Fine Arts Festival - Brighton August 14th & 15th On Sunday the public address system coming from from the roof tops via a local radio station announced that there was a storm coming BUT it was not going to be much and the sun was shinning on the other side of those dark clouds. Then the deluge hit which included all the usual suspects of heavy rain, blustery winds, lightening & thunder. My booth filled up rather quickly then. I was in fact jammed with people……getting out of the storm, my card rack and about five inches of water. I was also holding the back flap of the canopy with one hand and had a death grip on a supporting canopy strut in the vain belief that I could hold it in that wind. Well the storm did pass, the sun came out, and while everything was still dripping the people came out of their holes and continued to browse without buying. Except for being wet literally up to my knees nothing much was damaged. I’ve been going through everything today. All I’ve found so far are water spots which wide off very easily. What a nice well organized show. They had a great shuttle service to & from the high school parking lot available at one’s whim. They had people to help by merely using a clothespin to hang a sign on the canopy front. On Saturday night they provided a picnic of sandwiches, salads, chips, and libation. The speeches were brief. The people & surroundings pleasant. There were no bugs! There are also were very few sales. There is a lot of trial & some error in show selection! I’m going back to shows that worked well for me over the last two years and continue to try shows to see if they’ll be good enough. The result is that I do well enough with new as well as repeated shows, but then I’ll have a ringer which generally means it costs me more to participate than I sell. And so it goes. I’ll narrow the field along the way. I won’t be back to Brighton, with regret. However, good or bad if people are out and come in I enjoy talking with them. Often they are photographers or want to be so the conversations can be interesting. I get to play teacher and often learn some things myself. This weekend at Brighton a photographer came in that had made his living as a photojournalist with assignments in Sarajevo & Rwanda when life was not very good in those two locations. He told some very harrowing stories. He is retired now to less stressful work.
Art in the Park - Holland August 7th I participated for the first time in Holland at their Art in the Park last year, and I was anxious to go back to this event again this year. I was not disappointed! I would hate to disabuse anyone of the notion that it is all about the art. The reality is that one cannot continue to drive hither & yon without at least covering the entry fees and the gas — at least sometimes. Well Holland was no disappointment on that score. I had my best one day sales ever. This included an order for three framed pieces which I sent along the first of last week. On top of it the folks who bought the framed pieces were very nice and we had a lot of fun talking as they decided which prints to have in their home. That felt good. Not just the sale, but the thought that this couple really wanted these prints, and their e-mail indicated that they were very pleased. Art in the Park takes place in a city park right across from Hope College so it is in the downtown area. The day was bright and sunny. It was humid. Does anyone remember what Michigan humidity feels like? Setting up a booth in the weather we’ve had ain’t all that much fun. But once one is settled and the show starts most of that is forgotten. I had some very nice neighbors in Jeff & Lisa who were marketing metal objects from jewelry size to as Jeff phrased it, ‘man art’ size. Jeff moved a ton of his hot dog—marshmallow—Jiffy Pop over an open fire ‘man art’ pieces. Lisa did the non-man art. All of it was very nicely executed. They live in Lowell. Look them up. The park really is canopied with very large trees so except for a brief period we were in shade despite the humidity.
Art in the Park - Petoskey
July 17th
Maybe I should have just packed up the tent and put it back in the car when I heard the gas generator running at Weber Lake State Forest Campground. I’ve camped there many times. It is a very pleasant little camp with a fine lake. Unfortunately the neighbors ran the generator not just to charge a battery but all night and all day. It was never quiet. I woke up at 3:15 AM as the generator was sputtering to a halt. It wasn’t five minutes and again the beast was beating out its vibrations thought out the camp. I never heard a bird, but I did hear their dogs barking and barking and barking.
The Chamber of Commerce who sponsors the art fair were really very nice people. They actually served a breakfast of pancakes, sausage, orange juice & coffee—with a side of Murdick’s Fudge if one so desired. I did! The set up was relatively easy when I did not think it would be all that much fun. Even tearing down and packing up as OK. There were even many people attracted to the fair.
It was unfortunate however, that the many people walking through the fair had their hands in their pockets. They did not take them out. Sometimes at shows there is just nobody even browsing. There were tons of people walking through and coming into my booth to reorganize my prints. They did it often and with vigor. However very few bought anything. I’ve been to enough shows now that just one look out into the crowd gives one a feel for whether they are buying or not by the number of people with packages. There were some, but not many.
Well it was my first try at this show, and probably the last. Too bad as Petoskey is so lovely, and I know several other places to camp. If you are up that way take the time to drive over from Wolverine along Wolverine Road which turns into Mitchell which takes you right into Petoskey. It is just so lovely in these rolling hills. It is just wonderful. I have traveled that route many times fishing out of Weber Lake Camp. I never tire of the trip.
The photography I included above sold to a very nice person from Okemos not three miles from my home. It might have been easier to meet at Denny’s!
