Selling Your Art or Craft at Community Markets and Festivals

Pumpkin Painting Event at a Fall Festival

You wouldn't believe how many people I meet who have some type of incredible talent simmering under the surface, hidden from view - maybe they take incredible photos, write heartfelt poetry, or create fantastic pen and ink sketches.  Yet they keep these talents hidden away from the world, thus preventing the rest of us from enjoying their craft.  Why? Usually it is either because they are not "ready" or have doubts about their talent or chance of success.  

If you have a special skill, aren't you meant to use it and share it?  Trust me, there are people who would appreciate it. So how do you begin?

Local community markets are a fabulous way to increase visibility, create awareness and name recognition and build your loyal customer base.

Painted Rocks

Begin by asking yourself the tough questions.  Will people spend money for what you have to sell?  Is it portable?  I'll spare you the story of the time I tried to sell hand-painted stepping stones that weighed a good 15 pounds at a flea market.  How many do you think I sold? Zero.  If someone had wanted to purchase this impractical item, they would have had to haul it 1/4 mile at least to get it to their car.  That being said, I have seen hefty yard art sell like hotcakes.  

How will you price your art?  Consider the time you spent making it and the cost of the materials. Consider whether the price will be reasonable to a potential customer? Ask the opinions of honest friends.  

Next, do a little research.  Most towns have monthly markets and yearly festivals. Make a list and determine application deadlines and cost. 

If possible, attend the events of interest.  Take photos of booth displays and advertising, and find out what types of payment processing systems are being used (and the cost of these).  Look at price points and what seems to be selling by looking at what items are being carried around the market by shoppers.  Do people seem to be there to shop or just to browse?  

Holiday Door Hangers Sold at a Christmas Festival

Determine cost of a display tent I, display materials, supplies to create your craft, and promotional materials. Figure out how much you would have to make to recoup these costs. Make sure the festival has the ability to attract a crowd.  Consider the cost versus the potential income.  Is it worth it?  Will it create a fanbase?

Once you make the decision to forge ahead,  do what you do best -  create, make, bake, craft!  Amass some inventory to sell.  At the same time, be sure to control your spending.  It's easy for me to lose control when I enter an art store, but I understand that if I buy lots of expensive materials to make my art, I'm going to have to sell that much more to realize a profit.

Buy your tent and carefully craft create your display. An inviting space for shoppers makes all of the difference.  Could you offer any small give-aways or a raffle?  Collecting names and emails for a raffle is a great way to build your valuable mailing list - which is crucial for building client relationships.  Create your brand. Write your story.

Holiday Door Hangers Sold at a Christmas Festival

Apply to festivals.  Make your offering unique and appealing.  Many festivals limit the number of similar offerings.  So if you make jewelry and there are 25 other applicants in this category, yours better be unique in some way.  

This is where the story of your product and branding come in handy.  Some events are harder to get into than others. Your booth photo, often a necessary component of the application, is very important - it has to look professional and welcoming. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Not being accepted is not a big deal.  

Don’t forget to market your event to everyone you know on social media in advance.  

After the festival.  Stay in touch. Your new fanbase mailing list may be the biggest benefit. It’s hard to put a true value on the connections and friends made at these events.  

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the downsides - unpredictable weather, wind storms (don’t forget your festival tent weights), ice, the disappointment of a cancelled event, the strenuous labor of set-up and take-down,  storing inventory, and the days when the crowd simply does not appear.  Don’t give up.  Try, try again.  I hope to see you out there!

I was a regular at arts and crafts festivals and markets in and around Cary, NC for years and I learned a lot., Please reach out if you have any questions. 

Happy creating,

Arianne 

Sociable Art Craft Event at a Christmas Festival

Don’t Give Up - Just Paint Over it!

 

New and Improved Daisy painting - 2019

“Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn” 

― Orson Welles

At a morning paint class a couple of weeks ago, one of the student artists blurted out, “I can’t do this!” in a tone of self-disgust.  With that, she dropped her paintbrush on the table and sat back in her chair in defeat. 

I see this reaction regularly, especially with children.  At almost every community art event, there is inevitably one perfectionist – a child who has set extremely high expectations for themselves and ends up in tears when the paint goes outside the line. 

In both these instances, the aspiring artist had a vision of how she wanted her painting to evolve, and the reality was not living up to the dream.  This moment that I see repeated often at my events, is a great opportunity to teach one of the greatest lessons about painting and a bit of a life lesson at the same time.  My response is always the same: “If you don’t like it, paint over it.”

More often than not, the dissatisfaction stems from one of two sources. Possibly you are expecting perfection.  There is no perfection in art, so stop. Art is not a science.  It is sometimes messy and freeing.  Let it flow. 

Maybe you are trying to replicate a style that is not your own.  You aren’t letting your own vision influence your interpretation. The solution might be as simple as giving yourself a chance to warm up, let go of expectations, set an intention, and get into the flow.  I find that it is good practice to do a preliminary sketch to limber up your creativity.  If you still find yourself at this moment of discontent, just paint over it and start again with a new approach.  Make it your own.  

Consider this; a painting, like our lives, is constantly in a state of evolution. Striving, reaching and never quite attaining are all part of painting and life.  Once you accept your lack of perfection and perhaps, inaptitude, your art will flow more easily and without struggle.  Try to reach a point, where you can say to yourself, I may not be one of the best artists and not everyone will like my work, but that’s okay.  My work is uniquely my own and valuable because of this distinction.

Did you know that it was and is common practice for painters to paint over their old paintings? Apparently Vincent Van Gogh also had moments when he was dissatisfied with his work and threw down his paintbrush in disgust.  Advances in technology have allowed us to see earlier, less impressive versions of the Mona Lisa underneath the famous masterpiece https://listverse.com/2016/03/06/10-hidden-images-discovered-beneath-famous-classic-paintings/.  

Many of my paintings also have years of layers.  I had a daisy painting that I created four or five years ago.  You can see the original version below.  It was nice, but I was never thrilled with it.  I painted it at a time in my life when all I wanted was simplicity.  I half-heartedly tried to sell it at festivals a couple of times, and then gave up. I changed the background color as new shades went in and out of fashion.  I sometimes hung it on a wall in my home. Other times it was getting dusty in a corner of my studio.  One day, I looked at it long and hard and decided to give it a new life.  I had not liked it, because it had no personality. There was nothing there that showed the character of the artist that painted it – me!

Orignal Daisy Painting - 2015

I repainted the background guided by my heart and soul and finally the painting was a reflection of my unique vision of the world.  

I left the original daisies and added color and elements that had meaning to me.  The painting sold very quickly after I finished. I even ended up having to paint another just like it for another client.  Why?  Because I put my unique personality into the piece. Before it had hung mutely on the wall, lacking significance and power.  After, I repainted it; it “spoke” to people.

So in short, your painting is not finished until it is sold and out of your grasp or until you feel a sense of completion.  Neither perfection, nor satisfaction should be your aim.  Be true to your own personal style and the message you speak with your paint.  

Happy painting,

Arianne

This is a repost of my article which was originally posted in 2019

How to Paint Like a Child; the Key to Fearless Creativity

 "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

Pablo Picasso

I sometimes have the pleasure of painting with groups of loud, energetic kids.  Cups of water get spilled, paint ends up in hair, and I have to raise my voice to be heard.  You might be surprised to know that I find this chaos refreshing and inspiring. Why? 

When was the last time you observed a kid under the age of ten painting?   Kids paint with reckless abandon.  They paint freely without expectation and without the inner critic judging their work.  Most of us have forgotten how to express ourselves in this way, but that doesn't mean we can't return to a state of carefree creativity.

Those of us who have weathered our share of years have become more cautious and unsure. We've all heard some criticism in our lives from ourselves and others. As a result, we've lost our creative confidence. We like having someone tell us exactly how to create our art step by step, so there is less room for error.  

That is, after all, why we like Sip and Paint classes.  Unfortunately, by removing the room for error, we also remove the space for originality.  It's time to find that child inside you and recapture that wild, untamed spirit.  Your art can only benefit from this approach.

Below, I've listed seven general behaviors that I have observed during kids' painting events that differ from our adult approach to painting.  Next, it is your job to create a painting like a kid using these behaviors.

1. Kids don't listen.  I'm up there talking, and the kids are polite, but they are not doing what I am telling them to do. They don't take instruction well.  I say, "Paint the vase white."  They proceed to paint it whatever color they feel like painting it.  Their artistic instincts have not yet been tamed. Forget about what you were told, do it your way.

2. They break the rules. They use unconventional colors.  They mix them in unexpected ways.  They use brushes in unpredictable ways.  Leaves that were green on the example painting become blue on their canvas.  They mix orange and blue which results in a muddy brown, but somehow they make it work.  They just choose the color that speaks to them. Go on, be a rebel!

3. They have the benefit of not having been taught "how to do it".  Technique teaches us that there is a right way and a wrong way.  We get bogged down by technique.  Kids have not had their artistic instincts tampered with yet.  They will use paint and brushes in ways that you would never consider and in ways that an instructor would never suggest.  Forget what you've learned and trust your instincts.   

4. They paint fast. They don't take time to think. They just act.  They don't stop to plan.  There is none of the hesitation that comes with self-doubt.   if I expect an event to last an hour and a half, the kids will always be done in less than an hour. Try painting quickly without thinking.  For inspiration watch MarsupialPudding speed painting a night sky on YouTube.    Don't think, act!

5. They are Fearless. They don't worry about the outcome before painting a flower stem, they just do it.  If they don't like it, they just paint over it.  They are not afraid.  They make lots of mistakes.  They are comfortable with it.  To them, it is called learning. Be fearless.

6.  They don't imitate.  Their goal is to express themselves.  When this is your aim, you create original art.   For the most part, they still don't mind being different.  Unlike adults, they don't wish to create a carbon copy of my art.  After all, they see the subject differently, because they have not lost their artistic eye.  They see it with no preconceived notions of how it should be. Originate, don't imitate.  

7.  They don't judge themselves harshly.  When they are finished, they are generally happy with their work.  They did not enter the exercise with the kind of expectations that adults put on themselves.  No one has classified them yet as artistic or unartistic.  This is what Picasso meant when he said, "all children are artists".   Be your kindest critic.  Give yourself a break.

So go ahead and be fearless.  Paint like a kid.  I think you'll be pleased with the results as long as you silence that annoying inner critic.  If you are interested in the topic of children and creativity, you can find more interesting information on this page on the Family Education website.  

This is a repost of a 2016 blog by me.

Gyotaku Fish Prints & Mural in Wilmington, NC

 

Making a gyotakui fish print

"Gyotaku (魚拓, from gyo "fish" + taku "stone impression", fish print(ing)) is the traditional Japanese method of printing fish, a practice which dates back to the mid-1800s. This form of nature printing, where ink is applied to a fish which is then pressed onto paper, was used by fishermen to record their catches, but has also become an art form of its own.” Wikipedia

Let me start out by saying that I didn’t know anything about gyotaku prior to being tasked with creating a mural in a sushi restaurant, Tomiko-san in Wilmington, NC.  An image of one of these traditional fish prints was forwarded to me as inspiration for my mural, so I turned to the internet for a quick education.  

I had no plans at that time to apply ink or paint to an actual fish.  The scale of the mural was going to be too large for that.  I resorted to manufacturing a new mural technique to resemble gyotaku. Thanks to Chef James Nash, I also had an opportunity to create several fish prints on paper during the project as you can see below. 

On the day before I was scheduled to start my mural, I tried my experimental “gyotaku” technique on the wall of my garage. I’m glad I did.  I tried a variety of materials, many of which did not work well.  The next day, I arrived on the job with a large roll of craft paper, a big brush along with several smaller sizes for detail, a sea sponge,  white, black, sepia, and ochre acrylic paints, and flow extender medium. I had plucked the sea sponge right out of the surf at Holden Beach the week before.

Gyotaku Fish mural at Tomiko-San in Wilmington, NC

My plan was to paint fish on large pieces of craft paper with a mixture of paint and acrylic flow medium and then to
press the painted paper onto the wall leaving an imprint.  It took some experimentation to find the right amount of paint to apply to the paper.  I had to work quickly or the paper would soak up the paint and dry. I used the sea sponge to add a little texture and movement in the background.

I had just finished one wall, when Chef James asked if I would be interested in creating a print from an actual fish.  I didn’t even hesitate to seize the opportunity.  When he walked out of the kitchen with a beautiful striped jack in his hands, I admit to feeling a little nervous about my lack of experience.  I set my reservations aside and reached for the paint.  He who hesitates is lost according to some wise person.  

Gyotaku Fish Prints by Arianne

I knew I didn't have the correct supplies.  I should have had ink and rice paper.  Instead I had a tablet of coarse heavyweight mixed media paper and acrylic paints.  Not ideal, but I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity. 

I decided to apply paint in a few varied and subtle shades to mimic the actual color of the fish. I took a sheet of my heavy paper and pressed it down upon the fish gently with Chef James watching over my shoulder.  I could tell the thickness of the paper was a problem.  I couldn’t get it to flex around the sides of the fish without creasing.  I avoided the eye, having learned you add that afterwards with a paintbrush. 

Gyotaku Fish Print by Arianne

The first attempt looked a bit messy and taught me
that cold fish sweat. You need to pat and dry your fish well before starting.  I made several more prints after that, refreshing the paint partway through. Each new print was better than the last.  I  wish I could have made more.

After adding the eye to each print, I could have finished right then and there, but I decided to take them home to fill in some of the missing areas and add a bit of detail with watercolors and a fine brush.

Gyotaku Fish Print by Arianne

I think they turned out pretty well for my first effort.  Everyone was also pleased with the way the mural complimented the aesthetic.  You can go see it yourself  and enjoy the finest sushi in town at Tomiko-san.   Learn more about Gyotaku here.  Interested in purchasing a fish print? Contact me here.

"Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson