Door’s Open to Adventure

Evening Time

Door's Open © 2012 Bo Mackison

Art is alive. It puts energy into the world…as an artist, respect your art and think not only of success but of your mission to provide opportunities for your art to grow and expand and touch the hearts of others. ~ Lisa Jill Allison from “Art from the Heart

ART SHOWS — PART I

I’ve been doing art fairs and festivals on a frequent basis since June, 2010.

In 2010, I did about 10 shows. All of the shows were small shows in the Wisconsin/Illinois. Sherpa accompanied me to all the shows and did most of the work in the earliest shows. I have painful memories of my first show – an non-juried show at a smaller university in Wisconsin. I was in such a state of panic that I sat about 50 feet behind the booth, perhaps whimpering a bit, while Sherpa stayed in the booth and talked to the few customers that wandered in. The show did not have much fine art, but it did have stenciled skeleton tee shirts and crocheted Barbie clothes and anthropomorphic ceramic turtles wearing ballet costumes, firemen outfits and such. Even though the mark was not high, I could not quite reach it — I was out of my league, even at this level. I wondered how I would ever be successful in the art show business.

The rest of the 2010 shows were not quite so disastrous, though I never really was comfortable in the booth by myself. If Sherpa was not available, one of my kids who were in college would help me out. We made it through the first full year, and decided we had learned a lot in a year and we would continue.

And so I continued my on the job training in 2011. I also moved up in the art fair world and applied to many shows that were well-juried and had a national reputation.And I even got accepted into some of these top notch art festivals.

I did a couple of shows in Spring 2011 in Arizona, but I still had a fair amount of trepidation and depended on Sherpa for set up and company. In the summer we did 12 shows, including four area shows, but mostly I did shows in the Chicago/Michigan area. By August, I had mostly conquered my fear of “being an artist” and talking about my photography with strangers.

I could, and did, do artist talks about my photography and what it was like being an artist on the art fair circuit. I had stuck my head of my introverted shell and found the world to be a rather nice place.

My two Holiday shows in 2011 were my best shows ever, and I did much of the set up and some of the booth time solo. Sherpa or one of my kids never left me on my own for long, though, which was fine with me.

And so I began the 2012 season with two big shows scheduled in Arizona. No problem. Sherpa and I drove the car and art trailer to the Tucson area in November and flew home after getting settled in our new condo. I flew back to Arizona after the winter holidays. Sherpa planned to fly out a few weeks later for the first show.

These plans were carved in stone as far as I was concerned. Carved deeply in stone.

And then Sherpa became involved in a difficult problem at work. The figuring-out-a-solution job quickly took precedence over Sherpa’s visit to Tucson.

Here I was, 1,000 miles from any family members who I could call on for an art fair fill-in. The only solution at this end was for me to do the show on my own. I would have to drive to the show, set-up of the booth, and do at least the first two days of the five day show by myself. Sherpa thought he could come in for the long weekend, but there were no promises.

I’d already plunked down my booth fee, I had my art in Tucson, and I was in Tucson. There really were no other alternatives. I needed to set up my booth for the festival and do the show by myself.

This was new territory. Scary territory. I wasn’t sure I could manage. I was, in fact, quite certain I could NOT manage. But even in the art show business the motto is “the show must go on” and so I started planning in small steps.

How would I make the transition from Bo doing weekend art shows with Sherpa’s support to Bo doing weekend art shows solo?

Tune in tomorrow for Part II for the next part of the story.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo is discovering that every day provides opportunities to learn new and amazing things.

Why Photography? Part IV

Japanese anemone hybred 'Queen Charlotte'

‘Queen Charlotte’ Viewing the Gardens © 2010 Bo Mackison

(Fourth in a series on why I chose photography as my creative medium and the basis of a new career.)

#4. Photography provides me with meaningful work and with a career.

For many years, I was unable to do most any kind of work due to a chronic medical condition. I am still unable to do many of the things people take for granted, and many of these things are basic requirements for employment. Employment on someone else’s payroll, that is.

But I discovered that when you own your own business, you create the business environment and you can tailor the work to your abilities. I found that by starting small, and enlisting the aid of Sherpa (my spouse of 30+ years) I was able to gradually produce artwork and start a small business selling my work. I’ve been working on my business model for a couple of years now, and I think I have a great opportunity to build my fledgling business into a viable entity. To put it mildly, this entire process has been nothing short of mind boggling for me.

In the autumn of 2009, I began making and selling note cards, and I did fairly well selling them at small shops and an art fair during the Christmas season. This year, with guidance from a creativity and business coach, I began exploring the different options I had for selling my growing body of fine art photography.

We talked about continuing online sales, sales in galleries and boutique shops, and then we discussed doing art shows. I spoke with experienced show artists, and as we spoke about doing art fairs and festivals, my curiosity was piqued. Well, it was more than piqued. For weeks, I could hardly think of anything else. I even visited several outdoor art festivals when I traveled in the Southwest this early spring. A few weeks after my return home, I made my big decision. I would set up an art booth for the summer art fairs and get some first hand experience. I borrowed a tent and began acquiring the necessary paraphernalia.

The photography and printing, and the setting up of an art booth, turned out to be the easier part. I had a stack of applications to fill out, photographs to take for the juried shows, summer schedules to shuffle, travel plans to arrange. Those were difficult for me to accomplish, but I managed. And then, suddenly, I was faced with financial tasks – I had to get a bank account, set up an account to accept credit cards, file the necessary business papers and tax forms, keep records.

Time after time, I was overwhelmed by the commitment, but even though I was repeatedly tempted to quit and go back to my simpler life, I just couldn’t. I had a taste of a many dimensional, creative life – a life that held deep meaning for me – and I desperately wanted to continue.

I still have much to learn and practice, and that is part of the thrill of my new career. I’m learning to meet new people, interact with customers at art festivals, and share my own vision of art with other interested folks. I’m learning how to travel on my own, speak up for myself, and make decisions based not only on sound business practices, but on what is best for me and what fits with my values.

Being on the art show circuit is hard work, no doubt about that, but for the most part it is fun work, too. I’ve met new friends, been inspired by the talent and creativity of other artists, and seen a bit of the country I might otherwise not have seen. And if all goes well, I’ll be taking Seeded Earth Photography to a few shows in the Phoenix/Tucson area early next spring.

It’s been a long  journey from where I started to where I am now, some of it bumpy, some of it smooth, and some of it in great leaps. But the journey is the important part, and I love the challenges.  I think that is all pretty darn exciting!

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I will be at my last summer art fair of the season, the Rockford Artists’ Fair, in Beattie Park located in downtown Rockford, Illinois this coming weekend, September 18-19, 2010. It will be open both days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you are in the area, I would love for you to stop and say hello.

Look for the bright green and white sign that proudly proclaims Seeded Earth Studio, photography by Bo Mackison.

I can hardly describe the feeling I get when I stand inside my tent, surrounded by my photographs. I feel like I am in my own combination mini-gallery and private flower garden. But please, come in — I want to share it with everyone!