After the Festival

An art festival from an artist's point of view. 


The Gosport Arts Festival is a show I have done for years and enjoy doing because the promoter, Millie Johnson, is wonderful and treats the artists with respect and dignity.   She has to be the kindest show promoter ever.  Some promoters seem to forget that the money they collect is already paid when we apply for the show, but nonetheless can make an artist's life miserable in various ways.  Millie does everything possible to make her artists happy, which in turn helps us have a good weekend and positive attitude to do what we are there to do: show and sell our art.  
Millie, Thank You, for promoting a quality show and taking care of us.  Thank you to all the Gosport volunteers who put in amazingly long hours to make the artists' lives easier.  


I also do this show because it's "home," or near where I lived most of my life, so I'm able to see a number of long time friends who may stop by.  

As for the show this weekend, well, the weather wasn't the best.  We had horrific winds which took their toll on us on Saturday.  Rain is tough, cold is not fun, but winds are an outdoor artist's nightmare.  ughh.   Watching your tent "walk" when it's blustery can be heart-stopping.  For artists not prepared the wind can destroy a tent or the contents.  In addition, Saturday was hot, muggy and attendance was minimal.  Sunday was a much better day.  The winds shifted, it was cooler and gorgeous.  Mother's Day typically is quite busy and sure enough, we had plenty of visitors.  Not as many as in some years past, and not everyone purchased, but considering the economy now, it was a decent day.  


Once back home, the next day is a full workday, returning art to gallery and studio spaces, doing paperwork, taking inventory, getting everything put away, and so on.  As every exhibitor knows, the exhibition weekend is fairly easy compared to the prep beforehand and the followup after.   That's ok.  It's all usually worth it.