Overheard at art festival

Very interesting…I think that a painting that captures a treasured moment can be very useful…to my mental well-being. :o)

Ahahaha! hmmm, jewelry is useful.

I just want to comment that I’ve been hearing at the Outdoor art fairs that people want to see something different. They comment that they see the same images and subject matter at every fair. I’m wondering is the public looking for something different? My work is way different then what it out there to some respect and I have to end up educating them about it so they understand it better. But funny that the public we wish to purchase our art is not interested in art like they use to be. The value of a piece of art has fallen just like so many other things. Sad. When I create my piece I feel that I’m creating for the newer generation then the older, I was reading in the decor magazine about how the baby boomer have stopped buying art and it’s the new X and Y Generation that is purchasing art and how are then doing it. On line mostly. Makings me wonder, well got off track here, just voicing an thought. ~v~Laura

If one thinks about it… everything is useful to someone.

I’ve had folks at art fairs say they like my ceramics because it is different than other stuff they have seen and looks handmade, some of it is functional and some is decorative, but the decorative stuff isn’t just vases. I also think many appreciate art, but many do not, due to, as a previous poster stated, lack of art education and perhaps lack of exposure to art. with the economy being slow, I have found folks feeling they can justify functional items, but purely artistic items are hard to justify in their budget. I also heard a comment that even in hard times, people will spend money on jewelry – is it because it makes them feel good?

Oh I love it when I hear a line like that in my booth. It’s a great conversation starter. I use that to open the person up to discussing what he/she deems “useful”, which leads to “value”, and “collectibility”. “Useful” isn’t a bad thing at all, it allows you the opportunity to find out what that person really likes. With my “canvas” being rather unique, I get a different set of too-often heard lines at shows, like: “Are those eagle feathers? Don’t you know that’s illegal?” “Do you have to sneak up on them and pull them out?” “You must have a lot of naked peacocks running around..” etc. My all-time favourite has to be: “How do you get the peacock to hold still while you paint those?” 😀

My all time favorite….
“Will this be more valuable when you’re dead?”

I agree with Patricia that everything can be “useful,” because it depends on how you define the word and on personal preferences. Buying art is a luxury for most people and I think it is very common to try to justify why you have to buy it, to yourself and especially to the person that lives with you. I think we should take the initiative to explain things to people about our work. It may all seem obvious to you, but to them it’s as if you drink some magical potion every morning. Don’t take offense, help them out. Give them a piece of what seems like a mystery to them. Help them be confident about their taste in art. Imagine that, a confident consumer who buys art because he/she LIKES it.
p.s. Funny comment made to me long ago: “Do you have to be high to come up with this stuff?” And when I first started showing my work I overheard someone say: “That’s too cheap, it can’t be any good.”

Hello, I’m a pen and ink artist. People generally don’t understand how time intensive pen and ink is. Several years back I started creating Zodiac pieces, which take between 2-4 months to complete as they are 18″x 18″ in size. I only get one completed a year, amid doing shows and other art pieces. A person in my booth last show was looking for Scorpio. It is one of the two not finished yet, in fact Scorpio is not even started. I said Sagittarius, which is on my drawing table at home, would be completed next; and Scorpio would not be done until I finished it. She said “will you have it tomorrow?”