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The entrepreneurial life of an artist requires continuous learning and experimenting and we need to stay on top of what else is going on out there in the arts and put our own careers in perspective.

My friend, Richard Rothbard, just sent me this link to Fine Art Magazine. Want to know what the BIG "real" art fairs are doing? Who is buying art and what kind of art is being celebrated?

This amazing website opens up like a magazine and you can page through it and read the articles about high society and who is buying what and see the work of up and coming artists, as well as establishment figures.

Really worth a look: http://issuu.com/fineartmagazine/docs/fine-art-magazine-winter-2012-2013

Plus, there is an article about Richard and Joanna Rothbard, their galleries and their shows and how they have developed markets for people who do the street art fairs.

Has anyone here attended these big glossy events or participated in them? Do you see them as a goal or inspiration to market/work/innovate/grow?

April 13 & 14
Historic, Old-World Cedar Key, Florida
120 Spaces
Deadline: December 15

Have you heard of Cedar Key?

Four reasons to apply Today!

1. The Most Magical Spot In The USA.  People spend their lives searching for a haven like Cedar Key.  Seven Islands connected by bridges on the Gulf, 60 miles west of Gainesville with 1800's buildings and Native American history.  Surrounded by tranquil beauty with mystical islands, bird sanctuaries and the best darn clams, oysters, crabs and redfish, anywhere!  Plus, unmatched hospitality of our historic community of artists, fishermen (and women) and creative, eclectic people.  The vibe in Cedar Key is what Key West was-sixty years ago.  It's where you'll find members of your tribe-on the water, in the bars, at the show, in the gulf-front park.

2. Money & Patrons.  22,000 people attend the free festival.  $10,000 in Prize Money plus $8,000 in Patron Purchase Awards.  Low fees: application $32-booth $150.

3. Plan Your Florida Tour with 3 consecutive Shows in Two Weeks.  Leverage your time!  Bookend Cedar Key show with two larger shows:  Gainesville Santa Fe Art Festival and St. Petersburg Mainsail Festival are the weekend before and after. (apply separately)

4. Who Loves Ya Baby?  We take real good care of you!  Complimentary Artists Breakfasts and Award Reception, friendly booth sitters, affordable booth fees, comfortable 10x12 spaces.  Friday pm and Saturday am set up.  Great food (only local, home-made food at the festival), great drinks, cool places to watch the sunset (Low Key Hideaway Tiki Bar) and friendly people everywhere.  You'll think your dreaming-but you'll be in wondrous Cedar Key!  Prepare to fall in love!

Hosted by the Cedar Key Art Center, we live for INSPIRATION, PASSION-and are ROOTING for more western, mid-west and northern artists.  Established and Emerging-to join our strong contingent of southeastern artists at our annual, juried fine arts and crafts festival.  A smart planner can work three shows in two weeks!

Questions?  Call me, Call me Anytime!
Laura Matson Hahn, Event coordinator, (352)543-5400, email:  cedarkeyarts@bellsouth.net

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fill up your 2013 art fair season.
Visit www.CallsforArtists.com now for a solid list of shows looking for you!

It seems more than a few people had a poor year.  I was a first timer in 2012 and was left with virtually nothing to invest into 2013.  I really think many of the jury approvals are based upon the fact that progressively fewer artists are surviving to submit art/pay the fees, etc. 

As the world is supposed to end soon, I guess I won't worry about it, but good grief the fees were sure steep and I even heard veterans saying how poorly they did!  Now, I'm not whining as I'll just try something else, but ya gotta wonder if a change isn't due...

The following may have been covered in previous posts and, if so, I apologize for wasting everyone's time. However, I'm stuck on a couple of things and hope someone can help.
I recently began using the Square and I love it. But, I'm disappointed that I've been able to find very little in the way of tech support or instruction on how to use the system to its full capability. Can anyone direct me to a website or other source of instructional material? Can someone tell me how to process a transaction manually I.e. the card isn't available as with a telephone order. It's in areas like this where I've been unable to find anything in writing. Any suggestions or information would be greatly appreciated.

I went to see the Tempe Festival of the Arts this weekend. I went on Saturday (2nd day) afternoon and went into a painters booth and she had several works on her walls with a large sign marked sold. Her paintings ranged from $3,000-$8,000. My wife didn't think she may have actually sold them but put a sign up to get people talking and yes I saw people wispering about the sold signs. Now I don't think any artist would mark a painting sold if it wasn't really sold but my wife thinks people may do that to make people think that their art is hot and selling well. Has anyone done this or know anyone that has done this? I'm not accusing anyone of doing this, I was just curious if this was a marketing strategy or not?

It's that time of the year! The time where people from all over the world come together to do something nice for each other ...

Let's try something new online. Ever been in a "job" where they did the Secret Santa thing? You draw a name and then do nice things for a person secretly during the holiday season and give them a gift at the end -- all anonymously?

We are all so connected with each other in our business that this seems a good time to have some fun with each other. Find the details here: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/forum/topics/secret-santa-looking-for-you

And Join in the Cheer!

March 16 & 17

Gulf Coast Town Center, one of south west Florida's most popular upscale open air shopping destination provides the perfect venue for this magnificent outdoor fine art festival showcasing unique handmade and inspiring creations from some of the nation's best and most talented artists. There are all forms of art for sale including ceramics, metal, glass, jewelry, paintings, sculpture, wood, stone, fiber, photography, and more.

All artwork is juried, which provides a higher level of quality, diversity and creativity of art on display, exemplifying the gifted artists in regions from all over the country. Join us and meet award winning artists and thousands of art enthusiasts at this huge outdoor festival.

Artist Amenities:

• Extra space behind your booth for storage.  
• Drive up access for easy unloading and end of festival loading.  
• Friday setup from 3pm-6pm with overnight security and also Sat morning from 6am-9am.  
• Complimentary continental breakfast, coffee and water (Sat & Sun from 6am - 9am).  
• Floating volunteers will be available to provide breaks for the artists.  
• Ice cold bottled water will be handed out during the festival.  
• On-site vehicle, trailer and RV parking.  
• Discounted lodging rates at local hotels & local restaurant discounts.  
• Free golf cart shuttle service as needed.  
• Security will be provided from the close of Friday evening setup (6:00pm) until Saturday morning at 10:00am, and from the close of the festival Saturday evening (5:00pm) until Sunday morning at 10:00am.  

        
Free Admission and Parking
All festivals are open to the public with free admission and free parking

Learn more about our shows at: www.BluArtFestivals.com
Apply online at: www.Zapplication.com

I just got an invitation off of the wait list for Baltimore ACC.  I only have 8 weeks to prepare and am skeptical about spending close to 3000 for show costs alone.  I make hand painted silk wearables that do well in the marketplace.  I have been in the business full time for 11 years.  I did the Rosen wholesale show my very first year and it was awful, but that was 10 years ago.  I have done other expensive shows that have paid off well for me. I have done the Atlanta acc show and it was marginally worth it.  I am trying to jump up a notch into the higher tier shows, and thought this might be a good place to try.  If anyone has advice, I only have 24 hours to make this decision.

 THANKS!  Traci

June 8 & 9
Chicago, Illinois
Old Town Neighborhood
presented by the Old Town Triangle Assn.
250 Artists
Deadline: December 15

The Old Town Art Fair is a fine art show located on the streets, amid the charming homes and leafy parkways, of the historic Old Town Triangle neighborhood on Chicago's near north side. Picked as one of AmericanStyle Magazine's Top Ten art fairs, it has been a perennial favorite of artists, art lovers and art buyers since 1948. This volunteer-run event benefits neighborhood groups and schools and the Old Town Triangle Association, presenter of the Fair.

The 64th annual edition promises to be something even more special! Changes are afoot to make this the best Fair ever for our artists and patrons.

What's NEW:

• More Openings: In 2013 we are opening 50% of our spaces to applying artists, more than double the number of open spaces last year.
• Fewer Booths: To make sure we have a comfortable environment for all participants, and to reduce the competition for buyers, we are decreasing the number of booths/artists by 16, to 250.
• Better Entertainment: We are ensuring that our music venues and offerings are appropriate to our patronage and environment.
• Better Food: We are re-evaluating our food vendors to make sure the quality of the food is as high as possible for our event.
• Better Outreach: We are formally surveying patrons and meeting with artists to gather information to help improve our Fair, and stepping up our public relations efforts to attract more buyers.

All two- and three-dimensional fine artists who meet the show's qualifications are invited to apply for this premier event. Please visit www.zapplication.orgfor details and to complete an application.

Has anyone else ever been faced with the following situation?  For me, 2012 was not a good year.  I didn't get into several shows I applied to, I selected a couple of real dogs and, I had a couple of rather nice surprises.  However, I'm not going into 2013 with a nest-egg that would support General Motors!  And, now, with no impressive amount of money, it seems I'm being invited to every show to which I apply.  Wouldn't yo know!  I had hoped for a trip through Florida in the Spring and have been accepted into

Winter Park, Naples National, Gasprilla, Under the Oaks and Arti Gras but it would cost me $5000 to make a trip.  I realize I might triple my investment but, unfortunately, if you want to dance, you have to pay the band --- up-front.

Think I'll just stay home and start doing flea-markets!

In a business full of taking chances the first big challenge an artist has is to make the jury cut at the shows. Mo Riley, executive director of the Ann Arbor Art Street Art Fair, Lyn Sedlak-Ford, jury chair for Art in the Pearl, an artist run art fair in Portland, OR, and Jerry Allen Gilmore, artist, curator and juror for many of the top art fairs discuss:

• choosing a jury, who are those people and what their credentials are
• what an art show organizer does with your submission before the actual jury day
• what an artist receives in exchange for a jury/application fee
• how a juror evaluates art that is not in his/her field of expertise
• what the jurors learn from each other and why the panel should include insiders (art fair artists) and outsiders (teachers, curators, museum folks)
• how the final choices for the show participants are made
• wait lists

In listening I was particularly taken with the seriousness of purpose with which these people treated the jurying. When they talk about pre-jurying and the number of times a juror looks at the images the level of professionalism is readily apparent.

Listen to this podcast and be prepared to look at the jury process in a new way.

Email from a friend after we asked him for some show information:

As to show reviews, I'm uncomfortable about writing anything about an art fair on the internet. I cringe at the idea of a show director reading a bad review with my name attached. Getting into shows in the last decade of my career is so hard. I just don't trust the system enough to put my name on anything.

As to sharing what shows I do, I pass out thousands of card each year with my schedule on it. I put my schedule on my web site. Shows I do good at or not good at don't really apply. If I try a show it's because I've heard of it. I try it, I evaluate it, good or bad, and try to see if I want to work  it for a couple of years. With all the art fair lists and web sites available, how can you not know the art fairs. The fact is that the economy isn't very good. I'm an older exhibitor, not new, not with new work. If I go somewhere, I think of it as, do I want to work at this show and try to turn it into something that will work for me.

These people at the show wanting to know what shows are good. They don't seem to realize that I'm right there next to them trying to make some money. There's no secret shows. I put time and effort into making money at shows. I get into good and bad shows. Maybe your stuff isn't salable. Like the woman who reviewed Edina a while back, there's probably someone looking at her booth thinking if she wasn't there they'd be making money. Every show has good and bad work. Edina, for a fact, isn't that hot of a show, but I've done it for twenty years, do a mailing, try to reach my customers there. It doesn't make much difference who else is there. It's close to home, easy to do. My old spot had a trash can and a porta potty. What more could you ask for? Our joke was wait until it rains when all the blue tarps come out and people's booth fall down because they don't have a center pole.

A lot of these exhibitors seem to think that if so and so wasn't at the art fair, the fair would be better, and they'd make good money.
   

These days the line between good and bad shows is blurred. In crafts, I see a lot of former big ACE guys at the same shows I do. The customers go to all the shows. The line is blurred. You go to the Plaza or Coconut Grove and see the cheap jewelers just like at the little shows along with people with good work. If you get into all the top shows, more power to you, but most of us get into some good shows and some bad shows and learn to deal with it.

My new line with the judges is that I'm just a guy who  talks to himself with his respirator on all day and that's my artist statement. That's as deep as I get. This was yesterday's rant to myself at the felt wheel.

Congratulations to Alison Thomas, Michelle Monet and Warren Townsend -- all nominated from the AFI community as community leaders this month.

AFI continues to grow thanks to everyone's friendly participation and these three people are long time members contributing photos, advice, discussions, blog posts and so much helpful information that has helped a lot of you and kept you entertained along the way.

Michelle has been a member since March 2009 and asks great questions that bring out answers from others. Alison has been sharing her varied experiences (and using photos to prove her points) here since September 2009 and Warren has been lambasting, complaining and questioning everyone's sanity on the site since May 2009.

They join the illustrious group of "Community Leaders" recognized here: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/page/featured-members

Without participation we wouldn't have a community. Thanks Alison, Michelle and Warren!

Double congrats to Warren, winner of the best blog post for October, "Wake Up!", a solid assessment of the state of the economy at the art fairs. Thanks, Warren.

The Naples Fall Fine Art & Craft show (for the detailed 2011 review, click here) gives us SW Florida artists a way to make some dough without driving cross-state to shows in Delray Beach (Howard Alan) or Titusville (Space Coast).  Plus, it's small (down a bit from 2011, at just over 70 artists) and low-stress (with an optional Friday evening, drive-to-your-space setup).  Who wants a long, hard grind on a holiday weekend? 

As of a week before the show, I hadn't received any jury results from the much larger, better known Naples shows coming later in the season.  Most of the snowbirds won't arrive until after Christmas, but for all I knew, this would be my one and only chance to tap this well-heeled market, even if its timing isn't optimal.

This is not a heavily attended show, even though the weather couldn't have been better. Crowds were steady on Saturday, but I wouldn't call the streets crowded by any stretch.  As in 2011, Saturday attendees were in "browse mode": I saw VERY few packages being carried around, and I wound up the day barely covering the $300 booth fee.  Several artists pulled out overnight.

On Sunday, crowds were lighter, but there was a bit more buying energy, at least in my booth.  I took a few orders for Gallery Wraps a bit smaller than the 30x20s I display.  At Sunday afternoon, though, I was barely nudging four figures, and several of my neighbors (2-D artists, all) were getting by on small reproduction sales, if that. 

At 5 pm, I hadn't seen any of the "be-backs" who were going home to measure the walls, show my website to their spouses, or (the phrase of the weekend) "need to think about it".  Then, just as I started stripping the walls, cell phones started ringing in my booth and my neighbors'.  Dave Frutko, a beautiful abstract painter (who also, incidentally, runs the sold-out St. Pete Holiday show next month) sold a piece over $3K.  Another neighbor (also an abstract painter) sold one for $1300.  And I took orders for two canvases and a 4- by 3-foot print that added nearly a grand to my total.  

So, the bottom line turned out not so bad after all.  But it was a bit more of a nail-biter than most would expect in Naples.

The show couldn't be easier to do, and it was pleasantly and efficiently run by the von Liebig Art Center and show director Marianne Megala.  Check-in was quick; goodie bags were full; load-in was quick and easy.  The center's marketing/PR director was on-site much of the show, and took the unusual step of handing out a multi-page flier detailing the show's promotion and advertising schedule to each artist.  Marianne greeted artists by name, made sure everyone had a goodie bag, and stopped by each booth on Sunday to thank artists for attending.  And booth-sitters were around both days to provide breaks. 

Still, one couldn't help wondering: with all the effort put in to marketing the show, why weren't the crowds and sales bigger?  The $4 "suggested donation" may have deterred some, but probably not that many: After all, this is Naples. 

I think a bigger problem is the venue, which is a bit of an "outlier".  This show isn't on trendy, bustling 5th Avenue, but a street several blocks east, bordered on the east by a large undeveloped lot that provides easy patron and artist parking but not much in the way of ambiance. On the south sits heavily-trafficked, six-lane US 41 (Tamiami Trail), which veers east from the downtown area, and the upscale establishments haven't yet followed it.  As a consequence, visitors to Naples don't head east on Tamiami Trail from downtown unless they're headed to Marco Island, the Everglades or the East Coast. 

The venue isn't a show-killer by any stretch.  But it may put a "cap" on the attendance, and (for artists not struck by "last minute lightning", anyway) the amount of money to be made here.  To its credit, von Liebig markets this show as an off-season event, with a booth fee ($300) that's much lower than its January-through-March offerings.  Overall, this show can be decent for local and regional artists, but it's not a sure bet for out-of-state artists hoping for the kind of return on investment they could get here during peak season. 

The Art Police on Venice Beach

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323622904578129650246966768.html

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

 When dining on the road, we don't mind paying a little extra when it comes to CLASS

Has anyone done the Chester NJ shows?  If so, please give us your opinion.  How accessible is the venue?

Thanks - d

Apparently this is the second year that Cherry Creek Arts Festival has done the Colorado Artist Image Review Workshop. I missed any announcement of it last year and thought it might be of value to sign up. I've seen on this Blog that other festivals are also hosting this type of review. I hope the trend continues with other festivals as well!

Terry Adams of the Cherry Creek show was there with his support team, a representative of Zapplication and I especially enjoyed meeting Jerry Gilmore who acted as the juror/review person for this event. He seems to be popping up quite a bit as of late, just heard him on the BlogTalkRadio presentation as well. He was very gracious and generous with his time answering questions for this event.

To say the least, as Jerry pointed out, if you haven't seen your slides projected before an audience, or even projected them on your own, it is WELL worth it. Terry told of one artist last year who stormed out of a presentation. He followed him out and asked what the problem was. The artist reported being quite embarrassed at the quality of his work when presented this way and he was on his way home to fix it! Although I didn't storm out I too was disconcerted about how one of my images presented when projected. Had I not been in this presentation I might never have known that this one image (out of the 40 or so I have on Zapp) was formatted differently and thus showed up washed out and lifeless. It is one that I have used quite frequently as-of-late so I was concerned about the impression I was making! I too immediately went home and went about the business of finding out what was wrong. I dropped an email to Larry Berman about it and he was quite gracious about helping me as well. It was only after reviewing all of my stored images (not the ones stored on Zapps website) that I found the problem with this culprit. Zapp requests that images be stored in sRGB mode and wouldn't you know it, this was the only one that wasn't.

Although no guarantee of how your images will appear when projected one of the things you might do is preview them in a browser window. When I did the "Preview As a Juror" on Zapp this inconsistency in image quality did NOT show up.

So back to the issue at hand. The other eye opener was the difference in quality of images depicting people's booths. I've done a lot of work this year myself to make the best presentation possible after getting some useful feedback from Jim DeLutes and was rewarded with a complement by Jerry saying that my presentation was very professional. Some of the others at the review had a long way to go. And cropping of your booth shot. I thought that I had it pretty tight but got some feedback suggesting that I crop it even tighter!

Pre-review Booth Shot: Review Booth Shot

I'm especially sensitive to the idea of large blobs of white in an image, especially when you consider that the jurors are sitting in a dark room for long periods of time and a big white area will tend to blind you when it comes up on the wall/screen. I tried to bring down the brightness in the second image but it started to turn to grey so I left well enough alone. You can see in my second image that I removed the bins and really cropped the booth down very close. It should be noted that some shows want to see everything that you will have in your booth including the bins and chairs!

Some things that struck me about some other booth shots were, browse bins that were pointed into the light so that they looked like shining beacons in the sun (see mine above left), bins that obscured what was in the booth, chairs that obscured what was in the booth, etc. Jerry pointed out how backgrounds can tend to swallow the art, there needs to be contrast between your background and your art. For jewelers, especially if your work is small, it's nice to see professional display cases but if you can't see the jewelery, hanging large photo posters on the back wall is better than the lovely swag fabric. Also, it is a good way for people on the street who can't get through the crowd to preview your work. Oh, and by the way, lose the posters with your name or the company name in the background, jury's are not supposed to see names, the same goes for paintings, etc. use a photo editing program and get rid of the signatures or names.

As for cropping those art images, I know this seems quite elementary, but if you have 2D work lose the frame, unless...it is an integral part of the art. It is easier for a photographer to have images of their work especially in these days of digital capture but if you are taking pictures of your 2D work for gosh sakes make sure it is square to the frame! There were several images in this presentation that looked like they were taken from the side which created a distorted perspective (like looking down a tunnel).

Finally, bodies of work, I struggled with this one myself. Juries want to see a cohesive body of work. At first I thought it better to show a range of work, uh uh. Tis better to show that you have an ongoing theme rather than a smattering of this and that. One artist at the review was arguing this point and still insisted that their body of work was ALL of their work, good luck with that. I appreciate that they like to take images of whatever, I like diversity also, but when it comes to a jury I put my best foot forward and show a cohesive body of work, whatever it is.

All-in-all it was really instructive to participate in this kind of event both for what needs help as well as what looks good. If you have the opportunity to go to a show preview do so.