Indianapolis

Yesterday we arrived in Indiana preparing for the Broad Ripple Art Fair. We have a very nice large hotel room complete with kitchen. This will make it easy to spend time on some new paintings for upcoming shows. The hotel we got on a Hotwire.com special price under $50 per night. Between Priceline.com and Hotwire.com, we have good hotel rates to keep expenses down (to make up for rising diesel prices). Our biggest expenses will be in Philadelphia and Virginia Beach. We consider the Virginia Beach Boardwalk show as part show, part vacation, so the hotel price is considered in that light. Our room overlooks the booth tied to the railings on the beach and allows us to dolly our artwork nearby.

Last weekend was in Birmingham, MI and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. The crowds were enjoying the weather and strolling the art show. I can't say it was a great show sales wise. Some artists had an excellent show -- one glass, one 3d mixed media and I am sure the "imported" clay flowers sold very well. Unfortunately the shows don't realize that importers are starting to enter the fine art shows and are getting accepted (even under Zapplications).

This is a big pet peeve of mine, but I don't think I can complain unless I print out the imported websites and mail it to the various show directors. I am not sure how to handle this without causing a major issue. I believe if I can print out the various websites that are selling these items to wholesalers and are not created by the exhibiting artist, then the problem will become theirs to investigate.

I love the Birmingham area and hope the sales will enable us to try once again.