Mixed Bag of Tricks
Like anything in life, no thing is either good or bad except for how we perceive it. I just finished another show on Sunday and this one is/was a biggie for me. The process for getting into big shows is an arduous task. You need to have professional (I am getting there) slides, pay your exorbitant booth fee and the extra fee for the jury that looks at said slides, make your creations and you as artists look unique, interesting, but not too eager in a few short lines (haiku helps with that) and stay abreast of other artist's feelings about whether a show is good, bad or just plain ugly.
We met all the criteria for getting into this extravaganza but come to find out, the old girl just ain't what she used to be. Kermezaar used to be THE premier show in the Southwest. Artists came from all over the place to be in this show. Times have changed and so has the show. Management or the show promoters now are a group of well-heeled elder women who sit on the board of the El Paso International Museum of Art. These women who volunteer their time and money to make this show a so called 'success' have no clue whatsoever what it means to be an artist, especially an artist that makes a living off of their art. Sadly, their patronizing attitudes and resistance to any suggestions for change are killing what once was a glorious event. As one of our elder artist vendors who has done this show for twelve years said at the artist's confab, "If you guys don't do something none of the artists who travel hundreds of miles to do this show will not come back and you will kill this goose!" Many local artists suggested that a vendor, an artist that makes their bread doing shows sit on their board. "We do have artists on our board!" was the haughty answer. (Come to find out, those artists are nice, elderly ladies that do art demos during the shows and not us folks that set up booths, work hard at our craft, and depend on these shows to survive, literally.) Nothing was as it seemed, all of the information in our packets changed or was incorrect. We couldn't park our trucks and trailers where we were told to park them, they nickeled and dimed us for every little thing and worst of all, they acted as if they were doing all these fine artists a favor . Some good folks who did some amazing photography were in the booth next to us. They had traveled clear across Texas from the Louisiana border, a long, long drive and they were soul and grace personified. The husband, a fine old gent commented to me, "I knew the personality of this show when I turned in my required $50 dollar donation (note: why call it a donation?) of art to them and the ladies behind the counter brushed me off with a quick, "I'm busy, put it over there and I'll get to it." " This is the most artist unfriendly show I have ever done" was his last comment to me as we were all packing up to leave. It is a sad, sad commentary on what had once been a amazing show. I will quit my belly-aching and tell you the good stuff.
All of the juried shows have artists as judges that go around and JUDGE you, your art, your booth layout and design, and I'm sure, your attitude. We don't usually know who the judges are as they are really sneaky and quiet and we are hopefully, too busy to notice them. We (my partner Jan and I) don't usually pay that much attention to them anyways as we have done enough of these shows to know that even if we consider our booth (and we get mucho positivo comments all the time from customers) delightful, creative, colorful and just plain old wonderful, it is also a bit too funky and edgy for most shows or show judges as our gypsy souls shows throughout. Only the categories that have 10 or more entrants even get judged and we always get judged because their are a plethora (I like to use that word when I get the chance) of jewelers in any of the shows and they always lump us together unlike distinguishing other types of art, i.e. watercolors, acrylics, oils, etc. Fine gold and precious stone jewelers are in with us bead and wire jewelers. I don't think they like that much either but that is the way the shows do it. Anyway, your chances of winning a top award as a jewelry booth is somewhere between that 'snowball in hell' and 'it would be a miracle'. Lo and behold! It was a miracle, WE WON!!! A Texan always starts a brag by saying, "Now, I'm not bragging but..." Hey, I'm bragging on us!, We got the big ass ribbon, the $50 certificate for next year's booth fee (helped make up for that 'donation' I talked about before) and of course, Braggin' Rights which shouldn't be underestimated. We were as proud as a bluetick hound with a new litter of pups!
Now, after all that grouching about how the promoters treated the artists, we did have a great show but that wasn't in any measure due to them, it was our hard work and efforts. The background music at the show put you to sleep, the turnout by the public was dismal, most of the artists there were not happy campers but we had a GREAT show! We raked in the bucks, we sold left and right (mostly lepht), we rocked! Those few folks that did show up went straight to our booth, it was packed most of the time. Jan and I promote ourselves, we keep a mailing list of regular customers, we send out postcards and hand them out at preceding shows, we are incredibly nice to any and all and our stuff speaks for itself.
On Sunday, I had a very painful incident, a back spasm with paralyzing pain. It was near the end of the show and I had to call mate Cecil to come and help Jan tear down. I kept it fairly together until all my stuff was packed as I am one of those particular, very picky persons that has to have things just so and am especially so when it comes to my art. I want it packed right and I was helpless as a worm on hot pavement. Cec, bless him, was patient and didn't get too frustrated with my demands. He has seen this happen to me a couple of times before and only when I was tired, not sleeping well, and stressed. I had worked the show a week before and didn't get much rest for this one as I needed to make more stuff to have a good inventory of my art. Jan, bless her too, had to manage the booth most of the day. Anyway, that was the worst thing that happened and as soon as I hobbled into my bed, got some stir fried brown rice and vegies from Cec, a good nights sleep and a few naps on Monday, I am doing good, just a bit twingey and the pain is gone back to whence it came.
It was good, it was bad, and it got kinda ugly there at the end but all in all, it was another experience that taught me mucho. I am very grateful today for being, as my Dad always says, "On this side of the dirt..."
And to end this ramble, I had planned on digital photos of the booth, the big ass ribbon and some of our customers but I planned that on Sunday and it didn't happen as the pain got in the way. Instead, here is a bracelet that I sold, double strand, artist lampwork beads by friends Debbie Thomas from San Antonio and Karen Cascio, El Paso, wire beads and beaded circles by SooZen and silver beads from Bali. As you can tell, I love bracelets, I always wear at least two and sometimes more. I am a gypsy, after all...
We met all the criteria for getting into this extravaganza but come to find out, the old girl just ain't what she used to be. Kermezaar used to be THE premier show in the Southwest. Artists came from all over the place to be in this show. Times have changed and so has the show. Management or the show promoters now are a group of well-heeled elder women who sit on the board of the El Paso International Museum of Art. These women who volunteer their time and money to make this show a so called 'success' have no clue whatsoever what it means to be an artist, especially an artist that makes a living off of their art. Sadly, their patronizing attitudes and resistance to any suggestions for change are killing what once was a glorious event. As one of our elder artist vendors who has done this show for twelve years said at the artist's confab, "If you guys don't do something none of the artists who travel hundreds of miles to do this show will not come back and you will kill this goose!" Many local artists suggested that a vendor, an artist that makes their bread doing shows sit on their board. "We do have artists on our board!" was the haughty answer. (Come to find out, those artists are nice, elderly ladies that do art demos during the shows and not us folks that set up booths, work hard at our craft, and depend on these shows to survive, literally.) Nothing was as it seemed, all of the information in our packets changed or was incorrect. We couldn't park our trucks and trailers where we were told to park them, they nickeled and dimed us for every little thing and worst of all, they acted as if they were doing all these fine artists a favor . Some good folks who did some amazing photography were in the booth next to us. They had traveled clear across Texas from the Louisiana border, a long, long drive and they were soul and grace personified. The husband, a fine old gent commented to me, "I knew the personality of this show when I turned in my required $50 dollar donation (note: why call it a donation?) of art to them and the ladies behind the counter brushed me off with a quick, "I'm busy, put it over there and I'll get to it." " This is the most artist unfriendly show I have ever done" was his last comment to me as we were all packing up to leave. It is a sad, sad commentary on what had once been a amazing show. I will quit my belly-aching and tell you the good stuff.
All of the juried shows have artists as judges that go around and JUDGE you, your art, your booth layout and design, and I'm sure, your attitude. We don't usually know who the judges are as they are really sneaky and quiet and we are hopefully, too busy to notice them. We (my partner Jan and I) don't usually pay that much attention to them anyways as we have done enough of these shows to know that even if we consider our booth (and we get mucho positivo comments all the time from customers) delightful, creative, colorful and just plain old wonderful, it is also a bit too funky and edgy for most shows or show judges as our gypsy souls shows throughout. Only the categories that have 10 or more entrants even get judged and we always get judged because their are a plethora (I like to use that word when I get the chance) of jewelers in any of the shows and they always lump us together unlike distinguishing other types of art, i.e. watercolors, acrylics, oils, etc. Fine gold and precious stone jewelers are in with us bead and wire jewelers. I don't think they like that much either but that is the way the shows do it. Anyway, your chances of winning a top award as a jewelry booth is somewhere between that 'snowball in hell' and 'it would be a miracle'. Lo and behold! It was a miracle, WE WON!!! A Texan always starts a brag by saying, "Now, I'm not bragging but..." Hey, I'm bragging on us!, We got the big ass ribbon, the $50 certificate for next year's booth fee (helped make up for that 'donation' I talked about before) and of course, Braggin' Rights which shouldn't be underestimated. We were as proud as a bluetick hound with a new litter of pups!
Now, after all that grouching about how the promoters treated the artists, we did have a great show but that wasn't in any measure due to them, it was our hard work and efforts. The background music at the show put you to sleep, the turnout by the public was dismal, most of the artists there were not happy campers but we had a GREAT show! We raked in the bucks, we sold left and right (mostly lepht), we rocked! Those few folks that did show up went straight to our booth, it was packed most of the time. Jan and I promote ourselves, we keep a mailing list of regular customers, we send out postcards and hand them out at preceding shows, we are incredibly nice to any and all and our stuff speaks for itself.
On Sunday, I had a very painful incident, a back spasm with paralyzing pain. It was near the end of the show and I had to call mate Cecil to come and help Jan tear down. I kept it fairly together until all my stuff was packed as I am one of those particular, very picky persons that has to have things just so and am especially so when it comes to my art. I want it packed right and I was helpless as a worm on hot pavement. Cec, bless him, was patient and didn't get too frustrated with my demands. He has seen this happen to me a couple of times before and only when I was tired, not sleeping well, and stressed. I had worked the show a week before and didn't get much rest for this one as I needed to make more stuff to have a good inventory of my art. Jan, bless her too, had to manage the booth most of the day. Anyway, that was the worst thing that happened and as soon as I hobbled into my bed, got some stir fried brown rice and vegies from Cec, a good nights sleep and a few naps on Monday, I am doing good, just a bit twingey and the pain is gone back to whence it came.
It was good, it was bad, and it got kinda ugly there at the end but all in all, it was another experience that taught me mucho. I am very grateful today for being, as my Dad always says, "On this side of the dirt..."
And to end this ramble, I had planned on digital photos of the booth, the big ass ribbon and some of our customers but I planned that on Sunday and it didn't happen as the pain got in the way. Instead, here is a bracelet that I sold, double strand, artist lampwork beads by friends Debbie Thomas from San Antonio and Karen Cascio, El Paso, wire beads and beaded circles by SooZen and silver beads from Bali. As you can tell, I love bracelets, I always wear at least two and sometimes more. I am a gypsy, after all...
posted by SooZen | 2:54 AM
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