Another One Bites the Dust

I just walked in the door from the Englewood Fine Art Show in lovely downtown Englewood, Florida.  The weather was great and I came home with more money than I left with, so that's always a good way to end the show!  Also, it's around 30 minutes from home so I get to sleep in my own bed.  Another bonus.

The crowd was heavy on Saturday but sales were so so.  Actually, they were terrible, but as part of my new Florida revamp, I was committed to continue with my new madness.  This deserves some explanation.  Over the past year, I've been failing miserably in this market.  I was so used to being successful on the west coast, I just assumed that I would do the same here.  Can you say a big NO!  Anyway, I'm only going with the higher end work and leaving my normal slamming line home.  The results have been better but not great.  I've been able to make money at every show; it may not be a lot, but it is making money.  Nice.

 The local rotary club puts this event on and they do a great job.  They are organized, provide free beer and snacks on Saturday night, and bring in a decent crowd.  They estimated 5K on Saturday and I believe they were correct, and I'd say that there were probably around 3K today.  I believe they also spoke to the weather gods because we had a blue skies and around 85 degrees both days. It's why we're in Florida.

It's shaping up to be a very busy year for us.  We have another four shows in Florida in April, and then it's time to head north.  Our website is up to date, and we'll be adding a number of shows as we hear back from them.  See you in Florida or on the road!

Workin For A Livin'

Life is never boring for the us artist folks, especially those of us that do one-of-a-kind work.  It's either creating new work or even a new line, completing a commission from the gallery, reading endless articles to try and find that next great art show, maintenance on the truck or trailer, or doing some work around our house.  Truth is that I have a great life and I'm the luckiest guy in the world!

It's been slamming this winter at our gallery in Florida, and I'm getting ready for this summer's shows.  Looks like we'll be doing a lot in the upper midwest.  Check our website at www.cliftonmetalworks.com and click on the link for the show schedule.  Everything is current and there are a number of tentative dates and will be for the next few months while we wait to here back from shows and their decision on who gets in.

Back to the work.  Mackie and I have our gallery in Punta Gorda, Florida, and tourist season in full swing in southern Florida.  And, I'm doing an average of two art shows a month.  Eash.  Who the heck set this schedule?  If I find that person I'll...Ok lets go on.  You get the general idea.  The point is that you can be successful with your craft.  It's no quick rich scheme, but you can live comfortably if you're willing to put forth the effort.  Keep positive, get yourself around positive and creative people, and network.  Check out www.artfairinsiders.com for some great folks and good information.

The moral of today's story is to keep creating art and doing what you love!

Show Schedule

Woo Hoo!  We're starting to look at a full summer!  So let's talk about it.

Good news today.  We got into both the Crocker Park Art Show in Westlake, Ohio, and the Clay, Glass, and Metal Show in Royal Oak, Michigan.  Both shows are on June 11 and 12, 2011.  Looks like Mackie will be in one place and I'll be in the other.  They are both great shows and we're fortunate to get into both of them.http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5287328090413027986

Crocker Park (a Cleveland, Ohio suburb) is managed by the Michigan Guild and their website is at www.theguild.org/artfairs.html .  These are the folks that put on one of the fine Ann Arbor Art Shows in July.  Some of the finest artists in America exhibit at their shows. 

The Royal Oak Clay, Glass, and Art Show (www.royaloakchamber.com/clay_glass.htm) is another great show that features artists focused on just those three mediums.  The show is in Royal Oak, Michigan near Detroit.  Again, competition is pretty high for this event and I'm looking forward to being their.  Here's some examples of the quality here.  www.royaloakchamber.com/PDFs/2010 CGM Atists.pdf