Lessons Learned: Outdoor Show Challenges

This weekend, I'm participating in the King Mountain Art Fair in Woodside, CA.  It's a very nice wooded location but this means that there can be obstacles with trees and hills.  When I checked out the show, I was a little worried to see that some artists had their booths on plywood.  And, when I received my artist packet, I was a little concerned when the organizers suggested bringing a shovel, rake and pruning sheers as well as offered that you could purchase pine shavings as ground shavings.  So, I decided to check out the space, which is pictured below.

You can see the angle of the slop in the background.  Fortunately, we were able to set up early and thought we made progress until we actually set out the glass.  Here's a few lessons learned:

• In a place like this, you can dig out the dirt to make the booth level rather than add shims (block of wood that raise up the tables).  I had tried using shims but it was really unstable.
• Even though the tables "look" level, it helps to actually measure with a level.  There were some issues with the glass wanting to slide in the direction of the slope when we set out the glass, so my husband had to do some last minute digging and I had to prop up some of the glass.
• It helps to put some sort of ground covering on top of the dirt.  I used folded tent sides under the table but I would consider getting a rug.  I would suggest Mad Mats, which are made from recycled plastic and can be washed off with a hose.
• And, if you notice the photo above, there's not much sun in the booth location, so I rented lights to highlight the transparency of the glass.
• We played around a bit with the lights and found that the best way to highlight the transparency is to aim it at the tent sides and let it bounce back. 
• Finally, it's important to be flexible with your booth layout.  I had to rearrange my normal layout based on what I was able to do with the tables (and how slanted they were).

And, here's the set up booth with the lights and revised set-up.  I'm very happy with how it turned out as the glass really stands out.  The lights give it a nice sophisticated touch.

Booths are one of those things that are constantly evolving.  Mine has not changed that much but I have plans for a booth upgrade next year.  I'll post photos when I change it.  In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for improvement, let me know.

New Fused Glass Pattern Bar Bowls & Plates

I've been busy stocking up and trying to make larger pieces in preparation for the Association of Clay and Glass Artists (ACGA) show earlier this month (this was the show that I posted about earlier with the live jury).  Here's a few pieces that I made within the past month.

The first is a commission piece for a friend of mine:

I liked the look of the blue and green combination, so I decided to expand on it using both the progressive and bookend pattern bar techniques:

I also made another bowl using the black/grey/red combination.  I tried in the past to make a fused glass plate using black/white/red but found that a little challenging since the black and white combination make pattern bar work much more difficult (black fires softer, while white fires harder).

Keeping the black/red combination going, I made a fabulous 12" plate using the bookend pattern bars across and down.  It's difficult to see but there's a dark red strip about 2/3's of the way down.

This was also difficult to photograph.  If I put it against the light, the colors are a little too bright.  The following two photos give a sense of that (bright colors) but turned out much better than the photo above did when backlit.

The ACGA show turned out to be a great show, so all the trouble of the live jury was worth it.  The quality of the work was very impressive, especially considering that there were about 160 clay and glass artists only.  It was inspiring to see the breadth and variety of clay and glass work.

Now that it's over, I have three more pattern bar blocks that I'll be cutting up this week, so I'll be posting some new work in the upcoming months.  The color palate will be new for me - a little more muted or fall type colors - blues & grays and ambers & greens.

Let me know what you think and if there are any color combination or designs that particularly strike you.

Fused Glass Success! Persistence with Live Jury Pays Off

In a previous post, I mentioned that I participated in a live jury (without success) to become an exhibiting member of the Association of Clay and Glass Artists (ACGA).  Well, a few months ago, I juried for the second time and got in!  I'm thrilled - partially because it is not easy to jury in and partially because of the quality of the other exhibiting members.

Much of my exhibit remained the same as before but I also added in a few new pieces (below), substituting for smaller pieces.

I've been a little kiln challenged making larger pieces and I'm in the process of addressing this - step 1: buy larger kiln - done!  Step 2: adjust firing schedule - still working on this part but I think I'm there :)

I have a few more pattern bar projects in process and will hopefully post photos once they're done.  In the meantime, persistence is a good thing when venturing into new glass work although I am beginning to dislike the term "trial and error".

Live Jury Experience

In my prior post, I mentioned part of the reason that I was creating new work besides just overall interest in the technique was for a live jury that I had this month.  Normally, jurying just involved submitting photographs but for this jury, each candidate had to select 8-12 pieces that they would set up on a 6' table.  The jurying took place at Fort Mason, San Francisco and all the artists had to be set up by 7:00 pm.  Then we had to clear the room (a waiting area was provided) and come back at 9:30 pm to pick up our work.  Fortunately, I live in Oakland, so it wasn't too difficult to travel back and forth.  However, some artists drove from Chico or Los Angeles and had to spend the night.

Here's what my table looked like:

While, its a little hard to see each item,  this give you an idea of my display and set up - symmetrical, on white, with lights behind the three main pieces, which was a nice effect as I didn't get the benefit of being in front of the window once the sun went down.

Unfortunately though, I was not accepted to be an exhibiting member.  The feedback was that while the judges appreciated the technique, they wanted to see a deeper exploration in terms of form.  I should mention that the jury was made up of ceramicists and glass artists, so for a ceramicist it's much easier to have different forms of bowls, vases...etc.  Their comment was that my shapes looked similar, which was actually my intent.  I make plates and platter in the same shape so that they can be mixed and matched.

However, they encouraged me to apply again (next jury will be in October; although jury members will be different).  So I guess in the meantime, I'll be playing around with some bowls and possibly draping to get a vase-like effect.  If you have any suggestions for other forms, please let me know.  And, when I get around to taking close-up photos to put on my website, I'll include them in a post so you can better see the designs (or include a link to my website).

So You Want to Be A Fused Glass Artist. Part III: Determine How to Sell Your Art

For most people, if you decide to become a fused glass artist, you will need to decide how to sell your work. Why? First glass can be expensive. And, as you learn, you'll want to invest in more supplies and tools to help you create new pieces of work. Also, as you make more, you'll need to figure out how to get rid of all of your creations. There's only so much you can give away, so selling makes sense.

There are many options for selling your work. The main areas are listed below:

1. Online - This can be your own website or an online sales site such as Etsy. I notice many fused glass jewelers sell via online sites. However, effectively maintaining a presence on a site can be a full time job as you must constantly list and relist to be shown on the first few pages. There are also people who sell functional fused glass plates and art on online sites. While not as competitive as the jewelry category, relisting is also important. An important thing to consider is the pricing and quality of your work compared to what's listed on the site. Another option is to sell via your own website. However, for most artists starting out, it's difficult to have a large enough base to generate enough traffic and sales.
2. Shows - There are many levels of shows from local craft shows, to juried art fairs, to the higher-end juried prestige shows. This is what I choose to do. In my opinion, it's much less work than what is required to support an online shop (each show is typically over a weekend) and I enjoy interacting with my customers. My ideal show is one that is juried with a similar quality level of artists (about 150). Since I don't participate in many shows, I can be a little selective. I prefer local shows with overnight security (so you don't have to pack up every night) and where all the artists are grouped together on the main street (so you don't have to worry as much about having a bad booth location). If you decide to sell via shows, I suggest you visit them in advance to get a sense of the traffic and other artists. Applications are typically due 3-6 months before the show date and require a booth photo as well as photos of your work.
3. Wholesale to shops - this can range from visiting your local artisan shop to see if the owner would be willing to sell your work to participating in national wholesale shows that attract shop buyers. This isn't an option that I've explored mainly because shops tend to take 40-60% of the sales price. This is because the shops provide the marketing and retail space. Wholesale is a good option if you don't like participating in art shows or if you decide to make glass fusing more of a full time job. Wholesale can open up sales opportunities if you participate in national shows as these shows attract buyers from across the country. However, national shows also require a higher degree of professionalism and cost, especially in your booth presentation. You also should be sure that you can make and deliver a large volume of merchandise in a timely manner.
4. Galleries - similar to wholesale, galleries tend to take a 40-60% of the sales price. However, rather than buying the merchandise upfront, some galleries may offer your work on consignment, which means that you don't get paid until your work sells. Galleries tend to attract a higher end clientele, which is great if you create higher end work. It should be noted that typically what you sell through wholesale will be different than what you sell through a gallery. Gallery work is more one of a kind or limited edition art whereas wholesale work is more mass produced work at a lower price point. Selling through galleries can also help bolster your reputation.

There are many ways to sell your work. You need to find the way that works best for you. A couple questions to ask yourself:

• How much do you want to make and sell?
• How much effort you want to put into selling?
• Do you like interacting with people?

Hope this helps. If you have any additional questions or thoughts, please feel free to contact me.

What I Learned from East Bay Open Studios

For the past two weekends, I participated in East Bay Open Studios (EBOS) with over 460 other artists across the Bay Area. The event is put on by Pro Arts Gallery in downtown Oakland. Each artist gets a 20" x 20" space in the gallery to display their art as well as a photo in their printed directory (distributed via the newspaper and through the artists) and a web page that can house 8 photos, with a link to each artist's website.

As I'm fairly new to selling via shows, I am still trying to find the right venue and thought I would try this as it reaches a different audience, one that is more interested in buying art and supporting local artists. Since I live in the Oakland hills, my location is not ideal for someone wanting to visit my studio. Fortunately, I teamed up with 36 other artists to show at Jack London Square, a highly trafficked retail location in downtown Oakland, where there's a farmers' market and restaurants. Here's what I learned:

1. Showing in a large group (in fact, we were the largest of any group) helped as the size of the group provided a bigger draw. The group itself was very well coordinated and did a great job of promoting the event (e.g. group postcard, website, signage...etc.).
2. Mailing a postcard to and/or e-mailing those on my interest list paid off as I had people seek me out.
3. Having a range of items helped even in a venue where the majority of the artists were painters. This is because the group received a lot of foot traffic from people who were at Jack London Square rather than people who came from the Pro Arts Gallery or its directory.
4. Location is critical - Being at Jack London Square brought additional traffic; however, being in front of a dark maroon wall did not help in displaying the glass. Actually, the organizers tried to give me a good location - in front of a window and under a skylight. However, because the window also functioned as a display area, it had a fairly high maroon wall in front of it.
5. Having great neighbors makes the difference in the show experience. I was fortunate to be next to Gabrielle, who makes great metal jewelry (mangosteenjewelry) and thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with her and John :)
6. Most people who came from Pro Arts came to look for traditional wall art rather than jewelry or glass. In retrospect, this makes sense. When the majority of artists are painters and the event is put on by a gallery, most visitors are looking for wall art.

Overall, I am glad I tried out the show. While I met my sales goal, EBOS is not something I would do again. EBOS is for the traditional artist or painter and that's really what its audience is seeking. Unlike the other artists, I didn't have anyone mention that they saw my work in the gallery or directory and then came to see me. Fortunately, I was in a location with built in traffic and benefited from my own marketing as well as the efforts of the group.

Do's and Don'ts For a Mini Gallery Installation

I'm still trying to figure out the right venues to show my fused glass art and jewelry. This year, I'm participating in the Pro Arts Gallery's East Bay Open Studios, where over 400 artists in the Bay Area open their studios or rent out space to show off their art. The majority of participants are painters and then there are a few of us others who make ceramics, mosiacs, glass, and jewelry. All the participants receive a 20" x 20" wall space in the gallery to show off a sample of their work. Even though Pro Arts publishes a printed and online directory, about half of the art enthusiasts visit the gallery to see the work displayed to determine which artists they will visit. Thus, what is displayed on the wall is important to encourage studio traffic.

So, how do you display fused glass pieces in a 20" x 20" wall space? Here's what I learned.

Do's

• Go to the installation workshop. I learned a lot about what I could do and couldn't do which effected the final installation. As we need to repair the space afterwards, I couldn't actually install my glass panel as planned. I also learned that any jewelry needs to secure in a shadow box, again something else I hadn't anticipated.
• Consider enlarging photos if you can't display the actual work. Ritz Cameras was a great resource. I blew up a picture of my panel to 11" x 14" and it was done in an hour! They have large selection of sizes so that you could have photos that are close to actual. Mine was a little smaller because I wanted to have a more than one photo.
• Measure and sketch out the display design in advance.
• Take the time to mount your work. It's amazing how a black background really frames everything.
• Coordinate colors of your display. Backgrounds and frames should be the same color. Art pieces should also be in the same color family.
• Take advantage of all the easy ways to display your work - staple velcro to the wall and attach the other side to your mounted work (if it's light), use wire to hang jewelry and spray mount works as a great, even adhesive.

Don'ts

• Wait until the last minute to figure out the display design. Fortunately, there are places like Ritz that can enlarge photos in an hour.
• Buy items for your display online. Even with a layout in mind, how it finally turns out will most likely evolve as you are exposed to new options. Being able to see something in person gives you ideas of new possibilities. It's also easier to return unused items when the layout changes.

And, here's how the display turned out. What do you think? I'll keep you posted on the response, although the open studios aren't until June. However, there's an artist networking event next week, so I'm sure people will be commenting on the different items displayed.