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Subject: St. Joseph Mercy Oakland New Patient Tower - Call for Artists

In my mailbox:

I am writing to invite you to partner with us in spreading the word about the St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Regional Healing Arts Program. We have created and attached the Call for Artists. We are looking for a variety of artists who work in a variety of mediums to assist us in providing art for the new South Patient Tower. I am hoping that you will forward this Call for Artists to anyone (individual artist or other arts organizations) you think may be interested. Artists residing in the State of Michigan are invited to apply.

We are also sending an invitation for the Healing Arts Forum, which is being held at Cranbrook Academy on February 16, 2012, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, to anyone who may want to learn about the project, as well as, the role that the arts play in a healthcare environment. Because there is limited seating, RSVP’s will be required.  

I am excited about working together to keep the arts alive and well in Michigan.  Please contact me at 619-683-7500, with any questions or comments, suggestions or ideas about other places to post this CFA.

Best Regards,

Leah
 
Leah B. Goodwin
Director of Art Programs and Fundraising Strategies
Aesthetics, Inc.

More info: St. Joseph Oakland Call for Artists.pdf

Just learned that if you're doing Hobe Sound this weekend, there's now an "unofficial" early setup anytime after 2:30 Friday.  (No security will be provided Fri. night, so this is at your own risk, per the Howard Alan website.

Particulars can be found in the "Space Numbers" section for the show. 

I'm a couple hours away for set-up for the Artfest Fort Myers show. It will be my first Florida show of the season.  I'm on a wait list for Coconut Point, but then, back to back shows at Coconut Grove, Naples National. Las Olas, Bonita Springs, Winter Park, and Downtown Naples. I'm filled with anxiety about this circuit. I've spent a ton of money on booth fees, travel expenses and hotel reservations. These are all good shows and they should produce profitable returns, but, is the economy going to keep people's wallets in their pockets? The last couple years I've only broken even on Florida shows, so they weren't worth the trouble. But this year I've made a much bigger commitment, and prepared all winter with new work that I'm hoping will appeal to this fickle audience. Watching CNN this morning I'm encouraged by the latest jobless numbers with unemployment going down to 8.3%. The economy seems to be getting better. I'm hoping that is the case in Florida as well. I'll post my experiences with these shows as I go. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

May 5 & 6 - a new event!
Brooksville, Florida

downtown on the Courthouse lawn
150 exhibitors
Deadline: March 1

The Blueberry Festival brings together all the goodness of nature's Florida Blueberry harvest for a three day event in Brooksville Florida featuring headliner entertainment, street entertainers, night parade, fine arts, gourmet food, festival fare and fresh Florida blueberries.

Artists, before you decide not to join a first time event take notice:

• The Florida Blueberry Festival Committee has been hard at work for the last 18 monthscoordinating the fifteen Florida Counties that make up the central growing region of blueberry production
• these counties will be represented at the Florida Blueberry Festival as partners of this first annual event.
• The committee has received over $200,000.00 from sponsor partnerships, in-kind donors, founding memberships and pledges to date
• Hundreds of Festival volunteers have dedicated themselves to making this a event exciting for all that attend

(Reading between the lines, here is a new event that has all the earmarks of something big.)

With expected attendance of more than 50,000 and 150+ vendor spaces available the Florida Blueberry Festival is seeking exhibitors of high quality arts, traditional and gourmet food concessionaires.

For more information and artist applications visit:  www.floridablueberryfestival.org or call 352-754-4173.

I did not pay much attention when pinterest postings started appearing on Facebook. Thought it was just another pesky site creating addictions amongst its users, but it seems I'm wrong. It may be the next great place to share your art.

http://www.finearttips.com/2012/01/im-hooked-10-reasons-why-artists-love-pinterest/

For the first time since doing art shows we are considering doing a circuit rather than coming home between each event.  Surely (knocking on wood) I really don't have to worry about this (yeah right) but how do you handle drying or taking care of a tent that got wet when you are staying in hotels between shows? TIA.

Growing up was the natural world a wonder to you inhabited by friendly creatures and stories of fairies? Lynn Fisher lived in this kind of wonderland, reading survival manuals and imagining herself living off the land. Fast forward to today she now creates porcelain and stoneware pottery that reflects these childhood dreams.

Lynn has been a professional potter for many years and each stage of development has brought her closer to the imaginings of her early life. The current work is entirely handbuilt starting with a thin slab of clay into which she embeds real leaves that she assembles into teapots, cups, vases and other functional forms. The pieces are very light, about what you would expect a few leaves to weigh, yet a fairy could not make them as the process is very intricate including the building, drying, brushing, glazing, waxing and high firing.

Lovely as they are they are also food safe and durable. You too can recreate your childhood dreams with these fine pieces.

Find her this winter in Florida at a handful of shows including, Artfest Fort Myers, February 4 & 5.

Learn more about Lynn and her fine work: www.ArtFairCalendar.com/featuredartist

Well, I am cranking away printing new work.  I got 31 new images from my Keys trip to put out there at the show this weekend.

Last year, everybody pretty much killed them at this show, this year who knows.

I just looked at my January show totals--I did four and the results were not pretty.  I am off by 50% over last year's gross.  My numbers by size are down in half--and I did not sell even one big boy at $450.  Makes me wonder if my photography is becoming irrelevant or if it is just the times we are in.

I will give a full report on Monday.  Parker should be there too. So we will get another perspective from him, I believe it will be his first Fla. show this season.  I hope he does well, and me too.

Anyways, here are some more good images to get you thru your day whether you be in snow in Seattle or sun in Palm Beach.  Aloha, Nels.

Wow, second week in a row with no unprompted show reviews (other than, of course, Nels).

I've heard second-hand reports that the St. Armands show was well attended and sales were pretty good. 

I walked Edenfest on Saturday, but not long and hard enough to write a review.

What's the scoop? Let's hear from a few folks, please.

Well, here are a few more new ones to look at.  Hopefully it will make your day better.  It is a new month, hopefully sales will continue to improve.

Interestingly, nobody commented about my review of Images, yet I saw a bunch of ya there.  Just lurking, I guess.

Enjoy!  Make art, make moola.  Nels.

I was asked to be a jury member for a state wide artist association. Artists from my state were applying for membership in the association, not for a show, so it was different than the jury process for art fairs. Still, it was very interesting. Here is what I learned:

1) Sharp, clear photos are extremely important. Some were a bit out of focus, made even worse when projected.

2) Detailed descriptions of technique and materials were more helpful than artist history or bio.

3) Seeing a series of the same style was better than seeing a range of styles.

4) We as artists have no control over the environment in which the jury will see our work.

5) If you get rejected, don't take it personally. In our case, we wrote comments that will hopefully help these artists in future jury situations.

While I felt great pressure to understand each category, I was most comfortable with the jewelry. We had a good group of jury members from a wide range of art fields. I really enjoyed the experience.

Robin Ragsdale

www.evenbetterimages.com

Anyone have any ideas for building an email or postcard contact list, of potential customers. I have tried putting a book and pen out. I have gotten limited results. Even if I encourange visitors to our booth, to do so.

I have seen other artists have great results in sending postcards out to prospects. But I have not found a good way to collect addresses. Any ideas?

Last week I spoke with Chris Lake, managing director of ArtsyHome.com, the online presence of Distinctive Living magazine, an online venue that connects buyers with artists.

This is a one of a kind business proposition -- no other online gallery also is part of a business with a print magazine that has a distribution to over 2,000,000 upscale customers.

Don't want to put up a website? You can log in with them and they will host your images and handle sales for you also. Learn more: www.artfairinsiders.com/artfairpodcasts

Would like to hear from people who have participated in the Brookside show in Kansas City and the Laumeyer Park show in St. Louis.  With The Plaza show and the St. Louis Art Fair, one would hope some of their success would rub off on the earlier two shows.  They run on adjoining weekends and it might make sense to do both of them back-to-back. And, since Bellville is the weenend after Laumeyer it has possibilities for a nice three-some - if one were lucky enough to get into all three.  Any and all comments would be appreciated.

The deadline for Cincinnati's Summerfair, June 1-3, has been extended to February 10. Applications online at: www.ZAPPlication.org.

Well, I am back safe and sound.  Not much richer after two shows--Islamorada and Images--but I have 250 new images with 31 of them capable of making moola, so all in all I am lucky.

If you remember I went down and did a first time show in Islamorada.  AFI-er Kathy Oda gave an excellent report on the show.  I would disagree with her on one key point.  Maybe it is because she hasn't done many shows in the keys.  She said the crowds were excellent.  I say the crowds were meager at best.

The failing of this show to attract many buyers is why most of us barely covered our expenses.  I made way less than a $1000, and I had images of the keys and Islamorada, and yet I sold none of them.

I also think the organization who ran it was dumb to charge a $5 admission fee.  Coupled with lack of good parking nearby, these two facts hurt that show.  I would not reccomend anybody traveling great distance to do it.  Also the $300 booth fee was way too high for a new show.  Oh well, live and learn.

After the show I headed to Key West for two days of shooting. I stayed at a Days Inn on my CLC card for $79 per nite.  That is a deal, left me more money for sushi and beer.

I always find gold in Key West, image-wise, and this time was no different.

You can't beat the breakfest or lunch at Pepe's, the oldest restaurant there.  You gotta go to Louie's Afterdeck bar for a drink in the evening.  It sits right on the Atlantic.  It is my favorite bar on the east coast.  Go thru the gate to the condos next store and you are at the location of Jimmy Buffett's old house.  Louies is at the junction of Vernon and Wadell streets.  BTW, Pepes is on Caroline Street heading to Turtle Kraals.

The best sushi is at Origami located in Duval Square which is on the east end of Duval Steet just down from Truman Avenue.

After two days there I was ready to escape.  Too much tequila drinking going onthere.  Yes I fell off my wagon--knew it was going to happen.  But I got back on it once I left.

Headed up to Coral Gables on Wennesday and met up with Geri Wegner for sushi at Sukura Gables.  The head sushi chef there remembered me even though he hadn't seen me in more than five years.  Back in the 80s, Vic, who does the chairs and hammocks, and I used to go to Sukura all the time while we did the Grove and Beaux Art shows.  The chef was just a novice then.  He scrubbed radish for two years before they let him touch a fish.  Now he is the top honcho, but he remembers us from back then.

I spent the nite in Pompano Beach with my old buddy Ron Skirdlant where we hit our favorite Thai restaurant on Commercial Ave. in north Ft. Lauderdale.  Rocking Ron has been putting me up at his casa on the canal since the early 80s.  It is always a pleasure to stay with him.  We have lots of old stories to reminesce about.

From there I headed up to New Smyrna Beach and stayed with my buddy Sonny Ellison who lives down on the south end by JBs Fish Camp restaurant.  I lived in NSB in the 80s and Sonny was my best friend there.  We used to play exhausting one-on-one basketball matches all the time.  he used to run me ragged on the court.  I can't do that anymore, that's why I took up a "civilized" sport like golf.

Images lets you set up early on Friday with the show Saturday and Sunday.  It is a piece of cake setup and teardown.

They gave a great artist dinner on Saturday with really good barbeque.  This show has an extensive Patrons Purchase program that has steadily improved over the years.

This year they used the "Sleznic" method of judging in our booths.  Don't you just love those assistants with their stopwatches.  I just love it when they tap the judge on the shoulder and say, "Times up.  We gotta move on."  I much prefer that they pull pieces, but that is just my humble opinion.

The crowds were very large both days, jamming the streets.  We had delicious cooling breezes that pampered us all thru the show.

It ended up being decent for me, I made the most money there out of the four shows I did in January.  Most artists were selling, it was a solid show.

Made it home early Sunday nite to met up with my sweetie Ellen and have a great home-cooked meal.  It was great to be home.

One final observation.  So far this year in Florida, the shows have been slow for many of us.  The middle class consumers have really tightned down on their wallets.  To me, 2011 started better.

It will be interesting to see how I do in Ft. Myers this weekend.  Last year I killed them there, now, I don't know.

Well, there you have it, living vicariously thru Nels.  Hope you enjoyed the journey.

Not a commercial -- In Fargo local artists and Habitat for Humanity ReStore have teamed up to showcase recycled art and auction it for a community cause.

"The LAHFH ReStore contacted area artists and asked them to use their talents to create a piece of art utilizing home improvement materials from the Habitat ReStore. The artists were given a voucher worth $50 to be used at the ReStore. The challenge was to find and purchase materials then turn the reclaimed materials into works of art. This year’s recycled artwork has been displayed at the Spirit Room since January 16."

I particularly like this idea and can see several ways it can be incorporated as a fundraiser. It could work at a garage sale art fair or a a studio clearance sale event also. It would be a great way to get some publicity. It could also be incorporated into a larger event -- a recyling art exhibition area that could be auctioned -- with proceeds being shared with the artists. 

Here is the rest of the story:  http://1800recycling.com/2012/01/recycled-art-show-fargo/

Have you been involved in anything like this?

Please note: In the spirit of full disclosure ... I not only exhibited at this show, I organized it.

ArtWorks: Studio Clearance was organized for the first time this year. This is not your regular art show. I used the Kalamazoo Garage Sale show as a model for putting this show together. Here is the concept:

We all have those pieces in our studio: we're tired of looking at them; they're damaged, last year's "model", or old pieces; or we just never really liked them to begin with. We don't put them out to sell, but we don't want to throw them out either. So what do we do with them?

Studio Clearance is where a section of your display must have art pieces available at a reduced price. A minimum of 25% discount. This show is scheduled at a time of the year that is slower for artists and we need to give shoppers a reason to come out and view our work. This is a "meat and potato" style show. Nothing fancy. Just come in and sell some art.

There is NO expectation for your booth. You can bring a table and chair, and only discounted art to sell. Or bring your entire display and have a section of art at discounted prices. Your choice. The show's advertisement will state that ALL artists will have art on sale in their booths. Admission is $3 at the door. However, if shoppers bring 2 caned food items, they get into the show for FREE! All food items and any money collected at the front door will go to the The Food Pantry of Waukesha County, our non-profit partner. Parking is free.

So, here is what happend:

The show started out slow in the morning. The roads were a little slick. A few of the exhibitors were late in arriving, because of the roads. By 11:00 everyone was in the  building. The first "wave of attendees" started about that some time. It was a steady trickle through most of the day, with a big surge around 2:00.

Most the exhibitors seems a little disappointed in the morning. But seem to  recover in the afternoon. A couple of the exhibitors did not do very well. The majority of the artists seemed happy by  4:00 and were asking me to do the show again next year. With the promise of seeing the show grow.