saturday, march 07, 2009
Art Imitates Life and Vice Versa
Okay, I get so busy that I rarely blog. I like to write, I'm fascinated by bloggers & mystified that anyone can actually blog every day- let me reword that, FIND THE TIME to blog every day or at least more often than every 6 months. SO here's my 6 month submission...
I recently returned from a show known as the Buyer's Market of American Craft. It's open to the "trade" only, meaning gallery & store owners who are purchasing for the coming year. The aisles weren't as full as in the past & many familiar artist's faces were missing. But many of us were still there, hawking our goods. Despite the missing artists, the show is still huge & held at the Philadelphia Convention Center. As usual, we had to deal with surly union workers & disrespectful forklift drivers but that's a whole other blog for a different day.
I had 99% new work, literally. I took a huge chance making such drastic changes to my line. The economic crisis loomed & I figured being a small company & nimble enough to change on dime, I'd work night & day to develop new lower priced work. It was met with enthusiasm & I came home with more orders then I ever dreamed possible. I even had to buy a new kiln & hire an assistant. For now, life is good. Will they reorder Only time will tell.
Many of my neighbors didn't fare as well. The buyers who came bypassed higher end work or only ordered very little. Artists who rarely change their work were ignored. Nonfunctional work wasn't favored either. The galleries & stores are hesitant of the market but need work to sell to their customers so they bought, but very carefully.
The hot topic of conversation at the show was the possible addition of "Free Trade" art & fine craft at the next Buyer's Market. It was met with outrage by the artists & eventually the show management nixed the idea. I'll write more about that later. My question for now is about the future of American craft today. It is steeped in tradition & richness that is truly "American" - the thought of it dying is just tragic on so many levels.
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