Making of an (Art Show) Artist: Part V – In Summary

March 10, 2011 by 6 Comments
Tumacacori Door and Bench

Choices: Take a Seat or Explore through the Door © 2011 Bo Mackison

Although this photograph of the outdoor portico at Tumacacori National Historic Park appears to not have much to do with a post about being an art show artist, it actually has everything to do with it.

Once the decision has been made to do art fairs and festivals, there is no time for sitting and hoping that it will happen. You have to show up for your artist job, and you have to be willing to explore many options and alternatives by being open and willing to walk through the door of unknowns.  Or to say it in plain words, you can’t send in applications to a few prime shows and watch your summer schedule fill up. The application process requires lots of effort, lots of time, lots of work. Until I developed a routine, I found it the most difficult part of being an art show artist.

The first year I did the art fair circuit full time, I concentrated on local and area shows. I looked for small, locally run juried shows within a three hour drive of my home. These shows are the perfect training grounds. I could not have applied to the larger, nationally recognized shows this year if I had not had a year of experience under the 10′ x 10′ canopy. That may not be true for everyone, but I needed a year of rehearsal before I felt ready to tackle the big guys.

Even then, once I did start applying to the large shows, I kept in mind the one phrase my mentor repeatedly told me. “Doing art shows is a crap shoot.” You can do everything right, and still rack up a considerable number of rejections. But amongst the many rejection notices are the sweet acceptances, the “see you in June” notices. So far this year I have amassed 9 acceptances from quality shows, 10 rejections, and 5 spaces on waiting lists. The wait list notice puts you in a state of limbo –  do you accept your second choice show for that wait-listed weekend and decline to be on the wait list or do you wait it out? Each wait list notifications requires a juggling act of yeses, noes, and maybes. I chose to stay on 3 of the wait lists, and was upgraded to acceptance in one of the shows. With the other two, I’m still waiting.

The best I can tell you? Do your homework and learn about each show you want to apply to. How much will your actual costs be, including driving, hotels, eating out? How well does your art fit in with the art typically shown? Check last year’s website for a show. Often there is a list of participants and you can check their art on the internet most of the time.

And don’t count on making a big profit at the beginning. It takes time for you to become established, yes, established, on the art show circuit. First you will celebrate that you made enough money to cover your booth fees. Then you celebrate that you covered your fees and expenses, too. And then you celebrate that you are realizing a profit.

And all along, you celebrate that you are an artist, showing your work, meeting the public and other artists, and selling your work to clients who fall in love with your art. Those are the best benefits of all.

Here are the links to the first four parts of the series: Part I — initial questioning , Part II –  starting up,  Part III — doing the first few art fairs, and Part IV — more “on the job” training.

————————-

Bo Mackison is a 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” while filling each day with learning–about the Sonoran desert, about creating art, and about living a meaningful life.

Filed Under: Solopreneurship Tagged With: , ,

Making of an (Art Show) Artist: Part IV – More On the Job Training

February 26, 2011 by 8 Comments
Spinning

Spinning © 2011 Bo Mackison

Welcome to my 5 part series on the making of an art show artist!

Part I described my initial questioning about whether or not I could be an art show artist. In Part II, the answer was “yes, do it, but how do I start up?” Part III included a few of the lessons learned from “on the job” training, the real learning is in the doing.

Part IV continues with more lessons learned from the first year’s art shows, learning by doing MORE and MORE art fairs.

A breakthrough happened during our fourth show of the summer. I discovered the magic that happened when Sherpa and I each had our own jobs to do. There isn’t much space to maneuver in a 10′ by 10′ art show tent, and we were forever stepping on each others’ toes. I’d start to do a task and get interrupted. He’d try to finish the task, but it didn’t work as intended. I finally realized that if we each did specific jobs, there would be less confusion with better results.

Sherpa began going for the truck and trailer at closing time, leaving me to pack everything in an organized fashion, and life on the art fair circuit became more peaceful. We were able to get the work done in less time. And with more calm. Division of labor–a good thing to learn.

Our first large show (in Chicago) taught us a different kind of lesson. It’s an easy one to do. Take advantage of the amenities offered by the organizers of the shows. These added benefits may include booth sitters, free breakfasts, and delivered-to-your-booth bottled water for hot, humid summer days in the Midwest.

But the best amenity, and one that quite a few artists ignored, was the artists’ reception held the night before the festival opening. I’m not a party goer, but this is the kind of party I make sure I attend. These receptions are an excellent time not only to meet other artists who will often share their experiences, but it is also a prime time to meet the art patrons in the community.

These are the people who give their time and effort to make art happen. They are knowledgeable, friendly, and they love art! Definitely, they are people worth getting to know. Plus, it was a party! After setting up the booth in the mid-summer heat, food and drink was a great reward.

After a season of art festivals, we had the organization down. We were meeting other artists. And finally, I was getting more comfortable talking to the public. Sherpa is a natural at small talk; he could chat with a cement statue if given the chance. Me? Not so much. I made excuses for my shyness, listing plenty of reasons why I needed time to warm up to conversations. Or why I should avoid a conversation altogether.

Well, warm up time or avoidance are parts of my past. There isn’t enough time for warm-up exercises when customers are in your booth looking at your art. I had to carry on an intelligent conversation with my potential clients, or they would leave the booth, never knowing what they were missing.

It is up to the artist to educate the public about all aspects of your art, and you can’t do much educating by remaining silent, or ducking in the back of the booth. Or even worse, by reading a book or simply ignoring people and not engaging.

Neither Sherpa nor I read or ignore our visitors, but I saw quite a few artists sitting in the back of their booths, half hidden from sight, reading or working crossword puzzles, and never giving their customers even a hello. I also saw those same customers, feeling unwelcome, leave those booths quickly.

It took me quite a few shows before I did much more than smile and offer a friendly “hello” to people who came and looked at my art. A few more shows and I was doing so comfortably, and carrying on conversations. Now I feel confident approaching any visitor in my booth, and talking to them about my art. After all, photography is my passion, and who doesn’t love to talk about their passion with willing listeners!

You can teach an old dog new tricks! Or learn how it is possible for an introvert to be an artist on the art festival circuit!

Part 5–the wrap up.

If you have any questions about showing art at art festivals, or would like to know about a different aspect of art fair circuit routine, feel free to contact me. Use the contact form in the menu.

Filed Under: Solopreneurship Tagged With: , , ,

Making of an Artist: Part III – Learning as You Go

February 15, 2011 by 6 Comments
Ladder of Success

Climbing the Ladder

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers…
You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.”  ~Amelia Earhart

There is a lot to learn BEFORE you do your first art fair. Even though it’s a straightforward process to send in an application, get accepted, and show up on the correct date with a basic booth filled with art, there are plenty of daunting details.

But after a year of doing art fairs, I’ve discovered that there are always new lessons to learn DURING every show, too. It’s called “on the job training!”

Here are a few of the lessons I learned from the first shows I did:

Show #1: Only do juried shows. In a non-juried show, anyone who pays their booth fee can be in the show. Usually these shows are described as “arts and crafts” fairs. There is little to no quality control in a non-juried show. My booth was arranged with framed photography. It was situated across from a great-grandmother, a very enthusiastic and energetic woman, who was selling her hand made crocheted Barbie doll clothes. The craftsperson to my left had stamped white skulls and crossbones onto a wide variety of leather goods. They were…good conversation starters. Another vendor (who deserves no “artist” or “craftsperson” title) had imported a wide variety of trinkets, toys, and woven mats. Everything sold for less than three dollars.

My art was NOT a good fit.  I sold one set of cards the entire day — to a student photographer who asked many questions about the “how to’s” of doing art shows. It was painful, no kidding, but there was a bright side, too. We learned to do our set-up with absolutely no pressure. When we were a half hour late getting the booth ready, no one cared.

Lesson Learned: There IS a good time to do a non-juried show — the very first time out when you are a true newbie.

Show #2: No matter what the weather forecasters have predicted for the weekend, take your severe weather gear. All of it. The puffy clouds may turn into a cloudburst, with accompanying 50 mph wind gusts. The most important part of the art booth is a quality tent and canopy that is weighted and secure.

During the storm that appeared out of nowhere, Sherpa and I each hung on to a tent cross bar until the worst was over. The next week we bought enough lead weight to put 75# on each corner. Now my tent doesn’t move when the thunderstorms roll through. As far as tents and safety go, weights are essential. I didn’t quite understand how important this issue was until I saw my first air borne tent, my neighbor’s tent — which he abandoned when he sought shelter in his truck — crash landed too close for comfort.

Lesson Learned: Prepare for any kind of weather. Have a quality tent and weight it appropriately.

Yep, Neighbor's Fallen Tent

Yep, It’s the Neighbor’s © 2010 Bo Mackison

Show #3: If you are doing a summer show, even in a state with a moderate climate like Wisconsin, prepare for hot weather. Really hot weather. Sooner or later, it will come. Bring water and plenty of it. Bring fruit, especially grapes which are easy to eat and not messy. Leave the diet soda and candy bars at home-especially the chocolate!

I also longed for a set of battery operated fans that attached to the crossbars of my tent. My neighbor artist had a few in his booth. Not only was he much cooler than we were, but his customers lingered longer looking at his art, a brief reprieve from the sweltering weather. And that’s always a good thing. Before the next show, I had invested in a couple of new fans!

Lesson Learned: Prepare for cold days. And hot days.

Part 4: More on the Job Training

—————

Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for the next eight weeks, exhibiting her photography in art fairs, taking photographs in deserts and desert gardens, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and learning to live on her own. Her mantra is “Bo goes solo!”

Filed Under: Solopreneurship Tagged With: , , ,

The Making of an (Art Fair) Artist: Part II – The Start Up

February 11, 2011 by 10 Comments
Sky's the Limit

Sky’s the Limit

This is the second in a five-part series about my first year’s journey on the art fair circuit. Part one described my initial questioning and seeking of answers.

It took me two months of questions, answer seeking, and second guessing before I decided to assemble a basic art booth and apply to area art fairs and festivals.

Interestingly, my biggest concern became not whether my photography was good enough.

By this time I had photographed a number of botanical photos, mostly macro shots, and I thought I could put together a cohesive show, rather like a garden gallery. I had photographs I liked, photographs I was proud of. And the botanical theme was a perfect fit with the business name I had registered a year earlier, Seeded Earth Studio.

There were other, more difficult hurdles that I was worried about.

The first hurdle was putting together a list of what I needed to make a professional looking booth. There were so many parts to the whole, and the list made me dizzy to read. Another concern was the number of show applications I needed to track. Organizational skills were not one of my strong points and the thought of keeping track of inventory, show applications, and supply orders was almost more than I could bear.

Another major worry was money. I needed to purchase a basic booth set up and inventory, plus pay for ongoing jury applications, booth fees, and travel expenses.

The first hurdle that I overcame was a big one — the money. By way of a small financial windfall from an unexpected source.

Sherpa and I have been avid fishermen for many years. We were never very successful, but we enjoyed fishing together several times a week.  We had an 18 foot fishing boat, just the perfect size for cruising the chain of four lakes in the Madison area.

But without us even realizing it, our habits imperceptibly changed. We began to substitute photography outings for fishing expeditions. More and more, our evenings and weekends were taken up with trips to the local gardens and parks, or road trips to check out photography locations.

When we re-assessed our leisure time activities, we realized we’d only used the boat once in the last year. It became an easy decision to make. We sold our fishing boat and equipment, and used the profits to start up my photography business. (It helped immensely that Sherpa is my most enthusiastic supporter; he thought it was great plan to switch from fishing to art fairs. We never were very good at fishing! And there is always shore fishing when the urge strikes.)

So now that I had money for the basic expenses, I applied to a few shows in Wisconsin and northern Illinois.  To my great surprise, the acceptances came in quickly. I hadn’t expected such success. In just a few weeks, I had six shows lined up from the end of June through the middle of September.

By then it was mid-May. I had less than two months to prepare for a summer of art fairs and festivals. And I had already committed to take a ten day college-graduation-celebration trip with my daughter to the Pacific Northwest.

It was at that point that real panic set in. So I did what made the most business sense to me – I packed and went on my trip with my daughter and we had a wonderful time. I knew all the art fair work would still be there when I got back. And they were…

Part 3: Learning as You Begin

————–

Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for the next eight weeks, exhibiting her photography in art fairs, taking photographs in deserts and desert gardens, and blogging about learning to live on her own. Her mantra is “Bo goes solo!”

Filed Under: Solopreneurship Tagged With: , , ,

The Making of an Artist: Part I – Talking to the Inner Critic

February 10, 2011 by 7 Comments
Shadow Tree

Shadow Tree © 2011 Bo Mackison

A lot can happen in a year. A whole lot!

Exactly a year ago, Sherpa and I went to the Tubac Festival of Art with a couple we knew from Phoenix. The woman had been an artist on the art fair circuit for 15+ years, and we asked them if they would come with us to the art fair. I wanted to walk the show, ask questions, learn the ins and outs of being an art show artist from an experienced show artist, from a pro.

I was at the earliest of stages of considering whether or not I might exhibit my photography at outside art fairs. I remember how overwhelmed I’d felt after walking the art fair for several hours. My friend had provided informal lessons on topics such as tent and canopy quality, and on weighting tents for the worst kinds of weather. I’d taken snapshots of canopies and attached awnings for sun or rain protection, of staking systems that held a tent firmly in place. I’d learned about different ways of showing my art — panel systems, grid systems, mesh systems.

I also remember looking at the many kinds of art that were at the festival. I kept looking…and looking…and looking.

Finally I gave myself permission to allow the tiniest thought to spring to life. It said: “I think I can do that!”

It didn’t take long before all the gremlins in my head joined forces and started spitting out their thoughts on the subject: “Ha, ha, ha! YOU aren’t an artist!” “You can’t make art that someone would pay REAL money for.” “You’re an introvert–you could never be a show artist. Why, you would have to TALK to people. Ha ha ha!”

“You can’t…”  “You aren’t…” You don’t…” Oh, those crazy voices in my head were so loud, so persistent.

I did want to share my art. I did want to see if I could sell my photography on more than just an occasional basis. But I had so many concerns, questions, fears, uncertainties. So many questions flooded my head!

Was my art good enough? Did I have what it takes to work the art show circuit? How would I manage the traveling, the overnights away from home, the packing and unpacking, the physical stamina required to set up and take down a booth, and work in the booth for two, three, even five day shows?

The last questions I asked were the hardest. Did I have what it takes to be an artist? Did I have any talent? Could I really be successful?

I returned to Wisconsin knowing I needed to give these questions some soul-searching thought. It would take me several months before I began to answer any of them.

Part 2: The Making of An Artist: Start Up

————-

Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for the next eight weeks, exhibiting her photography in art fairs, taking photographs in deserts and desert gardens, and blogging about learning to live on her own. Her mantra is “Bo goes solo!”

Filed Under: Solopreneurship Tagged With: , , , , ,