Artists, COVID, and the last to leave..

A week back, I got a taste of a big-time art fair, where the art prices ranged from a few dollars to over $10,000! This was a juried show where my work was judged and deemed unique and suitable to be included as an artist. It was a great time. And I learned a lot about being a traveling artist.

It is amazing the hours artists go thru to get to a show and set up their booths.   Remember the Jackson Browne song, “The Load Out and Stay”, one of the lyrics went “They're the first to come and last to leave Working for that minimum wage” That is what some artists do! They will travel to a new show each weekend and sleep in a hotel, RV (if lucky), or a van. Some travel 8+ hours to get to an Art Fair. Their day starts at 6:30 AM with setup and ends at 6:00 PM with teardown. If the weather is good, mid-’90s, and sunny (hot) the crowds will come. Artists would tell me if it rains or is stormy weather, the crowds probably will stay away, but the artist's Booth must stay open.  The art fair's rules state you can’t just close for weather, you need to be open. 

Of course, if you are selling your Art then you are not creating. For me, it takes over 6 hours to design and make each of my pieces. The pottery maker I met told me it takes five weeks for a run. A lot of time and money is invested in inventory. 

Something I never thought of with COVID-19, all the art fairs were canceled which forced many artists out of business. 

So was the long weekend worth it? You bet it was! I saw so many smiles when people saw my art that it made me smile. I loved talking to the people who would share their remembrance of the pieces I use in my art. 

If you get a chance, visit an art fair. Maybe buy a piece. Don’t haggle, a few dollars may be the difference in a so-so weekend to a good one for these artists.  

Thevintageaddict.com

Charge it up!

This lamp not only brightens your space, but you can plug in two items and use the USB charger for two more. As the video below shows, it is made from a recycled filter from a car spray paint gun. The Vintage Addict has three of these charger lamps available. Each a different size. See them on our Steampunk Lamp page.

Searching For Vintage Insulators

Before I can begin making one of my lamps, I have to have all the needed supplies.  For my glass insulator lamps, that means beautiful, vintage, unbroken glass insulators.  I am constantly on the hunt to find just the right pieces for my art. I went on a hunt a couple of months ago and found some beautiful glass.  You can come along by watching the video below. Several of the insulators I found that day have been transformed into beautiful lamps. You can see those under the Steampunk Lamp tab here at thevintageaddict.com.  Now through November 30th, if you use promo code GLASS at check out, you’ll receive a 25% discount on all my insulator lamps. Oh, and I used my pet name for Hemingray glass in the video. I like to call it Hemingway.  Yeah, that’s me. Thanks for watching.