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<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="05bfd5a3.jpg"> <div> <B>Marketing mailbag</B></div> <div> <B>347-LOVE-ART  (347-568-3278)   Toll Free 1-877-512-3333</B><B>    Email: </B><A HREF="mailto:mike@mikealbin.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:mike@mikealbin.com"><U><B>mike@mikealbin.com</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="05cd2043.jpg"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mike Albin.Com "><U>Mike Albin.Com </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="wd.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Web design"><U>Web design</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="ma.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marketing Articles"><U>Marketing Articles</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="sr.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Show Reviews"><U>Show Reviews</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mt.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marketing Tools"><U>Marketing Tools</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="l.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U>Links</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#777777" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Marketing mailbag</div> <bR> <div> I've been getting e-mails lately, some nice, some not so nice. So this month I thought I'd take the opportunity to answer a few.</div> <div> The first is from an artist who wants to remain anonymous. (Artists tend to think that if they say anything negative on the record about art shows, jurors and show directors will blacklist them and their future in the industry will be over.) "My work is very unique, [and] shows tell us they want unique artwork," the artist writes. "I have very good, quality slides, [but] I'm still getting rejection letters. It's very frustrating! I've even had show directors invite me to participate in several shows the jury has previously rejected me from. Where am I going wrong?" </div> <div> This is one area I can definitely relate to. Patty and I still get our fair share of rejection letters, even though there is no one out there doing anything like what we do and we get a great response from art-show crowds. The answer isn't simple. I've asked veteran artists, jurors and show directors about this, and I've even sat in on juries to come up with some answers. </div> <div> The most obvious places to look for answers are slides of your work and your booth. If you are getting personally invited to shows whose juries have rejected you in the past, your slides are probably not showing all of the detail of your work. If you are photographing your own work for slides, I hate to be blunt, but that's probably your problem. If you are using a professional photographer, try a different one. Show other professional photographers your slides and see if they have any suggestions on how the work can be better presented. You could also let other artists critique your slides. </div> <div> Another important aspect that is often overlooked is your booth slide. Never take it while you are at an art show! Instead, set your booth up in your driveway or backyard, wait for perfect lighting conditions and spend time arranging your artwork so your slide looks best. There's never enough time to do this at a show. </div> <div> There are other resources at your disposal to help you learn more about this and other art-show issues. For example, Midwest promoter Amy Amdur offers an excellent artist boot camp and mock jury, which I highly recommend. I'm a former boot camper and learned a lot about juries and slides from the experience. </div> <div> The next letter comes from Peter Mulcahy of Pinehurst, North Carolina, who comments on my "Art-Show Etiquette" article from December 2005. "Mike Albin's article on etiquette might have been all right if he hadn't mentioned trailers," the artist writes. "His philosophy that anyone who drops a trailer at a show should expect no one to park in front, behind or beside the trailer absolutely puts him in the category of worst etiquette offenders in the world. In the past 10 or so years, anyone who comes in their own single vehicle to any show has had to put up with dropped trailers in the spaces closest to the exhibitor entrances. … I have nothing against someone getting to a show early and leaving his or her vehicle in a [space] closest to the door. If the owner of the trailer got to those spaces early and left both vehicles, fine. But what's happening is they drop their trailers next to the exhibitor entrance and on show day expect to pull in 10 minutes before the show opens and park in front of their trailers. NO WAY! Mike, if you had a modicum of etiquette, you would realize that those of us in single vehicles would also like to park [within] quick-walking distance of the entrance to get stock during the show. You want us to park far away so your full trailer and empty SUV can be together?" </div> <div> I'll stick by what I wrote: "When parking in the artist lots, exhibitors often block access to campers and trailers with their vehicles. This is most frustrating when there are plenty of other available parking spaces. … I understand that some lots are small and parking spaces are hard to come by, but when there are other spaces available, park away from trailers and campers."</div> <div> Peter, you might have overlooked those last two sentences. If there are no other spaces to park in, I understand your concerns, and I think other artists with trailers would, too. But when there are plenty of other spaces and someone simply chooses to park in front of a trailer, that frustrates us! Thanks again for bringing the issue up. </div> <div> Finally, fellow artist and <I><B>SA</B></I> writer Kendra Krumpe has the following thoughts on my "Inspiration versus Plagiarism" article from January: "I just wanted to give a little input on the subject of inspiration versus plagiarism. I think this is something that we all struggle with as artists, not only from a creative standpoint but as a respect issue.</div> <div> "I think there is a difference between being inspired by a style of work and being inspired by a technique of work. I do fiber work where I dye my own cotton, create custom colors, etc. Each one of my items is an original, and there is no way for me to do copies. I use a free-form, rough-edged appliqué process to embellish and create layers of fabric that results in an abstract design. I used to sew layers of yarn on top, but I saw another fiber artist that used a rough-edged appliqué technique … on wall-pieces. (I make purses.) My mind just went crazy with ideas because it had never occurred to me to leave the edges rough, which greatly reduce production time. It also adds an aesthetic appeal by leaving a rough edge, something I was already achieving with the yarn. I started to work with that technique on my purses.</div> <div> "Truly, where is the line? Out of respect for her artistic integrity, I would never willingly copy something that she is doing. From a creative standpoint, I feel I am completely justified to use any technique that is available to me to make my artistic vision a reality and uphold my own artistic integrity." </div> <div> Kendra, what you did by incorporating one aspect of another artist's work into your own is fine with almost every artist I have spoken with, especially because you make handbags and the artist who inspired you does wall hangings. This is not what my article was referring to at all. My article concerned artists who copy others' work so closely that it is difficult to distinguish between the two. I think that's where most of us would draw the line! Hopefully show directors and promoters will take a stand against those types of artists and crack down on that by adding a rule similar to the one already in effect at shows such as Barry Witt's Bonita Springs National Art Festival in Bonita Springs, Florida. "Works of art must be original in design and produced by the artist," his rule states, and it goes a long way in protecting the integrity of artists, the buying public and art shows.</div> <div> If you are a show director or promoter and would like an artist's perspective on this issue, please e-mail me at: mike@mikealbin.com. And for all you artists out there, feel free to contact me with questions or comments on this issue or any other topic related to life on the show circuit.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>