40.  We were promptly told that 7AM meant 7AM.  Good for them.

Observant folks that we were having noticed that fine parking garage, we asked if we could park and dolly in.  The volunteers were thrilled that we were willing to do that.  One less van on the street.

We got a prime parking spot at the top of the ramp into the garage and rolled it all downhill to our space just a few feet away.

We setup pretty quickly and were ready to go.  Unfortunately, it was a slow start for us.  The painter next to us had a $2500 sale in just minutes after 10AM and other large pieces started walking out as well.  We had a lot of lookers and the promise of the never to be seen again be-backs.

As the day wore on, the crowd was steady but not overwhelming.  All week the weather forecasters were predicting rain from dawn Saturday until late Saturday night.  As it turned out, it didn’t rain at all until late afternoon and then only for about an hour.  Still, I think a lot of patrons were holding out for Sunday, which was forecast (and correctly so) to be gorgeous.

This is an "originals only on the walls" show and people were clearly buying 2D. The matted prints/repros that were carried out seemed pretty big too.  There was a glass artist across from us who seemed happy as well.

We were not happy on Saturday but the Sunday crowd was thick and buying and saved the weekend.  We sold a couple of decent size canvases and a bunch of small ($125) framed pieces.  We also had success with small repros (8x10 matted to 11x14).  No one complained about tax and no one pushed back on prices.

We could have snared a very big sale if we only had the piece available.  The customer wanted a specific size of one of our digital works.  Sadly, they weren’t willing to wait and we saw them later walking out with somebody else’s very nice piece.

There are also decent prospects for after show sales once some measurements are taken.

Load-out was a very easy dolly.  We thought that the garage ramp would have been a real strain uphill so we got to the venue early Sunday and got a prime spot on the street just about 100 feet from our space.  We were loaded up and out by 6:15PM

The “Nels” data:

About 130-140 booths.  Spaces are 10x10 but each has an open side.  On our block there was plenty of sidewalk storage behind.

Breakfast (bagels/coffee) was provided both days, as was lunch (pizza, chili, BBQ).

Boothsitters checked in regularly.

Overall quality was excellent and the competition for patron dollars was tough.

There was music but we never heard much of it where our booth was.  No stiltwalkers and no kettle corn that I could see.

There were three judges and some nice awards.  Pet peeve – two of the judges were very interested in talking about our work.  The third opened with “Do you make your own batiks?”  When we said no, any interest disappeared.  We use purchased fabrics the same way that other artists use purchased materials (paint, metal, etc.) to create their art yet we seem to get dinged for doing so.

Bottom line, we loved doing this show and will certainly apply again next year.  We’re hoping to get Bethesda Row too as this is clearly a great market for quality art. 

Nothing but the highest praise for the Urban Partnership, the show director, staff and volunteers. 

We also got to meet AFIer Courtney Gillen who stopped by and practically guaranteed a great show!

Final unrelated self-initiated blog-jacking:  I know some AFIers did Rockville a couple of weeks ago.  We were waitlisted and never called.  How about a review of this second year show???

Uprintondemand.com

(a sponsored listing from Uprintondemand.com)

The Complete Turnkey Art and Framing E-commerce Website for the Artist, Art Groups & Gift/Art Retailer.

Company Profile

The creators of the Uprintondemand.com online art software have been building Internet solutions for more than 10 years. They have plenty of Art and Gift Retail experience too,  over 10 years,  through parent Company MacJac Consultants Corp. Uprintondemand.com strives to offer all of our customers the solution that will best fit their internet needs. We are always pushing the envelope of cutting-edge technology to provide our customers with the ability to lead the pack. Online framing is quickly becoming standard in the world today.

Company Mission

Our mission at Uprintondemand.com is to focus on the changing needs of the Artist, Artist Groups and Gift/Art Retailer with our picture software. We pride ourselves on keeping our clients at the cutting edge. With the online world today it is hard for a retail or home run business to compete without an online presence. More and more consumers are using the Internet for purchasing because of easy price comparison. This number will only grow bigger as new generations of consumers enter the world.

Uprintondemand.com is dedicated to bringing Artists,  Artist Groups and Gift/Art Retailers into this market and support them along the way. We provide a complete turnkey ecommerce website with picture framing software integrated into the site so, customers can frame items and purchase online.

Once the site is built you will be able to offer a large database of art without needing to keep inventory, offer the frames and mats you want. All sales are managed by you, and processed through your banking. See a list of standard features below.

• Website design with your colors and logo
• Uprintondemand.com application that let’s users frame their selections and then purchase online.
• Complete database of Art products that we will keep current with the updates provided by supplier for as long as you have the site.
• Newsletter signup.
• Promotions manager that will allow you to create promotions and market to your clients.
• Real-time shipping calculations.
• Credit Card processing through Authorize.net and PayPal checkout.
• Hosting.
• Robust but simple admin that will give you complete control of your site. You will be able to manage Orders, frames, products, and much much more.

This is a website you will never outgrow. We offer continued support for as long as you have the site.

The Uprintondemand.com Difference

At Uprintondemand.com our goal is simple... we want to help you grow your business by providing you with cutting-edge ‘bolt-on’ business technology and an all embracing manufacturing capability in the eyes of your customers and competitors alike.  This capability immediately produces turn- key sales, ordering, and production solution so that you can start offering your customers exciting custom printed products from their digital images, photographs, or from our wonderful in-house product ranges such as Sand Writing, Creative letter Art and even Masterpieces from our ever growing stable of ‘Artists’ and also your own Art.  Through Uprintondemand.com you will now be able to tap into the multi billion dollar market for high demand custom printed items such as giclee canvas prints, Metal Art Prints, Acrylic mounts, large format printing and much-much more.

Our bolt on turnkey solution is simple to use, easy to learn, and most of all profitable.  There are minimal upfront costs and we assist you with presenting to your customers the right point of purchase displays, samples and sales aides.  All you have to do is offer the service, take the orders, enjoy the profits and then leave the rest to us!  It’s really that simple!!
 
Here is how it works...

High quality production and materials

Shipping

Your artwork is shipped via courier either to your location or dropped shipped direct to your customer's.  All shipments to third parties arrive in a non-branded box and can even include your company's label and packing information.

What a difference a new director can make.  The paint your own picture people were gone.  The dye your own scarf people that had been heavily advertised for last year’s fall show were gone.  It was better organized this year, as in the booth spaces were marked when I arrived at the appointed set up time.  Any artwork used in advertising was credited.  They have come a long way from a few years back when they used the artwork of an artist who wasn’t even in the show on their website.  I don’t know if it was my location or the fact that I had a bigger booth but lighting in the big tent seemed to be improved. 

It is still an arts and crafts festival.  There is primarily low end art and craft but I did hear of some high end work selling.  There are bouncy houses and train rides for the kids and sit down music.  No zip lines though.  I still wouldn’t recommend traveling far to do this show and bring a range of price points.  It is shaping up to be a good filler show if you happen to be in the area.  Jim Spillane (out of retirement) with his exceptional photography was disappointed in his sales.  Tim Moran and his wife Janet with exceptional pottery across from me seemed to do well but with lower price items.  I did below average for my shows in general but not as badly as last year and this is a local show for me so it is as much about advertising as it is for sales. 

The artists are in either a big tent or in three smaller pole barns.  You are allowed to put up your tent frame but not your tent top.  Securing your work against rain is very difficult in the outside spaces of the pole barns and the outside spaces of the big tent.  I usually opt for an inside row of the big tent for that reason but setup and breakdown is easier on the outside spots and you have some extra storage room.  This year I opted for the extra 5’ of booth space as well as a corner.  A single 10’ booth space in the inside row can get claustrophobic especially if, like happened to me last year, you are across from a very popular booth.  If you are in the inside rows setup and breakdown will most likely need some dollying but it is not bad.  Electricity is provided and some spots can be dark so be sure and bring lights.

In this tech-driven society, mobile devices play a huge part in improving art appreciation. In the nonprofit sector alone, npENGAGE ranked mobile as the most influential factor to improve operations of art organizations. Citing a PR Web study, writer Ryan King said 28% of the web traffic comes from mobile, saying it’s a great opportunity to offer ticketing options by “offering visitors and patrons the opportunity to buy tickets on their smartphone and then use their phone as their ticket for admission.”

Last year, we saw how online art went mainstream. Today, as mobile technology gets more innovative, there are more ways to improve art appreciation:

Google Open Gallery

Late last year, the Google Open Gallery was opened to the public, allowing you to host and publish your own mobile exhibit. A part of Google’s Cultural Institute, it showcases any of your vintage artwork and historical documents. Similar to Google+ previously, you’ll ask for an invite to maximize the Open Gallery. Then, all of the platform services are free to use, including the culturalspot.org domain.

You can customize your whole mobile web page and upload multimedia files such as images, videos, and the Street View imagery. Anyone accessing your exhibit on a smartphone is able to zoom content for high-resolution images. There’s a mounted advanced search feature to locate cultural content. As Forbes proclaims Google as the most visited website, with 7% mobile-only visitors, the Open Gallery is a good opportunity to spark engagement among art novices.    

Mobile applications

The prelude to museum visits involves a specific amount of time, as they need to canvass for cheaper ones or consult with their friends. Mobile applications aim to shorten these long processes. For instance, The Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC has the Infinity of Nations app, which provides mobile tours, videos, and slideshow presentations of a specific exhibit.

Among its selection of apps, the LeafSnap is one of the most intuitive, as it uses your smartphone camera to identify plant species. After snapping a specific leaf, it uses GPS coordinates to identify the tree from a vast database. For accurate results, you need to use a quality smartphone camera, which the latest mobile phones are already equipped with. One of which is the new HTC One M8, which O2 revealed has a “clever” snapper that captures just the right amount of light. With this, you’ll be able to capture leaf elements vividly – the blade, edges, pattern, and veins.

Amazon Art

Amazon takes advantage of the mobile retail trend with the Amazon Art, considered as the ultimate online marketplace of fine art. When purchasing an artwork, patrons tend to find cheaper alternatives, with easier interface. With Amazon Art, collectors are compelled to buy from the portal with its easier mechanism and its reasonably priced resources.

This is not Amazon’s first venture into the art industry. There was a pilot scheme in 2001 wherein Amazon partnered with auctioneer Sotheby’s with a project that only lasted for 16 months. But today, it seems that the company is poised to persuade interested art novices to sign up. The portal exhibits around 40,000 pieces of fine art, a result of Amazon’s partnership with 150 art galleries across the United States, including the Paddle8 in New York and the Catherin Pearson Gallery in Seattle. VentureBeat reported that it features pieces from over 4,500 artists, such as Salvador Dali, Marc Chagall, and Damien Hirst.

Art Startups: Where art and tech meet

Today, there’s a boatload of art startups, employing mobile technology to redefine their line of work. The Globe and Mail believes it’s a high time for these types of companies, saying that “creative people are linked to economic growth.” Here are some of them:

· S[edition]

When it comes to digital art, S[edition] is making a big name. Founded by Harry Blain and Robert Norton, it can be your online resource of digital artworks coming from contemporary artists such as Yoko Ono and Jenny Holzer.

· ARTFLAKES

ARTFLAKES has its own way of sparking engagement by allowing art novices to interact with artists. It also houses around 620,000 designs, photographs, and paintings.

· ART:ICULATE

Established in March 2013, ART:I:CULATE is a platform tasked to “organize exhibitions for you and with you.” The main attraction of the sites is its social aspect wherein you can discover new artists, collect pieces, and expand your creative network.

Whether you’re an art novice or professional, the techniques used by these institutions help you develop that artistic freedom and independence.

 About the Author:

Despite being a mobile tech blogger, you can also talk to Allie Cooper about everything and anything art-related. On Sundays, one of her recreational activities is painting in her backyard. For more stories, contact Allie on Twitter and Google+.    

Buckhead Spring Art Festival was this mother's day weekend.  I think it was the fifth year for this show and I have done them all and should have reviewed them all.   Lots of past info written about this show.  I will quickly go thru the logistics again but if you want greater detail just search past reviews.

Set up is on Friday in a beautiful park in Chastain Park Atlanta.  You can drive up to your booth spot, drop off, then go park your car then come back and take your time setting up.   Booths are along one side of the street and most people have room behind their tents.  Many of the artists sit across from their tents and some can blow out.  They have golf carts to run the artists back and forth from parking to their cars if needed.  My booth isn't far from parking so I usually don't need a cart. 

Saturday predicated rain and it was cloudy most of the day.  The crowds weren't too big, I think the forecast scared everyone but it never really rained on us.  This is the first time I brought lights to my booth and they made a difference in my opinion on the cloudy day.  I had two big pieces leave that day and usually Sunday is my big day at this show.    So I was happy.  

The layout was a little different this year because there were concerts scheduled at the park in the evenings.   Less booths at the beginning of the show, so instead of my booth being about 50 booths in I was about the fifth booth in.  It was fun on Saturday afternoon getting to hear and peak at Il Divo warm up, especially considering how expensive tickets are to actually go into the amphitheatre to watch.  Also David Bromstad  from HGTV Color Splash came to the show and filmed and visited with all the artists.  That was fun.  I am a fan of his being a colorist.  Tons of advertising for this event.  It was all over the place, every magazine, website, newspaper, billboard, news channel on and on.  Every AFFPS show there is lots of press on featured artists. Jenny Hennley made the AJC, I was featured in the buckhead newspaper and MArc Villanueva was featured in David magazine.It also happened to be my birthday on Saturday so I was very spoiled by the other artists and staff with lots of gifts from artists especially designed and created for me and even a flash mob preformed a shimmy bellydance routine  with happy birthday around my tent, lol.  Also the food trucks at this event are top notch. No funnel cakes to be found. I eat from the sushi truck, an ahi tuna salad that was amazing. I love that. Usually I don't buy festival food. But AFFPS shows always have high end food because they attract a higher end of patrons

Sunday the rain left us and it was sunny and warm.  Tons of people and lots of buyers.  I had great sales and pages of people I have to follow up within the next few weeks for custom work.  This will keep me very very busy for the next few months.  If you have read my other posts on this show, this is the norm.  Good sales and great follow up sales. 

Load out was the easiest yet at my end.  This can be a difficult show to get out of because of the long narrow road the show runs along.  I am pretty fast to break down, and I had my double booth.  Break down started at 6.  Broken down with a pass by 6:20.  Fully loaded by 6:40 and driving out and off to deliveries. 

This was my 5th show in 6 weeks.  I have next weekend off, really need it but so far all shows except for Dogwood have been great this spring.

September 20 & 21, 2014

CenterFest is a competitive, juried festival attracting high-quality fine art and fine crafts.  In its 40th year, CenterFest is the longest running outdoor juried arts festival in North Carolina. Located in Durham's lively downtown district, the event is a favorite among visual artists, performing artists and visitors. 

Durham's recent Creative Vitality Index score indicates Durham has grown to be a top creative community in the U.S. CenterFest 2014 will leverage the extraordinary assets of the downtown district, including culinary arts components, exciting entertainment and historic districts, and a cutting edge creative community, to highlight the high quality of the visual artists and the sophistication of the creative class demographic. The festival will feature 65 performing acts and locally sourced food vendors.  In 2013 Durham won the title of "Tastiest Town in the South" by Southern Living Magazine and the downtown district features many of the restaurants that helped earn that title. 

DAC's expanded marketing campaign, support from the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Durham, Inc. and radio, television and regional newspaper sponsors will continue to build an audience from a strong and growing regional market. 

Artist Amenities:

* Easy Load in/Load out, Free parking, 24 hour security

* Discounted rates at sponsor hotel

* 1 complimentary breakfast and lunch per booth per day

* Merit awards totaling $2,500

* Artists and images listed and linked on CenterFest website for 11 months

* Friendly and supportive staff, Booth sitting 

* Limited to 140 artists.   

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS: www.zapplication.org/event-info-public.php?fair_id=3065 

APPLY TODAY - DEADLINE 5/15

My "Visitors to my House" project is five years old this month. I've been photographing everyone who comes to my house with something they brought. Most are artists who have brought their artwork for me to photograph.


The latest pictures in the gallery are two artists who brought their work to be photographed just the other day.
my gallery on Zenfolio:
http://larryberman.com/p83235154

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

Artisphere, Greenville, SC - May 9-11, 2014

Over $15,000 Distributed to Winning Artists

One of the nation's best shows, that really knows "what artists want" and that also excels at PR just sent me this:

Best of Show winner was Aaron Hequembourg (2D Mixed Media)
2nd place winner was Tai Taeoalii(2D Mixed Media)
3rd place winner was Paveen “Beer” Chunhaswasdikul (Ceramics)

The four merit award winners were:

Suzy Shultz (Oil/Acrylic Painting)
Chris Coffey (Photography)
Amber Mahler (Precious Jewelry)
Santiago Gutierrez (Ceramics)

The Mayors Choice Award, sponsored Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. was given to Greenville’s own Kent Ambler (Printmaking), designer of this year’s commemorative 10th Anniversary poster.

This year’s 10th Anniversary Artisphere festival features 125 artists from across the country that were selected from a record-breaking 934 submissions.  On Friday, artist booths were judged by jurors Angela Bubash (jeweler and professor of jewelry/metalsmithing at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC) and Stacy Huggins (executive director at Redux Contemporary Art Center, Charleston). Seven prizes totaling over $15,000 were distributed on Saturday morning at the Artists Awards Breakfast.

My surveys for the new Palmer Park Art Fair have been coming it.  It was a beautiful show, and, the only thing that most of the artists mentioned as negative was that the wind on Saturday was problematic.  All but one of my surveys came in with positive comments.  The remaining one had nothing but negatives.  According to this one artist absolutely everything that others said was completely untrue.  Their parking was convenient, his was not.  Their setting was beautiful, his was not.  It goes on and on.  Sigh.

September 20 & 21 
Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota
Historic rivertown on the St. Croix River
10am-5pm
150 Artists and Craftspeople
Deadline: May 10

Award winning, well established show with quality art and craft.                      

• Beautiful setting outdoors
•           
• easy set-up, no pets
•           
• Fall leaf looking ten minutes north of Stillwater, 40 min. from Minneapolis
•           
• All profits go to our Public Safety Department
•           
• Extensive advertising of the art fair is planned this year
•           
• more than 6000 visitors

This is an outdoor event that has the reputation of being an outstanding art fair.  Always held the 3rd weekend of September, the peak of our fall colors tourist season.   

Marine on St. Croix is located 10 miles north of Stillwater on Highway 95 along the beautiful St. Croix River.  Once a busy river town during the 1880's, Marine is now a community whose residents treasure the atmosphere of a friendly small town and county life with the advantages of being near a metropolitan area. Get the details! www.marineonstcroix.org

The town square, with its general store, town hall, library, ice cream shop, bank, and café, give the downtown area the look of a New England village.  A charming post office, the stunning Christ Lutheran Church, the historic 1872 Stone House Museum, and a restored Swedish settler's cabin add to the charm.  The original mill site south of the Village Hall has been declared a state historic site.

CONTACT INFORMATION:      

Marine Art Fair, PO Box 250, Marine on St. Croix, MN, 55047       

Phone (651) 433-3636 during business hours. 
Email:  marineartfair@midconetwork.com

         www.marineonstcroix.org/artfairdetails.shtm  

How is that for a concept?

In Mexico there is a tax program that allows artists to pay what they owe the State with artwork. 

The program is simple—donations are made according to reported sales. If an artist sells between one and five pieces of art in a given year, he or she donates one piece to the federal government. If the artist sells between six and eight pieces, he or she donates two, and so on, with an annual cap of six donations.

So who does pay taxes there?

In a country where 50 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, paying little or no taxes, and another 30 percent earns a living in the informal market, economists have estimated that the tax burden rests on a mere 20 percent of the population.

So what is this "informal market?" Does the IMF know about that when they are investigating money laundering and tax evasion?

This is an interesting story, read it here: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/04/in-mexico-artists-can-pay-taxes-with-artwork/360519/?utm_source=5.6.14+ENEWS

Posted with permission from Connie.

Living in Pittsburgh, I walk the Three Rivers show both periods each year and introduce myself to the artists. If anyone is doing Three Rivers and needs a booth picture, give me a call (412-401-8100) and we'll set up a date. I've already been contacted by a few artists. I try to shoot before the show opens so I can work with the artist to arrange things to make the booth picture cleaner.

I photograph artwork and seem to specialize in jewelry, though I can photograph anything. A few artists have already made arrangements to come to my home studio prior to or after the show for me to photograph their artwork, or give me pieces to take home during the show which will then get mailed back after I photograph them.

I also walk Howard Alan's August Shadyside show and Fair in the Park at Mellon Park doing the same thing each year.

Examples of my artwork photography:
http://bermangraphics.com/digital-jury-resources/jury-slide-photography.htm

Before and after examples of my jury image improvements:
http://bermangraphics.com/digital-jury-resources/fixing-jury-images.htm

And if you're going to shoot your own booth picture, my list of tips is a great resource:
http://bermangraphics.com/artshows/photograph-booth.htm

Cross posted to the jury forum also.

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

Well, the two nouns, "shrimp" and "art" should give you fair warning about the goings on there.  And there are pirates there too--arrrgh!

Fernandina Beach (FB) is the first beach town coming into Florida on the Atlantic.  Old historic, been under five flags, this town swells to hundreds of thousands during this festival.

There is the Shrimp part, parades,fireworks, shrimp boat parades, live music on a big stage--and lots of historically-dressed pirates.

On the art/craft side, you have 250-plus exhibitors.  Most are on the main drag--Center Street. Some, ones who jury scores are not high enough according to the art show committee standards, are placed on about four side streets.  Usually, their sales are not nearly as good as out on Center.

Also on the side streets you have antique dealers, plate sellers, plants, junk, you name it, it is all there.

So there is a lot of competition for the tourist dollar.  And most don't care one rat's ass about art.

First, let me give you a historic perspective from me.  I have done this show at least twenty five times since 1980.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN FERNANDINA

In the early days, the wealthy nearby Amelia Island Plantation community was just a glee of an idea in a shrimper's eye.

But, it was after Easter, a lot of the seasonal money had left town.  So they thought--why not have an art show with shrimpers and pirates--and we won't tell Howard Alan about it.

So they did.

In those days the pirates rode down Center street with jail-cages and imprisoned lovely local lasses who had to be bailed out for a fee--heck, a shot of Jack would set them free.

Center Street was not as tony as it is now.  No nice brick-lined streets with colorful planters. No tall shade trees growing along the curb.  Very few retail or eateries to choose from.

But the people came by the hundreds, and hundreds.

An artist couple invited me to camp in their back yard for my first festival in 1982.

I was sound asleep in my tent,on my air mattress, dreaming of great sales to come the next day.  All of a sudden I was scarily awoken by these high-pitched screeching noises from across the water--it was the paper mill furnaces being shut down in the middle of the night.  Very scary.

Frankly, in the 80's I had better sales at the show than I do now.  It was innocent times.  There was less competition from other photographers.  People were receptive to new, fresh work, especially if there was a little humor attached to it.

I had one guy, who owned a seafood restaurant in Savannah on the river, he and I bartered every year for  a long time.  I always looked forward to eating good there.

I was not alone.  Lots of good artists with fresh work thrived there.  We all made good moola.

FERNANDINA NOW

The crowds are larger.  Noisey, sometimes rowdy, most are not interested in what is in the booths.

Consequently, a lot of old regulars don't do this show anymore.  They have been replaced with more mediocre, commercial work.  Thank God, the committee had the balls to throw out a couple of buy/sells this year.  Way to go!  FB committee.

Some people do very well with sales better than $5k like my neighbor next to me with paintings.  She sold solidly all day long.

Really good artists put on the side streets struggle for decent sales.

The committee for this show goes for very tried and true traditional work, nothing too fancy, exotic or ground-breaking.

When they jury artists and tally their scores.  Ones with the higher scores get placed on Center, the rest get put in the boondocks.

Last year I juried with work that got me into the likes of St. Louis and Ft. Worth.  It got me on the side street.  It rained real hard and I cancelled.

This year, I took note, and juried with more traditional work, and voila!  I was put on Center Street.

Artists have booths with backs against the curb.  There is generous room on the sides and ample room in the rear for inventory.

There are very decent awards given out, and the committee listens to the exhibitors.

The main reason I do this show is because I get to stay at Aileen Moore's historic house with five other artists.  She puts us up, we bring the food.  I cooked Saturday night's dinner--Quinoa with black beans, shredded chicken laden with cilantro, a touch of jalepeno, and finished off with blue corn chips and a zippy salsa.  Yum!

The day Aileen stops doing the show, and putting us up, is the day I quit coming.  Most of us have stayed at her places there and at the beach for more than 20 years.  We have had riotous times at the Irish Pub on Sunday nights (it is now gone, drat!).  We have shared many an artist tale over a warm fire in the back yard.  And, watching the fireworks from Aileen's upstairs, sloping porch is a fond tradition that I look forward to every year.

This year the rains escaped us on Friday night setup, but, then hammered us most of the day, Saturday.

We awoke to crisp sunny skies Sunday morn and waited for the show to heat up.  And, it did.

Most of us made good moola on that day.  We all had happy grins on our faces Sunday night.

Come Monday morn, I headed home to Tampa.  I took the scenic route rather than the interstate, back to Tampa.  Route 301.

You pass by little towns with speed traps--but, you know that, and don't speed.  You pass ancient fruit stands, the northern most in Florida.  You go by old fish camps on giant freshwater lakes.  You go thru rolling hills with horse farms near Ocala.  You go thru old southern hamlets like McIntosh and Micanopy.  Reluctantly, above Ocala you rejoin the interstate 75 and roar home with the rest of the migrating fish--looking for staties with radar everywhere.

When I hit Ybor around 1PM, I know the beautiful blonde will be waiting to greet me.  I take her to Bernini's for pizza--and life is wonderful.

Than you get up on Tuesday and prepare to do it all over again.  An artist's life is never slow, never dull,  most of the time we wish for more hours in a day.  

We gladly settle for a sound night's sleep.

Been doing it 39 years--successfully.

    A retired diplomat well experienced in security, negotiation, and tact, my husband's complexion goes a little red when he senses insensibilities and totally uncalled for exaggeration (unless it's adeptly manipulated to draw out a laugh or two).  His reaction to such things is to research them immediately and try to discern truth from distraction; to tone down hyperbole so that rational thought might actually be encouraged.  Well, I'll let him take over:

     Such was the case when we received a no-reply email from ZAPP yesterday, the subject of which was "Four Important Updates You Should Not Miss!", one of which was "Note from the Department of Homeland Security About Internet Explorer."  Uh-oh, you think, I'm using IE, and I'm screwed!

     We're not trying to minimize the potential dangers we all face, but to enlighten those of us who are not computer experts or web professionals so that we don't naively fall prey to the cries of "wolf!" we hear so often these days.  The danger is still there, but why must an organization like ZAPP -- which plays such an important role these days for so many us here -- needlessly distort, overdo, and indeed fabricate facts in an attempt to scare us to move from one browser to another?

    ZAPP referred to "a widely distributed alert" from DHS that "advised computer users to stop using the Internet Explorer (IE) web browser," and wrote that DHS "stated that the browser is susceptible to a hack that could result in a security breach."

     Let's discuss this alert's origin, first.  The alert is yes, from DHS, but more accurately from their US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team), which actually issues alerts after culling software warnings from Carnegie Mellon University's "Vulnerability Notes" database.  Note that Carnegie Mellon has published over 46,000 vulnerabilities since September 26, 2000 -- an average of over 3,000 per year, or roughly 8 each and every day, 7 days a week.  Of those, US-CERT publishes alerts for the "most frequent, most high-impact types of security incidents ...".  To receive an emailed alert from US-CERT, you must be signed up to receive them; otherwise, you'd need to access US-CERT's website daily, especially if you're a system administrator for an organization (e.g., ZAPP).  Most everyday computer users, like you and we, don't need to see them (although it pays to be aware of all security alerts, be they physical, or IT-related).

     (We may also critique ZAPP's use of "DHS" as the alert's originator.  DHS alerts can take many forms, but they're usually not formally "DHS" alerts.  In addition to US-CERT alerts, these include advisories from NTAS (the National Terrorist Advisory System), FEMA, USCIS, and USCPB.  A little more specificity or elaboration would be more useful, practical, and less alarming.)

     Second, does this specific alert advise computer users to "stop using the Internet Explorer (IE) web browser"?

     It says (or more accurately, said) no such thing.  The US-CERT alert's specific recommendations are that "users and administrators review Microsoft Security Advisory 2963983 for mitigation actions and workarounds," and for "those who cannot follow Microsoft's recommendations, such as Windows XP users, [they] may consider employing an alternate browser (emphasis ours)."

  Even more confounding is the fact that Carnegie Mellon published the vulnerability on April 27, US-CERT issued the alert on April 28, and on May 1, both Carnegie Mellon and US-CERT called attention to Microsoft's May 1 security update and resolution regarding the specific issue.  ZAPP's email is dated May 6!  It probably should be filed in our "Who Cares?" folder.  It looks like the problem was resolved a week before ZAPP scared the hell out of us with their DHS alert telling us not to use Internet Explorer.

     Third, ZAPP's email adds that it has "long recommended that ZAPP users utilize the Firefox, Chrome, or Safari browsers."  That's interesting, because according to their website:  "For optimal performance, use the most recent versions of Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, or Safari.  In our experience, Mozilla Firefox and/or Google Chrome are most compatible with ZAPP."  We don't know about you, but even in internet / software-speak, we find it difficult to make a distinction between "optimal performance," and "most compatible."  Contrary to their email with its ultra-scary DHS alert, it appears that ZAPP has also "long recommended" Internet Explorer for optimal performance.

     Finally, a rudimentary search of US-CERT software alerts will quickly reveal cautions concerning Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari.  Where was ZAPP when these were published?

    So why would an organization like ZAPP publish a wolf-crying, potentially terrorist-related alert in an email like this?  Because their IT person was probably having a bad day.  And their email drafter was probably too confused (or web-innocent, like most of us), to question it.  And the person approving its issuance on May 6 was probably on a fishing trip and didn't realize the "danger" we'd all been in for a week and a half while he or she was busy catching trout.

     These are how things go sometimes.  So stay smart!  Be alert, but don't become paranoid.  Paranoia always calls for more work than is necessary.  (Such as installing and using a new browser, when the one you're already comfortable with, probably works fine.)  Paranoia can also freak out your neighbors.

I've done previous reviews on this show so I'm not going to rehash what I've already written.  Do a search for my previous blogs if you want to get further information.

This is a jury by check show and at first glance looks like it is not going to be very profitable for fine art.  But there is a lot of fine art here and most of it is segregated in what is fondly or not so fondly called the dust bowl.  Booths in the dust bowl are on grass which quickly succumbs to the many feet of the attendees.  Booths near the Carillon are on pavement and are nearer to parking which makes load in and out easier.  Rumor says sales are better in the dust bowl but I am interested in hearing from Leo Charette about how his sales were by the Carillon.

Setup is by dollying and is allowed on Friday from dawn to dusk.  When I arrived early Friday morning there were a couple tents already set up so there may be the possibility of setting up earlier.  My first year doing this show I arrived for setup at 1:00 PM hoping to save some vacation time.  Don't do that unless you have a very light setup or are a glutton for punishment.  Parking for setup is tight and you will dolly a lot further.  Setup is also allowed on Saturday morning and the show does not open until 11:00 so there is plenty of time.  However people start coming in around 10 so it is best to be setup and ready for customers by then.

It looked like it was going to be a perfect storm this year.  There was pouring rain all week long and then a beautiful weekend.  It did not materialize.  The weather was perfect but my sales were down by half.  Attendance seemed to be normal but there was a bike event going on in Richmond that apparently made traveling in Richmond very difficult with a lot of closed streets.  It still was a good money maker for me and I do recommend the show.

One last note - I have tried and I have never been able to get to the show when following the directions that the show gives me.  If you are coming down 195 to the show instead take the Cary St. exit, turn left on Cary St. and then right on Boulevard St.  When you come to the Y go to the right and head towards the tall building (Carillon).  There is a 20 cent toll going out, bring dimes.

August 23 & 24
New Carlisle, Indiana
The Homestead
Set up: Fri: 6 pm ET
Sat. & Sun. 11am-6pm ET
40+Artists
Deadline: August 1

This beautiful property has room for many more exhibitors but we are strictly limiting it this year because we want to grow the show slowly with success for the exhibitors. It is a place where local residents are used to visiting for celebratory events and we believe it is the perfect place for an art fair. 

 

Show Highlights:

• Artists will retain all proceeds from their sales
• Reasonable booth fees
• 12x12 booth spaces
• Prize money
• Extensive marketing campaign that will include internet, magazine, newspaper, postcards, posters, television, and radio. In addition, we will be sending an e-blast out mailers to art buyers, and gallery owners.
• The show will be marketed to Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois 
• Artist friendly, knowledgeable staff. Friday set-up. Flushed toilets
• Easy access from the Indiana Toll Road and State Road 31 and 20 minutes from South Bend, Indiana; 1 hour from Chicago; 20 minutes from New Buffalo, Michigan

Artists Amenities:

• Complimentary lunch delivered to our booth on Saturday
• Television advertising and marketing materials will be available to artists
• You are welcome to demonstrate your works of art.  Please be sure to specify on the application that you will be demonstrating so we can accommodate you
• Travel and hotel links to help you plan
• 24 hour security. Booth sitter assistance

More Highlights:

• Food vendors will be on site both days from old fashion kettle corn to fine cuisinefrom celebrity Chef Randy Z
• We pride ourselves on going beyond to accommodate the artists and our guests. We will provide comfortable seating to our patrons, art dollar giveaways and live music both days.  In addition, we always choose venues that are attractive to people with disposable incomes.
• KoZmo Events Mission:  To strengthen and support the arts by bringing people together to enjoy arts through artistic events of the highest quality
• (One time jury fee to all artists who have never participated with KoZmo Events)

For more information: 

Please contact:  Shireen Cline (269)625-1638  

Application:   www.myhalkuclass.com/KoZmo/kozmoevents/cms_page/view 

Please like us on Facebook:   www.facebook.com 

Please check out the venue:  www.homesteadevents.com/ 

Hi Guys....me again, I waited for a while thinking someone else might want to post a review on this show, since I posted one a few weeks ago. I didn't want this to be like a journal of my ups and downs. But in the hopes that each review helps everyone else and knowing that my show might not be your show, because we do very different things...here goes nuthin'.

 Tennessee Crafts is the new name for TACA, a spring and fall show that runs in Centennial Park in the heart of Music City two times a year. In the spring it is predominately Tennessee Artists and surrounding state craft guild members. It seemed to have a fairly big representation outside of the state this year which I think made the show even stronger. Since I live in Tennessee, coming here is always a homecoming for me and even if I don't know someone, I know of their work, and it's fun to mingle and see everyone's new stuff.

Load in was dolly in because of the recent rains....yuck...I hate it but I do it....get the dread over with and set up. It wasn't as far for me from the parking lot as it was for some. This is such a happy show to do, no attitude, no drama, people smile and the promoters come around and talk to you more than once a show....maybe it's Tennessee, people are just naturally nice here( I'm originally from New Jersey so I can say that). Thursday night was a party and reception for artists at a gallery but sorry- I didn't go, I was beat and wanted to put my feet up and relax.

Friday started breezy and cool, I was under a big oak tree...Thank you Jesus! Shade, even when it's cool, is better than anything else for moi,  so after borrowing a beautiful silk shawl from Vicki Viperman, a fiber artist...the day went by slow for me. I made a whopping hundred dollars and wondered seriously if this was the fate of the new work I was doing. We always second guess ourselves when we have a bad day...it's the nature of the beast-right? So Saturday started with me wondering about a lot of things, art, life, my ability to stay upbeat and happy when I don't make a pot to pee in.....well the sun came out, it was a beautiful day and the crowds came big time! I had my single best day ever at a show...I was thanking the wax gods for looking so kindly down on me. I saw a lot of big items go by too and I know the jeweler, printmaker and basket maker around me did very, very well too. I did talk to a friend who is a wood worker and he said it was just an average show for him, unusual because wood is usually king for shows in Tennessee...people love their wood rockers and cutting boards and also metal garden geegaws...

Sunday was also packed and I didn't even have a chance to sit or eat because I was so busy. That is not to say that booth sitters weren't plentiful and one even went and got me a smoothie because I couldn't leave the booth. Water was also delivered a few times a day. Oh and did I mention the breakfasts? Probably the best anywhere- fresh fruit, artisan breads, oatmeal, even sandwiches for lunch prepared to take. ..plus the Bella coffee was incredible.

Load out was not problematic, there was plenty of room to drive on the lawn and load right from our booths since it was dry. I have to say that Teri Alea, the head of TACA is an incredible spirit for this show. she is organized, always looking to make things better and so completely joyful that I wish I could live in Nashville so I could be her friend...she is that cool. 

Drove home that night across the plateau to Knoxville, it is amazing how driving home is no problem when you have a good show and what a pain in the patoot it is when you don't ...we seem to live and breathe on our successes and failures in this business..but for this one.....it was a pleasure.

Does anyone have a good idea for displaying heavier, bigger, metal jewelry for a HA show, since

he doesn't allow tables. I'm small and often travel alone. Was thinking of getting a styrofoam material

and cutting and fauxing it to look like marble, but cut it weird or something. Then I can do his FL

shows. Any comments would be greatly appreciated...and hey I'm a supporter now...actually have

listened to several podcasts...Connie..you do a magnificent job here...congrats on birthday!~

So, I was an artist in Artist Alley at the Penguicon this weekend at the Westin Hotel in Southfield, MI. The Penguicon is a science fiction, open source software and gaming event. Since I am also an Extra Class ham radio operator, I felt quite at home. This was my first ever anything kind of con event. I received a lot of compliments on my work. I received a good amount of sales over the three day event. And one of the featured guests purchased my work.

So, this got me thinking of other types of events like this. Since much of my work consists of vintage Fisher Price Little People and Lego ® minifigures - so should I apply to other events like this? I know art fairs have been good to me, but a little extra income on those off weeks when I am not at an art fair and some sort of con-event where everyone understands my work...