Hal Giddens on thu 8 dec 05
Last weekend our guild, The Dublin Laurens Art Guild, had our annual Fall
Art Show. Our guild is a very small one but is growing well for a small
town. Dublin has a population of just over 15,000 and Laurens County has a
population of around 30,000. We have mostly painters, a couple of
photographers, a wood carver who makes these great little characters, one
who makes art using paper mache (her website is
http://www.dublinartistsguild.org/Profiles/CidWhite.htm) who I hope to get
involved into some clay work and myself who is the only potter.
In the past our show was held in the old post office, which was not ideal
due to two sets of steep stairs, which was hard for our older customers
and had limited parking. Also in the past the guild paid rent on the space
and paid for all expenses incurred in doing the show. This year we took a
different approach, as myself and a co-worker of mine were two of the
three members on the planning committee. One of the local businesses,
which owns a garden and feed center, offered us rent-free the use of their
solarium for our show. After moving a large amount of their items from the
building it proved to be an ideal site for the show. We only had 11
members displaying their art and 4 of them shared two different booths but
we managed to fill the building up. Our booth fee was $25 per booth.
Friday night we had a wine and cheese reception and yes we are in the
middle of the so called Bible Belt. An awning and a nice glass outdoor
table was left in the center of the building and we used it for the cheese
trays and a socializing area. The cheese trays were sold to us at a
reduced price form the local Kroger and the wine was provided by a local
package shop (that would be a liquor store for those not familiar with the
term) at 5% above cost and we were able to return any unopened bottles.
Soft drinks and bottled water was provided free of charge by the local
Coca Cola distributor. We had a very good turn out on Friday night and
most of the day Saturday. Late Saturday afternoon was slow probably
because of the Christmas Parade and Sunday was slow all afternoon. But the
event was a success. Everyone that the guild members talked to was very
impressed with the site for the show and encouraged us to hold it in the
same place next year which we will do if the owner is willing.
Sales were okay across the board any my sales were very good for here. I
sold 14 pots. Six of them were horse hair, six were raku, one was pit-
fired and the other was a stoneware bowl. Contrary to expert opinion
almost everyone I talked to loved the different types of pottery that I
do. Also I have some work at a couple of galleries in north Georgia and
they also like the fact that I do different types of pots so I will keep
making them.
Our next show will be on St. Patrick=92s Super Saturday and will be held in
the new Farmers Market which is being built downtown. The building has 24
12 x 12 booths and we will have to get some other south Georgia artist to
help us fill up the space. The site will have a couple of farmer=92s silos
that will be converted into restrooms and will also have a conference
room. The only nails, bolts or screws in the main building are the one
anchoring the build to the cement foundation. The rest of the building was
done using pegs like the old time farmers markets. Our event will be the
first in the new building and we are very excited about it.
Hal Giddens
Home Grown Pottery
1578 Rockledge Road
Rockledge Ga 20454
kenhal@bellsouth.net
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