Thursday, February 12, 2009

Art Fair in Hobe Sound?

If anyone who start doing art fairs in a worst time of economy, that is me. On February 7 & 8, there I was in a town I was unfamiliar with, getting lost at least once a day. If you think I should have a GPS, send me an operating GPS; I can't afford it right now! Yes, I had no expectation, as it was my first art fair and also I knew people would not spend money. Nonetheless, It was hard to believe that it was an art fair because most people walking around didn't seem to be interested in art or craft at all. Not spending money is one thing, and not interested in art is another. They were not only spending money but also not interested in art. They were just walking around for the sake of walking around. It seemed to me that they were spending time with friends and families by walking around talking to each other on a sunny weekend afternoon on a festive street. Miraculously there were two couples who came to the fair in order to buy art for their homes, making two sales of large paintings, and when I was about to pack up on the last day someone bought two resin collage works. So I made up for the expenses, the booth fee, hotel accommodations, gas, and food, but this fair produced no profit. Frankly it is physically strenuous and exhausting. The difference between doing this in a local farmers market and art fair in this case was the unfamiliarity to the town. It added certain stress to me even with Google map, which I used in my car because I was not able to find the site and the hotel. The roads in Hobe Sound, Jupiter, and Stuart area were very confusing, confusing enough for locals to agree with me on this. Getting lost early in the morning, 5 or 6 AM, in the dark, is not fun. Certainly not a fun way to start a day. I am glad it's over now!