It never ceases to amaze me how fast time flies, especially when you have about a million things to do; the more you add to your list it seems the faster the seconds click away. As mentioned in previous blogs, October 16th through the 18th, I will be showing and selling my work at Festively Local in Pulaski, TN. As an aside, if I wasn’t already going to be a vendor at the festivities, this is one I would definitely check out… three days of local and regional music, art and food with all proceeds going to benefit several amazing charities; definitely worth a look see!
It’s been exciting, yet nerve wracking, getting ready for the event. I’m excited to get my work out in front of people, as, thus far, response to my online gallery has been very favorable, very quickly. That said, I would be lying if I didn’t admit to losing a little sleep at night remembering tiny little details I need to add to my list of things to do, and, to be perfectly honest, wondering how my work is going to be received.
So much, both physically and emotionally, goes in to preparing for something like this. Things I never realized as I was perusing vendor booths at various artisan shows before I decided to set up shop myself. Aside from the physical tasks of getting ready (have to build a backdrop to hang my framed pieces, have to order the matting and the framing, have to figure out how many unframed prints to bring, and oh yeah, don’t forget to have change available for those who pay cash… the list goes on!) I also have to prepare myself emotionally.
With an online gallery, if someone doesn’t like something, I can’t see it…I can’t hear it. They click on the photo, evaluate it, and move on. When showing your work in front of people, it’s a whole new ballgame. I can see which pieces people are looking at, I can see their reactions to them, I can hear what they have to say about them… I can potentially watch them move on. It can bring out little insecurities you never realized you had. I’ll admit, while I’m extremely proud of my photography and work, art is subjective and it’s going to be a real test for me not to take criticism personally.
This experience has made me appreciate even more what artists of all kinds… photographer, painters, sculptures, musicians… go through when putting themselves out there for public scrutiny. It’s not just the creation, it’s not just the long list of “to do’s” to prepare, it’s the emotion involved as well. At the risk of sounding all, “it’s just an honor being nominated,” even if I walk away from the festival having not sold a single piece, the experience alone will have given me a perspective that I never would have had if I hadn’t taken the leap to start selling my art.
I’ll be posting more blogs over the next two weeks leading up to the event as well as during the event… keep an eye out! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I just remembered two more things I have to add to my list…
"The Parking Spot"
