Levis Commons 2010 - In Retrospect

Art shows are such an experience! I often wonder if I could live my life on the art show circuit - could NOT having a 9 to 5 job make up for the physical labor and worry it takes to do shows? Probably not, especially with my medium - if I had fiber or jewelry, something easily transported, and could fit everything I would ever need into a truck or van, I think I could handle it. OR if I was 20 years younger! ;-)

Anyway, I did participate in the Levis Commons Art Fair this past weekend, and did quite well! Despite a near washout on Saturday and being windblown on Sunday, it didn't seem to faze a lot of the shoppers, and of course, it doesn't harm anything I sell! All of the birdbaths are displayed outside of the canopy, so the display factor was increased Saturday by showing off how just well the birdbaths looked filled with water!

Saw some old friends (Rhonda/Ken and Janine/Jeff!)...and made new friends!....

And I really like to talk to the other artists - every one of them have interesting stories OR great tips on what they do in various situations (like how to keep your canopy's top from filling with water! LOL). I learn something new every show. With this show, I was somewhat concerned that our display was too "homemade" looking compared to everyone else's, but no one seemed to notice or worry about it - they were more interested in my work - as it should be!

I do have to mention The (Michigan) Guild of Artists and Artisans, the same association that organizes Levis Commons as well as the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair . When I saw all the rules and regulations regarding the show, I actually lost sleep over all of it! Yikes! What if "they" don't like this? What if "they" don't want me to have these things over here? Well, I should not have worried. Evidently those are just set out so if someone IS being inconsiderate or unreasonable, there is something in writing.

Actually, everything was well organized (and VERY well advertised, so I stopped whining so much about the cost to be there). We always pack sandwiches and sundry food items for a show, but they had a very well stocked "hospitality" tent for the artists, with donuts, bagels, water, coffee, bananas (and my sincere appreciation goes out to a couple of local businesses, namely Andrew Z's- for providing PIZZA on Saturday and Max & Erma's for the WARM chocolate chip cookies on Sunday!), so we didn't want for much.

My work, as usual, didn't receive any awards, which is not surprising at an art show like this - there is just too much around I myself would consider extremely Fine Art, but it would be nice to at least SEE a judge glance my way once in a while! Hmmph...

 

Did have fun, nonetheless, despite the rain,the long hours, the wind, the dumb questions ("Oh, does this one hang?" - While pointing to a leaf HANGING up on the lattice... ), and getting thru the inevitable period of time during each setup and takedown where Hubby and I fight the urge to punch each other in the eye! (He's very organized; I'm not - need I say more)?