The show was full of lots of prints and paintings and pottery, some of it very nice. The busiest places in the show were the food vendor stands. Seems like people were doing more munching then they were shopping. I didn’t see people leaving with any big items, mostly small things, garden art and such.

This artist had a very nice show, these were sculpted and used fabric. It looked like the base shape was laid down and it was covered with cheesecloth and the face and hair was built up from there. The towels are real towels that were stiffened to become part of the sculpture, these were very interesting. If I had a beach house I would hang these peices there. Off to the left you can see just a bit of the woman in her bathing suit, this was a wall peice, quite large that had 3 women from behind in their suits and hats ready for a day at the beach.

One thing I did notice consistently through out the show was how unreachable the artists seemed. So many of them were sitting way outside their booths, they did not seem approachable, like you would feel comfortable going up and talking to them. Booth after booth and I felt like they were all so detached from the event.

That is unfortunate cause in order to sell to people you have to connect with them. It is so important in a venue like that , that you put yourself out there in your booth, talk to people about your art, listen to their comments, even if you have heard them a thousand times before. Its that connection that draws other people into your booth and ups the chance of sales. When you sit way in the back or off outside your booth or have a demeanor that makes you seem unapproachable, tell me how does that make people want to part with their money and take a piece of you home with them? WHen you are sitting outside your space without a welcoming look on your face as if you would rather be someplace else, how does that make people want to come into your space and shop.

I am an artist and I have done shows in the past like this and I always try to be in my space and enjoy the viewers, and I felt so uneasy in approaching many of the artists at this show. Many of them might have lost the opportunity for potential sales simply by not interacting with their viewers.

There were a few vendors/artists working their booth, sitting out where people would feel comfortable talking with the artist and I have to say there was much more activity going on in their spaces than any of the others. Connecting and being available does make a difference.

I had to post about this as it seem so prevalent through the whole show and such a shame that they would miss such a wonderful opportunity to share their work with others.