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I was at a show this past weekend and my trimline sidewall zipper broke where it attaches to the canopy and is now  stuck to the canopy.  I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to remove it without breaking the zipper?  I am a little desperate as I have a show this weekend with chances of rain, and fear that my only recourse is overnighting a new sidewall.  Any suggestions?

I think its almost sad when a show ends and its ready to wrap up all you're stuff and head out. It always goes by so fast. The show I do most often is finished up and I have to pick up my work at some point of this week or weekend. So now after this last show has ended I find myself looking at how some others sold their work and thinking about it for the next year around. So here are some tips.

1. Try to display it yourself (there's a small hang up fee but I think next time around I'll try to save that by doing it myself and for the experience)

2. Have smaller pieces for sale at a good pricepoint. (The people that sell the most at this show are the ones who sell 10 items for 40 that are pretty small not even 9 X 12 but more of the 5 X 7 size if even that big)

3. Get some nice inexpensive frames for the work. Presentation is everything.

4. Display one large impressive work that maybee you don't think will necessarily sell but has presence.

5. Network, network, network who you meet maybe more important then the piece you sell

6. Find the right Gallery for your work. Something trendy and young should be marketed in an area or gallery that reflects the theme of the work.

7. Stay focused and keep on painting and working and learning. Its the winter and I tend to slow down and I don't want to do that.

8. Have fun with the work.

9. Meet other artists and support them. Treat those how you want to be treated..

10. Remember its a small world so being supportive and joining supportive groups always helps in the end...

March 16 & 17

Gulf Coast Town Center, one of south west Florida's most popular upscale open air shopping destinations, 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 will be 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

New Shows for the Florida Market

Looking for fresh promotion and a show organizer who has an entrepreneurial background to work with this winter? 

Blu Art Festivals, with solid connections and sponsors in Florida offers their inaugural events this February and March in Fort Myers and Jacksonville. 

BLU ART Festivals: We produce several juried fine art festivals throughout Florida targeting high-end art collectors, art enthusiasts, tourists and area residents. One of our specialties is transforming highly visible site locations into exquisite outdoor art galleries to create a festival that represents a well balanced event allowing patrons to view the artist's work with ease. 

For more information call the show organizer, John Boltz, 239-285-8709.

Leslie, like so many of artists, followed in the footsteps of her    mother, and is a painter just as she is. This led to an art degree where her mentor was a painter who had excelled in a career selling his work at the art fairs. With influences like this it is no wonder to find her today at the top shows in the country exhibiting her luminous abstract pieces.

Her newest body of work is "acrylic on acrylic." Moving away from her watercolor days she now does reverse painting with acrylics on acrylic sheets. She had always used plexiglas to lay out her paints and brushes but one day as she looked at the by-product of her preparation and saw the blobs of color through the clear surface of the acrylic she discovered a new technique.

Building up layers of the paint gradually and transparently and sometimes opaquely created incredible clarity of color and incredible textural effects. It was liquidness frozen, parts of the paints look as though they are still wet and she's able to achieve fantastically deep, layered paintings with color and textural effects comparable to nothing else.

I may not always agree with people's opinions, but I will support and defend their right to articulate ideas and opinions.  The world would be a very boring place indeed without the insight of the passionate author and artist who penned this post. 

http://wp.me/p2Al8r-13

I hate censorship.

Another report from "Shows Passed" (or maybe I should use the correct form "past" although the free ranging use of incorrect or invented spellings seems rampant in our society as it dumbs down to the lowest common denominator). Okay, enough with the diatribe...or maybe not...remember Norm Crosby? he made a career of misuse of language. The guy was brilliant, had to be to use the wrong word in the right way to make it funny, my hero!

The Autumn & Art Festival @ Bradley Fair held Sept. 14-16 was one small show trying to do all the right things and I think they succeeded. The show was sponsored by the same people who do a larger show in the area. It was held behind a shopping center in one of the higher income areas of the city. Behind a shopping center? Yes, there was a beautiful little park with a man-made lake and plenty of grass for duck grazing.There was plenty of signage draped on the entry to the shopping center but who looks at shopping center signs? I wondered about their overall advertising when one woman came into my booth late in the day on Sunday proclaiming that she had no idea the show was going on except that she saw the draped signs on the shopping center, or was it the sandwich signs on the street?

From the minute I arrived I could tell they had their show together. Logistics getting into the show were well thought out with artists threading through part of the shopping center and queuing up for load-in. Ample volunteers and show personnel with walkie-talkies were evident to keep things moving smoothly. Artists seemed to arrive throughout the day in such a casual manner that there was plenty of time to move things out of the van/car and into the booth space. Artist spaces were clustered on both sides of the roadway to allow a good flow of visitor traffic. There was plenty of space behind booths to allow for storage which I sure appreciate. Artists were treated to a nice BBQ dinner prior to Friday nights preview of the 74 artists. I should mention that the quality of the art was very high, in fact I saw some of these same people at Cottonwood and Bayou City in Oct. and those were generally high quality shows as well.

There was a large and energetic crowd for the preview and, in fact, that seemed to be the most buying energy! Visitors on the Friday night had paid for the privilege of an advance preview dinner from two top restaurants, voting on the artist of choice, beer and wine. It says something about their commitment to a quality show to do this, I think.

The rest of the weekend was pretty much like other shows I've been to this year, a lot of people trudging past the booths with little interest in buying. A lot of compliments on the work with little serious interest in buying. Okay so there was the one guy who came in and without deliberation bought one big piece off the wall (I remember those days!).

I give this show high marks in terms of their commitment to making it work for both the artists as-well-as the patrons. There were not too many artists (patron burn-out) there was just enough food to keep'm there, there were no superfluous activities (i.e. a carnival, although there were people on stilts and a juggler) parking was nearby and plentiful for people to get there, generally the show layout provided for a good flow of pedestrian traffic, etc. The sponsors solicited input from the artists at the awards breakfast and genuinely listened! Did I mention they gave out awards, fed us, they had plentiful volunteers with water and booth sitting? Oh, electricity was included in the booth fee! Considering the show went into the dark hours on Friday it was a necessity.

I'm looking forward to see how next years show shapes up. From my experience in the last couple of years it seems that people have to see your work a few times before they are willing to buy so I'm willing to make a go of it.

Okay I'm pretty late with this one. I reviewed this show in detail after my last foray in 2011 (see: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/27th-annual-ridgway-rendezvous)

I feel that I owe a show at least a couple of tries before bouncing it entirely unless it is a real stinker and then it doesn't even get a second trial. This show takes place in one of the most beautiful parts of Colorado and that fact alone qualifies it for a redo. Even if sales were bad there are the Orvis Hot Springs which are truly delightful (not for the faint of heart or extremely modest), the million dollar view south towards Ouray, CO and Telluride is not far away either.

Getting into and out of the show is not that terrible as load-in takes place over much of the day before though you do have to cart in over grass. There seemed to be more people at the show this year as compared to last years with the buying only slightly higher then last years, not remarkable. Booths were rearranged a little this year but we still had the "quad" configuration which gives everyone a corner booth. Show personnel are always friendly and they provide some treats and drinks during the day. Saturday night they have an awards gathering with snackie foods which are enough to not have to eat a full meal later.

I like smaller shows which give attendees the opportunity to wander and look without getting overwhelmed and visual burnout but they also have to deliver to the artist as well. Would I do this show again? Probably not, if I want to go to the Orvis Hot Springs I could go cheaper by skipping the show!

June 28-30
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines Arts Festival
Downtown Des Moines
185 Artists
Deadline: October 31

The City of Des Moines invites you to be part of the award-winning Des Moines Arts Festival.  The DMAF is one of the nation's most respected arts events hosting 185 of the nation's top artists in a beautiful urban street setting surrounding the 4.4 acre John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park. 

The outdoor Festival of arts and culture attracts more than 200,000 people each year to its      downtown location in Iowa's capital city and largest metropolitan area.  DMAF is a show dedicated to the highest standards and works diligently to maintain a positive environment for artists and their clients.

DMAF is a non-profit organization founded by the Des Moines Art Center.  The Festival contributes more than $50,000 annually from its proceeds to support the Des Moines Art Center, numerous area non-profit organizations and the continuation of the DMAF.

Artist Information and Benefits:

• Projected attendance: 200,000+
• $10,000 in cash awarded at the time of publication
• award winners include an automatic invitation to 2014 show
• Official Festival Program includes color thumbnail image of each exhibiting artist
• Web site includes full-color image with name and live link to artist Web site.
• Free reserved parking
• Invitations to special events and receptions
• Hospitality Area including air-conditioned restroom facilities and exclusive "Express Lane" concessions
• 24-hour security & free electricity
• Leisurely set-up (full day is available)
• Booth sitters and energetic volunteers
• Booth Amenities: 10'x10'  booth with at least 121 square feet (1' on sides and back).  All booths on street at press time.  Storage behind booth.

What the artists say:  

"Simply put, your show is the best run we have encountered."

"Very well run show,  I see the pride everyone takes in it!"

"You all really put on a top-notch show and I feel honored to have participated this year." 

"It is very obvious how much care and respect there is for the artists and the community and the nurturing of the relationship of both."
 

"9.2 outta 10"  

"This show was a delight to participate in--well designed, well managed, lovely location, responsive and helpful staff."

Learn more:desmoinesartsfestival.org 

Apply:www.Zapplication.org 

Stephen King, Executive Director, 515-286-4927  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lots of new shows added to CallsforArtists.com - check it out today - fill out your show schedule

On October 18 I interviewed two artists who have used Kickstarter.com's website funding resource to raise money to enable them to complete art projects. Casey Sheppard, a jeweler from Lincoln, NE, started her project on the site last Spring when she was accepted into the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. She was moving into her first big show and short of resources for the booth fee and the materials she would need to create the jewelry for the show. 

Evan Reinheimer, who specializes in aerial kite photography is from Long Island, NY. His project is live on the site now and has 10 days until his funding deadline. He is trying to raise money for a shooting trip to Australia this winter.

This episode recounts how they used the resources at Kickstarter. They talk about how to do it, tips for someone new, what they learned along the way and about how much work it was, because the essence of it is you have to ask strangers to support you. The cool thing about being a supporter is that you are not only pledging money you are actually an investor in their projects and at completion of the project you receive a "reward."

Here is Casey's project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/37372733/casey-sheppard-jewelry-collection-for-cherry-creek?ref=live

Here is Evan's project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1986082413/kite-aerial-photography-in-australia?ref=live

Evan is still raising money to fund his trip. Visit the site and "friend" him and share his links on your sites (free), or pledge (not free)! If his project doesn't get fully funded he gets nothing. If it does you will get a reward.

Listen to the podcast here:

Well, just finished up our first fall show in Florida. For us this event was a first time as participants. It is only about 120 miles one way so the drive is relatively easy for us. We had called in advance about parking for our RV and were told they had availability on a first come first served basis. So we headed out hoping to arrive about 2 hours prior to the official setup time thinking we would get all nice and parked with our rig. We arrived to find the artist lot completely full as they also use it to park the public all day long. We were lucky enough to find an area along a curb inside the lot were we could stash the RV. So much for our plan. Anyway we located some nice folks with the show and let them know what we had done and it was all good with them as long as we were not blocking traffic etc. The staff was very friendly and helpful, we found our spot and setup was easy with us lucking out and finding a parking space on the main street right at the curb near our booth. Let me mention that the Amtrak railroad station is behind the park were the show takes place and they are doing construction all along the tracks on one side of the park so load in and out are only from the opposite side right now. This jammed things up a bit but everyone seemed to be cooperating with each other to get it done. Weather for the show was bright and sunny, not too warm for Florida. Crowds were steady both days and the interest level of the patrons was pretty high. We gave out a ton of business cards over the 2 days. Most patrons seemed knowledgeable and art savy. Our sales were in the fair to good category. One more good sale would have pushed it well into the good range and we were close more than a few times. We even were selected for judging with a brand new piece which was a thrill as it does not seem to happen very often. The artist awards and diner were nice and the staff, volunteers and support personel like the local Police dept were all friendly and helpful. A refreshing thing to find out there on the road. For load out they even changed it up a bit by closing the street to traffic on the one side and getting us all in to load with angled parking which went fast and easy. Cudos to the organization. A pleasure to do this one and start the fall show season.

A Trilogy of Shows in NYC
Jacob Javits Center
October 19-20-21

1. The Contemporary Art Fair NYC provides a major showing of independent painters, photographers, sculptors and other artists doing non-functional work.
   
   
2. The counterpart show, The American Craft Show NYC, features the work of fine artisans working with glass, ceramic, wood, and other materials.   
   
   
3. ART OFF the MAIN is the first fair ever to showcase the combined works from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. With  the discontinuation of the National Black Fine Art Show and ART OFF the  MAIN being an online fair for the past 2 years, there has been an  enormous void on the art scene.  Buoyed by the numerous pleas for the  return of ART OFF the MAIN, we are pleased to return to fill the void.
   
   

Preview the entire show on line at AMERICANARTMARKETINGNYC.COM

 Late night web-surfing is a bad habit of mine-I start looking at stuff around 9:45 pm, and the next thing I know it's after 2 am and I've signed up for membership in The Original Twinkie Fanciers Society! This past summer I found myself applying to the Funky Ferndale Art Show in Ferndale, Michigan, at five minutes to midnight just because it was The Deadline. Actually my thinking ran along the lines of "It sounds good, my art is funky, and I can stay at Mom's house to keep costs down." Bam! The application was sent!

Only later did I remember that I had applied for another show The Same Weekend! Argh! No problem, I figured, I wouldn't be accepted to Ferndale anyway. Wrong!! I was accepted. I talked it over with my business partner, and we came up with a plan that allowed us, through the abuse and coercion of one husband and one daughter, to be in both places. Hooray!

Now you know this not going to turn out well, right? Right. Funky Ferndale happens on the west side of Woodward Avenue on Nine Mile Road. I will say that Ferndale has metamorphosed since the misspent days of my youth and is now a pretty cool place with some great pizza and a library with a green roof (green with vegetation, no less!). The downside of this art fair is that on the east side of Woodward on Nine Mile Road the DIY Detroit Festival is running concurrently! Booo! DIY Detroit has, among other features, approximately one thousand beer tents, tens of dozens of crafters, at least two music stages, a sideshow, and . . . (wait for it) . . . .A Ferris Wheel! Yay! 

The Daughter and I persevered, and sold enough to buy a pizza, cover the booth costs, and bank a little bit, but the number of people who were Just Passing Through to get to DIY was depressing, and the number of drunks who were Just Passing Through to go home again was unpleasant. Then everything went to the dark side. 

Saturday night, as we began to pack up for the night, the Daughter discovered that someone Just Passing Through had reached under the back of the tent and purloined her bag and her laptop. I will leave the ensuing tumult and clamor to your imaginations, but I will say that the show management was most sympathetic as were the kindly officers of Ferndale 's Finest who came to take the report.

The next morning found us still susceptible to sudden outbursts of weeping, and that is when we were overwhelmed by the kindness of our fellow funky artists! On one side of our booth were Jason Thomas and Jennifer Teeter with their hysterically dark Cartoons For Total Strangers, who give the greatest hugs (Jason and Jennifer do the hugging, no hugs from the cartoons!), and on the other was another AFIer, Linda, who has great and funky paintings, prints, and jewelry. I cannot say enough about how welcome their sympathy, outrage, and support was to The Daughter and me! We finished the fair in reasonably good humor, although the sales were not responsible for much of that, and headed home to Ohio, sadder but wiser.

From this experience I have drawn several conclusions. First, don't let your guard down! Second, artists are really good people to have around you in a crisis. Third, don't apply for Funky Ferndale unless the DIY show's dates don't coincide with it. Fourth, never apply for a show five minutes before The Deadline!

As a footnote, and to end with a semblance of Joy and Rapture, the following week we got calls from two people up in Michigan. One had found The Daughter's laptop, the other had found her purse with all its contents intact! Good people do rule the universe after all!

Thursday, October 17, 2 pm ET

Artists Casey Sheppard (a jeweler) and Evan Reinheimer (a photographer) join Connie to talk about their experiences using Kickstarter.com to fund their art projects.

Casey's project raised funds to enable her to participate in the Cherry Creek Art Festival this summer and Evan is currently fundraising to finance a trip to Australia.

Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. Everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative, and imaginative projects that are brought to life through the direct support of others.

Since its launch on April 28, 2009, over $350 million has been pledged by more than 2.5 million people, funding more than 30,000 creative projects.

We'll talk about:

• what motivated them to participate
• what they learned along the way
• how to market a kickstarter project
• whether your ideas are "big enough"
• rewarding your donors
• mistakes made

Call in to the show to ask questions. Here is the #(805) 243-1338, or post them below.

Have you participated in any of these projects? I'd love to include your experiences also.

See Casey's completed project here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/37372733/casey-sheppard-jewelry-collection-for-cherry-creek?ref=live

View Evan's ongoing project here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1986082413/kite-aerial-photography-in-australia?ref=live

ALL YEAR I promised myself that I'd take an updated booth photo and I never managed to do it. So I painstakingly set up my tent in my driveway before my last INDOOR show, hung everything perfectly, and took dozens of photos. Then had to take the tent down, pack everything back up, only to immediately set it all up again. Finally just got a chance to review the photos and they are AWFUL. Grainy and crappy and I really should learn some basic photography or hire someone.  That's enough venting.  Sigh.

I haven't had time to write in my portrait blog in some time. Even though it can sort of be considered marketing, it's really just something that gives me joy, so it doesn't happen when there are too many other demands on my time. I need to be drawing my hands off this time of year, not to mention I've needed to grocery shop for a full week.  But... some stories demand to be told. I hope you enjoy this one if you have the time to read it!

http://pencilenvy.blogspot.com/2012/10/hey-soul-sister-justify-my-blog.html

Thanks!

Wendy

February 9 & 10  
Jacksonville, Florida
Saturday & Sunday
10am - 5pm
Deadline: November 7

Application Fee:  $25
Booth Fee:  $210

Don't miss this opportunity to join some of the nation's most talented and respected artists who will be showcasing and selling their artwork at this highly organized and professional outdoor fine art festival.

This open air art gallery is located in the gigantic parking lot on the corner of Blanding Boulevard and Wells Road at Orange Park mall - the largest mall to the west of the Saint John's River. Artists will be displaying and selling all forms of art 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.

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.
• On-site vehicle, trailer and RV parking.
• Discounted lodging rates at local hotels and 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

Hi to all,

I am writing this to make all Artists, crafters and vendors aware of agreements/contracts issued by show promoters.  In talking with several other artists, it seems that a lot of them do not really read the fine print.  I can not say strongly enough that you need to read and understand what you are signing.  If you are not sure what it says, ask your lawyer.  It is very important. 

The shows that I am talking about are in the Chicago suburban area, but this could occur anywhere.

I just received the second solicitation from a promoter that I have never heard of before.  The first solicitation to participaate in their show indicated that this is  a first show for them.  (red flag)  Show was going to have over 300 booths.  (red flag).    Cost of booth was between 250 to 700.  (red flag).  Show had an admission fee of $5.00.  (red flag).

Let me explain my impression of the red flags.     A first show;  What is the size of their data base to attract customers to the show?   Over 300 booths;  Filling that many spots with a first show could result in "sponsors" or buy/sellers to fill the spots.  Booth cost of 700.00 for a 10X10 means that these would be corporate or sponsors most likely.  A 5.00 admission could keep a lot of buyers away.  It is unknown if there is a parking fee. 

Then I received another solicitation from this promoter for a remodeling show coming up in a week.  Saying that they had 16 booths available for arts and crafts at the show.  Cost was 200 plus 200 for electric.  ????  Like I am sure that someone going to a home remodeling show is going to buy some art.  LOL

OK that is what has been received from this promoter.  The application and agreement that they want you to sign is included and of course there are no refunds if you dont do the show.   Now let me get to the meat of this blog.  In reading their agreement I noted the following:

10)CHARACTER OF DISPLAY.

Distribution of samples and printed matter of any kind, or any promotional material, or staff associated with your company is restricted to the confines of the exhibit booth. No noise makers or anything not in keeping with the character and high standards of Show Host may be distributed or utilized by an Exhibitor in the exhibit area. Orders only may be taken at the show; no individual sales with exchange of money.  (emphasis added)

I re-read that several times because I could not believe it.  After seeing that on the first solicitation, I wrote via email to the promotor and asked if that was true.    She did respond timely, and answered my questions but said she would have to get back to me on that point.  Now she is the promotor and cant answer this question????    Like I am going to pay $400.00 for a front section booth to pass out brochures.   LOL    In your dreams.  Well as of today, which is 24 hours later, no reply to my selling question.  Then I received the second solicitation for the home remodeling show at Arlington Park and it has the same agreement. 

So if you get an application and agreement from a promoter be sure you read it carefully and fully understand it before agreeing to it.   I know a lot of artists that would be terribly upset to find out that after they stock their booth, they could not sell their product. 

B. David Kruser

www.imagesbydavidkay.com

First of all the weather was perfect for this show after so many years of wind, and rain.  The crowds were huge, and they seem to be buying.  This year they had a lot of portopotties which was good.   Three of the parks were filled with artists.  Wilbur park where the fine arts was,  was about 1/2 full, from other years,   The biggest problem with this show is all the buy/sell.   Someone a year ago who reviewed this show said it was walmartized, and were they ever right.  There was a LOT of buy/sell.     Had several customers who come every year ask me where the ART was.   I guess they walked two of the parks and was wondering where the real art was.  I was flanked by ceramics, so i knew of at least 5 booths that had real art done by the person in the booth doing it.

My neighbor across from me, left the show on Sat. night.   Yeas there were bags in peoples hands.  I heard also that parking was expensive   $10.00 to park in someone's driveway and that Boulder city had parking for 10.00 and they would bus the people to the show.   Years ago it was free then last year it was 4.00  so times have changed.  The one good thing about the show is the prices of show, jury fee have not gone up   (knock on wood)

Finally, yes i would go back,   I seem to have a following of customers who look for me every year.  And i did ok for that weekend.

I am an introvert by nature.  A huge one!  In fact, I often dont even like being with people.  I'd much rather spend times with my dogs.  But yet, I find myself in this business of art festivals, where being an introvert is basically your ticket home with zero sales.  I work hard every single second at festivals so that no one person (not patrons or other artists) knows that I am anything but a person who loves people.  That is why I was so shocked that this past weekend I had not one, not two, not three, but FOUR people come BACK to my booth to tell me thank you for being so kind, friendly, or patient.  One man told me that he hoped I had a wonderful show and that he would see me there again next year as I was one of the only artists who was nice to him.  He even said that a lot of artists ignored him, and a few even acted like he was a burden to them by being in their tent and asking questions about their art.  One man was not 100% mentally there, and I could tell he didn't have money to buy anything, but man you better believe he called every person he knew and told them about "this awesome girl with amazing artwork you gotta check out!" (his words, not mine)  Even though I knew he wouldnt be a sale, what did it hurt by me making an effort to be kind?  Nothin!

People!!!  Come on!  Where is the kindness?  Where is love and compassion?  The patrons are the ones allowing you to continue doing something that you love to do.  Keeping you out of a droning 8-5 job that you hate.  We need these people!  And they need us to make them feel a connection and bring a spark of something to them!  If I, the introvert that I am, gets FOUR people to make an effort to thank me for being nice, I know there is a serious problem. 

And no, 3 out of 4 of those people didnt buy anything this time.  And the one who did, just bought a small print (probably just b/c I didn't make him feel like a half rate person).  But you know, they signed up for my mailing list and liked me on Facebook.  And they will remember me for a good reason.  And maybe next time, they will buy something.  But even if they don't, I made them feel good, and isn't that most important?

Today was the first day of the two-day La Jolla Art and Wine Festival. As my first juried show, I didn't know quite what to expect. Gladly, I can say it wasn't bad at all!

Set up the night before was a bit stressful, but I think it was to be expected. This particular show is shifting away from it's original, fenced-in parameters to an open format that doesn't require a ticket for admittance--it was completely open for the general public. And that sounds a bit like a free-for-all street fair experience, but it wasn't. They had very high standards for their artists, and while it was apparently exponentially bigger than previous years the quality of the artwork still remained high. There weren't any buy-sell booths, and no blatant impulse buy kinds of vendors--most of the artists juried in had obviously "been around the block" a few times and had pretty substantial booth setups.

It was unlike my previous show experience at the OB Chili Cook-Off where the art was relegated to an Artist's Alley and there were many loud rock bands and a carnival with live ponies to compete against. Instead, there was a classic car display, and the stages featured acoustic guitars and quieter singer songwriters.  This event was clearly about the Art, and the primary focus was all about artists.

I'm not sure how it compares to other Art Festivals, but I can say I felt like I was in very good company. The two booths adjacent to mine both had kind artists who were confident and cheerful throughout. The weather was top notch--a perfect day for browsing artwork! And I got to meet one of my fellow Artfair Insiders members!  (Shout out to Lucia Friedericy!) I think this first day proved successful for everyone around me.

As I said, setting up was a challenge. They had wisely staggered set up times, but because the tent crews couldn't start assembling tents until 2 hours prior to the vendors arrival, not all the tents were assembled on time. We had paid for 3 extra walls, but learned quickly that extra walls were the last thing on the tent company's assembly list, so we had to make a choice: assemble our display without the walls or come back the next morning and try to set up at 5:30am. By the time we got our walls, it was 4 hours past our scheduled arrival time, and our booth assembly was long done 2 hours earlier. We just made do without the walls (which we had paid for) and struggled through. My booth lacked the "finished look" I had hoped for, but the two artists on either side had enough experience to not need the walls for their assembly, and had Pro Panels and canvas walls of their own, so our rented walls weren't required for us to complete what we needed to do.

We learned that the limited "specs" they had provided said nothing about the pre-assembled tents being lashed together, nor that the tent poles were significantly thicker than the typical kind used in Trimline or Craft Hut tents. But we had been warned by a friend of ours who had worked setup the year previously on this event, so I had purchased longer and heavier zip ties specifically with this in mind. Thank goodness I did--our set up wouldn't have worked if I hadn't. The specs also didn't mention a lack of horizontal support poles along the bottom of each tent, so we had to jerry rig pole supports to make my gridwall units stable. But everything turned out fine in the end. If we had waited until 5:30 in the morning to start assembly, we would have been under a time constraint and thinking on our feet. As it was, we were able to take our time figuring things out. It was a late night for us, but it just goes to show that one can never ask enough questions and you have to plan for all contingencies. I learned that on this site, thank-goodness!
But the day's visitors made the whole experience worth it. The attendees were my kind of demographic, and I made a lot of contacts and actually sold much more than I did at the OB Chili Cook-Off. And there's still one more day, so I'm excited about the prospects. The people in La Jolla were there to see the art, to contemplate decorating their homes, to find gifts, and to expand their wardrobes with unique and unusual pieces. They were not there to get drunk and eat chili. I never heard one complaint that my prices were too high (in fact, my partner was told they were too low for L

a Jolla) and I garnered a lot of attention painting a large black velveteen shoulder wrap in booth as an ongoing demo throughout the day. The customers were eager to try things on, dig through my stock, and take business cards. I have been told that the crowds at this particular event do indeed contact you later for custom work since they can afford to wait to get what they want specifically. And there were a LOT more people than the previous year, apparently. So I guess changing the nature of admittance was a wise decision for this particular event.

The volunteers were all very nice, and the Artist's Cove offered free bagels and cookies and coffee to all the artists. A lunch delivery service was arranged (pricey, but convenient) and it was executed beautifully.

I've never left my stuff over night like this before, and I'm hoping that their roving security is thorough (I think it is, as we saw many security guards around and that particular area is not known for spot crimes or petty theft). I guess we'll see. We did end up using one of the walls we rented to seal up the tent front, so at least everything is out of sight.

Tomorrow will be the true testing ground as I'll see how it all wraps up. I'm excited for the potential. And regardless, it was a beautiful day to be out making art and meeting new people. I could get used to this! Wish me luck for tomorrow! I'll post pics soon! : )