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I  am on my way to Pensacola, Great Gulf Coast Art Festival.

I live in Ybor City (Tampa) and could do Dunedin, but I don't, so does that tell ya something?

Some thoughts.

I still get that excited feeling of heading down the highway to an art show.  This is my 35th year in the biz, I have done more than 2000 of these little soirees.  I still get that feeling of hopeful sales at the show.  I love being on the road traveling.  It is nearly a nine hour ride to Pensacola.  But to me it is worth it.  I pass the sign on the Appalachicola River that says "You are now entering the central time zone.  I just gained an hour.  If I could find 23 more of these signs in a day, I would never grow old.

The times are very tough, my worst in 35 years--I am off by 60% over last year--plus I am recovering from open heart surgery.

But still I feel invigorated.  I am excited, this will be my first show of setting my booth up and stocking it without helpers.  I am ready.  It has been three months since surgery, I feel stronger.  I feel that I can pick up those 45-pund John Deere weights and heft them to my booth  (I will use my Magline cart.)

I believe I will make decent money  How is that for optimism?

I have decent winter/spring schedule shaping up for Florida.  I just gotta survive this month and December.  Daunting, but survivable.  I will triumph.

Does that sound like a good category for the Discussion area?

This is a friendly community, and after all, we all need each other to survive in the business. Nonetheless, I do know some people are loath to ask questions because sometimes the seasoned members have "heard it all."

My take on this:

• It is important for the life of AFI to help increase the sense of community that members feel with one another.
• It’s NOT ok to treat new people in the community badly.
• Newcomers will ask dumb questions. They will ask questions that have been asked dozens of times before. They will make various faux pas. You need to accept this.

But that’s the easy part.

• The hard part is the oldies need to accept this too. We all need to know how to not only tolerate but encourage newbie questions.
• Tired because there is no new discussion or ideas? You want this site to be lively? then we  need to be careful not to deter the newbies from participating again.
• When a long-time regular says "FFS, search the forum for the answer before you post" that's not only unhelpful, it drives away that newcomer and other newcomers from participating.

This doesn’t necessarily we're going to ban or punish those that do respond with a sarcastic comment. It does mean overwhelming such posts with so many more good remarks.

Some people only post once. If they get a rude or hostile answer, do you think they'll be back? Their posts need to be responded to. Respond nicely, usefully, and hospitably. Ask a question in the response to solicit further contributions. This is how we build the community to be even better and more helpful. Can you help out here?

Communities need new blood to survive. If we drive away the new blood, our community won't last long and serve you the way it has in the past.

What do you think? (oh no, was that a dumb question???)

Christmas Made in the South (CMITS) kicks off our holiday tour.  The CMITS shows are a family run business that treats their crafters and artists like one big extended family.  These are indoor shows (love it) that take place in SC, GA and FL.  There are anywhere from about 200 to 400 artists depending on the show.  There is extensive publicity on radio, direct mailers, billboards, TV and newspapers.  There are long lines of shoppers waiting for the doors to open.  Many of the shoppers spend two or even three days with their shopping lists and personal buggies.  At CMITS you will find a huge assortment of holiday arts, crafts, foods, music, toys, clothes, jewelry – you name it.  There are always some fine art offerings that provide an alternative for the high-end shopper.  In fact, many of who buy from us say “I am buying this as a present for myself.”  We also have follow-ups via email and the web.  At this show you will see plenty of shoppers walking out with bags large and small.  Price points are across the board.  I’ve participated in CMITS shows the past 3 years in Macon, Savannah, Augusta, Jacksonville and this year we added Columbus, GA.  In all honesty we have done well in some shows and just OK in others.  And my sales have been good one year and marginal another year.  It appears to me those who sell food, jewelry, children’s gifts or Christmas decoration type items have steady reliable sales. 

Image # 1 - Shoppers with their personal buggies and bags lined up and ready to start shopping.

Image # 2 - Plenty of potential customers all three days.

If you are looking for a true fine arts event Glynn Art in the Park on St. Simons, GA is about as good as it gets.  The jury brings in a well-balanced selection of (approximately 50) professionals representing 2D and 3D media.  You won’t find any marshmallow guns or necklace, bracelet and earring combinations offered at 3 sets for $10.  You will find a good selection of original acrylic, oils or watercolor, fine woven fabrics, exquisite pottery, high quality crafted jewelry, beautiful photography, stained glass and more.  The park was designed and laid out specifically for events like this. The ground is level with pavers under the mighty live oaks.  Load in/out is super easy.  While you may not be able to drive right to your doorstep, I don’t think anyone had to cart more than 50 feet to his or her space.  Friday night the Art Association, Board Members and Patrons mix and mingle with the artists over wine or sodas and heavy hors d’oeuvres provided by local restaurants.  Music is provided Saturday and Sunday in the form of small woodwind ensembles or violinist or guitarist/vocalist.  The selection of music and volume is fitting for a fine arts event.  The artwork is judged Saturday morning with awards/prizes/ribbons presented Saturday afternoon. As far as sales are concerned, most folks I talked to this year said they did fairly well.  I know at least a few large ticket items went home from some of my other artist friends.  I plan to apply again next year because the Art Association does everything right and I love this show.   To be honest I really hate to report on this event in fear that my kudos will bring in too many applicants and make the competition so tough I lose my place.

Image # 1 - Beautiful park under the mighty live oaks.

Image # 2 showing distance from trailer to booth set up.

Image # 3 - Music provided during the show.

Greetings, 

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Jefferson, Iowa, where I got a red flag this morning.  It came to my inbox.

I'l like to share it with you - maybe it came to your inbox as well?  Surely.

Festival Layout Expanded!

A few great spaces are available for the festival

Does that not make everyone run and hide?  Put their propanels in the back corner of the basement?  Purposely AVOID getting the oil change done on the art-schlepper-van?

If the festival staff (in this case a promoter) has to tell you there are a few great spaces left, then I can tell you there really weren't any great spaces to begin with.  Shows with great spaces are competitive enough that they have extra artists (on the waitlist, drooling over the idea of a last minute chance)

$450 for an art festival that can't even fill it's spaces on the first jury round?  I think not.  

It does NO GOOD to stand around on Sunday morning at a festival, where only two artists have sold well so far on the weekend, and complain about the economy (or whatever)  Sometimes we just need to keep the propanels in the garage.

KCooper

Hi Everyone!

For those stuck in the great white north of Wisconsin (and cannot get to Florida) my partner and I decided to open a season gallery for the holidays in downtown Minneapolis. This will be open only from Black Friday to January 4.

If you are interested below are the details or you can go to http://vintagepainter.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/art-elves-looking-for-artists/. There are only 10 spots. There are also pictures of the site at that link. 

________________________________________________________________

The Art Elves – where Santa goes for fine art – is looking for regional Wisconsin, Iowan, and Minnesota artists to participate in a seasonal artists show at the Gaviidae Commons in the heart of downtown Minneapolis.

We have secured 1,400 square feet on the street level of the Gaviidae Commons IIand are situated between the Italian restaurant D’Amico & Sons, the retailer Talbots and Neiman Marcus, the coffee shop Caribou Coffee, theWestin Hotel Minneapolis and the RBC Plaza.

All of these businesses open up into the atrium.

The Target Holidazzle Parade passes the store every Thursday through Sunday until December 18 bringing in additional foot traffic and interest.

The store will be open from Black Friday (November 23) through January 4, 2013 (Yes. I know. 2013 already?!) and through a lottery system every artist will rotate through the storefront windows and have access to the street window. 

We have space for ten artists. Each artist will have approximately 100 square feet depending on the type of art and how it needs to be displayed. Although the store has excellent track lighting and display space you may need to provide your own booth panels, displays and lighting.

You must provide your own insurance.

Let’s get the money questions out of the way: $800.00 Participation Fee + 10% commission + 3% for credit card transactions.  Art Elves will collect and pay all applicable sales taxes.

Did I mention that is a total of six weekends and five weeks over the holidays in downtown Minneapolis? On the parade route? In a high-end, high traffic location? Alongside other heavily promoted retailers? Over the holidays?

With fresh coffee nearby? And you don’t even have to work in the store unless you want too.

Participating artists will be mailed a check on Monday, December 17 for sales registered between November 23 to Friday December 14 and on Friday, January 11 for all sales registered between Saturday, December 15 and Friday, January, 4th. Checks will include a statement reflecting all sales.

All credit card transactions in the store will be taken via a Square.

Artists are responsible for delivering, setting up, replenishing inventory and picking-up their own work during strict hours.

Artists may opt into sales and promotional opportunities that may include Groupon,Living Social, Google Offers, Facebook promotions, Google+ promotions, Linkedin promotions, SMS text marketing and in-store promotions.

More details to follow.

The space is limited to ten artists and is first come, first served and until the spaces are filled. To the best of our ability we will not have competing artists.

Did I mention? This is first come.

Call or email Chrissy Mount (Kapp) or Sean Kinney for details. Chrissy@vintagepainter.com or Sean@vintagepainter.com or visit www.vintagepainter.com.

We were in Somerset NJ doing the Sugarloaf Craft Festival this past weekend (yes, yes, all the news was the storm -- people did come -- but not to buy -- it was painful for us). 

The first day of the show - right when it opened, there were 'suits and skirt' walking around with a notebook.  At first I thought it was a company that was trying to sell product.  Later on I found out that it was the NJ Tax 'Police' - going to people who hadn't filled out their tax forms - demanding that if an exhibiter didn't hand over $200 in the upcomng 1/2 hour, all products would be confiscated.  They went to our neighbor who sells hand-knitted baby clothing.  Clothing is exempt from tax in NJ - but she had 6 dolls - selling at $20 -- tax on each $1.40 -- she told them that if she sold one a show, she was lucky - it just wasn't worth filing for $1.40 but if that's what they required she would put the dolls away.  Another in the next aisle -- ran to the ATM -- we hadn't opened -- just minutes possibly -- they were there the entie morning - looking and charting.  Luckily, Jay had filed -- sometimes he forgets because of his A.D.D. (and yes, he's on meds so this is as good as it's gonna get) -- even when I remind 100 times 'have you ...' -- so I felt fortunate that this time he had.

So take filling out tax forms seriously.  NJ was serious.  And who knows what other states sends 'suits and skirt' out to find those 'naughty' who hadn't filed yet..

Getting ready to go to Dunedin this weekend, but wondering if it will be a "museum walk" like the last couple shows in this pre-election uncertainty.  It will be a nice spot and we will see some family in the process but the sales seem to have been fewer and further between the closer we get to the election.  I've seen others refer to this in reference to autumn shows in election years, but wonder what others think.  Bogus? Valid? 

18th Annual Durango Autumn Arts Festival (http://durangoarts.org/events/durango-autumn-arts-festival). September 22-23, 2012. A nice little show in a nice part of the state. This is the third go round with this show and I'm not disappointed in it. The first year I did this show it was the best show I did that entire year (2010). Having just retired from teaching and wanting to reach into parts of the year that I was unable to apply to due to the regular work schedule. The year after (2011) I did a fourth of the previous years proceeds. This year (2012) my net proceeds were up 13% from the first go round! This is definitely a show with ongoing potential in my book. Besides which, I garnered the "Outstanding Photographer" award this year! No real money but a nice gift certificate for framing from The Affordable Framing Co. (No I didn't get paid for the endorsement just thought it would be nice to mention them!)

Show Organizer/Promoter: Durango Arts Center

Booth Fee: $30 Jury Fee, $300 Booth Fee. Apply for State of CO Special Event Sales Tax License separately. City of Durango Sales Tax Form included, no extra costs (unlike AZ!)

Logistics: Check in for this show is from 4-7 the Friday night prior to the show. The Arts Center always hosts a nice dinner, provided by volunteers, along with check-in and this year it was even nicer than last years! They're some of the nicest people and are really eager to put on a nice show and demonstrate their appreciation of the artists.

Load-in is the only down side to this show. You have to be there at 6:30 AM (in the dark, and its chilly) to set up as the city doesn't close the streets till then. I finally brought headlamps as the street lights are not sufficient for at least the first hour.

Parking, there are numerous city lots adjacent to the show and I've never had a bad spot yet! If you need to get inventory you're only a few steps away, you just have to jump the barricades! 

Load-out is just as easy as getting in or maybe even easier as we moved the barricades and walked the stuff over to the van. We usually pack everything before loading and were out of there in about 2 hours which is our usual best time.

Show Hours: The show runs from 10-6 on Saturday and 10-5 on Sunday. It probably could have ended at 4 on Sunday as most artists were visiting with each other by then.

Amenities: Show volunteers come around with water and whatever was left over from dinner the night before usually ends up in an artists hospitality area at the historic Rochester Hotel.

Demographics: The show had a nice broad range with people in all age ranges buying. This has not been my experience at other shows. No popcorn at this show!

Food: Not so much that people get lost, just enough for some variety and it keeps the people there, besides which the show is one block up the hill from the main business district of Durango so there is much variety there. The artist next to us found a funky little hole-in-the-wall The Durango Dawg House (http://www.buzztown.com/business/129210/the-original-durango-dawg-house.html) the current owner bought the business within the last year, he hails from back east, and is happy that he is reaching his income projections. They serve a mean dog anyway you like it!

Reflections: The people of Durango that attend the show and Arts Center staff really show their appreciation for the artists. Board members come around and introduce themselves, etc. I like the fact that the show is small (less then 80 artists) and brings in some of the best artists in this part of the world that I've run into at other shows. Fred Prescott was there and I saw him at Cottonwood as well, George Coll is a great painter who also was at Cottonwood. The music is a nice accompaniment to the show with just the right flavor and never so overpowering that you can't hear yourself think. Of the 80 artists 15 were jewelers which I thought was a little on the heavy side for one medium but all the others were well balanced.

I would definitely do this show again if I'm invited. Not that far a drive from Denver (about 6-7 hours depending on how long your lunch and comfort stops are). You can find some reasonable places to stay. We stayed at the Knights Inn this year as the Super 8 raised their prices by $20 from last year! As it is a 2 day show I only had to stay in lodging for 2 nights unlike shows that are further afield.

Colorado Artfest at Castle Rock (http://www.castlerockartfest.com/index.cfm). September 8-19, 2012.With about 178 artists from around the region.

Show Organizer/Promoter: Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce. Admission is $5 each, $3 for Seniors, and Children under 12 are FREE.

Booth Fee: $35 Jury Fee, $310 Booth Fee. Apply for State of CO  Sales Tax License on your own.

Logistics: I've done this show off and on for several years and noticed it pretty much hasn't changed over the years. When I first did it they had the area around the courthouse fenced off and booths were 2 and 3 deep on the lawn so if you happened to be on the deep end you might not have been seen. Then there was the year I was on the back side of the courthouse down wind of the kettle corn...nuf said?

They moved the show down the street to the Philip S. Miller Library parking lot which allowed things to spread out a bit and the show expanded into a parking lot behind a tire/liquor store combination. The first year they did this there were a lot of artist complaints about visitors missing them in the expanded lot. The chamber tried to rectify this with additional signage the next day. I believe in data and not anecdotal observation, to me it seemed like equal visitation was given to both sides when I picked out a few visitors from one side to see if they'd show up on the other side. This year the signage was much bigger and greater effort was given to getting visitors to visit both sides of the show. The dead zone this year seemed to be artists that were placed in the middle area between the two halves.

The patrons at C.R. seem to be pretty conservative in their tastes and although parts of Douglas County have a higher per capita income they fall into what would traditionally be considered the "nouveau riche", they got the money but not the breeding or should we say they are not all that art savvy? Is that more "PC"? Maybe if they supported their schools in the bond elections and didn't have to cut arts (as-well-as other) programs they might have a better appreciation for the arts? Oops, I'm editorializing...shame on me.

Anyway, the artists are staged at the Rodeo/Fairgrounds a couple miles to the south and let in as space allows. I was in line prior to the 12 o'clock line-up time and seeing as I had a space in the back lot I got in fairly easily. There were representatives and volunteers of the Chamber helping keep congestion to a minimum. Both sides (lots) of the show provided ample space for storage behind the booth unless you happened to be me and 13 other artists that were lined up against the fence on the east side of the north lot. Artists on the west side of the north lot had the sidewalk, artists in the middle of the parking lot had lots of storage behind them and then there was us. Some of us had space on the side for storage and others didn't. One artist I know of that is critical of this show believes they want to stuff the show as full as possible to get those booth fees, perhaps there is some truth to this? Artist parking is supposed to be back at the fairgrounds with a shuttle van but by Sunday I saw a lot of artists parking on the streets.

The show starts at 9 am on Saturday with very little turnout and ends at 6 with most people gone by 5. There have never been that many people there at 9 and it would be better to start both days at 10. The crowds arrived and trundled past the booths with little buying energy, which is par for the course for this show. I thought that the years I didn't do this show and a new line of work, might make some difference but I didn't notice much to speak of. The show ends on Sunday at 5 and would be better to have ended at 4 as the "crowds" were long gone by 3.

Load-out was pretty uneventful till about 1/2 hour before stopping. The wind picked up rather strong and almost lifted my booth away after I had gotten all the weight off of it. I had it tethered to the fence behind me but I think that did more damage than good. I had to scramble to get the top off to "trim the sails" as quick as possible. Is this unusual for this show at this time of the year, not really, sometimes its been raining pretty good during set-up! After the photographer with the huge moving van got out of the way getting out wasn't much of a problem.

Why did I do this show this year? It isn't far for me to go, about 20 minutes south of where I live, it isn't too costly to do it and I thought I'd give it another whirl as I hadn't done it in a while. After deducting the booth fee, jury fee, cost of goods sold, etc. coming away with $50 makes it doubtful that I will do it again any time soon.

This year is rapidly coming to an end.  Soon the 2012 shows will be over and artists will be conteplating new work for the 2013 season.  I was just wondering, what do you all do with the inventory you don't want to haul to your 2013 shows?  Do you have a small show in your home, do you store it away, do you give it away as gifts, do you use pieces for donation purposes?  I do know of 3 "garage sale" shows where artists can unload unwanted items.  I think they are great.  The shoppers appear to be going nuts for a few deals from their favorite artists. 

We have one of those "garage sale" shows right here in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  Bonnie Blanford puts on the "Garage Sale Art Fair" in Kalamazoo.  She has special deals announced every hour, food to keep shoppers from leaving for lunch, and hourly drawings.  Bonnie holds her show in February when there isn't much else to look forward to here in Michigan. 

I know Colin Murray has one in Waukesha, Wisconson.  Colin holds his event, "Artworks: Studio Clearance Sale", in January.  I imagine Wisacon has to be as bleak as Michigan is in the winter.  I think Colin once mentioned that everything sells out there, too.

There is also one in Columbus, Ohio.  It is called the "Art Studio Clearance Sale" and is also held in January. 

Have you done any of those shows?  Have you thought about applying?  What was your experience?  Will you do it again?

Let us know what you do with your unwanted inventory.  This may help others who just have no idea of what to do with the extra art work that for some reason just didn't seem to catch anyboy's eye this past year.

Anyone notice who is hosting on the Google Logo today? Haven't seen him in a while, how fun!

I just would like to say thank you to everyone who supported my Kickstarter project: http://kck.st/UzXeft either by pledging, sharing the link or simply wishing me well.

My project ends tomorrow, Monday 10/29 at 3pm EDT and it reached its pledge goal tonight!

Thank you all very much for your support, I have worked extremely hard on this, and still have even more work ahead of me now.  I am so excited for my trip and the new work that I will now be able to produce thanks to everyones support.

Special thanks to Connie for having this site and also for inviting me to be a part of Art Fair Radio.

The project will be open to pledges for a few more hours and will be posted up on the Kickstarter site permanently here: http://kck.st/UzXeft

Thank you very much,

Evan

We can all use a little help from our friends!  And old friends are the best.  I hope you all have dear friends like this one.

http://pencilenvy.blogspot.com/2012/10/meep-moop-means-i-love-you.html

I need to get behind my drawing board!  My son had shoulder surgery this week and I think I'm using it as an excuse to constantly hover over him instead of working.  Hope you're being more productive than I am.

Who won the prizes last week in Houston at the Bayou City Art Festival? Here they are:

Best in Show
1. Alexis Silk - Glass
2. Heinrich Toh - Mixed Media
3. TIE - R. Michael Wommack - Pastels
3. TIE - Carolina Cleere - Mixed Media

Best Booth
1. Leif Hollard - Botanical Constructions

Art of Water
1. Tatiana Escallon - Tilework
2. Eva Storey - Debbie- Geometry in my Heart
3. David Weaver - Painting
4. Liz Martinez, Karina Gallegos, Lesley Simental - Razzle Dazzle

Curatorial Award in Printmaking
 Marina Terauds- Marina's etching - "Gardener Heart" at right

Dave Piper replied to Melanie Moore's inquiry with his honest and forthright opinion that the show was terrible. It wasn't written unprofessionally.

Now his remarks have vaporized.  Is it because it is a show that paid to have a call for artists here?  Connie, did you remove his post?  Are we only allowed positive reviews of shows here?  Being new to this industry I welcome both positive and negative reviews.  But it sure seems strange that his negative review disappeared.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Gulfstream Park Art Festival

Festival Layout Expanded!

A few great spaces are available for the festival on

November 10th & 11th in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Show Hours are 10am-5pm Saturday and Sunday
We will have an easy load in on Friday, November 9th

The premier event will take place at The Village at Gulfstream Park, South Florida's newest outdoor shopping and entertainment destination. The art festival will serve as a prelude to the Symphony in Lights which opens on Saturday, November 10.

Huge festival advertising in the Miami Herald, Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, National Public Radio and Direct Mail are planned.

The booth fee is $450.
To apply please send 4 images of work and 1 booth shot to info@amdurproductions.com

Please feel free to call our office (847) 926-4300 with any questions.

Thank you,
The Staff of Amdur Productions

http://amdurproductions.com/art-festivals/Gulfstream_Art_Festival.html