Friday night at the show, looking down Washington St.
Ok, Nels, here are my thoughts on the festival, starting from the get-go. I should be getting ready for the next show, but I'll admit that I like recapping my experiences for the amusement of all.
I got called off the waitlist, after applying to the show for maybe five or six years in a row. I was happy to accept, and found that communication from the show was complete, timely and useful. A clear festival map is provided, along with a detailed handbook a couple of weeks before the show. The only other shows that deliver such a comprehensive set of materials are Krasl (binder with tabs) and Artisphere in Greenville (a big binder with tabs). The show director, Leah Alters, works hard to answer questions via email quickly. At one point, she even inquired about my stolen trailer! How did she find out about it? Art Fair Insiders. She and her staff are definitely listening to the artists.
Friday Night at the show, looking down Long St. to the West
The load-in was super simple, although it had the potential for disaster. My assigned time was 6:45PM (the last of the day), which worked well for me and my trailer. Directions to the staging area were clear, better than my GPS, which had me running in circles in downtown Cleveland. More on that later. A brisk walk to the Art Center, where, after a brief wait, I SAT DOWN at a table with a show volunteer, who explained pretty much everything to me. She also delivered another copy of the show handbook in the packet, just in case I hadn't printed it previously. The booth signs are humongous, and nicely designed. Somewhere in that mass of information it said which side of the booth to hang it on, but we couldn't find it. There was some confusion on this important issue, cause some artists hung on the left and some on the right. My spot was on a corner, right behind the main stage. I worried that the stage might make it hard to converse with patrons, but it turned out fine. The show volunteers told me to drive the entire length of Long Street to get to it, but as it turned out, I was able to back up the trailer behind the stage, and dolly about 100 feet to the booth. Easier than navigating a show full of sweaty setter-uppers, cranky artisans and irritated vendors.
We got the booth up, the art hung, and parked the new trailer. We spent a few minutes locking the wheels, locking the hitch and installing the ball lock. Lesson learned in Fort Worth. It's worth noting that parking areas provided by shows, full of trailers, vans and trucks, with security, may be a better place to drop a trailer than parking alone at a hotel off in the distance. Just sayin'.
After checking in at our Priceline hotel about ten miles north of town, we went searching for food. This proved to be a tough task on a Thursday night after 11. We finally ended up at a Steak & Shake at the Polaris Mall north of I-270. Not optimal, and no tequila.
Karyn Kozo and funny painted mime guy.
Next morning, we got to the show bright and early. Columbus' hours are a bit squirrely -- 11:30AM to 10PM. They do provide electricity, though, and it's a party crowd. Friday's sales were good for me, not as good as I had expected, but enough to whet my appetite for a gangbuster Saturday and Sunday. The music proved to be loud enough to hear, but not loud enough to be interruptive, and since I like music as background, I enjoyed the acts that played during the day. At times, crowds were wall to wall, but all told, I only had a few transactions. Friday, for me, was collector day, as I sold nothing but larger pieces.
Karyn went looking for food and Starbucks. Unfortunately, the easiest Starbucks to get to is almost a mile away. She took the truck, drove to another 'Bucks with easier parking, and took almost an hour and a half to find her way back to the booth, what with the one-way streets in Columbus. High Street alone has no turns posted during business hours for almost a mile. Finally I got my coffee. Lunch is the same problem. No restaurants, delis or other food emporiums anywhere that we could find, on Yelp, or Urban Spoon, at least within walking distance of the show. Luckily, the cuisine tents had decent, healthy options, if at expensive show prices. I tried the ancho pork skewer on basmati rice, and found it tender & flavorful. For $10, it oughta be! The gazpacho was good, and the cherry pie was outstanding. The diablo steak salad was also tasty. Afterwards, I was glad that the show provided trailer porta-lets in strategic areas around the show.
Friday night, we didn't bother with dinner. By the time we got the tent closed down, it was 10:30, and we didn't feel like repeating Thursday's drive-around debacle.
One cool promo that ran in conjunction with the show was @tweetandgoseek. Matthew Barnes, aka @misterbarnes, hid little pieces of artwork around the show that had coupons and freebies attached to them. He then tweeted clues to the location, and first to find the artwork got the prize. Effective, fun, and a great way to send folks around the show. I had one stuck to my sign, and met the infamous @misterbarnes. Great promotion.
Saturday sales were real slow. Surprisingly, the crowd changed. Many tire-kickers, lookers, gawker and freaks sprinkled in amongst the suburban families out for a stroll. Lots of sno-cones and beer consumed. We made friends with our neighbors. Bill Secunda, from Butler PA, with his giant nail sculptures, is a hoot. His huge sculptures always gathered a crowd, mostly to take pictures of their friends with his giant bear. Bill also had a big electric fan, which was a definite necessity. His crane broke down, and a very helpful fork-lift operator helped him unload and came back after the show to help him get these heavy monsters loaded back up on the forklift. Kudos to this nameless fellow!
Karyn said afterward, "Wouldn't it be a kick to see these rolling down the interstate?"
Bill Secunda and Karyn Kozo. It is DEFINITELY Beer o' Clock!
Dave Johnson, enjoying a moment of piece and quiet in his booth
Dave Johnson, all the way from Seattle, with black & white photography right across from me, was dying in the heat. But we had a few good laughs. Lisa Ark, with her tiny miniature paintings alongside her larger (don't call it cute!) work, had a decent show. And next door, Mark Yasenchak had some exquisite porcelain skulls displayed next to his beautiful towers and boxes. Down the street we ran into Pat Whalen, and Sam & Jeannie Maddox, who were our neighbors at Main Street Fort Worth in April. Mark MacKinnon was there with a double booth showing his ethereal photographs in simple yet elegant white frames. We talked to Leah Cavanah on Cleveland, too. She wasn't having a great show. Rob Coomer, another tog friend, did have a good show, with his stunning photographs on steel. And of course we ran into Nels and his lovely wife Ellen.
Doug Remien, a friend from Waterford, MI, had told me earlier that Columbus used to be his best show of the year. This year? Not so much. The sales weren't there for him like before. And that seemed to be the story for most -- some made a little money over expenses, some made nothing. Certainly the artists whose booths were blown away missed out on the third day of selling, and will have some work to do to recoup the losses from the storm. I was happy to make a little money, pay a few bills.
If you don't know, the show has started a relief fund for those artists that had significant losses. If you are an artist who had losses, you need to let Leah Alters know that, too. The relief fund is at:https://columbusartsfestival.org/get-involved/artist-relief-fund.php
If you can afford to contribute a little to the fund, those artists that had big trouble will surely appreciate it. I will if you will.
Did I mention the artist breakfast that never was? We arrived at 9:10AM, for the breakfast scheduled to start at 9AM, and they were already out of eggs and meat. The staff said more was on the way, and at 9:30, they started the awards program, with artists still standing in line for food. The awards were given, and at 10, we finally gave up on free food, and walked to the nearest Starbucks, at Broad and 3rd St, about .8 mile away, for breakfast sammitches and real coffee. I would have preferred to have a full breakfast had I known the show one was non-existent... Ding the show's caterer for that. 250 artist, one steam tray of scrambled eggs? Back to counting and forecasting school for you, Mr. Caterer.
Saturday night - storm. Been covered. See my post over in Nels blog from the other day. Lots of damage. Lots of rain. Sunday, the show director sent everyone an email, letting them know that free tent space was available for those whose canopies were destroyed. They called the tent rental company and put up two big tents down on Cleveland St. Leah said that leaving the show would have no repercussions, and a few artists did pack up and leave on Saturday night, fearing more storms on Sunday. Coupled with slow Saturday sales, it might have been a good move. My feeling is, we're there, might as well tough it out. Sometimes that strategy works, sometimes it doesn't.
Bill Secunda and "Stove Man", enjoying a healthy discourse on the benefits of stove lurking
The human yearbook (ok, she was cute, and pretty normal)
Karyn (right) and "Painted Guy" (left)
Thumbs up on the black & white photos, dude! Ummm, did I mention the heat?
Sunday was hot and muggy, but no storms in the forecast. Sales were better, but the bizarros kept coming out. I've never seen so many oddly detailed people in my life. There was "Stove Man", who spent quality time with Karyn & Bill Secunda, describing in detail his fetish for crawling into stoves. There was "Painted Guy", a mime with a donation bucket. There was the "Human Yearbook", a girl who didn't want to buy a yearbook, so let her friends use her body instead. Many, many dogs, some of them cute. Many, many strollers. Many, many tattoos. And a few sales. Enough to say it was an okay show, but not enough to put it in the pantheon of stellar performers. It was free entertainment for most, and the heat made everyone lethargic.
Cumulo-nimbus pop-up storm about 5PM Saturday evening
Sunday afternoon, the radar started showing pop-up thunderstorms headed our way again. There was a giant storm out in Indiana, over South Bend, too. The show people came around and let us close an hour early. Most artists were already packing, as the crowds had wilted from the heat. But the rain missed us, thank goodness, and the packup went quickly. We were on the road by 7:30, and got home to bed by midnight.
I'm sure I must've forgotten to add something. But I really must get back to wringing out my knickers. Plus I've got to get on down the road on Friday. See y'all in Chicago, or Crocker Park, or wherever we'll be for next week's circus!
September 16-18