Living

[CR Schiefer <schiefer@zzzzzzzzzz>]

Hi Im going to talk a little about somthing ive never seen on STONE and
thats Doing Art Fairs to sell stone sculpture. When i started carving
,in 1970 i was full time employed as a speech Pathologist  and when i
quit in 1974, i had done enough art fairs and sold well enough that i
knew i could make a living. I was the only person in the shows i did
who worked in Lime stone, alabaster, soapstone and marble.  I soon
learned that not all shows were equal-- like Craft shows were a
NEVER--- my sculpture just didnt sell , too expensive for one thin g,
Mall shows were also a never sell--- but good Art Fairs, i did really
well durin g the late 70ties , 80ties, and early  90ties. One can find
GOOD art fairs in different magazines that rate shows nationally- Like
Sunshine Artists. I usto do shows from Central Park  new York to 8 or 9
in Miami  , and 6 or 7 in C hicago.  To do a show, if your interested,
you will need 9 or 10 work\s that you can carry. --pedistals to set
them on--color slides or them and a group slide that shows what your
booth will l.ook like. All good showsrequire application, with slides,
en try fee and show fee. My 30 shows yearly  are now reduced to 10 or
11 this year--its hard to set up my display with a ton of stuff, take
it down the first night , set it up again the next day -- etc if its a
3 day show -- i usta do Ann Arbor Michigan a 4 day show , from 9 in the
morning to 9 at night -- i hated it but sold well, so  it was hard to
stop, but i stopped 6 years ago. A private show peoson ruined Miami by
scheduling shows before or after the GOOD shows and people just can go
to so many shows. I had sold big works at shows $3 to $ 4000 The city
of Miami Beach actually bought one thats by there convention center==
so shows are not nickel and dime affairs. It seems that College trained
artists-sculptors feel fairs are beneath them. TOO BAD!!! Few sculptors
can work at home and hope to be discovered, and make the major art
magazines, and major galleries. I stopped doing consignments way back
when i left $10,000 worth of sculpture in a Miami gallery when i came
back north for the summer season ,and when i went back the next winter
--the dam gallery was a resturant, and it took a lawyer months to find
out what happened to my sculpture. He found  some of it in a lawyers
office(who said sue me if i wanted it back, he had thrown all he didnt
likme away, he had handled the bankruptch proceding)  so i lost it all.
NEVER consign unles you can check personally , on the gallery. LOTS OF
GALLERIES GO BROKE. and they needn,t call you so consigning i dont do.
I have a home garden show every year and pass out invitations at fairs
all during the year and mail out invites to  old costumers. Last year
was the best selling show in many years, and actually sold some of the
15 and 20 year old limestone works that were very dark with lichen
growth. They didnt want them made new looking, so there's no telling.
If anyone feels like going into shows more , emailme and i'll send my
phone so you can talk over stuff  c.r.schiefer