Another Rant
Just a heads up this may well be the ravings of a petulant painter type who feels picked on by “the man” (”the man” in this case being art fair officials) Anyone not wishing to get any bad juju from my cranky post should avert their eyes and wait until I blog about something more positive like baby bunnies.
The Warning
So the reason for my childlike tantrum? I received a “warning” for selling notecards at the Omaha Summer Arts festival.
I think it is a sure sign that I am getting older that I am seriously considering writing them a cranky letter.
The whole thing was rather confusing because the festival allows notecards to be sold but apparently I didn’t have the fact that I would be selling them reflected in my slides. (though I’m pretty sure it was mentioned in the actual written paperwork). Mind you the event does on-site jurying and invites a small high scoring percentage back every year. I have always been pre-approved with the exception of the first year (of course) and then again several years back when I tried the Des Moines event. After which I had to go through the jury process. But for the past several years I was automatically in. So the slides I had submitted were after the jury review and were supposed to be for advertising purposes. So of course there was no slides of notecards. Not that I have been asked to submit slides of notecards . . . by anyone. . . anywhere . . . ever.
I think bad timing had a lot to do with my being cranky about the whole thing. My booth was full, I had a couple of people standing in line wanting to buy something and there is Carly (I don’t remember her official title but she is sort of an artist liaison person) talking to my husband Mike.
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She is saying “You did nothing wrong, I just wanted to “warn” you that next year you need to send in an image of notecards.”
I’m like: “What? you want one of my slides to be of notecards? Seriously?” Okay I’m thinking that isn’t exactly going to impress the jury panel now is it. “Are we not allowed to sell cards?”
She’s like: “Yes you can sell cards but the slides you submit need to reflect everything you will be selling.”
I’m like: “I always thought that meant that if I sent slides of horses and lions, I’ll show up and display horses and lions, not say abstract landscapes.”
She’s getting frustrated that I am failing to grasp the elegant simplicity of what she is trying to tell me. Well that and my good mood is beginning to turn. She says: “It’s fine. Yes you can sell cards. I’m just “warning” you that next year . . . ”
Me: There’s that word again “Urrg”!
Just tell me why
The reasoning given that my slides need to accurately show “all” the stuff that I will be selling seems to fall a little short of logic for me. Now my neighbor is a potter and I’m guessing they will not need to send an image for each of his items i.e. teapots, platters, coffee mugs, bowls, dinner plates, rice bowls complete w/ chopsticks, oil lamps, table lamps, flower vases,cracker trays (ummm you get the idea.) Once again I’m feeling a little picked on in regards to being a painter.
The whole thing kinda gets my dander up. I think it is a sure sign that I am getting older that I am seriously considering writing them a cranky letter. (Yeah, that will teach ‘em a lesson.) Actually Omaha Summer Arts Festival has always prided itself on listening to the artists but the trend for art fairs lately is to push for more restriction on prints and cards for painters. I say for painters because as I have said in my previous rant on the subject, digital artists and photographers seem to be exempt from these rules.
Okay, so I feel somewhat purged at this point. I still think a cranky letter to OSAF may still be in my (an their) future though.
I hear ya. Some people are so picky about such silly things. I think sometimes they just like to feel important. Maybe someone else rubbed her up the wrong way earlier in the day. No excuse though. Write your letter!
Go ahead and write the cranky letter. That sounds like bureaucratic fussiness to me. If the festival’s going well, people are buying art and enjoying the art that’s juried in, what exactly is the point of notecards being something different from other sorts of prints?
All my life I’ve known professional artists make a good chunk if not the larger share of their income from print sales rather than originals. It’s why artists like you can take weeks and months on a splendid original that you’d never get paid a decent amount for as one sale. Notecards are a way that people who couldn’t really afford large prints (or have any wall space left) can still collect your art.
I hope they woludn’t have fits about it if some artists bring ACEOs to these things mounted in the typical archival top loaders instead of little frames.
hey Mona, not been around of late but just caught up with your latest post and read it to Nick. We agree, write to them Mona! : ) Melanie x
I love you Mona! I hear you, girl!
Thank you for putting in words all those feelings any painters with laborious approuch have.
And after all that work we have done we are not allowed for decent chunk of art festivals with possibility to have customer friendly priced items so we could compit with crafters and not to be
“that amazing painter…that is so nice to have you here… thank you for sharing your beautiful art with us… we could not ever afford it…but could you please come next year… so we could enjoy it again…We have really just $40-100 to spend today, so we love you, but we’ll go and find something affordable… so we could remember this beautiful art event… and our souvenir will be…ot that ceramic mug…or never numbered photograph, post card size” : )
You have to send exactly All your “Rants” about art fair reproduction policies + strange warning about cards. Just exactly like they look in your blog + other people comments.
Well you have all convinced me to contact OSAF on this. I will most likely wait until they send out there “How did it go and How did we do?” survey. Plus it will give me a little time to be less pissy about the whole thing.
Undaunted I’m sure your right that she had loads of stress from everything. I really didn’t take it as a personal attack. Just more like this is yet another way of limiting painters from selling competitively. And truthfully I really did struggle with the idea that she wanted me to submit a slide of notecards. I kept thinking “surely I am not understanding what she really wants.”
Robert For this year I sold only notecards and prints at OSAF. though in past years I’ve sold originals there. Not this year, but one of the many years I did the event I sold almost $1000 worth of cards alone. And yes it was mostly one or a couple at a time. This is the reason I don’t do original only events. Too much stress waiting for that “one”sale to make my trip worth while.
Thanks Mel and Nick I too have been absent from checking everyone’s blogs as well. Though did pop in yesterday to see the new Mawwell painting coming along beautifully.
Olga Big hugs! You are absolutely right. Painters need to be able to sell lower end items just like “everybody” else. Why they keep pulling the rug out from under us is totally beyond me. Actually it our conversations that inspired me to write the first rant. Can’t remember if I’ll be seeing you before, but looking forward to seeing you in Ames.