Prepping for my 1st Art Fair!
PAST: I’m on the “newer side” to art experiences.
In the fall of 2019, I left my high school English teaching job due to chronic pain. Home-bound, I enrolled in an online abstract art class. I’d watch videos, try a new skill, and sometimes end up with a creation that I put up on social media as “for sale.” And bless my friends, family, and former students, many pieces sold.
This summer of 2022, I challenged myself to push beyond my comfort zone and get my art “out there” in public & in person. In July, I had a piece included in The Octagon’s Member Show and, in mid-August, I learned that I’d been selected as one of their “emerging artists” for inclusion in their big art fair. I’m honored and thrilled and… uneasy.
MY CURRENT QUESTION:
What will I need to do– in one month’s time– to best showcase my artwork at the Octagon Art Fair?
My old classroom teacher skills kicked in and I started think-through about logistics and how I’d want to lay out & show art in my 6×10’ tent space; next, my artist side went to the art itself, to “freshening” & “finalizing” pieces that I’d take; and finally to marketing, the pricing & sales. Daily, I’m moving among these three concepts, making progress in one while I drum up questions in another. Luckily, before I can get sucked into the land of Overwhelm, the clock ticks and I remember that time is short. I can’t get bogged down. “Urgency” energy is flowing and I’m making steady progress.
As I write this, I’m in mid-preparation and calm as it seems to be coming together. Old Teach can still simultaneously spin multiple plates, I guess. 😊
But what will happen at the actual art fair itself? When live people are looking at (or ignoring) my art in front of me? OK. I’m stopping. Not going there yet. That part will be what it will be. Feeling awkward isn’t the end of the world, right? and dare I hope for enough positive vibes to outweigh any negatives?
FUTURE:
I am planning to stop all painting by September 15 which will allow 10 days of cure time; with acrylics, that will be plenty.
I wanted to push outside my comfort zone and get myself in public with my art. That day and its experience will come soon but, for now and in advance, the element of time seems an important piece to my learning. How so? I’m not sure yet. My thoughts are like a bartender in the “muddling” process.
I have spent two years creating; one month preparing to present the creations; and the art fair itself will be a single day, narrowing even further to a 6-hour window for public interaction; then time will slam back into slow speed again, and I’ll be back to my regular creative routines.
Those time shifts feel like the part of the journey that is murky. Perhaps, post art fair, that clarity will come. To get through the art fair itself, I’m hoping that drink comes together and is strong.
September 10, 2022
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