History and Change

Wow, I am behind! As usual. This technology age is kind of like a lifetime game of wack-a-mole. The newsletter is on time, the website is fairly up to date, and up pops the blog. And now I’m supposed to twitter or tweet…sigh. And forget about my MySpace page, all it has is a couple links to here and my website. It doesn’t help that I have become addicted to playing Spore.

At any rate the shows have been doing well for me. Perhaps my expectations are low since I really hit my stride with good work and good shows just as the economy was tanking so my doing well may be someone else’s barely getting by but I’m happy.

I usually get into about 50% of the shows I apply to, this year it has been more like 80%. I’m worn out. Still excited about the rest of the season, but worn out. I’m very excited about Northern Virginia Festival of the Arts. It’s a long ride, an expensive show, and I really don’t have that great of a spot, but there is more to doing that particular show to me. I lived in that area for 40 years and there is a sense of coming back and saying “see, this is who I really am”. It’s not that it was a bad place to live or that there were any bad experiences there. It’s just that the weight of forty years of history, of living less than 2 miles away from where I went to high school, has a way of stagnating a person. In Florida I have had the chance to grow in directions I didn't anticipate, to step into the road less traveled.

There are wonderful things about history though. Last week I bought tickets to the Peter, Paul, and Mary concert at Wolf Trap. I first saw Peter, Paul, and Mary in concert when I was 11 years old. I went off and on through the years and when my daughter was seven I took her to her first concert. Usually we got good seats, one year we lucked out and got seats in the front row. This year it will be lawn tickets because this year I will be bringing my grandchildren too. And yes, I will be flying to Virginia for the weekend just to go to a concert.

Hello 2009

I was looking up a photo on my blog and I realized it has been way too long. So here I am again. Shows have started up again for me and I’m in the middle of doing my first show of 2009, the Audubon Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. It is bitter cold here (well, in Florida terms) and I am so glad this show is inside. I feel badly for the people who came from out of state to be here. The festival is not an art show. It is a combination of field trips, speakers, and exhibits, all about birds. People come from all over the country and some of them are rather disappointed that the weather here is not any warmer than where they came from.

I got two exciting acceptances last week. One from Vero Beach, Under the Oaks for March 13 – 15 which is supposed to be a very good show and the other, drum roll please, is Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival on May 16 – 17. My home town finally gets to see what I’ve been doing for the past 9 years.

It’s too early to tell what effect the economy will have on shows for me. I haven’t done Audubon in four years and my work has changed so much that I can’t really compare. I didn’t make any sales yesterday but I also forgot and left my 8 x 10s at home and with all the people from out of town this is a small item show. The focus isn’t really on the art here so it’s an impulse buy situation and I didn’t have any impulse buy items.

The photo above is from one of the photo trips I took when I was visiting family in Virginia over Thanksgiving.

Rejection and Acceptance

Some good news on the horizon at last. Disney turned out to be my best show ever. And I’ve been accepted for Images in New Smyrna and Naples National.

I did some talking to other artists at Disney about acceptance and rejection and I learned some things about myself. While I’ve always been an artist, it is only in the past few years that I have been displaying and selling my photography. So I’m a late comer to this world of acceptance and rejection. One artist explained to me that we wear out hearts on our sleeve and hand an ice pick to every customer that walks into our booth. A hundred people can come into my booth and tell me my photography is wonderful and one walks in and says something negative. Guess which one I will remember and turn over and over in my mind?

Although… Those negative comments have sometimes been very helpful. I remember one very clearly. I had been complaining about my poor sales on a photography forum I belong to and someone responded, “That’s because your work looks like everyone else’s”. That stung for a long time but it also caused a major shift in my photography. For the better, I believe.

On the other hand I found this quote about compliments by Chazz Palminteri -

“Oh, great reviews are the worst. They mislead you more than the bad ones, because they only fuel your ego. Then you only want another one, like potato chips or something, and the best thing you get is fat and bloated”.

I remember my first award. It was one of my first shows and the judge walked in the booth and pointed directly at one of my photographs and said “that one”. It was a complete surprise and I just barely found the awards ceremony in time to hear my name called for honorable mention. There was no stress, no pleas to God. I try purposely to get back to that place when the judges come by and the awards are announced but it is too late, I’m addicted.

Which leaves me with this quote by Ray Bradbury:

“You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.”

A new day

Feeling much better today. Sometimes I am so ungrateful I wonder why God doesn’t come down and slap me. The Disney people are really nice. The setup is difficult though. I didn’t even bother to try to get to the unloading spot. You still have to dolly and if you’re going to dolly you might as well do it slowly. Some really nice work here. Looking down the names of the photographers showing here I can forget about winning an award here. I’m honored just to be among some of these people. There is a ten foot bear sculpture that is magnificent. Not sure where I’d put it though.

After this it’s a free weekend and then off to Virginia to see family for Thanksgiving. I should be able to get some photo time too.

Arghhh

Well, I did Lake Mary this past weekend and it was not exactly like the Lake Mary I remember. The location has changed but that’s a good thing. But they’ve increased the number of booths, almost double and decreased the number of awards, removing all of the honorable mentions. I wrote on the survey that they didn’t need to try and be a big shot art show, that they were doing just fine as Lake Mary.

And I’ve been thinking (dangerous words there) maybe that advice applies to me as well. I just got my sixth rejection in two weeks. Another big shot art show doesn’t want me. And I’ve had lots of work chosen for judging, almost every single show I’ve been in, and the last time I got an award at an art show is now more than a year. I’m discouraged, but why does some judge’s opinion bother me so much if I am truly doing what I feel called to do. I seem to have lost my purpose. This is the biggest dip the roller coaster has taken. On the bright side I seem to be selling pretty regularly. The public seems to like my work. But that’s not enough. That’s not why I started doing this.

I came home Saturday night very discouraged and I needed to send out my artist statement to a potential buyer. I stopped to read it. I wrote it several years ago, dreamy idealistic words, that I don’t feel I am living up to, but I’m not sure how to proceed.

Maybe this is just the economy talking, or five shows in eight weeks talking, and I’ll feel better in a few days. God will send the answer, just not on my timetable and like any good human being I want it now.

Stay tuned.

Discouraged

The roller coaster again…. When will it turn the other way? Four rejections in the past two weeks. It wouldn’t be so bad except this is the year I set up the booth in the back yard to get a booth shot instead of trying to do it at a show. I redid all my frames to a better presentation. I got the cool print bin that matches my walls. This was supposed to be my year. My horoscope even said so. And Ocala was pitiful this past week. At least it didn't pour down rain this year. If I count the horse picture that I made specifically for the show and sold just after the show I just barely broke even. But as of yet I have not been rejected for any show that I have been accepted to in the past. And I did get on the wait list for Artigras where last year I was rejected.

But I now have four extra days of vacation. Enough for an Everglades trip in the spring. There is a silver lining. I’m still working on that book.

The Almost Perfect Show

I did not know quite what to expect from Winter Springs. I almost didn’t apply. But it was an empty weekend until Maitland moved into that slot. I’m glad I did apply. It was almost the perfect art show. Considering this was the first year for the show, an almost insurmountable feat. Sure there was a little confusion but that is to be expected for a first year show. They did the big things right though and a lot of little things as well. I was told that the promoters did extensive research and it showed.

Booth space was ample. My booth looks so much nicer when I can have a table in back for all those necessary but not particularly aesthetic items. I did pay extra for some extra space but even the standard booth had plenty of space.

They provided breakfast and lunch both days. They also went around during the day handing out cold water. The breakfast and lunch is a “nice to have” but the water is so important.

They juried well. I don’t get to get out much during an art show but I didn’t see any “questionable” items. Everyone around me had high quality work. No Nerf arrows or clay flowers.

They arranged parking near the booth. What an incredible gift especially when the skies started threatening rain. It made breakdown so nice too. A record-breaking 50 minutes for me.

A general feeling of respect for the artists. A lot of shows seem to forget that without us they can’t have a show. This one didn’t.

I’m off to Ocala this weekend, then Lake Mary, and then Disney.