Interesting state of affairs this weekend for art...

This weekend was my first show since December and I was a bit disappointed in the $$$. I did plenty of chatting and even had a few "art lessons " to throw out to the newbies, but all and all i did not see people walking away with much. The beauty of art shows is you get to connect with the public and if you have a story and something to offer that appeals to that perfect person, we have a bond and most of the time...a sale. Fool for Art @ JTCC was extremely organized and the people are always super...I blame the crazy economy...we'll see.
On a better note, this morning was rainy and cool but everyone threw on clothes and we headed downtown Breakfast at Perly's brought our suburban kids into an cool urban environment. We
had a great time and then we went to Plant Zero for the SPRING BADA BING craft show. I have to say how impressed I was with this show. It was put on by the Richmond Crafts Mafia which is a street team of ETSY.com. When we walked in we were given these great swag bags, kind of goodie bag from a fun birthday party. The Plant Zero location is an awesome room with red walls, black floors and white lanterns. It was filled with a happy buzz of shoppers and vendors and table after table of cool handmade art. To me as a consumer with the inside track to the art show circuit, it was win/win. From pincushions shaped like cupcakes and felt hamsters in nugget boxes...:) to handmade journals made from Nancy Drew mysteries and perfume that smells like Kuba Kuba yummy drinks. I love it!! I spent my $ from Fool for Art and then some! It is the little things that make a difference and EVERY booth had some sort of freebie. Soap, stickers, candy,etc... that makes for happy kids too. FUN DAY!

Getting ready to start the shows...

Ok, maybe I don't have to panic as much as I started to!
I put my artwork in boxes today to carry to Fool for Art at John Tyler community college and I have a great selection! WooHoo! I am working on a set of silk paintings that are chairs, inspired by Matt Lively's chair paintings. I don't know if they will be out this week, but definitely by Arts in the Park. I can't wait to get out and talk with some people and connect with the outdoor art show circuit again.
Planted some flowers in the front yard today and took a ass kicking kickboxing class this morning. It's been a good day!

Art show crunch...

It is always amazing that the week before a show I go into overdrive. I can't help it, i have been working along creating pieces of art I want to make and now i am making more production art.
My first outdoor show of the season is on the 19th, so this week I need to prioritize what I believe the buying public will be interested in. To me sometimes this action is like squeezing liquid from a rock.

VCU lecture with Rob Kalin of Etsy

Making Meaning in the Marketplace...a lecture sponsored by the American Craft Council
and hosted by VCU as part of a 3 part symposia at 3 major schools for Craft.
Sonya Clark, VCU chair of Craft/Material Studies, Kathy Emerson, owner of Quirk Gallery,
Rob Kalin, CEO of Etsy.com and Matt ? of Etsy, and Arthur Hash professor at VCU and etsian as well as exhibiting artist at Quirk.
The mission of this lecture was to find different ways as an artist to connect with customers and for customers to connect with them....does that make sense? rob kalin spoke a lot about setting your mind to make something...make it, sell it...short list. Eliminate the system that makes Walmart a huge fish and all the little fish get swallowed up....learn to be the little fish that become a bigger fish and scare the big fish away...SWIMMY by Leo Lionni....Love it!
1st ? Tell us how you percieve local marketplace vs. the internet of Etsy? Arthur Hash took this one...as an artist he gives certain exclusivity to galleries and etsy is more production work.
Makes sense to me, because part of being an artist in this climate is to also be a salesperson for your work. R.K. suggested there was no point to artist statements any longer, just write good descriptions and take great pics. K.E. suggested that etsy puts a monkey wrench into the mix for gallery owners because gallery owners recieve 40-60% vs. etsy @ 3.5%...Rob says...it's a free market economy. K.E. agrees the galleries haven't got it right yet, need to be more accessible. Making work that is more affordable appeals to this economy, making work that you can make a living from takes more finesse. Rob Kalin referred to a film Manufactured Landscapes by Edward ?
etsy as a tool kit to provide artists with the resources. Revolutionary!
Kathy Emerson referred to Richmond as "not a buying town" and looking for a venue.
In 2007 over 50 etsy sellers made over 30k. 96% of sellers are women....hmmmmm