Our own crisis?

Another one came in my email today, a notice from an art show that they were extending their deadline for entries. I’m also seeing a serious increase in the number of ads in the forums that I read saying “getting out of the business, selling everything.” I have no proof, neither the emails nor the ads go much into details about why, but it appears we are having our own little financial crisis in the art fair world. It mimics every financial crisis I’ve read about in the past few days. Money was getting made, people wanted to make more money , things got bigger, people got greedy, forgot who put them where they were, pushed and sometimes stomped on the people who put them where they were, stomped people started to bail, less money got made, stomping increased, more people bailed.

I’ve heard stories of what it was like to do an art show many years ago. Artists showed up and were charged a minimal fee that generally went to some sort of fundraising endeavor. I remember that the two shows I did twenty years ago were in answer to an ad in the newspaper looking for artists to do the show. I called the number and was told when and where to show up. There was no application process, very few rules.

Somewhere along the way, someone said, “We need to organize this better.” It was a good thing. Security was added, liability insurance, stable display requirements. Artists were pre-screened, rather than being first come, first served. Quality was increased, but expenses of putting on an art show increased. Competition increased, not only between artists, but between shows. Again, this was a good thing. Shows that did things well attracted the better artists. Artists who did things well got into the better shows. All was good.

But then came more shows and more competition. Shows added big name performers and corporate sponsors to attract more patrons. Booth fees went up because expenses went up for the big name performers and artists still applied in droves because the show had prestige and they could count on sales. Booth fees went still higher and still artists applied in droves. More artists were doing art shows because there was money to be made from doing what we love. More artists meant more artists were willing to pay the higher booth fees in order to get into the good shows. Now apparently application levels are dropping.

Fewer artists are willing to pay higher booth fees to be in shows attracting fewer patrons because there are more shows. Why are booth fees going up? Because there are more shows trying to attract patrons with extras like big name performers and freebies from corporate sponsors. Some of the big shows have become more like carnivals than art shows in order to get higher attendance which they can report to the artists in order to get higher booth fees and more applications. More applications increase the prestige about the show. There’s something almost irresistible about applying to a show with a 15% acceptance rate. It must be great, everyone is applying. But the big name performers and corporate sponsors tend to attract people who aren’t serious art buyers. Sales for the artist go down. It used to be that for every artist who said “no way’ to an astronomical booth fee to be next to a corporate sponsor with a microphone hawking cell phone plans, there were two or three or said “I will, I will”. Maybe that is changing and booth fees will become reasonable again.

(As a full disclosure however, my application is still in for the show where the corporate sponsors are hawking cell phone plans with microphones and I’ll gladly do it, at least once.)

School Begins

Setup for the first art show of the fall begins tomorrow. Doing art shows in Florida is somewhat like being in school. I’ve had my long summer off and now it is time to start the new year. I’ve done some changes this year; bigger frames, and different mats on the framed pieces, a new classy looking print bin, some new panoramas, and a changed booth layout. I’ve gotten my hair and nails done and rethought my show wardrobe. The first day of school is Saturday and everything is ready – I hope….

I’m not too sure about the show I’m doing this weekend, Oviedo Butterfly and Nature Festival put on by Lukas Nursery. I’ve never done it before, never even attended it, which is a big no-no in the art show world. You’ll see that in almost every “beginners tips” for art shows – never do a show unless you’ve attended it first – yeah right. If I’ve got a weekend free and there is an art show going on, I’m applying. It is nature themed, which is usually good for me but it is also a small local show which means it is below the radar of the art show rating publications, Art Fair Source Book, and Sunshine Artists. At any rate, it looks like it’s going to be a fun show to do. I’m looking forward to seeing the butterflies and I’ll probably bring home a few plants. At the very least I’ll test out all the changes I’ve done.

Speaking of nature themed shows, I’ve decided to return to the Audubon Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in January. I like doing this show but haven’t been able to do it for a couple years because it runs from Wednesday through Saturday, which means three vacation days. You can see the rest of my fall schedule on my Upcoming Events page.

If you get a chance go by and see the exhibit at the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery in Melbourne. There is some really great art there, including a couple of my photographs.

Another Word Photograph

I was at the opening for the 100% Pure Florida exhibit at the Fifth Avenue Gallery in Melbourne tonight and another photographer and I were discussing the differences between photography and painting. I saw the perfect example on the way home.

I was traveling down 46, which has just opened up again after the floods from Fay, when I noticed that the sky was lighter to my left. I thought it might be the last vestiges of sunset but a quick glance to my clock told me that the sun was long since down. It was the moon, only a quarter, but it made a wonderful reflection, lighting up the wetlands. I quickly thought, I have to come back here and get a photograph when the moon is full. And just as quickly though, yeah great idea Alison, let’s go stand by the side of the road on 46, a dark two lane road with no shoulder and a speed limit (or as we call them in Florida, suggested minimum speed) of 65, right next to the water, at night. Just me, the speeding cars, the alligators, and my tripod. Oh, well, I’ll have to leave that scene for the painters.

WooHoo

Wow, it’s been a long time since I have written in the blog. Sorry about that. I’ve been trying to get all the things done that don’t get done during art show time, mostly yard stuff. I did take a weekend to set up the tent and make a new booth shot. Remind me not to do that in August ever again. It’s a good thing I allowed myself two days because once I got finished putting up the tent and walls I was wiped out from the heat. I had to close it up and finish up the next day.

Good news came in the mail today! I’m in Disney’s Festival of the Masters! That has been a dream of mine for so long. I am so excited. I’ve realized for some time that this art show business is like a roller coaster. Last week I got the bad news that I did not make it into Winter Park Autumn this year. So last week I was bummed and this week I’m ecstatic. One day I will learn to roll with it.

Good Grief!

We have two fine men running for President of the United States. I believe that both of these men have undertaken this challenge out of a love and sense of duty to their country and the thought that they can make a difference. I applaud them both. I already know who I will be voting for but I will leave that out because what I am bringing up should be a bi-partisan issue. I would like to see our president chosen based on facts not smear campaigns, lies, and twisted truths. I have been getting an email lately from people I have thought of as reasonable, intelligent people. The email references several “quotes” from books written by Barack Obama. I did some very simple searches on the internet and found this: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/ownwords.asp

Please people, do your own research and don’t believe everything you read in your email.

Personally, I would like to see our President chosen because he is the best candidate, not based on some smear campaign. Do your own research and vote on the issues please!

Gas Prices

Well, should we drill in the Arctic, the Everglades, get some more of our own oil and bring these horrific prices down? I don’t think so. We will only forget again.

I pumped gas in 1973. Overnight the price of gas went from 38 cents a gallon to an astronomical 75 cents a galloon. People panicked, Gas lines formed. I would arrive at work to see a six block line of cars waiting for me. Tempers were short. We could only give each car 10 gallons. People tried to bribe me, threaten me, beg me for more. I wasn’t a terribly principled person then. I would have probably given more to some people especially the ones who offered me ten or twenty bucks. “Just fill the tank up,”, they’d beg. But the person behind them always had their eye on the pump and would have turned me in, in a second. It was a lousy way to make a living. The only perk was getting to fill up my own car before the station opened without waiting in line.

Changes happened though. Cars got smaller. The Mustang was replaced with the Mustang II, a shadow of its former self. People started using mass- transit, riding bicycles. Cars went from 10 mpg to 20 and more.

Then slowly people forgot. Look at us just before this latest price hike. SUVs all over the road, new roads built instead of mass transit.

And now we start again. The SUVs are sitting on the lots. The car makers are all touting mileage. But in time we will forget again. And if we drill in fragile places we will ruin them forever for a few more years of low prices.

Riding the Train

This is the life. I don’t think I shall ever fly again, well probably, but I will definitely nbe back on a train again. I splurged at the last minute and got myself a roomette. I am sitting here in perfect privacy, with my own toilet even. I get to look out this great big window. I can’t see too much since it is dark outside but it will be great in the morning. I just had a very nice dinner in the dining car and the sleeping car attendant will be here in an hour or so to set up my bed for sleeping. I’ve only traveled in a roomette once before but the sleeping that time was heaven. The train just rocked me to sleep.

Unfortunately I’ll be going coach on the way back unless I can find myself a deal so it won’t be quite as comfortable but this is definitely the way to travel.