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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. 

September 24 & 25
Atlanta, Georgia
Saturday, 10am-8pm,
Sunday, 11am-6pm
130 Artists
Deadline: April 30

The 2011 Midtown Festival of the ARTS is a wonderful new visual art exhibition taking place in Midtown Atlanta, a vibrant, upscale, urban residential community, home to the largest concentration of cultural attractions in the region and a perfect location for an art festival.

Midtown Festival of the ARTS will be located on beautiful Peachtree Street surrounded by unique vertical architecture, green space, great restaurants, art, entertainment and 30,000 residents within walking distance of the event; an area with ideal demographics for a visual arts celebration.

Midtown Festival of the ARTS, Inc. is a collaborative effort of a highly qualified staff and strong volunteer pool with multiple years of experience in the arts, nonprofits, industry, and media.  The organization comprises a group of enthusiastic individuals who love their community and are committed to this festival becoming an outstanding event for artists, patrons, the Midtown Community and the City of Atlanta.  A Visual Arts Committee has been charged with developing all aspects of the artists' experience with the primary focus being on the ART. Extensive marketing is planned in all media-print, broadcast and web.

Visual artists application available on line at:  www.zapplication.org  

For questions or further information contact us at:  VisualArts@mfota.org

Visit the Midtown Festival of the ARTS website at:

www.midtownfestivalofthearts.org 

Sarah Rishel, Visual Arts Committee
Midtown Festival of the ARTS
(404)213-4868
rishelsarah@gmail.com

Find more art fairs for your 2011 season: www.CallsforArtists.com - a great resource!

I couldn't find a Forum category for this so I came back to the more familiar Blog Spot. (LB feel free to move me...just tell me where.)

On the Committee thus far are Annette Piper, Larry Berman, Phil Crone, Lynda Wallis, Collette Zilka, Geoff Coe, Lauren Lasa and myself. I am publishing names because my mailbox went to OVERFLOW and I received those lovely ADMIN messages. So it is possible that I have missed someone whom I apologize to, if you sent an email and it was lost. Please, recontact me. lshields@wi.rr.com

Any AFI member who still wishes to join the committee, please, email me as well.

All members will receive an email this week as to how we'll proceed, timelines and early expectations.

I think it is a good idea to post the progress here. We need logical, creative and helpful comments from everyone.

Thanks,

Linda

July 2 & 3

St. Helena, California
100 Artists 

St. Helena Rotary is proud to announce a call for artists for our inaugural Napa Valley Art & Music Festival to be held July 2-3, from 10am-6pm.  There will be a Gala Preview Party on July 1st from 5:30pm-8:30pm.  Best of Show prize is $1,000!

St. Helena is in the heart of the Napa Valley, one of the country's most regarded travel destinations.  The area is best known for its world-renown wine making, but our region is also known for its fine food, beautiful scenery and upscale lifestyle.  The average visitor to Napa County is more mature, better educated and command a much higher income than the US or California average.

This year's festival is being held on the beautiful grounds of the Trinchero Family Estates, a vineyard and production facility. This is located right on Highway 29 for easy access by both artists and patrons.  The booths will be set up on the well-maintained grass, with trees and vaneyards surrounding the space. 

Event Features:

• 3 live bands each day playing original music
• Gourmet food trucks
• Children's area
• Local, regional and national advertising campaign

Artist Accommodations:

• Artist break area with volunteers to cover your booth space until you return
• Close to lodging and amenities
• No commission fees
• Inclusion in festival program

Visit www.nvamf.org/artistresources.html  to apply and view all of the resources for artists.  The lowest booth price is only $400.

Or Apply Today: www.juriedartservices.com 

For more information, please contact Sandy Durden at applications@nvamf.org or 707-603-2675 

******************

Looking for even more events for your 2011 art fair season?

Visit www.CallsforArtist.com for a great list!

 I just ran across this old blog entry as I was working through my comments section.  Interesting enough, there was a comment from a Connei Mettler there.   

This post is still relevant today as it was in 2009.  May I wish all of my friends a great continuing year!

*****************************************

Friday, January 30, 2009

Support Your Local Artist

Metal is heating up at the Clifton homestead, and Mackie is getting ready for Superbowl Sunday. Interesting enough is that she is the football fan in our family. She's a Steeler's fan and I'm doing the typical male thing and picking the Cardinals....I like the bird....OK.

Back to more important things. Arrrrt! It's crazy the ideas that are running around in my head. Is it the new year? How about challenging times for the country? Hmm. I believe that it's my inner child. Yeah. I never wanted to grow up anyway.

I've read lots of articles lately that art shows are struggling to attract artists. Some have even resorted to reducing their booth rental rates. Don't buy into all the negativity. If I had a nickel for every negative thing I heard on a news forecast, I'd be a rich man. Matter a fact, just quit watching the news, and I believe you will be a lot happier.

I remember meeting a Russian woman that told me about her son and how they made it in America. Unemployment was high and major industries in the area were not hiring, and I was very fortunate to land this position.

The lady told me how they moved to the US with nothing and started a sandwich shop near downtown and now had five of them. They were moving into a new house overlooking Lake Washington and while gazing over the lake said these words I'll never forget. She said, "it's a good thing that we did not have time to watch tv or read the newspaper. Otherwise, we would have heard that it was a terrible time to start our business and would have failed." And then she laughed and said that she loved America.

The moral of the story is to buy art.

hi all,

im a mixed media functional artist. wholesale for 20 yrs, now retailing at shows for 5 yrs. did tempe ariz recently. disappointed. lots of people, not spending as i had hoped. wearables were doing well.

we need more quality artists to apply to our small local Taos shows.

re promoters - Blue Skies productions

and     Taos Chamber of Commerce.

you wont get rich at our shows, but you ll have a great time if you add a mini vacation!

What a fabulous show we had in Marco Island this past weekend! Richard Sullivan made sure that we'd lots of advertising, support, great venue, space, easy set up and breakdown, and even provided am snacks and coffee! Our sales exceeded any of the 35 shows that we do in a year!

Even though we could simply depend on each promotor to provided customers, we always do our own email and postcard promotion for an additional incentive to our former customers. It would be fabulous if all artists could be sure that their former customers knew when they were exhibiting!

When one of our customers wanted to find a particular product, Richard Sullivan was on hand for a recommendation . He knows his vendors well and personally brings customers to them. We've done numerous shows with Richard Sullivan of Boulderbrook Productions and have been thrilled with every experience.

Sincerely,

Loren and Kathy Bell

I am proud to be the Chairperson of First Huntley Artfest

Our fair will take place on August 20 & 21st in Huntley, IL.   

Artfest is a Family Festival featuring Fine Arts & Fine Crafts, with a Stage Area of hourly entertainment, concessions, and FREE on site Parking to all Artist.

Visit First Huntley Artfest at: http://www.firsthuntleyartfair.org/

contact me at  theling@firsthuntleyartfest.org

PDF application is on the website.

Thought you may be interested in this article :

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2011/04/06/157711_local-news.html

You may have heard that we had a cyclone hit the Queensland coast a couple of months back.  This is how one community is adding some life back into their town - with art :)

OK, I keep running into this.  It says under media categories...watercolor...reproductions of all kinds prohibited.  And then in another place it describes in detail what kind of repros are allowed (ie limited edition prints).  Well, are they allowed or not?  If they aren't allowed in watercolor what are they allowed in???  That is just stupid.  

I applied to a show once that said this and when I went of course 90%of the painters  had reproductions.  I like following the rules...BUT

I am thinking repros ARE allowed, does anyone know for sure?

Are you an Artist?

I just attended an exhilarating conference in Detroit hosted by the Detroit Creative Corridor Center, titled: Rust Belt to Artist Belt III. This conference originated in Cleveland and we were fortunate to have it here in the Motor City this year.

I am not writing to tell you about the conference but about the attendees. There were approximately 300 people in attendance representative of all mediums such as: graphic designers, landscape designers, architects, photographers, fashion designers, sculptors, painters and at least one jewelry designer…me!

I had the opportunity to mingle at the parties and during the breaks and I came up with an ice-breaking question, “Are you an Artist?” It was a simple enough of an inquiry, so I thought, but it provoked an emotional response that I did not anticipate.

“Me? An artist?” most replied with a look of confusion and self-doubt. One woman, in particular who held a Masters Degree of Fine Art, could not answer yes to this question.

Wow! This made me realize that most artists lack confidence.

But why?

If I ask my seven-year old niece if she is an artist she would say yes. I think the difference is, in her mind, she believes she is an artist. I am not sure if adult artists have lost that confidence along the way or if external forces like juries and judges have intimidated their beliefs. Or, are they comparing themselves to the esteemed and extolled?

I do not have the answer to why but I do know that if you want to succeed as a creative individual or own a creative business you must be shameless in announcing to the world that, you, are an artist!

My kindergarten teacher told my mother that I was going to be an artist when I grew up.

So I kept drawing. Then I painted. Then I was an advertising artist. Then I became a video producer. Now I am a jewelry designer that primarily beads with a little wire wrapping thrown in for fun.

Maybe it just takes one person to believe in you even if that one person is yourself.

In my heart and soul…I have always been an artist. Are you an artist?

As I sit here busily creating surrounded by mess (strands of pearls, piles of gems, pieces of silver and a myriad of tools) that steadily closes in on me in an ever decreasing circle, so that I'm working in the most ridiculously tiny amount of space ... I need to know does everyone else find their work area getting chaotic too? Or am I just a messy worker?

Obviously this is my "process" as I love what I make from my very messy bench, but I'm sure my friends are shocked when they see me at work for the first time wondering how I could possibly work like this (they're not creative types) and are happily surprised when they see what finally emerges.

I must add that I DO periodically put things away and make the circle bigger, but a big tidy up leaves me bereft of creativity for a days if not weeks.  Once I sit down and start 'playing' (my precursor to creating) it rapidly gets chaotic again.

Please tell me I'm not alone :)

October 8 & 9
Houston, Texas

• Best in Show - Kevin Peterson - Painting/ Acrylic or Oil
• Second Place - Signe Grushovenko - Painting/ Acrylic or Oil 
• Third Place - Theresa Honeywell - Mixed Media 3D  
• MFAH Curatorial Award for Excellence in Sculpture - Tiffany Ownbey, Sculpture  
• Best Booth - Tiffany Ownbey, Sculpture  
• Cadillac Best of Show Houston Artist - Steve Harris - Mixed Media 2D

Applications currently accepted viz ZAPP:

www.zapplication.org  

For more information:

www.bayoucityartfestival.com/artist-information  

Contact Info: Kelly Kindred

kelly@bayoucityartfestival.com  

When you work hard with special care or effortlessly from some kind of pure place of personally unique concentration then the art you are creating is precious and unparalleled in value. That this is true whether or not a juror helping assemble a show thinks it's a good fit or not into that show doesn't take away from any of this value. Ever. Can't happen. Good work reflects unique vision. And unique vision operates quite beyond the financial realm. Mind you, most of us can't afford to lock into pure Vision and pay our bills so some commercialization or popularization of our artistic voice has to happen in order for it to relate to the hearts of the people who will eventually connect with and even buy our work.

That's ok, that's just us interpreting our unique Vision for the outside world. Part of the education process we artists offer the world at-large.

Ain't no jury gonna tell you otherwise. What's yours is yours and rejections can't take that from you.

Don't absorb whatever energy you think might be contained in a non-invite to ANY show. Chances are it's not the integrity of your work, your images, or your booth that done your chances in this go round - more likely it's just a plethora of entries bouncing off the eyes of well intentioned jurors who must stay somewhat mindful of the potential of the local populace to embrace the work they're choosing. As much as not being included into a show shouldn't hurt is as much as being included in a show shouldn't make you feel good!

Don't absorb any of that noise. None of it's healthy. Stay pure to your Vision, your process, your optimism and know that what happens next is perfect and right - no matter what.

Figure these shows are all moving targets and the best way to catch the ones you need are to:

• apply to multiple shows with an open mind
• stay true to you vision but
• be willing to grow and adapt when doing so serves you
• Big shows aren't always big shows and neither are little ones always little ones

When you don't get into the shows you hoped for log into this site to semi-privately blow off steam so you can go back to your drawing board and design or re-do the work you feel reflects the world you care to illuminate. Because no jury's decision is going to help you do that, yea or nae. That's not their job. That's your job. And you do it well. You do it so well you're unstoppable!

2nd year exhibiting in Marco, Very successful both years !  Richard always do extensive effective publicity in all local news paper.  Also always have media exposure during the show it self.  I have exhibit in Boulderbrook Art Shows for now 3 Years and from every show, I have been featured in the news paper with pictures, article etc...    All Boulderbrook shows for me have always been very very successful.

Small, quaint, very high end Artist and very high end & educated client. 

Its not the quantity with Richard Sullivan its the quality!

Looking for any info on the Collingswood Crafts & fine art fair in Collingswood, NJ oon Aug. 20 & 21.

Has anyone done it or have any info on it. T

Collingswood is across the river from Philiadelphia.

Every year one of the committee asks me to do it(or rather apply).

It's a 10 hr. dr. (not that the distance would stop me.) Thinking about it this year.

Thanks, Toni