Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Links

My friend Trayc Claybrook has a website and a brand new blog, All Day Painter.

Show her some love.

She alerted me to this blog: Accidental Creative.

From their "about" section:
THE ACCIDENTAL CREATIVE CO. is committed to bringing creative freedom to the masses! It is the age of creativity, and “cover bands” don’t change the world. You MUST find your unique voice if you are going to thrive.

And for some holiday fun, here's an origami Christmas card generator.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Art Fairs

I've been reading lots of posts recapping the recent Art Basel art fair in Miami.

Joanne Mattera, Edward Winkleman, Robin Walker, and James Wolanin were all there and have interesting and varied takes on the experience.

From their descriptions, it sounds like a very fun but tiring few days - a series of huge trade shows that feature art, art, and more art. Apparently fairs are the big money making events for many galleries.

I'm curious to know if attending an art fair would be beneficial to an artist who doesn't have work in one of the featured galleries? I imagine that it could be a valuable networking experience for an emerging artist. You would get to meet people from many galleries and see the work first hand. You would also get to network with other artists.

I'm just wondering if I should try to go to Miami next year...

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Another vanity gallery

I got an email the other day from a gallery in Montreal offering me a show. At first I was excited, but then confused because I couldn't remember sending any proposals to any galleries in Canada. After reading further into the email, I realized that they were just trolling the web, looking for artists to invite to have shows in their space - charging them lots of money for the privilege, of course.

Here are some highlights from the email:

ATT: Deanna Wood

We have viewed your work and would like to offer you an opportunity for an exhibition of your work in Montreal, for the year 2007/2008. Please find below the "Terms and conditions".
Visit the gallery website for additional information: www.gallerygora.com

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. Eligibility and Application Procedure
Gallery Gora invites you to exhibit in a solo or in a group exhibition.
Selections are made solely on the basis of artists' portfolios.
Please send to the gallery:
- Completed and signed application (see page 4)
- International bank/postal money order or bank transfer (see
"deposit" paragraph 3)
You will then receive a confirmation, an exhibition date and other related information.

2. Duration of Exhibition
The exhibition runs for a minimum of 3 weeks (at least 19 opening days, not including setup and take down time).

3. Exhibition Fee
A - Solo Exhibition
- Each artist can have up to 20 pieces of work depending on size
- The fee for a solo exhibition is US $2,400.00 to cover gallery expenses
- The gallery takes a 10% commission during the 3 week exhibition
- A deposit (25% of the total fee) is paid together with the application.
- The balance of the fee is payable 5 weeks prior to the exhibition date. The deposit is refundable in full if Gallery Gora cancels the exhibition.

B - Group exhibition
- The fee to take part in a group exhibition is US $250.00 for first work and US $150.00 for each additional work.
- The number of artists in a group show depends on the total number of works. The width of each work should not exceed 4ft or it will be counted as two works.

Exhibition fees cover furthermore:

Advertising and public relations
- Mention of the show in all weekly newspaper arts calendars in Montreal (when possible)
- A press release including an invitation to the exhibition e-mailed to a list of contacts (over 10,000) 1 week prior to the opening. Our contacts include the press, curators, critics, dealers, consultants and corporations, as well as a larger body of public members and buyers. If artists supply us with additional e-mail lists, we will forward the invitation to these addresses as well.
- Full colour invitation cards. If we are provided with a postal mailing list of addresses within Canada, these cards will be sent out free of charge.
Other advertising options are available at extra cost (see application form)

Reception
- On the evening of the exhibition's opening, the gallery will welcome guests with wine and other beverages.
- Gallery staff will be at hand to receive visitors throughout the exhibition and to organize corporate/cultural events and receptions whenever possible, whether the artists choose or not to be present at the show.

4. Commissions
- Gallery Gora takes a 10% commission on sales during the 3 week exhibition.
- All money due will be sent to you within 10 days of the sale.

5. Shipping
Artists are responsible for all shipping fees and procedures to and from the gallery door.

Yikes! $2400! That seems crazy. But apparently artists are willing to pay. They have a ton of artists listed on their website.

I don't know. Maybe it's just me. Would you pay $2400, pay to ship your work, let them take a 10% commission on any sales, and then pay to ship the unsold work back to you?

Friday, December 08, 2006

Interested in the wholesale marketplace?

I received an email recently from Daniel Waldman from Buyer's Market of American Craft:

I wanted to let you know about our Visiting Artist (VA) program, which your readers may find interesting. The VA program offers artists the opportunity to explore the wholesale marketplace before taking the plunge as a wholesale exhibitor. We have a MySpace page here:

http://www.myspace.com/visitingartist

Our full program schedule can be found here:
http://www.buyersmarketonline.biz/viarpr.html

Check it out.

Monday, December 04, 2006

December exhibits


Devour - collage, oil, and encaustic - 12" x 12"

I have work in two shows right now:

Seeking Shelter - solo show at the Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada
December 1, 2006 - January 30, 2007

Take Shelter 4 - collage, oil, and encaustic - 6" x 6"

Small Packages - invitational group show at the Cumberland Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee
December 2 - December 23, 2006

I also have work at Town Center Fine Art in Watkinsville, Georgia.

If you make it to any of those places, please let me know!