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Announcing the Florida Keys Art Guild!

Hello, I would like to announce the website (with a few tweaks to come :) of the Florida Keys Art Guild.

We have been in exsistence for 10 years now and have recruited some new blood to bring the Guild into the 21st Century.

I would like to say a few things about the Guild which I hope will educate all who are interested.

We are a collective of hard working individuals who strive to bring the best artist from all around the county to our beautiful Florida Keys.

  • We are painters(of all media types), photographers, sculptors, jewelers, mixed-media artist, glass blowers,woodworkers, potters, fabric artist and many, many more.
  • We are staff artists.
  • We are not an artists club.
  • We are a Guild: a union of men and women in the same craft or trade.
  • We jury artist based on a collective of different individuals who strive to bring high quality arts and crafts to the buying public.
  • We don't fix prices or mandate pricing structure at our art shows.
  • We need you. As more and more artist join our ranks, the bigger and stronger we become.

An advocate is:

  • One who pleads the cause of another
  • One who defends or maintains a cause
  • One who supports or promotes the interest of others

The Florida Keys Art Guild is your advocate.

In closing, we are here to support artists of all walks. How about taking a walk with us.

Thank you.

Joey R. Smith (Large Format Photographer)

Show Chairmen

www.floridakeysartguild.com

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waiting lists

I was just informed that I'm on the waiting list for Waterways in Houston for photography. What are the chances of getting in on a waiting list for a big show like this?
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Dunedin Art Harvest

We started out with cool and wind conditions on Friday but at least we had a Friday afternoon set up. The Junior League did a find job of organizing the event and one of them helped me get my tent up. Saturday was again windy and cool with jackets a necessity. Sunday a bit warmer. There were good crowds brought out by lots of advertising. A continental breakfast was served both days and water was given to us at no cost. Lunch delivery was offered at a small charge and booth sitting provided if you requested it. I did not attend the banquet opting instead for a wonderful tapas dinner at The Living Room. I was in the first row of the show and had parking quite close to my booth so had easy set up and break down but it was dark as we were breaking down. I was in the area with the street lights and pitty those farther into the park as I think they must have had more difficulty without lighting. The artist making garden art did well, the illistrater did not, the etching artist was very pleased as was the gourd artist and I was happy but it was not the $4000 show that Art Fair Sourcebook said it was last year. I was treated nicely, walked away with money in my pocket and would return if invited.
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Art in the Gardens Preview

I'm heading to Art in the Gardens Saturday morning in West Palm Beach. It's the fifth year, I believe, and put on by the Artigras folks. I'll add a review next Monday when I return home. If anyone is going to be there, lets touch bases at the show. I'm the guy with the robot wine bottle holders and other normal creatures.
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Deland or Lake Wales in March 2011

I'm trying to decide between 2 art fests for March 26/27. 1 - Deland outdoor arts & crafts fest or 2. Lake Wales art show. I'm a fused dichroic glass artist, with most of my work being jewelry in the $25 - $40 range, and some ecthed dichroic panels in the $100 - $200 range, and kaleidoscopes in the $300 - $450 range. But by far most of my sales are from the jewelry.

I've never attended either show. In fact I'm new to the show circuit. Any input on either show would be appreciated.

Thanks.

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How To Take Your Art Career To The Next Level

Being an artist is a tricky career, and one that is constantly fluctuating. So how in the world do you not only make a sustainable living at it but actually thrive?

Ariane Goodwin of smARTist.com says it’s all about diversification. (Sounds like “vacation,” lol!)

So, I’ve invited Ariane Goodwin, Ed.D., art career coach and host of the only professional development conference for visual fine artists online or off, to come talk with me about how selling your art is joined at the hip to multiple streams of income.

Join me on November 30 at 7pm Eastern (4pm Pacific) for this open telecall.

And bring your questions, because Ariane is a wealth of knowledge just waiting to be tapped.

Click here to sign up > www.smArtist.com/live-telesummit

See you there!
Connie
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Fort Worth

Take heart..I too have received my rejection from Fort Worth..... When I lived in Houston,that was one of my first shows in the early years, when it sucked.Now that it has turned into a great show I can not get back in.We are so pissed off that my husband has decided(he does all the show apps for me) that they will no longer get any more money from us...along with Cherry Creek and Coconut Grove...sometimes you just have to say enough is enough...and go out to dinner on your entry fees!
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So, if you aren't from Florida, too bad.
The Gainesville show Nov. 6 and 7 had one big strike against it, Mother Nature. Temps in the mid to upper 30's to start both days kept some of the customers away, but after the warm up what was the excuse?
Anyway, the organizers and volunteers made the fair work well and made us feel welcome. Sales were not consistent and the crowd never really built to the 'buying frenzy' stage we all wish for. Set-up and tear down pretty easy as the streets are wide. One complaint: the porta johns should have been on the street corners IN the fair site.
Homosassa, Nov 13-14, on the nature coast is a fun show because everyone is happy to be there with their hands closed around their money in their pockets where they stayed. We like Fla, but may visit without spending art fair fees next time.
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Plantation Art in the Park (Florida)

I participated in this show for the second time. It is held in a beautiful park in Ft. Lauderdale and the weather was perfect. Load in and out is very difficult, having to dolly in on cobblestones. There were no working lights in the park so we had to load out in the dark, causing some safety issues.

I never saw the judges and was shocked at the prizes ($) awarded to buy/sell, while obvious one of a kind art was ignored. No one I spoke with saw anyone judging. No check marks or stickers were put on the booth signs to identify that we had been judged!

There were some incidents that occured that I've never seen or heard about at any other shows.

The show committee works very hard and seems to want to improve the show in the future.

I would like to hear the viewpoints of some of the other participants.

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Colorado Art Shows?

Im looking to do 2 or 3 shows back to back weekends in the colorado area. No one day shows. The shows can be around memorial day weekend or before and after. Or later in July and early August. One last thing the shows need not be top tier like Cherry Creek. Just solid shows with a good reputation of sales and buyers. Any ideas would be great.
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Ah, that first rejection of the year....

Just when I was basking in the glow of a fine end of the year show at Bayou City and dreaming of the relaxing Winter ahead, that ominus email came from Main St. Ft. Worth.

You stare at the message header for a full 24 hours before you read the thing. It takes that long to steel yourself for the enevitable " thanks, but no thanks".But wait, there is always that chance it's good news you're in, or maybe even the purgatory of the wait list. Hell, you re did the booth shots after reading how much this counts in the jury selection, submitted what you felt was a creative representation of your work. You did the show two years straight, did killer numbers. Even schmoozed the director a bit for good measure.

Eyes closed, finger hovering over the mouse, gravity takes over and the finger plops down. Peeking thru parted fingers you slowly absorb the facts. They don't like me anymore. Damn.

It's tough to not take the rejection to heart. this is a show that will literally make the year, it's the Cherry Creek of the Spring (yeah, and waiting for that rejection too), the one show that people will make hotel reservations a full year in advance, and rent mules to haul their purchases off. Its two lanes of shoulder to shoulder,heel to toe happy Texans for four days and 8 city blocks just buying and buying and buying. But they ain't gonna be buying mine.

Maybe its karma, maybe I reamed a few show directors and there is this underground cult they all belong to that black lists people that call them out.Maybe the two years I was in was an abberation. Maybe my work really does suck.

Yeah. I know it happens to all of us.Photographers probably more than most others, simply because there are so damn many of us. Maybe I should become more run of the mill, stop trying to convey my own little take on the world thru my imagery.Become more mainstream.And maybe I just suck.

I have the whole cold and lonely Winter to think on it.

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Wausau, WI

Does anyone know the difference between the 2 art shows in Wausau WI Sept 10-11, 2011. One show is called Art in the Park, an indoor event. The other is called Festival of the Arts in Downtown Wausau. Info would be appreciated.
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Holly Mull

I am sorry to hear about Holly's death. We were participants at "her" show and agree with the post about her impeccable efforts. All the staff were well versed in how to work with the artists and that attribute can only come from the top down! I went back to Atlanta for the Chastain Park Show and heard something about her death but the person was not sure of all the details. We can not attend her service as we are from Orlando but we will keep her and her family and friends in our thoughts and prayers!

Don E. and Barbara Grannan

Photographs in Motion ...

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Midtown Festival of the Arts

Being a resident of Atlanta I was very gratified to see all the positive comments on the inaugural Midtown Festival of the Arts held in September. I attended both days and it was wonderful seeing the huge crowds that seemed to be totally interested in the work and were also buying. It is a perfect demographic for a new festival with thousands of young professionals living right in the neighborhood.

But the main reason for my post is to clarify and add to some questions that were posted concerning the director. I have worked with Holly Mull in years past and her qualifications for directing this show are unique. She served as special events director for the City of Atlanta leading up to and during the Olympics in 1996 and had run her own special events company ever since then. Unfortunately, just two weeks after the Midtown festival, Holly suffered a massive stroke and passed away the next day. A memorial service is planned for this Thursday, Nov. 18th at St. Luke's Episcopal Church on West Peachtree St. in Atlanta at 12 noon.

Those of us in the Atlanta community who knew Holly and her tremendous capabilities are devastated by her loss to say the least. I know Holly kept complete records of every detail of the work she did and I just hope and pray that her surviving co-workers can continue to keep the Midtown Festival set on the road to great success that Holly's hard work brought about this year.

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Free Art Festival

If you're an artist in the Scottsdale, AZ area, there is a mini-art festival you can participate in FOR FREE* at Two Plates Full at the Borgata. Set up is easy, you really only need a table. Items get paid for inside the store [they charge the tax, they'll do the shipping] - they take a percentage of sales*. And, you get a check the next week. These happen the second Sunday of every month now through the spring from 12 - 5. I did it yesterday, and there was little traffic, but I did see some sales around me, and I'm sure traffic will build. Contact Terri at the store for more info.

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Disney show report

I was awarded first place in my category. It was the most awesome experience ever and I will treasure the memory for a long time. I was floating on air until about noon when I realized I wasn’t selling much of anything. The last time I did this show it was most definitely a Sunday show and I made 90% of my money on Sunday. So I wasn’t worried on Friday and Saturday. But Sunday turned out to be my worst sales day. My best day turned out to be Friday and that was primarily because I had put in my newsletter that I am moving out of the area and probably wouldn’t be doing to 2011 fall shows. A couple people came out to get pieces they had been thinking of for awhile. Those were my only framed sales.

My location seemed like a good one. The weather was perfect. The great Disney artist support and treatment was there. But the crowd wasn’t there and even the people that were there didn’t seem to be “there”. I didn’t see many packages and very few large ones.

Sales wise I did better than Maitland but worse than Winter Springs and that is sad for an event of such prestige. Of course this show is more about the prestige than the sales but the sales for me are usually in the okay range. I'll still do it again. Disney treats artists like they are very important and my artist soul needs that from time to time.

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Art In The Park, Plantation FL - Don't Bother

I exhibited my photography at Art In The Park in Plantation, FL last weekend (November 13 & 14, 2010). It was a complete bust. I didn't even make enough money to pay for the booth fee. I had plenty of visitors who loved my photos but there were few buyers. I only sold one matted 8x10 each day even after I slashed prices on Sunday.

The show seemed poorly organized. It was much more of an Arts & Crafts show, which wasn't how it was sold to me. To put salt in the wound there were some craft vendors who seemed to be selling 3rd party pieces made in the orient. One of these booths even won a prize, which was later retracted when it was pointed out to them that it wasn't selling original art. I heard from some vendors that the quality of the art at this event has been trending down in the past few years. Some complained that the cheap 3rd party stuff was taking sales from the other vendors. I don't know wether that is true but I saw few people buying much aside from food and inexpensive crafts.

To make matters worse the Show closed at 5:00 PM on Sunday. Sunset was at 5:30 PM and there were few lights in the park. We had one right by our booth, but it never came on. In the middle of breaking down our booth, we found ourselves working in the dark.

There were many unhappy faces among the vendors. It seems few artists made any money. I could be the fault of the economy but I'm inclined to skip this show next time anyway. The demographics were wrong for me and I wasn't impressed by the management.
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Disney

Every single artist I know who frequently has exhibited in Disney's Festival of the Masters in the past got juried out this year. Either my acquaintances are sudden losers or this was just a statistical aberration or the jurying was done by design to weed out past participants. Are we crazed consipiracy theorists or could there be anything to this? Just wondering. There was a rather large buzz going on about this over the weekend, at least among the rejectees.
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