claybair on thu 8 dec 05
Sunday, a usually very slow day,
was surprisingly busy for me and
and a bit of a blur as I was pretty tired. (Hey,Sat. night I was
getting my Clayart fix and writing about the show
until 1am.)
I thought I'd be winding down but made nearly
what I did on Friday. When it was time to tear down
I was really dragging . Fortunately #1 came to
help & I was very grateful he did...but he knows I have
a method to my packing and tear down madness.
A second trip was not necessary.
Another good reason to stay local and within the 50 mile radius...
one Visa acct. didn't go through when I called them in today.
I looked up the person in the phone book and she's sending out a check.
Now let's talk turkey........(why are people so reluctant to say how much
they make???)
It appeared that the big ticket pieces were not hot items this time. One
painter didn't sell anything except some cards. Her prices weren't even
that high around $150 for a fairly large watercolor. Now her booth was awful
and she rebuked any offers to help change or fix it.
The mosaic person sold only one large item but said did well with her
jewelry.
The silk scarf lady said she had a good show. I don't know what that means.
The woman who makes canvas bags and always makes a
killing at this show said she did about what she made last year. She has a
huge customer base
that comes to buy as this is her only sale for the year. She makes at least
$5000.
Now she is grandfathered in to this show & at one time she ran it. Were she
to apply today
she'd likely not get in as she has someone helping with sewing. The glass
bead person said she did well
as did the other potter who is mostly making jewelry from PMC clay.
My friend Joe was down. I discount the people who say they did well or had a
good show because they are
not up front with what they actually make. Some are happy to make their
booth fee that's not a happy face for me.
I did about $2400. I had 7 $100+ sales and 1 $200. the rest were $7 - $70
range. Credit card accounts for almost half the sales.
I sure don't make enough $ to support a family or myself right now (well
maybe in a refrigerator box under a bridge) but though it would be wonderful
that is not my focus.
I've been doing a lot of thinking about why I do these shows
and about my goals as an artist, potter and person.
I hesitate to write about them as it's not a plea for affirmation or
pats on the back. I'm merely sharing my evolution.
My goal has been to turn everyday functional items into
works of art. If I were back being a bona fide arteest painting & making
woodcuts etc. I could
sell each of the prints for $40+ and the paintings for big bucks.
Here I am carving a mug like a woodcut and selling the original for $24...
What's wrong with this picture? Now if I were doing the same thing
on a tile I'd likely get more $ for them as they would be more recognizable
as "art".
So until I have similar name and media recognition as Chihuly
this is what it's going to be and I am ok with it.
Our Kurt Wild does it as do other potters... I'm just not there yet.
There are some pretty deep pockets in this area but I think this year
they were zipped shut.
The real issue for me is what I liken to layers peeling off as I mature
as an woman, potter and artist.
My original analogy was an onion with outer layers being peeled away.
Peeling off extraneous no longer needed protective layers to get down to the
firmer, richer essence
eventually reaching the green sprout which has the concentrated potential
for new growth.
Other's may be happier with an analogy of a rose... same idea but roses
smell much better.
I'm ok with the onion it's more dimensional as it can vary in flavor and
make some wonderful culinary dishes but can also sting & make one cry.
The more layers I peel off the more intense and closer I get to the real me.
Giving away those soap dishes
is not just to make others feel good.... it makes me feel good too & perhaps
a penance for my perpetual foot in mouth disease!:-)
Gayle Bair - falling asleep in front of the monitor......I should take the
hint!
Bainbridge Island, WA
Tucson, AZ
http://claybair.com
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