Today I am resting and recovering from this weekend's art show Art in the Pen, held in Skipton and I felt to share with you a little about the process!
Here's a quick video tour of my pen....previously a cattle pen as the event is held in a cattle mart, which, for the weekend, is turned into over 200 mini art galleries by artists and makers from across the country! Moo!
It was so good to be back at an art show....my only one of the year, well, of the past TWO years in reality.
Most art shows have an application process where you fill out a form and send high quality digital images of your work. There is then a judging/sifting process and you wait anxiously, hoping to hear you have been accepted. Then the whole deposit/stand fee process kicks in. But it is the design and set up of the booth/stand that is the biggest bit for me.
Some of the things you need to consider are:
the likely flow of people around the event and how your stand will be approached.
Is it a space for people to view as they walk past, or a space to step into?
having an large eye-catching piece to stop people in their tracks!
then something to entice them in, create curiosity. Maybe a browser to flip through, an interesting layout, a variety of sizes of work and ideally products that encourage closer inspection.
consider the size of your works and how best to display them, with some breathing space around them, rather than a chaotic or cramped display.
the style or mood of display you want to achieve, related to the artwork.
how to lead the eye around your space, with different areas of interest.
the practicalities of hanging/displaying your work, the backdrop, table coverings, stands, props, lighting etc
how will you manage to transport, carry and set this up, especially if you are going solo.
handling the sales, having packaging to hand, a card machine, a way to safely handle cash for small items etc.
Most of this was a bit of an obsession for me for many years, long before I became a professional artist, in my former natural soap business. The 13 years of experience in this has really helped me in my recent art show design and planning.
Of course, on top of all this this the presentation/finish and pricing of your work and the ability to sell your work. This requires a feel for who to leave alone to browse and who to chat about your work with and to learn about your customers and their tastes, decision making process, price points and so on. It is a fine art in itself and a whole new journey for me. Every day selling is an education!
If you are also on this journey, or planning to be in the future, do contact me. I am alsoways happy to help other artists achieve their dream, in whatever small way I can.
Join me in the Creative Hands Tribe, my facebook group, where I do a Live Q&A every Monday at 5.45pm gmt, where you can ask me anything!
Below is "Summer Back" one of the paintings now settling into it's new home since Art in the Pen. This has been the star piece for a couple of years now and features on my business cards!
KM 16/8/21