Blog

Something I have found that helps me, enjoy! ;)

http://www.phoenixoddities.blogspot.com/2011/04/power-of-nature.html

June 25-26
Lathrup Village, MI      
8th Annual Michigan First Art Fest - new name!
    (formerly the Lathrup Village Art Fair)

Returning this year is the "Taste Of Michigan Brews" Mini Pub!  This addition was a big hit with not only the attendees, but the artists themselves! The expanded food court will be centrally located for your convenience.

• Staff who recognize artists needs
• Friendly volunteers to help you unload and booth sit
• Continental breakfast each day
• Artist reception at the close of the day on Saturday
• Spacious booths- 12 x 12 with ample aisles
• Overnight security
• Reasonable booth fee- $155

• new sponsors, promising more advertising and a completely revamped event
• "We are pulling out all the stops to get shoppers for our artists!!!"

http://www.michiganfirstArtFest.com  

Rather than repost the entire story here, I'm posting a link to my review and subsequent experience last week in Fort Worth. To summarize: great show, friendly people, huge weather issues to deal with. I made great sales there, probably my best show to date. But my show trailer was stolen. Luckily, I was set up the day before it was ripped off from the Marriott Towne Place Suites in downtown Fort Worth.

While I await the outcome of the insurance company claims I've filed, I wrote a long blog post on my own site that details my experience with the show and with the theft. In seven years, I've never had a problem with a stolen trailer. Guess there's a first time for everything.

So anyhow, thanks to everyone who expressed their concern and sympathy and offered their help. Especially Beth Crowder, who had a great idea, and to Jay Downie, the Director of MSAF, who sent me a very nice personal note. 

Here's the link:

A Hard Road

I also posted a page on my site that shows the trailer in a bit more detail. If anyone has any info on the trailer, or runs across some of my work at a show where I am not present, please inform the police and let me know as well. Thanks so much.

Jim Parker

Congratulations to these Art Fair Insiders members, all prizewinners in Fort Worth:

Michael Brown, Ginny Herzog, Renee & James Engebretson and Jeffrey Zachmann

A total of $10,500 in award money went to:

Best of Show

• Mimi Damrauer - Fiber, Booth 810

• Marvin Blackmore - Ceramics, Booth 606
• Harry Roa - Jewelry, Booth 526
• E. Douglas Wunder - Jewelry, Booth 804
• Theresa Honeywell - Mixed Media, Booth 424
• Victoria Varga/Daniel Brouder - Jewelry, Booth 472
• Lynda Ladwig - Ceramics, Booth 304
• Ayala Naphtali - Jewelry, Booth 726

• Thomas Diel - Emerging Artist, Booth 353

• Luis Enrique Gutierrez - Ceramics, Booth 504
• Michael Brown - Digital, Booth 624***
• J D Hillberry - Drawing/Pastels, Booth 625
• Viviana Bonanomi Santamarina - Fiber, Booth 437
• Renee Engebretson/James Engebretson - Glass, Booth 709***
• Seung Lee - Graphics/Printmaking, Booth 316
• Christy Klug - Jewelry, Booth 517
• Carol Hearty - Leather, Booth 310
• Jeffrey Zachmann - Metalwork, Booth 507***
• Richard Curtner - Mixed Media, Booth 607
• Ginny Herzog - Painting, Booth 704***
• Randy Dana - Photography, Booth 468
• Elizabeth Frank - Sculpture, Booth 422
• Marilyn Endres/Eucled Moore - Wood, Booth 319

I have an IPHONE3 which has a great app called "Best Camera" which makes my camera a five megapixel, comes with fun filters too.

Here are some more show shots and some inside the Sushi Blue Restaurant and off course, Jack Daniels Manhattens.

The beautiful blonde is my wife Ellen Marshall with her pastels, she was on Main Street.  Also that is the photographer, formerly known as Emerson, who is still known as Emerson.

I love getting shots of kids with great shoes, and the hula-hoop girl showed up Friday night.

The first two are from Natcitoches,LA.  A pretty town by the river below Shreveport.

The next two are at the historic Stockyards Districts where there are great restaurants.  The bar scene with Bull's rear is Hunt Brothers Steakhouse.

Next is Jim Parker and me.  Then Lance Munn, a great wood furniture-maker, then my neighbor Rod Steven's booth.

You can see how windy it was-the concession booth about blew up

Then there are two neat shots inside the 8.0 Restaurant--neat art on the walls.

The rest are show shots.

I remember exactly when this particular journey started.  I pulled into the parking lot for a particular Florida wetlands where I was participating in a photo workshop.  I had brought my car.  So there I was in the parking lot in the dark with my expensive sports car when other participants start to pull in.  I began to feel really, really out of place.  Everyone else was driving some kind of Jeep or SUV, high clearance, 4 wheel drive and here is Alison with an immaculate 350Z.  I wanted to scream, I really am a nature photographer. I have camped in the wet, the cold, and the heat.  I have walked many miles in search of the perfect photograph.  I belong here.

It was right then that I felt to my toes the split of my life.  The camera in my hands said I was an artist, a photographer, a lover of the out-of-doors.  The car said I was a highly paid, pampered computer programmer with too much stuff to ever totally respond to the artist in me.  Things had to change.

I originally moved to Florida in search of the good life.  I wanted a nice house, a pool, a sprinkler system, no more cold, and maybe, as just a minor thought, to do something with my photography.  That something turned into art shows and art was in full scale war inside me against the good life of lazing in the pool and puttering in the garden.  That moment, in that parking lot, I chose sides.

I spoke to a friend about it and she said “Why don’t you just scale down, quit your job, and do art shows?”  It’s not that easy.  I have one piece of advice that I always offer to any young person who comes to me and says I want to do art shows.  Do it early!  Do it before you have a mortgage and a spouse.  Do it while Ramen noodles is still an acceptable dinner.  It is one thing to choose to change your life in a drastic way.  It is entirely another to make that choice for your spouse who is quite happy with his life the way it is and who you really want to have with you on the journey.

So I do it slowly, serving two masters, art and job.  It is the standard two pronged approach, reduce expenses, and increase income.  The car and both motorcycles were the first to go.  The car and my motorcycle were traded in on a Jeep.  Financial net result was even but there were unexpected results well into the plus column.  My husband loves the Jeep.   He loves finding the challenging trails and winding our way through fire roads with a map and a compass.  Where previously I had gone alone on photo trips he now joins me, taking great delight in finding new and different places for me to photograph.  I push the envelope on art shows, honing my applications and trying for better and more lucrative shows.

We are making progress but the move to Virginia has thrown a temporary screw into the gears of our plan.  I have a massive amount of unpacking and rearranging to do and no vacation days because I used them all on art shows.  Moving expenses have slowed our financial plans to a crawl.  Working full time from home means more time in the morning and the evening but also requires an extra push at work to let them know I am still here and still valuable and an entirely new and different market for my art means an extra push to find the right shows again.

I’m tired and having problems getting the energy for pushes on all fronts.  But I did a really smart thing over Christmas.  I applied to and was accepted into two shows in my area.  I don’t know how they will turn out, but getting ready for them is getting me moving again.

One step at a time, one show at a time, I will get there. 

June 18 & 19

Evanston, Illinois

Deadline: May 1  

E-mail: office@custerfair.com  

Download 2011 PDF Application  

Well, Ellen and I just got back in from Ft. Worth--safe and sound, and richer--so it was worth it.

It took $767 worth of gas, 2600 miles of traveling, both ways, and four days of driving combined with a pre-show setup day then four days of exhibiting.  All said, it was worth it.  It takes a certain toll on one's body and psyches.(I misspelled it, but I don't care). We are home safe and sound, had some pizza up the block and now I am blogging.  Life is good except for the damn Ybor chickens who have devestated my flower beds while we were gone.  I will get my revenge this week, Ybor Chicken wings Special all week.

There is a lot to talk about, I took copious notes, while selling, how many of you do that? i will break this up into chapters.  You can skip what doesn't matter easily that way.  if I make numerous misspellings, please forgive me, i drove 800 miles today, i have had 4 Titos and grapefruit, so my 8th grade English teacher may take umbrudge--but you all can't, too easy of a target.

CHAPTER 1--THE ROAD TRIP TO FT. WORTH

We took off early last Monday, 5:30 AM.  We decided (My wife Ellen Marshall, the worlds best pastelist, got into the show too) to make the big journey on Monday, say 800 miles, we made it to Layfayette,LA by 4 pm that afternoon, after numerous naps at rest stops along the way.  We live in Tampa, FL.  So a trip to tallahassee takes 5 hours, then 3 hours to Pensacola, then 5 hours more to Layfayette.  Made it to a $45 nite red roof, ate at Outback on one of my free $500 scrips.

Next day would be an easy cruise into Ft.  Worth where we would set up early on wednesday morn.  Along the way, using the interstate to Shreveport, we stopped for a rest at Natchitoches.  This is a gem of a city.  Along a beautiful river with restored buildings, this is a gem of a town well worth visiting.  Lots of good restaurants to choose from, and very photogenic.  Plus, it is only ten minutes off the interstate.

We started off paying $3.69 for unleaded, but by the end of the trip, we paid $4.01--ouch!

We made it into FW by 3:30 to a Crown Plaza which we found, via a tip from this site, on Priceline for $45 per nite.  We got a kingsize non-smoking.  That left me plenty extra for Titos and Tequila, notice how I like those T-Ts.  Hotel was five minutes south of downtown via the interstate, even had its own bar.

One aside--and I paid dearly for not paying attention.  When we checked in, we were warned to not park under the trees on the the lot.  Well, dumb me, we come in after hitting the Stockyards that nite, had a few Titos, so I say, what the heck, I am parking under the trees.  Biggest mistake I have ever made with my van.  The crows had managed to shit on every available surface from the hood back beyond my drivers door.  It was the ultimate guano city.

The preday setup is well run, you can get in and setup your booth real easy.

For those of you who don't know about this show, here are a few salaint  comments about the show.

I personally put this show in my top 5 picks of shows to do in the country.

It is a four-day show run from  10 am in the morn til after 8pm at nite( it is optional for artists, after 8pm they can choose to close or stay as late as they want.  My neighbor stayed open til midnite fri and Sat. and made more than $3K in sales each nite after 8pm.

They get close to 400,000 people in attendance.  They have lots of disposable income. There are only 225 artists invited, thousands apply.  MOST ARTISTS MAKE BETTER THAN $8K at this show!!

Most booths are setup in the show's booths down Main Street with booths back to back.  You have to store within your booth's parameters.  You can rent a storage container for extras.  Then, a number of artists, like me, elect to set up in an open parking lot.  The advantage being, most of us have storage behind our booths.

There is a lot of conjecture on which place is better than the other.  Me.  I have done this shoew three years in a row, I will always take the parking lot.  For several reasons.  I get plenty of storage behind, I get my van in quicker at  the end and am out of there.  I have the Flying Saucer and 8.0 Lounge across from me, think copious Tequila and lots of beer selections.

Well folks, I haven't even got to the show info, and I am worn out.  I am ending this blog here for the night.  I promise to pick up where I left off tomorrow morn.  Lots of good things to talk about, but right know, I am plumb worn out,  stay tuned, more goodies to follow--we will talk about the extreme winds, the extreme sales and all the other goodies--good nite. Nels.

FIRST SHOW DAY--THURSDAY

The day started with crisp temps and only went to a high of 76.  Crowds came out.

Here are some perks about this show.  It is well organized and promoted.  Friendly block captains,booth-sitters, each artist is given 35 bottles of water, artist lounge, artist cocktail party and an artist breakfest.

People came early to buy.  This was my third year in a row here, it has been my best show for the last two years  Ellen got in too, it has always been her best show.

Sales were mostly lowend for most 2-D artists that day.  Most did around $1.2K for the day.  Did not see many large pieces go by.  All in all, not a bad start.  Ellen and I hit Sushi Blue on the west side for dinner, it was awesome.

WINDY FRIDAY--JUST GLAD TO HAVE SURVIVED IN ONE PIECE

Well, the forecast all along was for winds in the 25 mph plus condition.  It ended up a lot worse than that.

A precursor of bad things to come, happened when I talked to AFIer James Parker early that morn.  During the night somebody ripped off his large cargo trailer, stole it right out of the lot behind the hotel--complete with all his extra inventory.

Also Rich Fulwiler had his van broken into at the Austin show the previous weekend.  Crooks kcked in a window and stole his Garmin and a weapon.  He was pissed.

In anticipation of high winds, I took prudent measures, which ultimately saved my booth from any damage.  I had two-45-pound John Deere tractor weights on my booth's front corners.  In the back of my booth were piles of concrete parking barriers.  I tied down my rear corners and my rear awning to them.  I ran a line of the side of my booth to a nearby fence.  I hammered cut-nails into my front feet of the booth to keep it from "walking" in high winds. Also, I leave the middle open on the back wall of my booth.  It lets the air pass through without creating lift.  My booth shook at times from sudden gusts, but I was intact at the end of the day.

Others were not so lucky.  My neighbor Rod had an entire wall come loose when a sudden 50 mph gust hit it.  Pieces went crashing and the twisted wall ended up on part of my booth, none of my pieces were damaged.

Winds almost toppled Sam and Jeannie Maddox's booth.  With help from ParKer and others, they had to dissemble the booth, take the work out and call it a day by early afternoon.

Down Main Street where Ellen was set up. it was  a giant wind tunnel with gusts barreling down the street like a crazed locomotive.  It was almost too hard to stand up in front of your booth.  Forget about umbrellas, they got trashed.  Even the heavy steel sculptures at the show end couldn't stand up to the winds, couple of pieces toppled right over.

Crowds still came and bought, I had a $3K day in the winds, all lowend sales--little pieces of paper in the browse bins.

At days end we were all exhausted and happy that the day was done.  I had a couple extra Titos that nite.  Slept real well.

SATURDAY--NOW THE SHOW REALLY BEGINS TO KICK INTO HIGH GEAR.

Jewelers with a pop-up tent that went POP! left early Sat. morn--they missed all the good sales.

With the front now thru and done, we had crisp temps for the day along with massive buying crowds.

The reason this is a top-selling show is because FW has a robust economy fueled by oil and gas.  The people come with lots of buying energy.  I have never seen so many beautiful women as I see in FW.  They just keep coming, one more beautiful than the last.  It is a good mix of ages in the crowd.  Lots of young 20-40 year-olds, mixed with rich moms and dads.  All are dressed to the nines in expensive cowboy boots and Stetsons.  They come to buy, and we all make a lot of moola.

Again, it was mostly small work that sold.  But Bruce Neimi, an Illinois sculptor, sold a large piece that day.  Ellen sold a biggie--a longhorn--to a happy couple.  Me, I sold mostly small pieces of paper.  It all added up.

Usually, I close up at 8pm and go eat.  Many stay open, some til nearly midnite.  I stayed open one hour later, as an experiment, and picked up an extra $500 in sales--that covered my Tequila bill.  My neighbor made $3K after 8 pm, not bad.

We found a new Italian chop house called Ferre.  It was reasonable and good, and gave great pours on their drinks.  We slept well that nite too.

To top it off, when I got back to the hotel, I checked my Zapp site--and voila!-- got in Saint Louis in September--that is another biggie.

SUNDAY--THE FINAL PUSH, ROUND EM UP, GRAB THEIR CREDIT CARDS AND HEAD FOR THE BORDER

Another perfect weather day, hit the low eighties.  Crowds were out early, still buying small pieces.  Sales were steady, but not nearly as good as Saturday's.  For me, this year's show lacked high end sales and that is why I ended up maybe 30% off of last year's total--but it still makes a hell of a show, my checking account got a lot fatter.

Teardown at this show can be a bitch for a lot of us.  Show ends at 6pm, and on Main Street they wont let vans in til after 7pm.  Me, I was lucky to get my van in on the street behind my booth.  I packed up and was out by 7pm, Ellen hadn't even got her van in.

For me, it was off to Del Friscos for a great ending meal.  Ellen joined me later.  She had probably the biggest show there, topping even Winter Park, FW is her ultimate market.

We slept great that nite.

MONDAY AND TUESDAY--GOING HOME TO YBOR RICH AND SASSY.

We left at a leisurely time Monday morn around 10 am and made it into Baton Rouge that nite, about an eight hour drive.  Found a killer sushi restaurant called Ichibin and choed down on some serious pieces of Hamachi, oh, and some sake too. Made it home Tuesday, an 800-mile drive, safe and sound.  One disturbing note though.  At our last gas fillup near Gainesville,FL we ended up paying $4.01 per gallon for unleaded--what a rip!

Well folks, that is my story, jump in and add comments if you like.  I am off to the golf course to see if I can find my swing. Nels.

Many members of Art Fair Insiders were in St. Petersburg this weekend to participate in the Mainsail Arts Festival, the unofficial end of the Florida art fair season. While we are waiting for the reports let's all congratulate members of our community who were the prizewinners this year:

April 5...Somewhere on I-10 in Texas

When you begin describing a life-changing experience, it is difficult to put it into words that don’t sound trite or hackneyed.

During the initial rush to start tearing down at 6:30 on Sunday, it was easy to keep focused on the task at hand and not dwell on the fact that we had formed close friendships and would be saying goodbye.  But Monday morning, as I walked through the tent for a final check, I was bawling like a calf.  After three months of living, working, sharing, and playing with other artists, you become really close. These are the people that I want to be around: a genuine, creative, caring, sharing community.  I have never been a part of one like this; the closest thing was college, but that wasn’t the same.  Here, as adults who are pursuing their dreams and fulfilling who they want to be, there was little animosity or jealousy.  Framer Dude and I were accepted and embraced, and he became an integral part of this family- something he didn’t expect.  As the one left-brained, pragmatic, problem solver amidst a sea of right-brained artists, he became the go-to guy for anything and everything.  From manning the grill and cafe, to building frames and easels, to helping set up and tear down weekend shows, to trouble shooting RV and auto difficulties, there was perhaps four days out of seventy that he had nothing to do.  I have to admit, in January, I was worried that he’d be bored silly in the middle of the desert.  But now, he’s anticipating coming back next year to our new friends.  The drive just sucks.

I think you get back what you put into life, once you find where you’re supposed to be and what you’re supposed to do.  I explored creative avenues and pulled off several new paintings, tried new approaches that didn’t work, and learned about focusing (not easy with ADHD). We have preconceived notions of whom we become friends with. Though we come from all over the country from all walks of life, we found common ground with each other and shared the joys of selling and the hard times; we shared knowledge, critiques, trust, aggravations, poker games, recipes, meals, and happy hours.  My daily walking partner, Shalah, a sculptor of magnificent spiritual pieces and her sister Karen, are ranchers from Colorado whose down-to-earth frankness is similar to my own New York attitude, without my accent (which always tickled Travis from Utah). I found an adopted mother and father in Jeanne and Travis, and an older sister in Cynthia that I love to shop with. Fountain Steve, our RV neighbor, missed his family up in Oregon terribly, and found a place with us many nights.  Kaleidoscope Steve and Framer Dude became buddies and were constantly trading wit.  Marlon and Terri somehow encouraged anti-religion Framer Dude to go to church with them.   They’re going to have their work cut out for themselves next year. 

Framer Dude and Marlon

I know this is also supposed to report on the economics of the show as well.  Judy, Judi and Dennis do an amazing job promoting the Expo, no easy task when there’s already one other ten-week show going on at the same time (Celebration) and which has a prime location right off the 101.  But the patrons who came always remarked on the atmosphere at Expo- welcoming and approachable.  Some artists did exceptionally well; some did not. The economy is still being felt in Arizona, but Scottsdale and the surrounding neighborhoods of Carefree and Cave Creek are second- and third-home communities.  Canadians make up a large part of the art-buying, and Canada’s economy is still strong. 

But the rewards went far beyond financial.  I learned how full time artists work, since that’s something I’ve never experienced neither here in my isolated little part of the world nor, for that matter, anywhere else.   Art tends to be an isolated venture, and it’s up to each artist to find solidarity among other artists, if they need that.  I was brought up in a family that treated art as something that (fill in the adjective here) people did and was not taken seriously as a career.  This trip to Arizona showed me professional, responsible artists that make it work.  It is possible to have a career as an artist, and it’s a lot of work.  But I’ve worked hard at other jobs that I didn’t like, so why waste my time on that?  When I do my marketing, networking, creating, it doesn’t feel like work.  It feels like what I’m supposed to do, and I’m glad I’m here to report on that and share with all of you.  I will have the silly pictures coming soon, since we not only work hard, we play hard too!!

The votes are in and the winner of the best blog post for both February and March is:

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/11815626/february-and-march-blog-post-winners?listid=22586390

While we all sit here twiddling our thumbs waiting for the reports from our many members who were in Fort Worth this weekend for the Main Street Arts Festival, here is the news I have so far:

Strong Winds Blow Through Festival -- here's a scary video, especially for artists, holding their tents down, although it looks like it didn't stop the festival: http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-main-street-arts-fest-fort-worth-winds-story,0,7882129.story

On a more personal note, member Jim Parker, had his fully loaded trailer stolen from the hotel parking lot where he was staying on Friday night -- hope all went well for you, Jim, and that your booth was fully stocked.  Enjoy pulling that U-Haul back to Michigan. We're waiting for your report.

If you are not familiar with this event, here is an opening night video report: http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-main-street-arts-festival-brings-the-countrys-top-artists-to-fort-worth-20110414,0,1179720.story

Its a quote from the move Toy Story II. When the old man is restoring Woody to his mint condition...

I am struggling right now with my work. Where it is going, what I am doing. 

AKA: The usual struggle...LOL.

But...it always seems when I have the time to make new work, I have nothing in my brain..and when I don't have the time, it all comes pouring in. I need inspiriation. And when i try to say to myself okay GO...all systems shut down. 

Here's the other piece. ; I really cannot afford to continue using nearly as much Sterling as I have in the past. So my matierials are drying up. 

I have to make a shift there too. Which means researchng and trying out new metals. Which can be great. But ..did I mention I am broke right now?? 

So I am stuck. OR I FEEL stuck. And I'm whining about it. This is usually the catalysis that propels me to the next great body of work..and I reconize the feeling. This "waiting" and pacing and starting and stopping... But the loss of my metal is troublesome. I just can't pay 36$ an ounce. I hear :" For Sterling????" And I agree with them.!!! THere is no shortage. Its stupid!  

But, out of my control non the less. I need some ideas. I need some amazing materials and creative ideas to drop out of the sky and land in my lap. 

Okay, fantasy over...

I know , I know...... I'll figure it out.