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This last week was a tough one for me.  I was working during the day at La Jolla Playhouse on a velvet suit primarily, but sporadically I would be assigned other tasks that varied widely.  At a certain point, a suit becomes a "one person job", so I never knew how long my day was going to be, nor when I was going to shift back to doing what I was actually hired for (which was doing the laundry and maintenance for the musical that is currently running).  The weekend concluded with a sick colleague needing to take some time off and figuring out how to fill in for him.  The end result was a completely disjointed work week that has left me a bit frazzled and exhausted, even though I didn't really do much that I felt required intensive concentration or effort to warrant how I'm feeling...

You ever have weeks like that?  I was left with fewer blocks of time to work on my art, and even then I couldn't really focus my attention to work on anything...

Hasn't been an incredibly constructive week, lemme tell ya.

You have periods like that?  I can't complain, really--I have a job, which is more than some do right now.

I just wish I could figure out a way to hone my attention and have substantive results without using coffee!  Haha!  I feel like I don't have any margin for whining, so I'm trying not to do that.  I'm reminded of a great book I read a while ago, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, and it's sequel Do the Work.  He talks about "Resistance" as an ever present mental demon that artists are constantly battling.  I understand that in spades.  It would be so easy to simply write off my free time as I "recuperate" from my part-time workdays...  It's finding a way to bridge the transition from one work place to my own studio and still maintain momentum that is the hard part for me.  I recognize my demon is lurking behind that feeling...

Twyla Tharp also wrote a great book called The Creative Habit that touches on many of the same things that Pressfield's books discuss, but she emphasizes the need for structure in an artists' life.  The presence of a consistent schedule, a discipline in one's approach to creating that is sort of "baked in", and a recognition of one's own inherent creativity that can't be replicated by anyone else as an inspiration toward investing in yourself...

I see the demon in my lack of a developed habit.  And I think that's because I haven't embraced the execution of repetitive action as a key to creation.  I think that often there's a cultural emphasis on the freedom of being a creative artist, but so little understanding how that very freedom can be as inhibitive as it is liberating.  All the free time in the world does not mean one will actually bend their will to the act of making.  All the options and inspirations at your fingertips do nothing if one doesn't actually turn away eventually and apply them.

It's the act of doing that is the truly liberating part of art.  And often, an artist needs structure and repetition to do the doing.  And one can't get that if one isn't ready to buckle down and fight the demon.

Time to polish up my longsword.

Live Life with Relish!

Sword image from Albion Europe ApS via Flickr.  Creative Commons License.

I came across this at www.claytimes.com by icsthrower.  Given some of the recent discussion here, thought some of you might enjoy it.

WHERE: Beautiful downtown St. Joseph, Michigan
WHEN:  Saturday and Sunday - July 14-15  
WHAT:  Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff, one of the nation's top fine art festivals (Sunshine Artist Magazine
               #24 2011)

Deadline: January 12 

NOTEWORTHY:

*One-half century of artistic and sales excellence.

*Limited to 216 artists.

*Average sales (2011): $1500 to $5000, (Sunshine Artist Magazine report) $3,700 (artist post-event survey).

*Jury/Booth Fees ($30/$275 or $300, depending on space size: 15x15 and 20x20); many with exposure on two sides.

*Estimated attendance: 75,000, drawn from all over the Midwest.

*Friday set-up; drive to space for load-in and load-out.

*Artist-in-Residence program; residents host artists in their homes.

*Excellent artist amenities, including artist-only parking, Saturday gourmet breakfast, booth sitters, electricity available to many booths, artists' hospitality room and much more.

*Friday night kick-off party with gourmet food, wine tasting and live music--free to artists.

*Round table artists' discussion with committee and staff.

*Jury session open to artists and public to observe.     

The Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff celebrates 51 years of artistic excellence at Lake Bluff Park in 2012, overlooking Lake Michigan. The festival draws crowds from Chicago, northern Indiana, Grand Rapids and other nearby cities.

What the artists had to say:

• From a drawing/pastel artist: "So far it was my best of the year and third best overall, so thanks again. I am keeping my fingers crossed on getting in next year!"
• A painter says: "I just wanted to thank you for a well organized event, for the nice roomy, shady spot, and the large, enthusiastic crowd. It's really all that we, as exhibitors can ask for. From there, it's up to us to have the work that appeals to the public."
• A fiber artist said: "What many art fair organizers don't realize is that if you make it a show that is very artist friendly, as well as having good sales, artists will enjoy coming and the quality of the work at you show will be better."
• From a 3-D artist: "Thank you all the volunteers, staff and hot, steamy judges who made this a terrific show. I have to say that we are in the "best show ever" category and it couldn't have happened at a more needed time."   

Deadline: January 12, 2012
Application through  www.zapplication.org
Jury Date: February 3, 2012 (artists and public invited to observe)
Notification: February 24, 2012
Booth Fee Due: April 6, 2012 

For more details and artist's prospectus, visit:

www.krasl.org/af_artist_info.php

Email inquiries to: Sara Shambarger, Director   

 sshambarger@krasl.org

You may also contact by telephone: 269-983-0271   

Sunday morning awards meeting    

I know, I know....nine more days!

But YOU know ME!!!! LOL

In bold and upper case, I just have to wish every single Art Fair Insider a

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

We are totally breaking tradition this year: no tree, trimmings or turkey.....at least at home!

My newlyweds will be at the Green Bay Packer Game on Christmas Day. For those who do not follow American football, the Packers are set to have a "perfect" season and picked to win the Super Bowl again. We in WI take the Pack like religion on Sundays ( or any other day they play!) So Mom's (my) traditions will wait a week as they make their holy trek up to Lambeau Field.

My eldest and darling daughter haven't decided yet but

Dan and I are heading to Minneapolis to spend Christmas with our youngest son, the surgical transplant RN. Since he just moved to the Uof M Hospital there from Kearney, NE, he is low man on the rotation. He will be working some third shifts.

Larry, we are doing a brave thing! After eight years of being a house dog, Willow is coming along. We procured Valium for the trip for him (I think a round may be needed for us as well! Just kidding.)

I hope everyone uses this blog to tell us what YOU are doing over the next two weeks.

I'd love to hear!

BIG HUGS,

Linda

The Borders they are talking about is across the street from Woodfield.  It is in an outdoor mall that has several stores that draw lots of people.  It is as busy as Woodfield but much smaller.  The sign is viewable from the road.  The strip is busy all of the time.  I would be curious as to how they got my name and contact information.

Art Fair 101 - Art Fairs - Not Nearly What I Expected

On December 20 at 3 pm we will host a live discussion with four artists who are relatively new to the art fair business. We had many requests to be on the panel but these four were chosen because of their persuasive emails. If they can speak as well as they write we are in luck! They represent four different media and are from different areas of the country and have disparate backgrounds. I've never met any of them nor spoken to them (except for one) so this will be a surprise to all of us. 

Not only will you get to listen live you will also have the opportunity to ask questions of the panel.  You will find the podcast/radio program at this link:  http://www.artfairinsiders.com/page/radio

More details coming soon -- 

Sponsors:  EntryThingy.com, FrameDestination.com, ACTinsurance.com

I have encountered a situation that I'm not sure how to intrepret and I would appreciate hearing from others in regard to similar experiences, opinions, etc.

For the past couple of years I've been very fortunate in being accepted to most of the shows to which I have applied, some of which I thought I had very little chance of getting into.  I try to keep my work fresh and introduce new work when possible.  And, I feel my work has gotten better from year to year if for no other reason than more experience, exposure, etc.

However, it seems I am getting more rejections and wait-listings for 2012 than I've ever had before and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.  With the economic issues we've all seen, it seems there would be fewer applicants to shows and, thus, less competition but this doesn't seem to be the case.  Of course there are all the usual reasons why one isn't accepted to a show i.e. simply an inferior body of work; poor photos; large number of applicants in a particular category, etc., etc.  But, as I said, I feel my work has improved, my photos are every bit as good as they've ever been if not better and , as near as I can tell, there has been no significant change in the numbers of applicants in my category.

So, I'm simply having a hard time in pinpointing the problem.  I can only assume that I'm wrong and my work is getting worse instead of better.  I intend to step back, take some time away from shows and devote it to making some changes and improvements in my work, get some better photos  (pay attention Larry) and solicit opinions from you good folks.

I also have a real personal problem with the wait-listing issue.  To me, that simply says, "you're not good enough to be in our show but we're going to keep your name in the hat just in case we need it".  This is my own personal hang-up but I can't seem to change my thinking.  I would almost rather be rejected out-right than wait-listed.

I would appreciate hearing any ideas, thoughts, suggestions, comments any of you might have on these issues.  And I would be interested in hearing from anyone who is having a similar problem with 2012 and what you think the reasons might be.

A Better System of Judging for Awards

The Atlanta/Maitland Scoring & Judging System

by Les Slesnick

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN REMOVED AND IS BEING UPDATED

I ran across this today and thought there may be someone out there that needs a part time job in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area to supplement their income.  Plus, working in an Andy Warhol Museum could be fun.  Here is the info:

The Andy Warhol Museum seeks Gallery Attendants to assist in the orientation and provision of positive, quality museum experience to all patrons during open hours and special events, including the protection of the Andy Warhol Museum's collection from various potential threats. Must have ability to gain familiarity with all the areas of the Visitor Services Department to ensure smooth daily operation. Duties include greeting and assisting patrons with orientation to the museum, providing general museum information to visitors as needed, monitoring collections and displays, maintaining the visitor information areas, operating computer ticketing system, operation of phone switchboard, tracking information gathered during daily operations, and assisting the Visitor Services Manager and Assistant with all levels of customer service.

For more information and to apply, visit http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/hr. EOE

I founded a charitable organization to help local artists.  I provide sales, marketing, administrative and financial support for a group of accomplished award winning artists that would rather be painting then dealing with these issues.  I have am excellent track record in medical sales.

I am constantly looking for creative and unique ways to get art out to the public.  Many of my artists could not afford the Amdur Show or The One of a Kind Show show even though they were invited to attend.

I secured  30,000 square feet of prime location so my artists could have a place to exhibit during the holiday season.

If you do the math, $500 and 20% is a no brainer for a 5 week indoor show.  I have gotten lots of free press and am doing multiple promotions, one that will go out to 8,000 targeted wealthy art enthusiasts.

I am passionate about supporting the arts and do this for the benefit of local artists.  I am not one to say "What's in it for me."  which was a reply I got from a promoter that will remain unnamed.

I got permits, inspections, insurance etc. to provide this opportunity and am disappointed that people are so jaded.  I was unaware of all the scams that are out there and do everything by the book.  If additional references or contacts were needed anyone could have just asked.

I am very proud of my Gallery and am honored to have so many brilliant artists participating.

Please come anytime or attend our artist reception 12/15 from 6pm-9pm. Live music and wine will accompany the fabulous array of  art.

Those who waited will have missed out on this fabulous opportunity.  This location was a dream come true and will be filled by next year. I am too exhausted and have sacrificed too much to make this all happen.  Come the new year I will be back to the grind of making deals happen to make the world a more beautiful place and allow artists to make a living at what they do best.

Cheers.

Finding out about Sonny Dalton's passing. Sonny was such a wonderful man, friend and just a unique individual person.  With his layback personality, attitude and demeanor, it was outrageous to watch people come into his booth and be totally awe struck, of his creative mind and ability.  I too was, so when I first meet him at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival I fell in love with him and his work. Which I knew some day I "wanted" one of his special works of Art. ( I tried to trade with him), but he told me, he only need just so much Leather.  Luckily  I was able to purchase one from him, as you can see in the picture. My Most Prize Possession. Sonny, we will all miss you and the stories and jokes you loved to tell. Robert Zarcone 

As a gourmet food person, I would love to hear from anyone who did Chicago...I was on the wait list.  Was it worth it, would you do it again?

Just did the OOAK Show in Chicago, this is a very well run event. For those who are not familiar with it I will run through the basics. Included in your booth fee is a 10 x 10 approx space with walls, carpet, lights (6) electricity and trash can. The walls come in white and you can request and pay for colors. The way I have found is to bring rolls of colored paper and staple or tack it up yourself to save the painting fees. Any way, you show up at the loading dock and the union labor carts all your work and display up to the show floor to your booth. After setup you tag your emtpy containers and they fetch and store them until end of show. You get the services of an electrician to aim your lights for you. Over stock can be stored with access on the floor below the show to replenish your booth. You can bring your own wall panels if you desire. Hanging your work involves driving nails or screws into walls which by the way you must remove at breakdown ( they patch and repaint) Almost anything to do with displays can be had for a fee if you don't want to cart in your own stuff. They do also have a central cashier system which you can use. Artists are given access to materials for promotion throughout the year including passes for admittance to give to your clients. At shows end your empty containers appear at your booth, you break down and they cart it all back down to the loading docks for you. Crowds are large and enthusiastic. Smaller gift items sell well although high end work does too! Now for this years news.....

We were asked to attend an artist breakfast on Friday morning prior to opening. A big announcement was to be made. Well, the announcement was that they were going to re merchandise the show by placing all the jewelry booths on one side of the show with the fashion booths. In addition, jewelers would have to re jury with a jury fee, and returning artists would not be guarranteed booth placement requests with early sign up, one of the past perks for re signing. Needless to say these items were not well received by those in attandance. When the meeting opened up for Q & A I was the secong hand up to comment and after a good twenty minutes of not getting selected to speak I needed to find a way to get noticed. Hence the "man on the chair was born" I ended up gaining some height and was chosen to say my piece. Basically I commented that in my opinion most of us benefitted from a mix of booths via impulse sales from those patrons seeking for example their favorite jeweler and passing a booth with great pottery, bingo pottery sale! Or conversly heading for that painter they love and passing a great pair of earings at a jewelry booth and presto jewelry sale! This would cease to happen as often with grouping of the fashion and jewelry. Many of the patrons would not walk the show as they do now, simply heading to the one section they had in mind and beaming on out afterwards. It is a very large show and takes time and dedication to pass through all the ailes. Human nature is such that when asked, patrons would of course say they like the grouping idea to make certain shopping easier but why the do grocery stores put things like the milk all tha way in the back? So you will pass many other items on the way and bring a few out with you of course. After much comment, almost all of which seemed against the idea of change, the meeting was ended with promise of new thought to the whole idea. Loh and behold the plan was scrapped, booth placement was put back in for early sign up with the exception of jewelers who must re jury for next year. Returning jewelers no jury fee and new applicants have a jury fee. I felt that the people (artists) had spoken and the powers that be listened. I would like to add that the staff as a whole is excellent to work with and does a wonderful job of getting us all in and out for this show. My claim to fame now lies in being the "man on the chair" as I got visits the rest of the show to shake my hand etc for "standing up".

In considering whether or not to apply to an art fair, every seasoned exhibitor will tell you to check out the details.  Look for the red flags of warning.  Interestingly, this one came to my inbox this morning, and they helpfully even already had it in red text.  How convenient.

ARTIST APPLICATION DEADLINE

EXTENDED TO DECEMBER 19, 2011!

I've seen more than a few artfairs in my time, and experience tells me that when a show "extends"  the application deadline--there's something wrong.

Possibly an exception: a recent facebook "posting error"  of deadline time (supposedly) was the reason given for the recent Cherry Creek extension.  The difference?  They opened it up for three hours to give the mislead ones a small window of opportunity to mend their ways. 

But the above included note in red--it's a mall show--in February, no less.  And they're extending the deadline out another week?

You may read into it what you want, but I've already done my reading. I'd say buyer beware.

Have a lovely day!

Later, Cooper

Merrill (Sonny) Dalton died, 78, on December 10 at Rose Arbor Hospice in Kalamazoo, MI, from complications of pneumonia. Sonny was a fixture in the art fair business for 41 years and only stopped participating in art fairs when his deteriorating lung condition, caused by a lifetime of welding, made it too hard for him.

Sonny was one of those people who made people want to attend art fairs. His ingenious outsider constructions of firetrucks, reindeer, people, trains, etc., made people smile. Men would stop in their tracks to examine their intricacy and then they would meet the man behind the sculptures, a funny, humble person who loved what he did and loved being at the shows meeting everyone. He and his wife, Roxie, probably were friends with more people in this business than anyone.

My husband, Norm Darwish, would go to his booth at the shows just to hang out because there was so much entertainment going on. We lived near him and traveled to many shows together. I

remember when we visited him in the hospital outside of Baltimore because he had got e. coli at the Timonium fairgrounds; I remember driving in tandem to Denver and him singing "Rocky Mountain High" over the CB; I remember him nearly selling out at Columbus Winterfair; I remember all the artists singing happy birthday to him when he turned 70 in Indianapolis before the show opened. I remember the throngs around his booth at many shows as people clamored for his pieces. He did his last show in December 2009 at the Great Lakes Art Fair and people were thrilled to see him. He was a celebrity. 

His work is in many museums, including the Barber Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama, that exhibits his largest piece the "Rat Bike" -- a motorcycle tricked out like none you have ever seen that was commissioned for the museum.

Here's a little piece he made for me for my 60th birthday: "Connie directing an art fair"

Sonny, we will really miss you.

He is survived by his wife Roxie and their three daughters Jenny, Amy and Julie and seven grandchildren. Please email me for Roxie's address, or send messages through the Adams Funeral Home, 502 W. Michigan Ave., Paw Paw, MI  49079. Viewing will be at the Adams Funeral Home in Paw Paw, 12/14 from 5-7 pm. Graveside services will be at the Riverside Cemetery on December 15 at 1 pm.

Don't know Sonny? Visit this link, lots of good stories: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/main/search/search?q=Sonny+Dalton

I know many of you knew Sonny. Please share your stories in the comments below.

Jacki Bilsborrow (my friendly admin on this site) and I headed to Chicago on December 2 specifically to visit the One of a Kind Show. 600 artists, who could resist this lure? What we found there:

• 126 jewelers and 148 wearables (clothing and accessories), some of these were double and even triple booths. All price points included, even a young woman who was making dainty crocheted earrings and pendants and selling them for $25. I did ask her how many she had to make before she would even break even! It had to be months of work.
• Gourmet Gallery a row of artisanal foods, delicious stuff, where you could hardly get through the crowds
• booth fees ranging from $1800, repeat exhibitor with a 10 x 10, to newbies with corners that were around $3000
• once you have participated you don't have to reapply but are reinvited, although they are changing the rules for 2012 as they only had six openings in the jewelry category this year so jewelers will all have to reapply
• "This is my very best show every year," Hand Jive and Dinah Morrison
• "This is a complete ripoff for the artists," a photographer I've known for some time
• Tickets are $12 but artists had email codes where you could download a free ticket
• curbside carryout service for buyers as well as a packaging and shipping service
• sports lounge where football fans could take refuge, comfortable seating, TV and bar service
• fashion shows, artist talks
• There were a lot of artists from the East and especially the West Coast who had flown in, took advantage of the walls and electricity that the MMart provided and did a great job of dressing up the plain white box to make their booths inviting, sort of in a cool minimalist way
• a mix of work from the frankly commercial to true one of a kind made by independent artists and everything in between, cottage industries, small wholesale designer businesses. I'd like to criticize, but it makes for very interesting shopping.

I traveled to Chicago for the Ooaksthis past weekend.   I had never been to one of those shows before.  I was very excited to go to a show held in the Merchandise Mart.  We arrived on Saturday just about the time it opened.  I don't think they could get any more people in that place.  It was packed!  It was so tight that we could only take tiny baby steps as we moved around the show.

The wearable art seemed to be doing very well.  The booths were packed with ladies feverishly examining each item.  Not only were they looking, they were buying, too.  Some shoppers told us they come every year and I think they were all coming on the same day, too.  Shoppers could be seen carrying multiple bags as we inched our way down the rows.  There were gorgeous silk scarves, winter coats, designer dresses, and lots of fancy scarves made from really cool yarns.  Plus, we saw lots and lots of fancy hats.  The hats made me wonder why I don't ever see anybody wearing one.  Maybe hats are token purchases that vanish into thin air once they hit the closet shelf.  :-)

There was lots and lots of jewelry!  I think one artist told us there were 160 jewelers there.  Twenty six percent of the booths were jewelry and that does seem high to me.  I don't think the jewelers were very happy about that.  As we walked along it does seem like everywhere you looked there was a jeweler. 

I did see something I hadn't seen before.  There was an Etsey area.  Exhibitors that had Etsey stores were all together in one area.  It did seem like there was a good number of them there.  The work in that area did seem a bit different to me.   It wasn't quite like the art work I am used to seeing at Art Shows. 

As we got to the other side of the building we could see what I would call traditional art.   I am referring to the painters, photographers, sculptors, and others.  There were shoppers in those booths but not like the shoppers in the clothing booths.  There were some very good artists and if money wasn't an object I would have made several purchases.  I did talk to some of those artists and they said they were doing well but not quite as good as they did last year. 

Of course, there were a few booths that made you wonder how they got into the show.  For the most part their work looked nice but it just wasn't really art. 

We did go back Sunday and it was much easier to get around because the crowds weren't so thick.  I suppose the artists would rather have the crowds though.  I took a few photos.  Bare in mind I used a tiny little Nikon Coolpics camera.  I noticed they are a little fuzzy but you will get the idea I am sure.  The photos that have less people in them were taken on Sunday. 

I am already planning my trip for next year.  Hopefully, I will see you there, too.

This artist sold all kinds of fancy things for the bedroom.  Her display looked very attractive.

Anne is an AFI member that I stumbled upon.

The art on the far right was really cool bells.

The Fashion district, too bad I am not a clothes horse.  I would have gone nuts.

Sorry, I know this one is blurry. 

Suddenly, I can't add any more photos so I guess that is my hint to end this. 

Jacki B

I was thrilled to do Amdur Productions, "The Inside Show" this past weekend. Only forty artists were chosen, ten of whom were jewelers. The air was rareified, let me tell you. But that is not what this post is about.
On Monday, I received an email from a lady (who shall remain nameless) telling me that anyone from "The Real Thing" show OR the "Inside Show" were being asked to join a limited engagement Co-Op of some artists at an abandoned Borders store across from the Woodfield Mall(very very exclusive high-end shopping mall). Thirty artists had climbed on board and they would love to have me with them.
They wanted $300 up front and 20% of every item sold. No contract. They had never run a Co-Op before but as she wrote:" it doesn't take a rocket scientist to do it."
No security...but you don't have to be there.(?)
She keeps repeating that they sold a vase for $4000.
I called two artists on the list of six she gave me. They haven't returned my calls.
Question: Am I being naive again and missing out on a great opportunity?
Or are my feet stuck to the floor for some other reason?
Help!

Artists have an especially hard time on the Internet because many (most?) artists fight the battle between art and commercialism daily.

It's especially hard to decide where to draw the line when selling art online.

You want your website to be as beautiful as your art.  You design a site that reflects your aesthetic but then you are disappointed with lackluster website sales.

Many artists build websites but get NO sales at all online.

Unfortunately they blame the Internet when it's often more a matter of website design.

If your website is attracting visitors but few sales, ExpertWebsiteReviews.com can help.
 

Expert Website Redesign Advice Videos - Cheap

Generic web design theory won't help you as much as personalized website advice that you can see.

Here are 2 examples of recent custom website review videos from ExpertWebsiteReviews.com.  They are full of valuable tips for how you could improve your website sales, too.
 

Video Review of BNelsonDesign.com

[click here if you can't see the video website review]

ExpertWebsiteReviews.com is run by my son, Scott Fox, the best-selling author of Internet Riches and e-Riches 2.0 and a long-time dot-com success story. (He's also a frequent participant here at ArtFairInsiders.)

Holiday Special - only $99!

Currently the custom web site review videos offered by redesign recommendations video consultant
ExpertWebsiteReviews.com are only $99 each.  The price is jumping in January to $129 or even $149, however. 

If your website could use a "tune-up", I'd suggest ordering a review yourself today. It's an inexpensive way to increase the return on your website investment.
 

Here's another example video:

Video Review of Biwer-Stewart.Artspan.com

[click here if you can't see the video website review above]

Winter is the right time for you to look at your website again.

If your website could use an upgrade, Scott would be happy to help, and he knows our art fair business.

Visit http://www.ExpertWebsiteReviews.com to order a personalized video review of your website.

What did  you think of Scott's redesign suggestions for these websites?

Anything  you disagree with? 

Would you  like to see more artist website redesign videos?

 p.s.  The custom video reviews from ExpertWebsiteReviews.com are only $99 for a limited time.  Reserve one now because the price is going up after Christmas!

Gfit idea: Order one for your favorite artist as a gift!

So my 2011 show season just came to a close. I'll be posting a festival re-cap in the next few days but while it's still fresh in my mind I wanted to go over the comparative costs of flying to art festivals vs driving to them. I'm writing this as I fly back home in the relative comfort of coach seating on a US Airways jet.

My good friend and fellow artist Lee Waterous of Head'n Home Hats has badgered me for years to include flying to and from art fairs as a way to reduce costs and travel time spent on the road. The reduced time I understood but how could this form of travel actually save me money? Lee's set up, unlike mine, compacts nicely into airline friendly cases which he air freights to the closest airport near the show he will be doing. He gets off the plane, rents a uHaul type truck right there at the airport, drives to where the freight terminal is located and loads up. Simple. Oh yeah, hats don't weigh much.

I on there other hand, I travel with a 500 lbs. Trimeline STEEL framed canopy, a dozen ProPanels, 3 large print bins, 2 folding tables a directors chair, a knock down ProPanel desk misc. support material and all of this is before I load one piece of my art. Even though I do rather well sales wise at most shows, this additional frieght bill would eat too much into my profits to make it work.

That's why I didn't even consider it until fate had my schedule packed so tight I bit the bullet and tried it out just in order to be able to make it from Santa Cruz, CA. back home to Sandpoint, ID and then to Las Cruces, NM all in one week. The drive by itself couldn't even happen let alone breaking down one show and setting up at the other 2000 miles away.

Here is what I did and why I'm a newly converted "flying traveling artist" and you should be too. 

The deal breaker for me traveling this way was always how to ship my heavy, bulky display setup. What I found out was that I could become a "hybrid" flying artist. What do I mean by that? Well, on that particular trip I just talked about I needed to drive my 2010 Ford extended van down to the first leg of this show trip which was in Half Moon Bay, CA. I did that show as well as another one in northern California the next weekend and instead of diving the 1100 miles back home to "re-load" my art and then head out to New Mexico, I left my van at my brothers house in Santa Cruz, flew back home, printed and framed the art I would needed in New Mexico, UPSed this art back to California, flew back there the following week to pick up my van and the art I shipped and then drove to Las Cruces.

How did this cost compare? The round trip air fair (which was high because I booked late) ran $275.00. The UPS bill to get the art back to Cali was just under a hundred bucks. Because my son drove me to San Jose International airport I didn't need to cab it which saved about $50.00. So my grand total to this round tripper including freight was $375.00.

If I was to have driven this same trip I would have put 2200 miles on my rig just to get me back to where I left from in Cali and at 15 miles to the gallon and with gas costing over $4.00 (at least in California anyway) I would have spent over $550.00 in gas plus 4 nights in cheap hotels, $200.00 so my net savings was $370.00 plus (and here's the bigge) 4 freaking less days driving on the road. Lest we not forget things like van maintenance etc too.

With the success I had on this trip, I managed to recreate my savings both time and money on 3 other round trips this year.

Another tip Lee gave me was to book "Park n Fly hotels close to my departing airport for my trips back home. Why? Because even though these run twice the rate I usually pay in places like Motel 6 and Super 8's, these Park n Flys allow you to leave your rig in their parking lot for free while you fly home. Plus, they offer free shuttle service to and from the airport. One of my trips back in November I was going to stay at a Motel 6 in Phoenix, then park at the long term lot at Sky Harbor which would have cost me close to $200.00 for the room and parking. By paying $95.00 at the Best Western in Tempe, not only did I save half the money I would have spent but stayed in a way nicer room with door to door shuttle service. Sweet!

Because my season has come to and end and my last show for the year was in Tempe, AZ I decided to rent a secure storage space with closed circuit cameras and coded entry gates close to the show at a local uHaul center for $55.00 a month. This facility is next door to the Best Western I mentioned so I was able to use their shuttle van to get to the airport for my flight home. This is where my van will live until I fly back down to pick it up prior to my first show of the 2012 season which will be in Fountain Hills, AZ next February.

If I am able to take advantage on say half of the shows I do in 2012 by being a "hybrid flying artist" not only will I save money but I'll be keeping my butt out of the drivers seat a lot and that's a very good thing.