Passages

Garden Passage at Tohono Chul Park in Tucson Arizona

Garden Passage @ 2011 Bo Mackison

A year ago I did my first art fair, a small arts and crafts affair in a park-like setting run by a volunteer group. The setting couldn’t have been more lovely. Booths lined a wide sidewalk that meandered around tall, shade trees at an area college campus. There was plenty of parking, plenty of enthusiasm, even plenty of sunny weather. But the one thing that there wasn’t much of was fine art.

I learned quickly that there are different types of art fairs and it is imperative that an artist matches their art to the correct type of show. There are arts and crafts shows, with a mix of booths. There are many outstanding crafters showing their handwork, there are others with hand crafted items that appeal to the younger crowd, and there are sometimes vendors who have a booth full of inexpensive, but eye-catching imported goods (usually called buy/sell or B/S by art festival participants).

It took me ony a few minutes to see that I was in the wrong type of show. Everyone else was in their element. I was way out of mine. I had lookers who tsked about the prices – which were neither outrageously high nor discount bargain bin low. I had several photographers approach me with questions on how to do an art fair. (I wasn’t much help.) And I had one customer, an enthusiastic collector, who took a glance at my booth and exclaimed, “You art doesn’t belong here. You belong in the big shows in Chicago.”

When she told me that, I shook my head in wonder. I was barely able to stay in my booth and talk to the customers who came in for a look. I desperately wanted to show my photography, but actually setting up a booth and being there was a real stretch for me.

I knew she was wrong; I would never be able to do a big, Chicago show. Never in a million years.

Well, a year has passed, and what do you know? That wonderful, enthusiastic woman was correct. It took me another six months of doing small shows to build my confidence while I worked on my photo portfolio, added a Southwest collection to my Midwest botanical photographs, and continued to modify my art booth. Last winter I applied to dozens of wonderful fine art shows in the Midwest. I got my share of “not-inviteds” — everyone does — but I also got my share of “we would love to have you” invites – enough to fill up my summer, from Memorial Day to mid-September.

I had my first Chicago area show last weekend. Yes, festival and foul weather collided, and the weather won.

But even though we ran into bad weather, I still felt upbeat about the show. All of the artists were top-notch, the layout was well-planned, the show was run by  professionals who knew how to manage whatever came up, and even though the weather played havoc with our sales, most everyone remained positive and optimistic, and focused on the summer shows still to come.

And the best thing?  I felt like I belonged. What a wonderful experience!

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is happy the summer art festivals are here and is keeping her fingers crossed that sunshine will smile on Chicago next weekend.

 

 

Seeded Earth Studio at Barrington Art Festival on May 28-29

Offering

Offering © 2011 Bo Mackison

Seeded Earth Studio kicks off its Chicago area summer season at the Barrington Art Festival in downtown Barrington, Illinois this weekend, Saturday, May 28 – Sunday, May 29, 2011. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

I have several new canvases and prints of Midwest botanicals ready for the art festival, plus I am introducing  some new pieces in my Southwest collection this weekend.

I will be in Booth #36 on East Station Street, east of the Station and Cook Streets intersection. I will be just a few booths from the food court, so enjoy a sandwich and cold drink, and then come say hello! Mention this post and receive a 10% discount.

Hope to see you there!

 

Barrington Art Festival
downtown Barrington, Illinois
Saturday, May 28, 2011 – Sunday, May 29, 2011
Booth # 36

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is ready for the summer of art festivals to begin this Memorial Day weekend.

 

Seeded Earth Photography at Madison’s Audubon Art Fair

Turkeys "Hiking" in Owen Conservation Park in Madison Wisconsin
“Hiking” © 2011 Bo Mackison

These turkeys were hiking on the same trail that I was traveling in the woods at Owen Conservation Park. Not that I don’t appreciate the wild turkeys, but these guys have gotten a bit too self-confident and maybe even a tad too aggressive as far as I’m concerned. I walk the trails in search of wildflowers, my eyes on the ground,  my ears attuned for any hint of a gobble gobble.

I came nearly head to head with four toms when I turned a corner, and felt a bit silly gobbling back at them while stomping my hiking stick on the path. They stared me down for a while before meandering off. Hmm, these are some birds! They sure do love hiking the trails at Owen!

I’m a big fan of the smaller birds, actually, and if you are a bird lover and in the Madison, Wisconsin area, the Audubon Society is holding their Annual Art Fair this Saturday, May 7th, 2011. It’s a great way to support the Audubon Society. And the show is perfectly timed on the day before Mother’s Day–if you are looking for a special gift for a special mom.

32nd Annual Audubon Art Fair
Saturday, May 7th, 2011
9:30 am to 4:30 pm
Warner Park Community Center
1625 Northport Drive
Madison, Wisconsin

Look for Seeded Earth Photography at the Audubon Show on Saturday. My booth will be INSIDE the community center.  Come and enjoy the work of many talented artists–what a great way to start the weekend.

Post Note: Photographs of the Madison Audubon Society Art Fair 2011, including the venue Warner Park, outside booths along the path, and several inside booths including my booth for Seeded Earth Studio.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.

A Whirlwind Weekend

Seeded Earth Studio - Tempe Festival of the Arts

Sherpa in the “Midwest Gallery” © 2011 Bo Mackison

Sherpa and I spent the last three days at Tempe’s Art Festival exhibiting my photography. What a weekend! I am so, so grateful that Sherpa was willing to fly to Arizona for a long weekend so he could be my assistant.

The show was open from 10 a.m. til 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. A total of twenty four hours. But when Sherpa and I added the hours we spent unpacking and carting the tent, display walls, art and other necessities to our 10 foot by 10 foot site, setting up until one a.m. for the first day of the show, opening and closing the booth each day, and then the packing everything back into the trailer for the drive back to Tucson — wow! We easily worked another 15 hours “behind the scenes.” And we didn’t count any travel time nor the time it takes to actually create the art.

I love the art festivals. I love talking art to the many thousands — yes, thousands! — of people who stop at my booth and look at my photography, talking about a specific photograph that catches their fancy, or asking questions about techniques or camera gear or locations. And of course, I love to talk art with the wonderful people who like what they see enough to purchase my art for their homes.

But doing art shows is lots of work, too.

That is why I want to send a special thank you — decorated with big hugs and kisses — to my best assistant ever. He is my biggest fan and my strongest supporter, and without his encouragement and help, I could never manage the travel required for 16+ shows a year — Spring in the Southwest, Summer in the Midwest, Holidays in Wisconsin. I couldn’t physically manage the strenuous load-ins and load-outs. And while I can work in the booth alone, it is surely more enjoyable having my life-long companion there beside me, working together.

It always gives me a thrill when a customer asks him about “his” photography, and he smiles broadly, nods towards me, and says, “My wife is the photographer. I’m just the roadie.”

Well, this photographer loves her roadie, and she thanks her Sherpa for helping keep this creative dream alive.

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Bo Mackison is the photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She is living in Tucson for two months – exhibiting her photography in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art festivals and often about living life solo. But she didn’t have to live life “solo” this past weekend as her soul-mate and show-assistant flew to Arizona for a long week-end. She said good bye to him this afternoon as he boarded a plane back to Wisconsin. But it won’t be long, this adventure is winding down. Only two and a half more weeks and I, too, will be saying “Good bye, Arizona. Hello Again, Wisconsin.”

Sunny Days at Tempe Festival of the Arts

Seeded Earth Photography at Tempe Festival of the Arts

Seeded Earth Photography at Tempe Festival of the Arts

Sherpa came out to Arizona for the weekend and proved invaluable in helping me set up and assist in manning the Seeded Earth Photography booth at the Tempe Festival of the Arts in Tempe, Arizona. Plus it was great to see him after his exile in snowy Madison!

Tempe Festival of the Arts

Tempe Festival of the Arts

The streets were filled with enthusiastic crowds and I had a great time explaining my artistic philosophy to hundreds of people. Most people don’t care why I do the kind of photography I do, but these people not only cared, they wanted to hear about my photography, why I shoot macros, and how I decided to show on the art fair circuit. The conversations were a highlight of the first two days of the show.

Tempe Festival of the Arts - Saturday Afternoon Shopping for Art

Saturday Shopping for Art at Tempe Festival of the Arts

The weather was perfect. The crowds friendly and seemed to enjoy the festival. One of my favorite parts of the show were when people would look into my booth, stop in their tracks, point at a specific photograph of mine, and break out into a huge grin. When they came into the booth, they were a pleasure to work with.

Today, Sunday March 27th, is the last day of the Tempe Festival of the Arts. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you live in the Phoenix area, there are 300 artists who would love to talk to you and have you enjoy their art.

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Bo Mackison is the photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She is living in Tucson for two months – exhibiting her photography in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and living life “solo”.  She is at the Tempe Festival of the Arts through Sunday, March 27th, showing her botanicals and several photos in her new desert series.