I finally have made my debut to art festivals in Chicago! Attending several art fairs year after year I have always wanted to have my own tent with my art work. What a great way to get my name out there to people I wouldn't reach through the current form of advertising, mainly word of mouth.
I applied to the two best and most prestigious art fairs in the area, to my surprise I was accepted at one of them. From what I was told by the other artists there, it was pretty amazing that Fountain Square was the first art fair I got into. I guess there are so many artists who try to get in and cannot. So that was exciting!
I found the festival to be quite different then exhibiting in galleries, as I have done for many years around the city. First of all the presentation of the art work is defiantly downgraded. I saw many photographers displaying and selling their work in cardboard mats! UGG! This will destroy the art work fast. I also found out that this is why a lot of the photographers have their stuff priced so low. Cardboard is MUCH cheaper then museum archival rag mat board. I decided regardless of what a lot of other artists are doing, I will still continue to use acid-free and archival materials with my photographs. This keeps me priced a little above the masses, but you get what you pay for.
Secondly, weather has a large contribution to an art fest. Yes, it was warm and sunny. Perfect weather I thought. But the wind was the real problem. Eleven artists lost their tents at the show and had to leave early with no tent and damaged art work. Luckily I was warned by my friend and client, Melissa Banks (http://www.raptinmaille.com) to weigh down my tent with 40lbs per leg; which I did. Although, I did lose one piece of art work. One of my favorites was blown off an easel and shattered. It was an old window with the original glass, no longer in tact and irreplaceable. But the good news, I sold my favorite and most expensive work of art. YAHOO
Having only one negative thing from the whole weekend I look at this as a success and will continue to apply for the art festivals in the future! Keep posted for announcements for upcoming shows! Heres an image of my booth and the piece that was sold titled "Enchantment"
