First Shows of the Year

Working Artists! You are not alone!

This week we spend the entire episode discussing our first shows of the year and the hot topics from the road.

Visual artists Douglas Sigwarth https://www.sigwarthglass.com/ and Will Armstrong http://www.willarmstrongart.com/ co-host and discuss topics affecting working artists. Each episode is a deep dive into a conversation with a guest artist who shares their unique experiences as an independent professional artist.

PLEASE RATE US AND REVIEW US.......... and SUBSCRIBE to the pod on your favorite streaming app.

SUPPORT THE SHOW
VENMO/ username @independentartistpodcast or through PAYPAL.ME by clicking on this link https://paypal.me/independentartistpod?locale.x=en_US

Email us at independentartistpodcast@gmail.com with conversation topics, your feedback, or sponsorship inquiries.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/independentartistpodcast
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/independentartistpodcast/
Website https://www.sigwarthglass.com/independentartistpodcast.html
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHxquKvRx9sI_DuXRLy-tyA
Mailing List  http://eepurl.com/hwQn7b

Sponsors
The National Association of Independent Artists (NAIA). http://www.naiaartists.org/membership-account/membership-levels/
ZAPPlication https://www.zapplication.org

Music  "Walking" by Oliver Lear
Business inquiries at theoliverlear@gmail.com
https://soundcloud.com/oliverlear
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5yAPYzkmK4ZmdbWFLUhRNo?si=i6Y8Uc36QZWIDKIQfT3X

Transcript

0:00
[Music] foreign
0:11
welcome to the independent artist podcast sponsored by the National Association of Independent Artists also
0:18
sponsored by zapplication I'm will Armstrong and I'm a mixed media artist I'm Douglas sigworth glassblower join
0:25
our conversations with professional working artists
0:31
well hello my friend now you are looking a lovely shade of green this afternoon
0:36
don't tempt me I can keep stuff down uh yeah I had a little salmonella over the weekend
0:42
jeez that was I I've had it before went down to actual art shows uh to do uh I
0:48
was headed to Fort Myers I think it was and had a weak to kill in between and ended up uh having a bad oyster it's
0:56
almost like the dog like trying to get all right out of the dog's mouth and it's like no I'm eating this cat turd
1:02
I don't know why like my mouth just kind of went into overdrive and I just kind of took over
1:08
and and did its job and swallowed that oyster and it got right there in my throat I'm like oh that's a bad one
1:15
that's not good that's bad and it didn't didn't shake me off the ersters but um I
1:22
think it was egg or uh salad greens something I don't know either way it uh it puts you on a weight loss routine
1:27
right for the weekend and I look a little thinner pretty good man
1:34
it's Will's weight loss program and five pounds in three days my friend also yeah
1:39
well it is good to see you even if you are suffering a bit uh it seems like it's been quite a while since we've
1:45
touched base uh last showed Bayou City it's funny it it does feel like a while but I did just see a couple weeks ago or
1:51
was it one week how long ago well I think I've lived a lot of life since we were in Houston together so this will be
1:58
a good opportunity to catch up a bit absolutely you know it was a one day show really right it kind of turned out
2:04
that way yeah well typically it's a it's a big big full weekend but with the rain
2:09
and everything else that was going on there in Houston it just you know it ended up being an incredible for me
2:16
Saturday and then literally nothing on Friday and then then eked out a few on on on Sunday so I had a good one tell me
2:23
what you think about this I never really felt like it it like downpoured it was like it just drizzled on those days that
2:29
they said it was gonna rain and it would have been fine for most people but the weather the weather person
2:35
scared people away you know it depends on the crowd like I was at a show in Indianapolis one time I
2:41
don't even remember what it was maybe is is Talbot Street in Indiana yeah yeah yes it is yeah I was Talbot Street years
2:47
ago and I was like I looked at the weather in the morning and I was like oh sweet looks like I'm packing up early
2:52
and and uh because it was just it was one of those where you look out the hotel window and you could see the pattern of the wind and the rain just
2:59
like you can see it's just like washing I mean it's just buckets coming down and I'm like all right looks like I'm going
3:06
to pack it up early went down there the streets were jammed like nothing you
3:11
know no umbrellas no uh raincoats they're just standing out there baby carrot baby drowning as long as they
3:18
were pulling out wet dollar bills out of their pockets that's all we care about
3:23
bikini
3:37
oh man you know it ended up being a pretty decent show for us too but this isn't typical for us but we had after
3:44
after sales do you typically get after after shocks aftershocks yeah we had
3:49
some after after sales going on yeah yeah nice good good good good that's great to hear I typically do
3:57
um you know I've been following that that Dolan and Ali Marie Guymon uh plan and keeping the book with me I guess
4:03
that's the dolquist uh she preaches that as well about following every lead crystalquist uh amazing photographer we
4:10
had on first season but like taking that book keeping it in my back pocket and writing down the leads and following up
4:18
on the people I only had one really and I'm still you know we're still in the foreplay stage but we'll see if that if
4:25
I can close it we're coming up here a future episode I did a recording here because I'm going to be heading out
4:30
quick so I needed to get up get an episode under my belt I talked to Julia Gilmore and that's one of her techniques
4:36
she says she will get people's names and she will keep contacting them until they
4:42
either tell her that they've changed their mind and they don't want to go that route or they buy a painting and that's really
4:48
interesting because I've always been a little bit afraid that I'm going to be bugging somebody to death to you know
4:53
it's like maybe they're blowing me off or something but um right you know it's that fine line that's interesting well I
5:00
wonder if she can get away with it more because of who she is like I feel like I feel like it's like I'm on The Dating
5:06
plan you know I mean you remember a long time ago where like yeah you go and you ask somebody on a date like I would ask
5:13
somebody on a date and if they didn't want to go I was like next right like that was it right I mean because that
5:18
could be overbearing and all that kind of stuff and it can be off-putting for sure yeah right so I don't know I I did
5:26
send one email back to this guy and he was like Hey I I having remorse I should have picked up this painting do you
5:32
still have it you know yes I did when's a good time to talk because that's that's you know another trick I picked
5:37
up from you know guests of the show but Sydney again are like don't talk money on the email uh get them on the phone
5:44
because you gotta close it on the phone to close it because otherwise they're thinking and you don't know what they're thinking and you can hear it in their
5:50
voice Etc so I try to you know get them on the phone and I think that might have scared
5:56
him off a little bit and now I'm kind of in like how do you remember me Texas shouldn't have fun last night I really I
6:02
thought you're really handsome would you like to swipe is it swipe left or swipe right for yes but whatever I don't know
6:09
I don't either I said that to my wife one time and I was like what is it swipe
6:14
she was like she just patted my legs she's like you never need to know about it I'm protected you from all of that
6:23
uh you know we had we had a pretty good weekend we had a good neighborhood it was nice seeing everybody again I hadn't
6:28
been at a show for nine freaking months yeah so I mean it was really great uh we had some guests of the show kind of in
6:35
our neighborhood and then some young kind of up and coming artists too that I I really got a kick out of uh seeing I
6:42
don't know what that kind of wave was but I definitely felt like there was some new talent in the in the
6:48
neighborhood I thought there were some really cool folks um kind of traditional slash contemporary African uh basket
6:56
weaving there's some painting that was happening nice it was a cool neighborhood mixed in with some some old
7:01
friends and and made some yeah so cool anyway yeah it was a it was an interesting show here's an incident that
7:07
that's never happened to me before oh yeah so I had my booth set up with an opening in the back because I had back
7:14
stock so I and they shoehorn you into that show pretty that's for sure I mean they give you 10 feet and that's it like
7:22
um I think my neighbor got nine foot eight because they were the last one to show up but yeah or nine foot nine foot
7:29
uh 11 and a half or so I was trying to push in because I like you know my spatial recognition is pretty good at
7:34
this point like I could I could tell you what 10 feet is they'll tell you like you're taking an exit and they're like
7:41
the exit is in 600 feet I'm like oh that's 60 yard show booth and uh so it's
7:46
all in reference to that yeah anyway I've got my I've got a double
7:52
booth at this show and I put a little partition in the back that you could get to the back stack so
7:57
it's a little door and uh it looked real inviting to a gentleman um that that he just was like stumbling
8:05
in this this real old guy and and uh just went right through the back of my booth I was like uh excuse me sir and
8:12
this his wife goes he's going back there to pee I was like the no he ate and I
8:19
ran back there I was like I was like Woody I was like put that pack in your pants sir uh get out of here and I just
8:26
I laid in oh my God that's hilarious so I know it was really nasty I was really
8:33
mad I was pissed yeah but don't bump so
8:38
no I just I don't know man I'm like if you can't make it 10 extra steps to the Porta John that I could see or you can't
8:44
ask somebody about it then you need to be wearing a diaper they make products for that sir you know get your hillbilly
8:51
ass out of here right wow I think it comes with with that age I think there's a little bit of the dementia starts to
8:57
set in and all of those uh those things that we that we remind ourselves as
9:03
social rules they go out the window oh yes I mean but I kind of always thought that that would like apply to it apply
9:10
itself to like cutting past the Velvet Rope while they're making an install at the Museum
9:15
you know like yeah I'm old I know I might not make it I'm going in now like yeah maybe that kind of thing but like
9:22
I don't know it was peeing behind your booth yeah I don't know it just makes you feel bad about your life decisions
9:28
doesn't it nobody's going right
9:36
in his potted plants yeah it's just ridiculous yeah yeah anyway uh so yeah
9:42
I've had um luckily I had a nice long soaking rain after that so it washed everything down
9:47
and uh everything went starting out fresh like a daisy
9:53
cool well we actually you know like in the past things have always kind of been
9:59
similar and predictable and and we've just had like these new experiences just
10:04
kind of like pop up that were just like kind of go with like for example
10:09
Sunday at like three in the afternoon we looked at each other and we said you know what instead of driving all the way
10:16
home and driving all the way back which was our plan let's book a flight so I booked a flight
10:21
home three o'clock in the afternoon for the next day and I mean it was just like
10:27
just like boom just like that it hadn't had the thought and we did it yeah High Roller look at you I wish right I
10:35
actually did think of that aspect I thought of the money aspect and I I sat down and I I calculated the the gas
10:42
mileage and how much how many miles it was to home and if it was maybe like 50 bucks more for an airline ticket than to
10:51
actually drive and you factor in the time it's it's a no-brainer at that even
10:56
the day before like even even buying it the day before the day before gas prices absolutely yeah it was really reasonable
11:02
until till uh you want to tell everybody the big plan that I hooked you up with or that is why I decided by the way to
11:11
fly home but I thought this was one of the will Armstrong secrets that I wasn't allowed to divulge so yes I'll tell you
11:18
because it's the same it's that doesn't matter if you get stacked up uh behind whatever so what you got to do you go to
11:25
um the dealer that's always the dealer right and you go to the dealer and you you put your van in there and you get an
11:31
oil change and yeah they're going to charge you twice as much for an oil change but they also have like four
11:36
times the security they're not going to cut your catalytic converter Out Underneath they've got they're going to put it in a fenced-in area happens to
11:43
every time also the dealer pick the dealer closest to the airport and they've got a shuttle they'll take you
11:49
to the airport that was a beautiful suggestion we did it it worked out perfectly and that's exactly what we did
11:54
yeah so for uh what 25 oil change that
12:00
offset the whole parking for three weeks 25 five dollars okay 19. I don't know
12:06
I'm pulling a number out of my hat if it would cost you 200 if it cost you anything on that big noise it actually
12:12
wasn't that expensive but anyway it was reasonable it was better than uh than not three weeks of parking so all right
12:17
perfect yeah three weeks it's it's somewhere you're paying you know your money's going towards something right
12:23
it's going towards an oil change gets tires rotated get a little spit polished yeah you're good to go not only did we
12:30
come out of it uh with an oil change we're leaving with a new van hey from that from that dealership
12:39
they had one that came in the night before I called and checked on it we bought it over the phone with texting
12:47
photos and all that [ __ ] so awesome so we're gonna be driving out of there with a whole new van we're gonna sell
12:52
our trailer sweet good yeah that's fantastic well so we flew home just in time to get another Wisconsin blizzard
13:00
we had I a foot of snow uh heavy heavy
13:05
snow lost power for overnight and broke like 50 trees in our yard so it was a
13:11
[ __ ] nightmare we're in a wooded area we gotta have some major tree cleanup come come out that's not cheap no
13:18
welcome to home ownership hey uh before we change the the subject off of Bayou I wanted to talk to you it gives me a good
13:25
opportunity to bring up the subject of uh breakdown yeah right um so Bayou doesn't have it easy I mean
13:32
they they really don't I mean it's like it's it's one trail that goes in sometimes it's like
13:39
um right off of a cliff you know it's a big slope behind the booth there's so there's nowhere to go yeah it's one way
13:45
in one way out everybody has to go on the same route everybody has to go in the same direction yeah I mean it's a
13:51
night benefits the whole thing stops I mean really right yeah right so that
13:57
being said uh it is uh the most like I've done hundreds of shows right
14:04
I've been doing shows full time since 2002. yeah right absolutely so we did we didn't recognize my 20th year last year
14:11
but okay you know we have big where's my case where's my watch Douglas where's my
14:18
where's my watch next I'll come your retirement so let's just keep it rolling that's right
14:25
all right so I've done you know take I take adelaiah
14:31
a beautiful little show down in South Carolina um it's a lot of craft and a lot of
14:36
locals and and I it's a Charming little show it's inside of a castle like really where this artist used to live and
14:44
they've got kind of the ruins of this castle that you're going in so it's like a one story and some people say it's
14:50
like well that's ambitious to call it Castle I'm like no if you it's it's cool it's a cool little location and it's got
14:56
this Courtyard and the stone wall around it and I've been at that show when a hurricane was coming through and and
15:03
you're you're dollying in and this one little pathway all the way through and everybody's using the same thing okay
15:09
they don't micromanage it at all they just you know just get out of here so you know here's the doors yeah here are
15:16
the doors that you can come in here are the doors you have to leave and they don't they don't do anything we all respect each other for the most part I
15:22
generally believe in self-policing like not a lot of not a lot of micromanaging
15:28
I really don't like micromanaging and and what do you think could be done about the breakdown with with Bob I
15:36
thought about that I thought about this situation because I know for example there were a lot of folks whose plan was
15:43
to kind of pre-pack and come back the next day me too so there was a whole
15:49
lineup of people that couldn't move because they weren't letting anybody move and it would have just been helpful
15:56
if there was because it's really not that far of a trek from the back parking
16:02
to the exit like you're leaving go you're pulling in to load up wait let
16:08
the next one through you're leaving go I think that would have been more effective because so many people just
16:13
were stuck back there should start getting the people who are leaving out of there so you can thin out the amount
16:18
of Vans waiting right I think that would have been efficient I don't wanna I'm not trying to badmouth anybody I thought
16:24
nahilia the nahili of Argus the new director I thought she was Charming I thought she was level-headed it was
16:30
great I thought it was great that she came by and introduced herself to every single artist and saved my ass several
16:36
times with the golf cart she I got away from my booth and she picked me up in the golf cart and took me back back to
16:42
my little my booth home dog it got out of his yard oh come on
16:50
let's get the old guy back to a smooth hang on I think I know who owns this guy hang on uh Renee is this yours she's
16:56
like where's our lunch I'm like I couldn't get there
17:02
that's tough but anyway I thought she was Charming I was just this is just you know my like with any kind of show the
17:08
less micromanaging you have the better one like honestly it would be smoother
17:13
if they did nothing that's a bold statement but I honestly think okay here's the direction that you have to go
17:20
because you can't have like the one [ __ ] in the in the you know block of the RV who just takes a left and
17:25
everybody else is going right yeah but you got to go okay everything's going this direction if you want to be super particular about
17:34
it get a Loadout pass you know if once you're completely broken down do not ever
17:41
ever stop the people that want to break down super fast like right you know if
17:48
you can break down you got yourself you know Sharon Spiller wasn't at the show but you know you got to share and
17:54
Spillers you ever been her neighbor she's gone she can break down that booth in 15 minutes get her freaking fan in
18:00
there and get her out of the way because then you got somewhere to park is she one of those that says goodbye to you 20 minutes before the show ends because
18:06
she's not talking to you once the ones the flag drops and you're ready to get
18:12
the [ __ ] out of it she is a machine like that if there's any newbie artists out there find a show Sharon's doing and
18:19
watch her break down it is a thing of beauty it's amazing the people that can break down early let them you know just
18:26
let them do it and don't interview everybody about how you're gonna do it just freaking let them go all right what
18:36
um yeah that was a little bit and I mean we're being constructive I mean it's a positive we want to help it's a great
18:42
show it's a killer Market show Houston is awesome so we don't want to you know we don't want to be a wet blanket or
18:48
anything but there are improvements that can that can be made and a great new director absolutely so yeah so I get to
18:53
my first show of the year right I mean it's been I guess what is it a 14-hour drive 13 I
19:00
got 10 in the first day got up super early so I don't know I'm getting to the show
19:06
around 11 30 or 12 to set up the day before by you yeah I had rented a white
19:11
van so typically I've got that big truck but I'd rented a white van because I had to and uh car troubles but oh goes off
19:20
of my phone Amber Alert okay it says that some little girl has been kidnapped
19:27
she's in uh Dire Straits I don't know if the wording whatever yeah yeah but here at the bottom of the Amber Alert it says
19:34
unmarked white van without State plates that would be will Armstrong's family
19:41
I'm looking around the parking lot I'm like I think I count about 42 of these you know just looking like that's that's
19:48
bad news Houston you know you're gonna get a lot of missed calls on that oh man and then I got into the show and I'm
19:55
like you know I I I try to be nice I try to be kind and I get in line for the
20:01
thing and I'm I'm like waiting so you're talking registration when you're in the hotel yeah okay gotcha let me wait in
20:07
line again and I got like I've been there for five minutes first show of the year and I already tell somebody to go
20:12
[ __ ] themselves keep it in can you I don't I just you
20:18
know I think that's the um
20:25
you know they somebody asked me about a show that I didn't get into and I'm like how come you're not going I was like
20:31
that is like asking a woman why she doesn't have kids oh you don't freaking do that like it's one of those things
20:37
you do you don't ask a woman if she's pregnant she has to tell you first right that's that's part of my code yeah right
20:42
right that's part of like just living the other one is like how come you don't have kids you know never ask a woman
20:49
that either or a man it's just it's just you just don't right what people are dealing with how come you decided not to
20:56
go back to this show I'm like I decided I decided someone decided for me yeah
21:02
well a group of five of my peers got together and sat down and decided I was a piece of [ __ ] thanks thanks for asking
21:08
thank you not my year that she also has she's like please don't put this on the podcast and I was like oh what's going
21:15
on this is going on the podcast I I don't I don't have any control
21:21
anyway I met some lovely people new folks some fans of the show came by I
21:26
thought that was sweet that was really nice I mean I've been I feel like I've been in a bit of a of a bubble for the
21:33
last nine months out of the social in-person thing and it was just really
21:39
nice to look into people's eyes and talk to them again and have you know different than sitting on the couch and
21:44
watching Netflix and yeah you know even if you don't have the greatest show in the world people come
21:50
by tell you you're great is not too bad yeah it's pretty nice that's good for the good for the mood that's for sure
21:56
well it's necessary you know you need that's part of that Yin and the Yang it's like the the introvert of the
22:03
studio time and then the extrovert of getting out there and being told you're you're so you're so wonderful you're so
22:09
beautiful Douglas him look at him everybody he's right there can't help it
22:15
all right so yeah and uh so another thing that happened um I was I was going to ask you yeah
22:22
I can't seem to crack the jury on the show but um you got any thoughts on jazz fest going cashless well
22:31
think about I mean I I take him at their word I I mean I believe that if they say
22:36
it's about wanting to cut down on theft fine I mean it's okay I mean do you get
22:41
a lot of cash at the at the shows no I hardly get any cash I never take cash
22:47
never ever I have never taken cash no I don't take cash because I don't like to
22:55
have the Target on my back having cash in hand cash is what
23:04
what what what what what I was standing on the corner of Ontario
23:09
in LaSalle in downtown Chicago oh right yeah I ever been to that Hot Corner
23:15
um but if I saw you standing on that corner um getting paid cash I'd be a little worried for you
23:22
then a guy counting out three thousand dollars and tens and Twenties that looks
23:28
like he pulled it out of his food truck we're good we're good I'll count it
23:33
later we're good oh yeah and then on the other side there's a guy who has put a couple of quarters into the newspaper
23:39
box taken the stack out and is selling newspapers that he's stolen all right um
23:44
and he's like 10 20 30. I was like get
23:49
in the [ __ ] Booth dude this was like you gotta be kidding back of the booth then you can count it out that was back
23:57
in the day when I took cash a long time ago that was that's I don't take cash anymore yeah you know it's there's a lot
24:06
of uh counterfeit bills floating around there there's a lot of people doing their thing I don't I don't have any
24:11
problem with the show doing however they wanted to do it no I don't either and I I mean you see pictures of people
24:18
standing you know shoulder to shoulder pickpockets are there uh artists vendors
24:24
whatever you know different booths are there of different types were marks so I
24:30
mean a woman wrote on social media that she watched a neighbor go to zip up her
24:37
her tent one night and she kind of fell off of her stool which was a big deal and people were helping her but in the
24:45
chaos somebody ran into her Booth stole her stole her money bag and ran I mean so this stuff is real it's not like it's
24:51
just like an anonymous it happens all the time we're marked so
24:56
yeah um yeah I I don't have any problem with it Jazz Fest lets me in the show and be like you're gonna have to wear
25:02
Taps and every two hours you have to come out and do a little dance with a bow tie and no pants I'm like okay we'll
25:09
do something you know I don't know man or whatever
25:16
you want to do I just don't care that's right I'm trying not to get too worked up about it right and like you said I mean it's a show that we want to do so
25:23
it's like if they say this is the way it's gonna be okay all right yeah that's fine I don't see I don't I don't like to
25:29
make controversy where there's no controversy and I'm certainly no conspiracy theorist true
25:38
to uh tell you um that it is you know what's never a good idea to go on to Dr
25:44
Google and just uh start looking up stuff that you are wondering about oh
25:50
let's say like certain joint fusions in your ankle that sort of thing have you ever uh used Google to
25:57
to solve your medical Mysteries oh yes I have a torn rotator cuff
26:03
um brain cancer I'm losing my hearing I got glaucoma coming in don't forget about the balding part oh the balding
26:10
that's part of the brain cancer it's my tumor it's just eating through and giving me this uh flesh yarmulke right
26:15
it's always wanted me to just just have like that little disc that Monk's disc yeah back there there you go yep oh yeah
26:22
that's no anyway what what do you what do you I looked up one of my joint fusions in my ankle I looked up a tell
26:27
on a vicular fusion and I watched this cadaver foot get get surgery on it they
26:35
showed all of the steps and the drilling the screws into the let's just say I got
26:41
a little less impatient with my healing after watching that one it was just intense that's that's nuts I looked at
26:48
the uh the medieval torture device that they used to bring the Achilles back
26:53
together it's like these reverse pliers that they've got like multiple people on either side of this thing like pulling
27:00
physically pulling it back together I'm like okay uh that's that's good that's good
27:07
yeah you've been through the ringer it's like it's like your foot and your leg are going through a divorce they are
27:12
it's you're you're gonna feel pain for a year yeah that's what my therapist told me it's like it's gonna hurt for a year
27:18
and then after the year you're gonna be okay I think if I would have remembered
27:23
the doctor telling me that this was going to be a year-long process I would have maybe reconsidered but now it's
27:31
like I'm into it so there's no turning thing back but yeah my last doctor's appointment the first thing the good
27:37
news was your surgery was a 10 out of 10. you're doing great I'm like but the pain but
27:44
the limping but the cane all of the stuff that is making me get you know like a a spiral in my head about you
27:51
know that things aren't going well and he said well like I told you this is going to be a year-long recovery and I'm
27:57
like like you told me when they were not you know doctors suck at
28:04
that stage they do something that I've learned they you know they don't necessarily have to especially surgeons don't necessarily have to I mean some
28:10
have amazing bedside manners but some are like I did the job now you go do the job of the physical therapy the next
28:18
person totally you know especially in modern medicine like right now it's like pinhole camera you know I fixed split
28:25
now move on that guy makes foot feel better like it's not my job real so yeah
28:31
you got to be patient so here's a question for you yeah um this might be for for sweeps week at the end of the year
28:38
um but there's I make a lot of sweeps week jokes so there's no sweeps week no
28:43
in this no there is not podcasting yeah you know all right so anyway my question
28:49
is do you think you'll do that for the next foot it'll happen eventually
28:55
um for sure but my whole timeline of when it can happen because I mean it's
29:01
expensive it's expensive to take this much time off and to take the amount of breaks that I need to take like on our
29:09
way down to Houston I started to have a bit of a panic attack and because it took so much out of me to get enough
29:16
work made to get off to the first show and it
29:22
physically wiped me out just setting up let alone doing the show tearing it down
29:27
getting home again the panic attack came on when I was like oh it's not like I get to go home now and take like a week
29:33
break or something the treadmill is running and I have to keep up with it because I've got another lineup of shows
29:40
so I mean that whole keeping that pace up it was starting to to get me a little
29:46
uptight but I've settled in I'm getting I'm finding my rhythm and things are
29:51
gonna go well so I I'm not where I was two weeks ago and I am seeing little baby steps of getting better so I'm
29:57
feeling good I'm feeling really all right yeah yeah keep keep on the treadmill it's the only choice you got oh God no kidding we used to say hamster
30:04
wheel but this one just feels like the treadmill you gotta you gotta you got a little
30:09
carrot you got a little you gotta it's called money I'm like bank accounts empty hemorrhaging money gotta keep
30:16
going gotta keep going beat the monster yeah seriously yeah yeah [Music]
30:21
a hang tight we'll be right back this episode of The Independent artist podcast is brought to you by zap the
30:27
digital application service where artists and art festivals connect well sometimes I'm in a real hurry and I just
30:33
love that I have things that are saved in Zapped to streamline my process saving shows as favorites is my personal
30:40
way of using zap uh that's my favorite uh I know a lot of people use the calendar they use the events but for me
30:47
if I'm saving the favorites of anything I've ever looked at or thought about doing then I can check out those
30:53
deadlines on a regular basis but then there's other times when I have a little more time on my hands and I'm looking
30:58
into other shows all the information is right there in the prospectus with links
31:04
to the website I can see who the artists are that have participated in the past that's a great idea Douglas because one
31:10
of the ways that I was finding shows at the very beginning was to go online and see who I felt my work looked good with
31:17
it's just great that all that information is organized is Dan easy to look over when planning our next show
31:24
season so uh you know I thought I'd take this time of the show and I don't know
31:30
whether it's a good opportunity to do this or not but but no time like the present I don't think we've done this
31:36
this year kind of breakdown like what sponsorship means for the show and obviously we have
31:45
we have two different sponsors for the show The News and Views that you hear broadcast on the independent artist
31:51
podcast are clearly and solely the ownership of the podcast owners podcast
31:57
owners the two of us you and I you were very smart when we we first started this this podcast you were like we own this
32:05
it's just you and me we don't want to answer to a whole you know a board of
32:11
directors or whatever that they were like I didn't like that you said this we don't want to run our edits past anybody
32:17
at the NAIA or zap it's like this is the product and this is what we say we're
32:23
independent we stand by what we what we think and what we feel but ultimately it's us it's not only it's not a board
32:32
it's not a sponsor it's what we think and it's our experiences and the guests
32:38
that we choose to talk to are people that we want to hear their story and share it with the world so it we are not
32:44
an extension of any uh we're not a mouthpiece for any other organization right and so zap our good friends at zap
32:52
location uh it's a it's obviously um it's a sponsor that I you and I both believe in yeah we wouldn't have them if
32:58
we did not they offer a great service but they are our monetary backers yes
33:04
they back us each week and and we're happy to get on and and uh
33:10
and so the company line on that one because we believe in the company it's one that when we we all use and
33:15
extremely appreciative of of the fact that they want to support us and that they want right they value what we have
33:22
to say what we are what we are putting out to the artist community and Industry yeah they're giving back to the
33:27
community Through the sponsorship of this show for sure right yeah um can they get better
33:33
hell yeah they can get better are they getting better every year sure they're always making little changes and tweaks
33:38
of course and right anyway next is Naia the National Association of Independent
33:43
Artists you and I are both uh on the board there of that and I don't go to
33:49
any meetings but uh it's become hard to it's become hard for all
33:56
of the board members because just being professional artists is a freaking hustle and so we do what we can on our
34:04
volunteer time all of us to help promote the art fair industry and that's right
34:10
really what we're there for anyone can be a part of the NAIA it is not a membership no it is an advocacy group
34:16
it's just a ragtag group of people that maybe never would even never even have dinner together you know
34:23
it's like I want to be involved I want to be involved it's like you know our good friend Ben Frye uh I've known him
34:29
for years asked me to be a member of the board sometime back yeah I don't think
34:35
he's regretting it yet but um it's just a it it's it's a like it's a group that
34:40
steps up and is a voice for people that need a voice be like hey this happened can you
34:47
help me out here yeah sure react as a a board that takes observations from the
34:53
art show world and we communicate the needs of our industry to shows to the community to
35:01
whatever anything that can help the economic stability of artists who want
35:06
to show their work at art shows so whether whether you feel you're a member or a part of the Forum or just somebody
35:13
who goes to shows you're benefiting from the fact that NAIA identifies things
35:19
that could make the industry better and advocates in that regard right sure uh
35:25
so the you know they were on board when when zap came around and uh they were on board when when lots of different things
35:31
have happened whether it's a controversy with uh somebody filming somebody's Booth somebody stepped in and we're like
35:38
hey I'm not comfortable advocating for myself anymore because I'm I'm being called names by by these people and this
35:45
is happening and that's happening so basically it boils down to this you and I both believe in the group so we give
35:51
NAIA free sponsorship all boats rise as one you know they've got uh they've got
35:58
a voice we have a voice we believe in what they're doing most of the folks there believe in what
36:04
we are doing so right maybe not everything I say well whatever girl does right well one of the things that we
36:10
have offered as being part of this partnership with the NAIA is to talk
36:17
about the advocacies and the things that they're working on so that we can share that it doesn't mean that that is we are
36:25
we are that we are you know what I mean we are not the right the board we are not an AIA we are us but we will talk
36:33
about for example the work that's being done with emerging artists and helping shows build emerging artists programs
36:39
that is an important part of our industry to get younger people into the actual world and becoming earners on
36:48
their art and keeping the shows fresh and right and the show's fresh right I thought it
36:53
was really cool to walk around by you this past you know a couple weeks ago and to walk around and see so many uh
36:58
younger fresh faced artists I'm like man New Blood all right do an exciting work
37:03
I mean some of this work is coming out is just like we haven't seen this stuff out there and it's so great to have that
37:10
kind of like um she wasn't at this show but like uh Kina Crow's niece Hannah
37:16
flower it's so great to see a young person with her kind of talent being able to be in
37:23
the emerging artist shows last year and now she's getting into amazing shows her
37:29
lineup this year is going to be great right out of the gate so it's it's really important yeah and and so that is
37:35
one of the reasons that I'm uh we're having Camille Marchese come on to the show she had a really successful
37:42
emerging artist program that that went on and she handled it a little bit differently and I'm excited to talk to
37:48
her about it so yeah absolutely artists sometimes don't work together but uh
37:54
this particular program she got a lot of people on board and it really seemed to work out so I've I'm excited I know that
38:01
the initiative that her and Cindy lyric worked on for this was the fact that in
38:07
the past a lot of emerging artists programs were okay you're good enough to be in the emerging artists program
38:12
here's a booth figure it out and this is the next step it's a little bit of hand
38:18
holding it's a little bit of mentoring and teaching and really helping them to
38:23
launch and that's what we need we need to have new blood be able to launch and and get into this Market yeah I mean I I
38:31
really enjoy mentoring I've mentored a couple of different people um I've got a photographer that I'm
38:36
mentoring right now that um you know super talented but he needs to
38:41
hone it a little bit and the display doesn't exist he's not ready for prime time but it's like okay uh Virginia
38:48
shows we can get this this is where he lives so it's like this is happening but I love that
38:54
that particular thing I've got 21 years of experience now and I've done craft
39:00
I've done uh finer art I've done some illustration and and um you know I found
39:06
my way and I have lots of experience to pass on that can can hit or not hit but
39:12
all the same it's it's a generosity to be able to share with each other yeah
39:18
you know that's part of what NAIA does and it that's I believe in it I do so I
39:23
believe in that too absolutely I don't know you look at that group what do we got like you and me and Ben fry and
39:29
farhana and Amy Landsberg Diane French has been around forever doing doing every different kind of art show
39:36
um yeah Evan reinheimer and Reiko uh killer
39:42
group of of just a ragtag group of people that all believe in all boats Rising as one yeah those are the artists
39:49
and then for show directors you know Sharon Tanner and Cindy lyric and Camille Marchese kind of give us the
39:55
balance give us the other side of the of the thing so if it's like are we getting a little over our skis here as artists
40:02
and they can say well here's the balance here's the flip here's what it's like from this other side of the of the of
40:07
the industry so we can kind of work together am I just angry here because this guy's
40:12
a douchebag or uh are you talking about yourself there well are you the douchebag
40:18
not the douchebag there's a douchebag out there boy
40:23
[Laughter] um this was kind of weird so have you ever
40:30
gotten like weird vibes from from a hotel like you stopped for the night it's Sun's starting to go down you're
40:36
starting to feel like uh I if I go much further there won't be anything down the line so I'm gonna stop here and there's
40:42
really no reason that you should have these weird Vibes about the place but something about it just gives you the
40:49
freaking creeps like somebody died in that room or you're gonna get you're gonna get robbed or murdered or
40:54
something oh yeah I listen to those all the time it happens to me um a lot of
41:00
times in sushi restaurants if I get a bad Vibe um I am I like I've been known I'm like
41:07
the temperature is not right in here I don't like the carpet I got I gotta get
41:12
out of here so yes if that happens I'll get bad and it's not haunted as much as it is just you know I'm a little little
41:20
salmonella gun shy but they're like oh my God I just ate a bad oyster I think I'm gonna be sick
41:25
that's right so um being home here for a couple of weeks getting ready for the next show we got called up for a couple
41:32
of wait lists that a boy yeah so it was good but it was also like you know you kind of have your head on a plan for
41:39
what you're gonna do and then you're like well do I cancel a show I have existing to take
41:47
this other show that I would have rather been in do I try and fit it all in I mean how do you handle stuff like that
41:55
um narcissistically you take it off
42:01
yeah um sometimes I've committed to shows where I'm like I mean if it's if it's a
42:07
super biggie then then I know I know where my loyalties are gonna lie
42:12
I'm like I gotta go with the proven the track record one yeah but it's like
42:19
I don't know I I have been offered like would you take a terrible space in
42:25
your favorite show or a great space in a show that you don't typically do as well
42:32
in yeah you know and I I don't know you want to be on Broadway you want to be
42:39
off Broadway right oh yeah I mean on Broadway every time so yeah you got to
42:44
do what's right for yourself as long as you're not I don't know it you the best thing you can do is as soon as you
42:51
figure it out let the other show know you know yeah Dear John I've decided yes it isn't
42:59
going to work out this time yeah but uh I don't know I guess we we accepted and
43:04
we're gonna let the chips fall with where they may because you know we loaded it up and we can't make
43:12
opportunities appear out of thin air but if we've over committed ourselves then
43:18
you know I guess like you said it's not our job to do art shows it's our job to
43:23
sell the artwork we've created right that is yeah that's the great quote I got from from my buddy Matthew Napster
43:29
or our friend Matthew he's like our job is not to do our shows yeah so it's I
43:35
was talking to an artist who got into a huge show um this year and and uh I don't want to
43:41
mention her by name because I'm gonna I'm gonna make fun of her okay we're gonna preface it with a warning
43:49
okay because I'm on a honor business model she was talking about
43:56
um holding back she's like well I'm gonna hold back so that I have this work to
44:01
show with this this other show and I'm like your job is just to sell it all right right so if you if you sell it all at
44:08
the first show of the year you're done there you go take a take a nap you know
44:13
regroup later in the summer and we've all been to an art show and and seen you
44:19
know if unless you're a photographer you can't just reload and oh I know restock the booth you can do a show every
44:25
weekend you know they and I'm not thrashing on photographers they have their own unique business model right
44:31
yes thank you very much for helping you out here well putting words in your mouth
44:39
all right you know they can Reef you know it's going to take some time especially if they're not digital to run
44:45
the you know run the whole process and go through the framing that being said they I can't reload it takes me a long
44:52
time per painting I gotta I gotta take some time that if I sell if I sold out
44:57
it by you do you think I'd be gnashing my teeth that I didn't hold back some work for these next shows that'll sit in
45:02
my studio right so anyway she was like don't worry I'm I've held back work for
45:07
this and that so I'll make sure that I still have like why would you go to so many shows if you can sell them all in
45:14
one or two just sell it sell it baby just sell it because who's to say you
45:19
know right like you go to the show and you get perfect weather and the show that you're holding it back for somebody
45:26
walks by and and has something in mind you know and it it's I don't believe in holding it back I mean at all it's kind
45:33
of like uh what happened to us on Sunday in Houston at the last show we are doing
45:40
going to Houston shows one's a suburb one was in the heart of Houston a lot of
45:45
the art buying people might go to both and I'm not usually a fan of going back
45:51
to the same spot it's like find me here you know what I'm saying but those are those are bar off I mean that's like
45:57
doing a show in Richmond and doing a show in Charlottesville I mean they're so far apart you're talking about Bayou
46:03
in The Woodlands well so but on Sunday uh I noticed like at three o'clock on
46:10
Sunday there was an influx of interested people that our crowd was there okay and
46:18
I was really reticent to be like you know like they felt like well they're not just gonna walk in and just
46:24
drop five grand just like that they needed to settle in it needed to land they needed to process whatever
46:31
and I didn't want to give them an out I didn't want to say well we'll be here next week so you have for three weeks do
46:38
you have three weeks to think about it until they're walking out of the booth and then I'm like oh by the way you know
46:46
what I mean to try and get that one last chance to see them again so I'm hoping some of those leads from Houston
46:52
translate into Woodland sales coming up here yeah you know my only thing that I'd throw out there to people is um you
47:00
know we are all in this together whether you believe it or not you know we and the kindest thing you could possibly do
47:07
is if you can't make it or you know you're going to cancel all
47:12
right holding it right this is not gin rummy you're not hanging on to the ace so the other person can't use it yeah
47:18
let let the show go because your your backups show that you're hanging on to that isn't going to refund your money
47:25
could be somebody else's best show of the Year absolutely it's not going to have an opportunity to drive there if
47:30
you if you cancel day of yeah yeah yeah but that's the kind of thing you can do
47:36
to a show and and to our people your fellow artists all right totally yeah
47:41
for sure as of right now heck we're loaded up so we're gonna go and we're gonna we're gonna try and do it hell
47:47
you're not you're not just loaded up you're loaded up and already in Houston that's right exactly talk about one foot
47:53
in the door one foot in the door one one limping foot on the door
47:58
coming back look what you say is you get on the Good Foot which one is the good what's the good fall it's hard to say
48:03
these days so we built one or the other piece of [ __ ] well um we've had a long talk here we've
48:10
turned this into a whole episode but but before we go we've had a bunch of losses
48:16
come through the Art Fair Community in the last month and I I didn't want to I didn't want to end this episode without
48:22
acknowledging some of the the really great artists out there who have passed
48:27
yeah you know we don't always get a chance to mention all of them and and sometimes we get to talking and we
48:34
forget yeah and we don't get a chance to mention everybody but it is important and uh some of those have hit pretty
48:41
close to home especially to this time of year yeah so um yeah let's let's take a minute
48:47
Michael madso I mean I was neighbors with him years and years ago and I was a
48:53
little bit intimidated his work is phenomenal to me it's it's just the top
49:00
and such a wonderful human being and It's just sad to see him go man you know
49:07
what you're I am not on social media as much as I used to be and I didn't realize he had passed I I am familiar
49:14
with his work phenomenal work he's a real talent yes and I it's just a really
49:20
like kind and generous human and I just really I I was neighbors with him at one
49:27
show and it just kind of stuck with me that that was a really good experience I wouldn't say we were close or even like
49:33
on we wouldn't go visit each other in our booth but he left a really big impact on me his work did anyway yeah
49:39
and a huge impact on on the careers of of many and and made an impact on the
49:44
street right yes and um absolutely huge loss and also I want to give a nod to to
49:50
Jack Forney Jeweler from I believe he's from Indiana yeah he was an amazing guy
49:57
and I have to say years and years ago I pulled into an art fair at Coconut Grove actually and I plowed right into his
50:06
minivan by All rights he had the right to just
50:11
lay into me it was my fault sure I got out of the van I apologized he was reasonable he was just a kind human we
50:18
worked it out insurance took care of things but it turned into a scene where I mean he was just very a very nice guy
50:27
so yeah yeah those things make a difference yeah we've all been next to artists and um you know I want to
50:34
mention another one yeah um that that we lost I didn't realize that that David Piper had passed away and he has had a
50:41
huge impact on oh my gosh uh art shows and and his handmade shoes he and his son
50:47
um have had this business for a while I wanted it to kind of give him a shout out you know we've got Fort Worth coming
50:53
up and all right staple he was for many years and and the way that that show uh
50:59
wonderful show the way that one works is artists can close it at 8 pm right and
51:06
you're welcome to stay open and we we have electric at that show or um I'm not fortunate enough to go to be
51:13
going this year but uh they do Supply electric so you can stay open as late as you want right
51:19
the trick is that it you know it's like moths to a flame if you're the one light
51:24
all the moths are gonna jump in and so I I had long since finished my dinner gone
51:31
back to the hotel gone into the the Blackstone uh Courtyard and and gone up
51:36
to my room and I've got a view of the street and I looked down and there's David Piper still fitting people with
51:41
shoes just working his tail off just spitting his and he's basically got a
51:47
handmade shoe store and he's trying you know just just I mean just big like I could see the the grin on his face from
51:54
the fifth floor and just just working his butt off just really attentive to to
51:59
the collectors wanting what he what he did right more power to you buddy yeah rest in peace there sir you're a huge
52:06
loss to our community as well you got another one right yeah right and the
52:12
last one it's been a run of just bad news after bad news as this one was a really close friend of mine and he um
52:20
he's actually one of my art fair Heroes I'd have to say he's our age so it's really hard to see a young one go like
52:25
that so uh yeah Joe Christensen wasn't on the art fair scene for long
52:30
but he he kind of evolved past the art fair scene uh Ralph Lauren started
52:37
collecting his pots and all of his big pots were used in his showrooms around
52:44
the world and he just became a phenomenon and he's been on the back of
52:49
my mind as somebody I wanted to speak to on the podcast when the time was right and it just it really eats me up inside
52:56
to know that I'm not going to have that opportunity so to his family and friends I really send a heartfelt uh condolences
53:03
I'm really sorry about that yeah we we are and and the friends and family of
53:09
all of these artists and members of our community that we've lost I know that that uh David Piper's son is is going to
53:15
continue the business oh god um hopefully he can uh lean into the the
53:20
friends and and family there on the street but uh we're all we're all missing these these great great folks
53:26
that were members of our community we are we're a community we're a family and we you know you and me we do this
53:33
because we really want to highlight the amazing people out here and share
53:38
stories and and you know this is a sad ending but it really is impactful these people mean a
53:46
lot to us and and we just want to you know just send a hey send a hey out to
53:51
them so get out there and and make an impact on on your neighbor yeah there be
53:56
be kind to each other friends and and uh we'll see you next time right all right
54:03
I'll see you in um I'll see you in South Lake we'll see you in Texas my friend all right another round in Texas safe
54:09
travels buds bye this podcast is brought to you by the National Association of Independent
54:15
Artists the website is naiaartists.org also sponsored by zapplication that's application.org and
54:24
while you're at it find us on social media and engage in these conversations be sure to subscribe to this podcast and
54:31
be notified when we release new episodes oh and if you like the show we'd love it if you would give us your five star
54:36
rating and offer up your most creative review on your podcast streaming service see you next time
54:48
thank you foreign



English (auto-generated)

All
From The Independent Artist Podcast
Podcasts
Related
Listenable
Watched