Blog

57th Street Art Fair is held the first week of June.  This was our first year at the show.  I have a love affair with Chicago but I was not familiar with Hyde Park area of Chicago except for the Science and Industry museum and University of Chicago.  It is a wonderful area and a great place to explore if you have some time.  Other AFI members exhibited at the show so I hope they can chime in on their experience.

The show is very close to the University and on the neighborhood streets.  Communication with the show is excellent.  Advertising was also very good and started months ahead of time, if not all year long.  Since this was a first time show for me I was very concerned about a Saturday morning set up on the streets of a big city.  There was no need to worry.  Our street was very wide.  Set up started around 4 am I believe but we decided to arrive at 7 am, after consulting other artists and walking the area Friday night.   One of the most mellow and easiest Saturday morning set ups I can recall.  Parking also worried us, again city parking, but no worries tons of parking on the neighborhood streets.  There is an artist checkin and amenities room in the elementary school on site.  The show even had an emergency tool box for those who needed it. 

Booths are along 57th street, across from each other and on S. Kimbark.  57th street is not as wide as S. Kimbark so it gets crowded with people.  S. Kimbark is wide with one side of booths on the street against the curb and other side booths on the side walk.  Most of us had some storage in back. I don't think there is a bad area to be in, the show is laid out well.  Weather was wonderful both days.  Only negative was the cotton wood trees were snowing, something I have never experienced before, and especially heavy on Sunday.  It didn't stop the people from coming.  A strong crowd both day. 

Sales were all over the place.  Almost everyone I talked to who had lower price point work were selling, and selling out of work under $100.  Many of our friends and neighbors had strong shows, most artists that I spoke to had a great show.  We unfortunately did not.  Our price points gave almost everyone sticker shock.  Smaller work was definitely a hit.  The show was well juried and I didn't feel there was too much of one category or a certain style.  That was refreshing to see at an art show. 

Breakdown was just as easy as set up.  The block captain was right there with load out passes to hand out as soon as you were broken down.  Drove in and out no problems. 

I am really disappointed this show was not a match for us.  It is so well run, a pleasure to do and we just fell in love with the neighborhood.  Like I said many, most, artists had a great show.  So if this is a good match for you I recommend trying 57th Street.  There are not any hotels nearby.  Air Bnb is the way to go.  The show even offers an air bnb discount.  Also the Robie House is a block from the show!!!!  If you don't have an extra day to take a tour, no problem, the house tours start before the show opens.  Make a reservation on line because tours fill up.  A must do if you are in the area.  

Northern Virginia  Fine Art Festival is the third weekend of May. This was the third year we have done this show.  I have written two other reviews .  If you want more info see past reviews and hopefully we get some other artists to add to this review for other insight.

The show is on the streets at Town Center in Reston VA with middle to high end stores, high end restaurants, offices and expensive high rise condos, town homes and houses.  A true mixed use area. 

 Like I have said in the past I really like working with this show.  They have excellent communication with the artists before during and after the show.  They always encourage feedback and implement what they can into future shows.  This year the artist check in and artist lounge was moved to the middle of the show.  That was great and it was wonderful to be able to have a real bathroom, constant water, snacks and a place to charge phones when we needed it.  The volunteers at this show are hands on and take their job seriously.   Every day, including set up day, the volunteers  in  your  area introduced themselves and asked us what they could do for us.  They went  above and beyond in the past and this year was no different.  I also noticed how clean the show kept the streets.  It was almost like Disney Land, if a piece of trash was on the ground with in minutes it was swept up.  Security is also very good at this show. 

. 

Booths.  They are set up mostly along the main street with some off shoots.  The majority of  booths are on one side of a very wide street.  There is some controversy with how they lay out this show.  The main street is the place to be for the best exposure.  If you want to request a location you have to pay an extra $100 per booth.  We have a double booth so that's an extra $200.   I don't have a problem with this.  You are paying for location and that is the name of the game.  Its business and paying extra for location is the norm with most things, retail, real estate etc.  Wind is another concern here.  The buildings create wind tunnels.  Be prepared for wind even on a day with great weather forecast.   Also be prepared for all type of weather, heat, rain, cold, all the above in this part of the country this time of year. 

Set up is Friday starting at 10 am.  If you print out your loading pass ahead of time you can line up before checking in.  If you haven't no problem you can check in starting at 9 am, but they were ready at 8 am, and there is a load in pass in your packet.  Load in is smooth.  The streets are wide.  When you pull up they check via walkie talkie to make sure there is space for you to park near your booth.  We arrived around 9 am to line up for 10 am load in.  We had a delivery in Potamac MD at noon, yes a BIG pre sale before the show even started, and there was a Serb Fest in Potamac near our client.  Michael is Serbian so we had to make time to do that.  So we needed to get in and out by 11:30 to make the delivery and have a little fun too.  We got to our spot at 10:15 am and I started the countdown.  It was going to be a warm day.  It hit 94 degrees and we haven't done a hot set up in a while.  We were able to get  the basics of set up done in 1:15 hours.  I know many artists around me were wondering why I was yelling 30 minutes, 20, 10, 5, gotta go now.  Easy out and off to finish the first big sale for the weekend.  We returned around 4 pm to finish up.  Damn it was hot and humid.  We did what we could for about 45 minutes and decided to finish up the few small things the next morning since it was not going to be hot,  94 for set up but the next day was going to be in the 50s in the morning.   There is a gala on site on Friday night and is a nice event but we were so sweaty and artist stinky, plus  worn out so we had to skip it.  We went back to the hotel and called it a night. 

Saturday and Sunday the weather was much cooler and IMO perfect weather for an art show.  Sales for us started right away and continued throughout the day.  Sunday had be backs and finalized commission pieces.  This was our best Reston yet.  Many of our artist friends also had strong shows, including the photographer next to us.  Unfortunately not everyone did.  A metal artist friend zeroed and a few other artists we met did as well.  Just like most shows, some kill it, some make a pay check and others won't return. 

Break down is also very organized. Break down your booth and get a pass go line up.  Again love this shows organizers.  One artist tried to cut  the line and the security guard let her BUT the show staff was not letting that happen and made her go back.  Thank you Reston for being on top of this.  We don't need much help since there are two of us but one thing to just mention at break down one of the volunteers offered help.  We usually say no since it slows us down but we knew that these folks could actually help.  It may seem like a small thing but having someone zip up 5 different bags that have been loaded with pipes and walls that are on the ground is pretty awesome.  We all know how tired we are and damn not having to  bend down again 5 times holding a squat  to zip stuff up is pretty cool.  It's a small thing but helped us save our backs some.  Thank you Lisa.  The show closed at 5 pm and we were back to our hotel enjoying celebratory cocktails by 6pm.   

Just to add, this year we decided to not stay at the hotel on site but stayed at The Sheraton very close to the show.  The Sheraton was  about 1/2 the cost of the Hyatts artist rate.  They had a free shuttle and we preferred this hotel.  Another plus is the food.  You don't have to eat from food trucks or food tents.  There are a ton of wonderful restaurants to choose from, as you can see from the picture below I am a big fan of Mediterranean food.  Make time to eat at Neylas.This picture I couldn't resist adding.  This was the first time I have seen someone walking their pet turtle at a show. 

Lastly we enjoyed a little side trip on the way up, Monticello.  I have always wanted to visit this landmark.  Good luck everyone, travel safe and enjoy the journey.

Taubman Museum Sidewalk Art Show
June 3-4, 2017,Roanoke, VA
Booth fee $250

This is a small, lovely show that is hosted by and takes place near the fine and cool-looking Taubman Museum. Part of the show is on the street, and part is on a small, grassy square. That's where I was.

Paradise City Arts Festival
Northampton, MA
May 27-29, 2017
Booth fee $950

I'm a painter, with pieces from $75 to $4500. This show was the first "real" show that accepted me, eight years ago, and it has also been my highest-grossing show ever, two years ago. But after this year, I'm going to take a break from it.

The show takes place at the Three County Fairground in Northampton, MA. It's a wealthy area, and the show advertises heavily on all media, and draws people from all across New England. It has a great postcard mailing program, and a beautiful show catalog. Gate fee is $14, but you can get big discounts from going to their website and giving them your email address.

In the past, the show has taken place in three distinctly different buildings on the site - a small, old barn; a medium-sized new barn; and a gigantic arena building. This year, for the first time, it took place in three identical buildings, the new barn plus two new new barns.

I was in the last row in the last barn, the farthest from the gate. Traffic was very light - and I think it was because of my spot. I heard many people say, basically, "Whew, we're almost done, thank heavens."

The new arrangement made set-up and breakdown easier, I will say that, though I think that if you were in the middle building, that might not have been the case. Artist parking is plentiful, and on site. There's a special area for RVs, who can spend the weekend, at a price. I believe there are hook-ups.

The new buildings are lovely. There was plenty of storage for me, and for others along the walls of the buildings. I don't know about the areas in the middle aisles. There are general storage areas in each building, and a special locked storage area for jewelers.

This is a lovely show, with stunning, jaw-dropping high-end work. There's a great mix of 2D art, furniture, sculpture, fabric, ceramics, glass, jewelry and anything else you can think of. Booth sitting is offered every day (you sign up), and there's terrific food.

I did OK at the show, about $3K, but that's about half my usual total for this show. Others around me did very well, and friends in the other buildings had even more successful shows. I might have saturated this market somewhat, as many buyers came up to say hello, but not to buy. A year or two off from this show will be helpful, I think.

If you have high-end stuff and find delight and excitement and inspiration in being in a truly fabulous show, this might be one to try.

We have been doing this show for about 5 years BUT this may be the last - they now want $25.00 for a trailer to be parked in the artist lot!!!   Have never had to pay at a show to park the trailer - I am sure that there are shows that charge

Help Getting Accepted into Art Shows - Part 4

No, I haven't gone over to the dark side and still recommend using a real camera to photograph your artwork or booth for jurying. But I have been investigating getting better quality pictures from my iphone camera. And by better quality, I don't mean improved composition. I mean technically improved pictures with less blurriness (sharper) and better exposure.

My next article consists of tips on how to take better pictures with your cell phone.

link to discussion forum
http://www.artfairinsiders.com/forum/topics/cell-phone-photography-tips

To see the examples of my art photography or improved jury images. Also I do free image evaluations and can also make suggestions on streamlining your artist statement.

http://bermangraphics.com/digital-jury-resources/jury-slide-photography.htm
http://bermangraphics.com/digital-jury-resources/fixing-jury-images.htm

At any time, artists can call me with questions 412-401-8100

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100

November 10-12
Maitland, Florida
41st Maitland Rotary Art Festival
Beautiful Lake Lily Park
135 Artists

These are just a few of the initiatives that are a part of our strategic media and public relations plan for the 2017 Festival:

• Comprehensive public and media relations initiatives elevating status of "Art Under the Stars" and raising awareness prior to and driving traffic during the festival

• Drive attendance by reaching out to markets beyond Central Florida including Tampa, Jacksonville and Palm Beach
• Social media including Facebook and Twitter actively managed

• Blogger Event with Central Florida's top ten bloggers on Friday of the Festival

• Significant media coverage of "Art under the Stars" including FOX 35 and Orlando NBC affiliate entertainment reporters and weather anchors

• Along with promotional partner Cox Events, media budget (television and radio spots) for this year's Festival has been doubled
• Smaller show with simpler layout to drive sales for artist
  
  

Hello all

I have been toying with the idea of displaying my 2D work gallery style. By that I mean having one large or two smaller paintings hung individually all around the booth. I have seen this done at more than one booth and it looks quite elegant. The down side is of course that you are leaving quite a bit of empty space above and below the paintings. We artists tend to think that we have to make the most of the small area that we are alotted, especially when you can have as little as 30 linear feet and and so we hang the artwork floor to ceiling. But I have heard that giving patrons too many choices diminishes your sales, and not just in the art world either.

Any thoughts before I try this?

ESTES PARK, CO, ART MARKET, MAY 27-29, 2017

This was the 16^th annual Art Market produced by the Art Center of Estes Park.  You can apply to the show on Zapp. The jury fee is $30 and standard booth fee is $300.  The application deadline is the first of March.

GEOGRAPHY, CLIMATE, DEMPOGRAPHICS

Estes Park is the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.  Access from Denver and I-25 is by US-34 through Big Thompson Canyon or US-36 up the St. Vrain River. The St. Vrain and Big Thompson Rivers flooded in the fall of 2013 and evidence of these major floods is still present.  Hwy 34 opened through Big Thompson Canyon Thursday afternoon May 27^th after being closed for construction all winter. Check the weather and road reports (www.cotrip.org) if the weather is bad.  Trail Ridge Road crosses the mountains in the National Park, and the resort areas of Granby, Grand Lake and Winter Park are on the west side.  This year, the road was still closed because of snow.   

“Parks” in Colorado refer to broad intermountain valleys.  You have all probably heard of South Park.  There are also North Park, Middle Park, Allens Park etc.  Estes Park is one of these valleys at an elevation of 7,522’.  Mountain weather can be unpredictable, and this is true of Estes Park.  During the show weekend, Friday was nice for set up.  Saturday was chilly in the high 40s, and with a few sprinkles.  Sunday was warmer.  Monday was warm but the temperature would drop with every cloud that came over. There was a brief rain shower an hour before the show closed, but people were still milling about.

There are many summer homes around Estes Park and in the

foothills.  The area is a destination for metro Denver residents and both national and international tourists.  It is not unusual for tour buses to pull up and unload their passengers at the show, but they are not typically my clients. One can observe many nationalities and hear diverse languages being spoken at this show. Among multigenerational families it was not unusual to see grandpa and grandma in native dress from India and Pakistan. The crowed is definitely middle class, many families with pre-teen kids, lots of dogs, and with a large percent from the Midwest judging from college sweat shirts.

SETUP AND TAKE DOWN

Registration was listed as open at 9:30am Friday but volunteers were there earlier to start check in, which was great. You check in, get your booth assignment, then unload in designated areas on the park perimeter. The procedure, which I like, is to park, unload your stuff, move your vehicle off site, then set up your booth.  There was none of this parking in front of your and your neighbors’ booths while you dink around unloading and setting up for several hours.  There was a designated trailer parking area with a shuttle back to the show.

Take Down was similar.  You paid your taxes and got a loading permit. You took your booth down and then you were allowed to bring your vehicle into a parking area to load your stuff.  There was no congestion created by people parking vehicles in front of their booth site for hours while they took down and loaded. No one had to dolly farther than 40 yards. The late loaders could drive in for loading.  There were lots of volunteers to help with unloading and loading. Booth sitters were available, and there are clean accessible rest rooms in the City Hall.

SALES AND ANALYSIS

I have done the Estes Park Art Market in six of the last seven years.  It started out as a solid $2K sales show for me and in my best year sales were a little over $3K.  Therefore I went this year with financial expectations of $3K sales but I missed it by one $50 belt sale. This has plagued me for the last three shows; almost, but not quite.   I still consider it a show I will apply to again.  The crowds were good Saturday and Sunday. Monday was a little slower as people were heading home, but it was still a good day. I had 45 sales and the average sale was $65.58. Individual sales ranged from $3 for a bandana for dogs to $190 for a custom holster order.  I had some returning clients for belts.

There was a good mix of mediums. Wild life photography is popular with western subjects. Photography, 2D and jewelry were the most abundant mediums.  Each year the quality has improved and price points have been higher.   

AMMENITIES ETC.

     The Art Center provided a very thorough pre-show information packet. Besides the usual check in and set up information, there were tips about the weather, wildlife and adjusting to the high altitude. They also provided maps of the Estes Park region.  An artists’ reception was held Saturday night at the Art Center Gallery. There was coffee every morning and booth sitters were available. Food vendors are present. An adjacent restaurant distributed menus and delivered.  There was a silent auction of donated art and a high percentage of artists donate work.

September 9 & 10
Mundelein, Illinois
Kracklauer Park
10:00am-5:00pm
45 Artists
Deadline: June 15

Application Fee: $20; Booth Fee: $130

(There are 34 booth spaces on pavement and 9 on the lawn. Those who accept the invitation will have first choice of lawn or pavement.)

Mundelein Arts Festival is held at beautiful Kracklauer Park in the  heart of the City. The park is easily visible from busy Rte. 45. An extensive network of nearby highways allows easy access to a host of neighboring cities including Chicago and southern Wisconsin. We will feature top-notch artists, live music, and delicious food from local vendors.

Marketing:
There will be heavy paid social media advertising, newspaper, radio and multi-town poster run and outdoor signage.

Testimonials after the 2016 show: 
"I wish all shows did this good a job." "Getting breakfast; coming around with water or to relieve us. It makes a very easy environment for the artists."
When asked about our marketing efforts: "Great job here!". "You are the only one posting on FB and I think it's a really great idea."

Cash prizes will be awarded for Best of Show and there is an Emerging Artist Award of $500. The Village of Mundelein also makes a purchase for the Village.

Welcome to our newest member, Mark Burris, GM of MD Enterprises, manufacturers of Pro Panels. Pro Panels has officially moved their Trading Post to ArtFairInsiders.com. You can now buy, sell or trade your Pro Panel equipment right here on ArtFairInsiders.com in our discussion area.

Here is that link: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/forum/categories/buy-sell-or-trade-pro-panels/listForCategory

Help Getting Accepted into Art Shows - Part 3

Once upon a time there was an artist who sold his paintings every weekend at art shows. He took a few pictures of his paintings, and for the few shows that required it, hung his paintings on the fence next to his house and took a “display” picture. The film was dropped off at the corner drug store where he picked up the slides three days later. He filled out a paper application, included two checks, a few 35mm slides and a self-addressed stamped envelope. The envelope containing everything was dropped in the mail box. When the jury results came from the show, he could usually tell if he got in because the envelope didn’t include the slides, just a sheet of paper telling of the acceptance and that more information would be coming in the months ahead. Applying to art shows was easy and life was good.

My next article is detailed information on how to take and edit your jury images including camera settings and then managing images on your computer.

http://www.artfairinsiders.com/forum/topics/care-and-feeding-of-your-jury-images

To see the examples of my art photography or improved jury images. Also I do free image evaluations and can also make suggestions on streamlining your artist statement.

http://bermangraphics.com/digital-jury-resources/jury-slide-photography.htm
http://bermangraphics.com/digital-jury-resources/fixing-jury-images.htm

At any time, artists can call me with questions 412-401-8100

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100

This is a mid size and very selective one day show in downtown Lafayette arranged around the courthouse. I've yet to see the fountain, but haven't gone looking for it. This year was a bit more problematic due to construction, and the booths were in different locations. For some that was a blessing as a bunch of spots required hauling stuff up a long set of steps. Those spots were eliminated this year.

I was located around the corner from last year's location. Two streets were able to be set up on Friday night after 6:00 PM, and two streets weren't closed until Saturday morning. I sent an email asking permission to set up on Friday night but the committee never answered. As it turned out, that wouldn't have worked as the booths were in the street and not on the sidewalk as they were the previous year. One artist I know had major heart surgery early this year and was assigned the Saturday morning set up, start at 6:00 AM and the show starts at 9:00. A little fast considering he has a Trimline and a lot of work to hang. He sent an email saying he would have to cancel if he couldn't set up on Friday evening. Somehow they found him a new spot on Thursday.

I'm dealing with some health issues where I get tired quickly and have little energy. I was able to get my daughter's family to come in and help me set up. I used an EZ-Up, instead of a Trimline, and didn't use the propanel extensions keeping the set up minimalist. We got there at 6:00 and were open and ready by 9:00.

This was going to be an interesting experiment for me with some new work and somewhat different media. I applied in two media, photography and graphics. The graphics work is mostly B&W and all have poetry or text in a diptych format. So I get rejected in photo and accepted in graphics. Since the jury booth shot had both styles in it, I felt that that displaying the new work prominently and some of the regular photo work was legit. Nothing was said.

So the booth has new work in it, and maybe a third or fourth of what is hanging are larger pieces of my regular work. I had to be very selective and there wasn't nearly as much room as I usually have. So what sold? One lousy stinking 8.5x11 flip bin piece of the new work. Lots of good comments about the poetry pieces, but what sold was my regular work and every bit of it came out of the flip bin with one exception. Sales figures were down by $20 from last year, but last year included several framed pieces and canvas prints where the expenses were much higher, so the profit was several hundred higher.

I commented about the high number of flip bin pieces selling to one of the organizers and they said that was a recurring theme they had heard from the other artists, as well as comments I heard directly from some other artists.

The crowd was much different this year from the last. Last year I thought I was back in grad school with the way I was getting questions about the meaning of my work, what the influences were, and questions about aesthetics. I had a fair number of Purdue faculty coming through last year and the questioning I had reflected that. I didn't see those folks this year. There were a lot of younger people this year. I did get a nice sale to a young lady, probably in her very early twenties. She really enjoyed some older work I had up, a series of GI Joe and Barbie B&W photos I did back in 1991 that is political and social satire humor with a caption that is just as important as the image. These are letter size pieces in inexpensive plastic frames, same price as the flip bin pieces. She couldn't make her mind up about which ones to get, and she asked if I would discount the entire lot if she got all of them. I gave a 50% discount, and she took all 12 :-)

Tear down started at 4:30, no problem getting vehicles in as common sense prevailed, and with the extra help from my daughter and son-in-law, we were packed up and pulling out by 6:30. I'll apply again next year.

We were excited to be called off the wait list for this show. It is run by the Decatur Arts Alliance with a large dedicated staff of volunteers. Decatur is a city of about 20,000 on the east side of Atlanta within the 285 beltway. The show is situated in the very beautiful downtown on streets surrounding the historic courthouse which is now a history center. There are any number of trendy restaurants, bars and shops in the area. No vacant real estate..always a good sign.

Check in times are assigned based on booth location. We live about 200 miles away which is a relatively short drive for us. We planned to arrive in enough time to pick up some inventory from our supplier nearby, have a leisurely lunch at one of our favorite spots in the area and then check in. Alas, delays encountered along the way caused us to skip the lunch and arrive at our designated time. After check in you are led to your spot and given plenty of time to off load. The sidewalks in our area were very wide with ample room to drop everything off. There was a free parking lot within 4 blocks of the show that accommodated over size vehicles.

We were on West Ponce de Leon St which had a severe downhill slope. We have dealt with sloping streets in the past but nothing this bad. It took us quite a while to re-engineer everything so it would work. We ended up shortening the legs 3 inches on the high side and using 3 inches of shims on the down side and that still was not enough. If you do this show bring plenty of shims. In the middle of set up the lack of food from the skipped lunch became a problem so we got some take out from a great place on the square called Truman's. I had the second best burger I have ever eaten and Sara had a great salad. We ate there three more times during the show.

The show opened at 10:00am on Saturday but we were there by 8:30 to tie up some loose ends and be ready for any early birds. The weather was a little warm but that is to be expected this time of year in the South. We had shade all day with a nice breeze blowing through our tent. The crowd was strong. We had people in our booth all day. The problem was they were not buying much from us. Our sales on Saturday were dismal. We saw art walking by but it was not ours.

The show closed at 6pm. We headed down to a funky area of Atlanta called Little Five Points and had Mexican on an outdoor patio on a beautiful evening and hoped for a better day on Sunday. It stormed overnight. A couple of tents went down but we did not have any damage. As we were having breakfast at a diner down the street from our booth called the Thumbs Up, the weather cleared at it was a beautiful Sunday. By the way, the Thumbs Up is a great place for breakfast with excellent coffee. The place looks like it is right out of the 60s, including their cash only policy.

Sunday sales were worse than Saturday for us. Again we had people all day long. If even a third of the people who "just loved" one of our prints had actually bought one we would have had a good day. My conclusion is that our subject matter did not appeal to the crowd. We saw people who had been in our booth walk by with purchases from elsewhere. As it turned out we just missed breaking even. We though we were going to have a pretty good sale at the end of the show when a guy with a thread bare shirt walked in identifying himself as a psychoanalyst looking for office art. He carefully looked through all of our images commenting on his patient's expected reactions to each one, some were quite funny actually. He finally settled on one that he liked which we had as a matted print and as a face mounted acrylic. At that point he said " you know I cannot spend ANY money without my wife's approval and she is not here". He made an about face and walked out leaving me to wonder who really needed the help...the doctor or the patient. At that point all hope vanished and we were resolved that we were not going to pull it out at the end.

So, while we did not have good sales others did. Three painters we know including our next door neighbor were happy. A jeweler across the aisle from us did well but I am sure as with all shows there were winners and losers. The glass artist next to us was not happy despite the fact that I had to have this vase I looked at all weekend. I have got to quit doing that.

Load out was easy. I could tell getting our trailer in there was going to be hard so we zipped up, went to Truman's, drowned our sorrows with martinis, had some dinner and then started to break down. By that time a lot of people had cleared out. The show closed at 5pm and even with a dinner break we were on the road by 8pm.

We are really disappointed that our sales were not better because we really enjoyed everything else about this show. The volunteers were wonderful. They were there to help during load in and load out and brought ice cold water by a couple of times a day. They were genuinely concerned that the artists had a good experience including good sales. The area is very nice and is a great place to spend sometime on a holiday weekend. Communication before the event was excellent. If you read the material you knew where to be, when to be there, and the whole thing ran like clockwork from our perspective as first timers.

I doubt that we will try this one again unless our body of work changes. For others I would recommend you give it a shot. It is a very well run show, pulling in a big crowd, in a nice area. If your work appeals to the crowd you could have a great weekend.

I can't say enough good things about this terrific art fair! It takes place in a small town in southern Illinois only a few miles from St. Louis. I have no idea how they do it, but they bring people out to the show in droves, and they all seem to have money in their pockets to spend on art. But first a couple of qualifications. Not every artist did well at this show. Our neighbor, a very talented painter, was very disappointed. I am a digital artist selling limited edition prints. Could be that the lower price tags of my work attracted more buyers. And a second qualification: My sales this year were down 50% from last year. But, even so, my sales this year were more than double the sales of my average art fair (last year sales were triple the average!).

Here's some of the things I like. Set up was leisurely and easy. We drove to Belleville from Saugatuck, Michigan (a 7 hour drive) on Thursday. The weather forecast was gloomy with 80-100% prediction of rain and storms on Friday and Saturday. We decided to get the tent set up on Thursday evening when it was predicted to be dry. We registered and drove our van into the Square (the show is set up around a fountain and the streets radiating out from the square). We were able to leave our van right next to the booth for the entire setup. I like that, not to have to unload everything and move the van. Although tired after that long drive, we got the tent and propanels up, but decided to wait until Friday to hang the art because of the prediction of storms.

It did storm Thursday night taking out some tents, but ours was unharmed. On Friday the show was scheduled to open at five and run until 10pm, so we had all day to hang the art. And somehow, we used the whole day. Not sure why that is, but the setup always eats up all the time that there is. If there is a 2 hour window to setup, it takes two hours. If there is a 6 hour window, it takes 6 hours. Go figure.

The rain conveniently stopped on Friday morning and held off for the duration. People came out on Friday and our sales were brisk. On Saturday night, it stormed again, but Saturday, while the show was open, it stayed dry. Saturday night, more rain, but Sunday was dry and pleasantly cool. I don't know how Patty and here committee did it, but they had the weatherman on their side. They turned a bleak forecast into good weather, scheduling the rain only during the off hours. 

Saturday sales were good again, and so was Sunday. And to top it off, I won an award for best of category (digital), a generous $1500. I won the same award last year. As I understand it, the large award pool is an annual donation by a local anonymous patron; one of the reasons Belleville attracts such good artists.

Here's another thing they do right in Belleville. They sell advance "art bucks" to locals, and that total, before the show even opened, was a whopping $115,000. And here's yet another thing they do that I like. They give grants of $1500 each to four local elementary schools to buy art at the art fair for their schools. The art is chosen by students from the schools. My work appeals to a wide range of people, including kids, so I sold work to two schools this year. Last year I sold work to three schools. Its a terrific program.

And yet another thing I like. I gained three pounds at this art fair. They constantly feed you. Lunches every day are brought to your booth for both me and Marcia. And in the artist hospitality area, there is also a generous buffet of stuff to eat and drink. And, did I mention the champagne breakfast on Sunday? Yep... champagne. And a great buffet too. 

Finally, at the end of the show break down was easy and uneventful. We were able to bring our van in and load up at our leisure. The show wisely lets the artists negotiate among themselves about fitting the vehicles into the spaces closest to their booths. We packed up and had a nice celebratory dinner on Sunday evening, toasting this incredible art fair and a community that truly supports the arts. We had a special toast to Patty, the force behind the Belleville Art on the Square.

This is a tough show to get in to and I feel fortunate to have been invited two years in a row. Unlike most shows, award winners are not automatically invited the next year, so, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope for an invitation next year as well. 

I entered the Art Fair Pledge Drive a little late, never thinking I would win anything. Somehow my mind always works in the "early bird gets the worm" channel. But I donated and entered anyway, and when to my surprise my name was selected quite far down the list I figured I didn't have much of a chance for the prize I really wanted since I was number 20 on the list. But I had nothing to lose, either, so I listed the mesh panels from Flourish as the number one choice out of 4 possibilities.

Five years ago I splurged on a 10' x 10' Trimline canopy from Flourish, and because I'm a big fan of outdoor canopy stability I also splurged on the StaBar set to keep things from shifting around unnecessarily (had a bad experience with a flimsier canopy which shall remain nameless). The only downside was that I had no money left over for the finishing touch--the mesh panels that would make the display of my paintings neat as a pin. 

So-o-o-o...imagine my surprise when I saw that I had actually won those very panels! I wasn't sure at first that I had won--it seemed such a remote possibility--and I thought maybe it was just a list of everybody's first choices. After a reassuring email back from Connie I permitted myself to rejoice!

Flourish makes such a great product that I knew even five years later that the panels would still be the perfect ones for my canopy. I got contact information for them today, emailed them, and they have already scheduled shipping and I shall have my treasure soon. Their customer service is just as outstanding as their products and I will be forever grateful that they decided to support the pledge drive in such a generous way!