Paradise City - Northampton III Debrief

I was at the Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton, MA over the weekend. This was my third time going to this show and I have to say it has been my favorite venue. It is a well established show that always has good crowds with plenty of people who aren't afraid to spend money, even in this economy. I can't say all the artists are selling at the level they need or expect to, but people are definitely spending money. For me, even if I'm not selling, having a large audience certainly helps in that I always get good feedback. Luckily, sales were good, especially compared to the disappointing Spring shows. I sold the new piece, Peaches and Pears, as well as an older piece, Green Grass-Summer Day, and I know a couple of people are seriously considering additional work. That, along with the additional 27 email addresses that I collected, give me hope that I can eventually earn a living making art.

Booth Shot
October 9, 2010

After the show I decided that I need to start taking notes to document what people say when they see my work. In particular, I need to count how many times I hear the exact phase "I've never seen anything like this." It is somewhat amazing to see a stream of random people walking by and hearing the first thing out of their mouths be the exact same phase. I estimate I hear it about five times a day but I'll start collecting data at the next show and then use the numbers as a gauge for evaluating success.

Other interesting comments included one person who was raving that they the work should be in museums. Unfortunately, he wasn't a curator nor did he have connections to any but I encouraged him to remember the work if he ever ran into one. Another artist stopped by and asked "Do people understand how beautiful these are?"

I also remember someone saying, "You must really enjoy making these." To which I responded, surprising myself, "No, actually I don't enjoy it." I enjoy the final piece, I enjoy thinking about them, I enjoy having a purpose to go to the lumber yard, but the actual process of making them I mostly don't enjoy. Rather, I find it to be a painful struggle that I'm compelled to complete. An endurance battle much like a marathon. Does anyone ever really enjoy running marathons? I've done them and I can't say I liked it either; still I would like to run more. I've hoped that making art would somehow get easier over time but I haven't found it to get any easier. Interestingly, I recently heard Philip Roth being interviewed on Fresh Air by Terry Gross and he said essentially the same thing. Writing has never gotten any easier for him, rather, it has always been a difficult struggle that he battles with every day. I guess I just need to get used to it (though, I'm sure, if it ever got easy I'd find something else to do -- the struggle keeps it interesting). Update Oct 22, 2010: I saw Frank Stella talk at Dartmouth College yesterday and, when someone asked whether he found more pleasure in making his art, looking at the finished piece, or looking at the work of others, he said that he doesn't find pleasure in making his art, that there are always problems that he is trying to fix which take all his attention, and that it is much more pleasurable to look at someone else's art.

In addition, I was surprised, and very humbled, to hear one artist compare my work to Agnes Martin's. I don't see it myself but have heard it enough times that there must be some truth to it. I hadn't known of her work until I made Silk Ribbons and Cherry a couple of years ago and had three people tell me that it reminded them of her paintings. Her work is so subtle that looking at images on the web is really pointless but finally saw one over the Summer. Like a whisper, it forces you to listen. If my work could do that, it would be a great accomplishment.

Another advantage of the show is meeting other artists and learning about their work. I especially like to see other people working with wood. This time I talked a bit with Mark Del Guidice, a unique and very accomplished studio furniture maker. He combines his own contemporary designs with his interesting, intuitive, hieroglyphs. They appear to tell a story but they are ambiguous enough that the viewer is drawn in and challenged to decipher them. He also adds text in morse code sometimes. I believe he creates pieces that work as an antidote to the ever increasing speeds of modern culture by slowing people down and getting them to look and think about what is in front of them.

Love Chest

Adornment

This chair has morse code on the back. It says, "Relax Have A Seat."

Sanfra Chair

I was glad to see this piece of non-functional wall art. The rocks are a nice touch. It seems a little altar-esque, something that promotes contemplation and prayer.

Faith

The next show is CraftWestport, November 20 and 21.

CraftBoston Debrief

I just got back from the CraftBoston show over the weekend. I was very impressed with the quality of the show. The vast majority of artists also participated in the most competitive juried shows in the country, including the Smithsonian and Philadelphia Museum shows. Unfortunately, the majority of people I talked with (but certainly not all) were disappointed with sales. As a wall art artist I almost feel like the entertainment between jewelery and clothing booths (where the majority of sales occur). After two really poor show sales (Paradise City - Marlborough was only slightly better than the goose egg laid at this one) I have to wonder if these shows are the best venue for my work. The truth is that I really don't think it is, but I'm not sure what the alternative is either. The shows offer a massive amount of exposure that I can't get any other way and I can only hope that the exposure pays off at some point. With larger work on the higher end and nothing inexpensive for sale, one has to expect that people have to think about it and that sales will happen down the road. I don't really find the lack of sales depressing, rather, I find it confusing. I wonder if the Boston area isn't the right place for my work, are the people too conservative? (I seemed to get a better response at the Northampton shows that have much more of a NY audience). Is it the economy? (Some people are selling alright so I can't blame everything on the economy). Some artists talk about the changing demographics with an aging population that has enough stuff already. Whatever it is, I am sure wall art is a tougher sell right now, maybe for the indefinite future.

CraftBoston Booth Shot

Although it is extremely hard to be objective about your own work, I think I'm producing the best art I have ever made and I still get a good response from enough people to make me think that I'm not completely off-base (aside from one women who wanted to know if my work was flooring), so all I know to do is to keep on going (I was delighted to learn that a glass artist couple actually voted for my booth for the Artist Choice Award, given the quality of work at this show, just getting one vote is a huge accomplishment.) Maybe I'll get into the other top shows (I've already applied for the Philadelphia museum show for the fall) and get better exposure (and maybe, just maybe, sales). My hope is to eventually get out of the show circuit, either though gallery representation and/or a network of commissions and collectors but that kind of wish is the holy grail of the arts community, attained by only a select few though some mysterious alchemy that combines hard work, luck, talent, drive, marketing and more work. These shows are painfully expensive, exhausting, and stressful. It is a hard way to make a living even if you are making a living from it. My fear is that the show circuit is a never ending loop that you enter with a plan to leave but can't get out once it starts to work for you. Some jewelery artists I've talked with do more than twenty shows a year.

Besides the exposure, these shows are a great opportunity to meet other artists and see their great work. Of the wood artists, I was particularly drawn to the intriguing sculptures of Bruce Chapin. His work is mysterious, thought provoking, and very soulful; seemingly generated from the unimpeded subconscious. I suspect Carl Jung would have a field day with it but it is probably more interesting to just leave them for wonderment.

The Philosopher

Billy Day Tart

Scarifier

Several of his pieces had doors that open to some other object inside. This is the only one that I was able to get a decent image of. Some are more evocative of a human form on the outside or more evocative of a soulful form on the inside.

Moon Boy Dreaming

unknown title

Gripped Beyond

I also got to meet Bart Niswonger whose work I had seen at Gallery NAGA a few weeks earlier.

In addition to the cast urethane cabinet that I wrote about for that show, I really like what he did with this wavy ash cabinet. Unfigured ash can be a boring choice for fine furniture but by adding the waves he has essentially created figured lumber and by adding the color he has found a great way to highlight the grain.
Here is a close-up. It is a technique that is both spectacular and distinctive.
I also met Bonnie Birshoff of the J.M. Syron and Bishoff duo and was very impressed by their tamo and polymer clay veneered cabinet.
This was my first encounter with tamo. It is a Japanese ash that can have spectacular figure similar to the highest quality quilted maple. Of course, I immediately wondered how I could get a hold of some of this as solid lumber, rather than veneer, but a quick Internet search indicates that money would have to be no object. Veneer like this could cost more than $7/sq foot so a board, 1 inch thick, if you could find it in the US (and I really doubt it) would likely cost more than $50/board ft. To get it I'm sure you would have to go to a Japanese mill and outbid the veneer buyers. I might as well stick with my local hardwoods, still, this is amazing stuff.

tamo close-up

In talking with other artists at shows, I find it amazing that anybody ever figures out how to make a living doing this. A lot of very talented people with top quality work are struggling. Still, I think there must be a way to make it work. Unfortunately, beyond winning ArtPrize, I'm at a bit of a loss for ideas.

Paradise City - Northampton Debrief (2)

I got back from the Paradise City show last week having determined that the economy still stinks. Don't listen to economists, go to art shows and talk to artists. Most people weren't happy with sales. Personally, I can't complain. I sold four pieces that more that paid for the show (May Rain, Horst and Graben, Cherry Ribbon, and Blue Ribbon) and there is still hope that I might get some commission work from the exposure. Sometimes you don't know how good a show was until many months, or sometimes years, later.
One person was interested enough in exploring potential commissions that I drew up some ideas for the client's apartment with 14 foot ceilings. This one is based on "May Rain." It would be about 90" H x 40" W x 1.5" D, made with random width and thickness curly maple and accented with cherry. And this one is based on "Five by Ten". It would also be made with curly maple and cherry and would be 72" x 72" x 1.5".The great thing about commission work is that it would give me the chance to do bigger work that I wouldn't do otherwise for space and transport considerations. It also allows be to develop a more impressive portfolio.

Having sold the last of my ribbon series, I now have the money and justification to buy a big chunk of cherry to make more. I really liked having them on the ends of my display because it allowed me to point to something that I welcomed visitors to touch, unlike the shellac paintings (which people are all too ready to put their hands all over -- I draw the line when they start tapping their finger nails on them). It was a bit of a surprise to sell them because I had spent countless hours talking to hundreds of people (no exaggeration) about them over that last 2.5 years. Much admired but never sold - I was mystified as to why, but, at the same time, happy to keep them indefinitely.

Also at the show was Katherine Park. I had briefly met her at the Baltimore show back in May but got a better chance to talk to her at this show. Her work was definitely the most interesting furniture at the show. It is well crafted sculptural furniture, but it also tells a story and engages the viewer to think. For instance, this mirror clock, entitled "True Crusade" is mysterious and fascinating.

Although it is obviously a mirror, it also has an a figure on the left side that seems to have a door on its body. If you open the door, you find another door.
If you open the second door, you find a clock! And if you look closely, you'll see a tiny figure looking up at the clock.
I guess, while one is looking at oneself in the mirror, you can think about how time is ticking away while you waste time looking at yourself; or, if you want to know what time it is while you are looking at yourself, you can open a couple of doors and find out; or, you can just stand there and admirer the fine craft in making the sculpture; or, you can think about how small and insignificant we are to the passage of time. I didn't ask Katherine about this piece because I think it is more interesting to think about it myself, but I'm sure it has a story and deep meaning behind it. I look forward to seeing more of her work in the future.

Woodstock Show Debrief

I participated in the Vermont Fine Furniture and Woodworking Festival in Woodstock, VT for the 3rd year during the last weekend in September. I set up early on Friday before most people were there so it was a pleasant surprise to arrive on Saturday morning and find that several new, and very talented, furniture makers were participating this year. The show keeps getting better and better and it is quickly becoming, without a doubt, one of the top furniture shows (based on quality) in the country.

My work is somewhat out of place but the show is close by, inexpensive, and draws a group of people that should also be interested in my art, so I keep doing it. I've sold two pieces in each of the last two years but this year was real weird. Plenty of people in attendance, probably more than previous years, but no sales -- I'm sure the economy was to blame because nobody else seemed to be making sales either. Regardless of the number of sales, the show is still good exposure, you never know where it will lead.

A big surprise at the show was the new entry of Brian Bright. Although he graduated with an MFA from the prestigious Rochester Institute of Technology School for American Crafts several years ago (whose alum also include David Hurwitz and Leah Woods), he had been toiling away creating very high end board room furniture with WallGoldfinger (their clients include all the top Wall Street investment banks, when I visited the shop a while ago they were working on "The Situation Room" for the White House) until the economic downturn gave him the inspiration and time to set up his own studio. His work demonstrates both fine artistry and craft that seems to play with the tension between asymmetry and balance. He is definitely someone to watch as his work progresses.

©Brian Bright

©Brian Bright

©Brian Bright

©Brian Bright

Another top level new entry to the show, but someone who is already very established, was Eric Sprenger. His contemporary designs have a light and welcoming appearance while also being big and sturdy.

©Eric Sprenger

For example, both the dining table and coffee table below are made with big hunks of wood but the table tops are floating above them rather than resting on the hunks.

©Eric Sprenger

I especially like the panels he used for the display. He said that they hadn't been used for a show in a long time and in the interim he let them be used by his hometown of Wilmington, VT for an event and the kid decorated them. I think they did a great job.

©Eric Sprenger

©Eric Sprenger

The show also gave me a chance to meet Timothy Clark, the famed cabinetmaker/chairwright. Windsor chairs are typically very traditional and a bit stodgy, not having changed much in over two hundred years of manufacturing, so Timothy should really be applauded for coming up with a contemporary twist (separating the arm rest from the back rails) that makes it simultaneously elegant/sturdy and modern/traditional.

©Timothy Clark

©Timothy Clark

His largest and most impressive commission to date is this amazing settee purchased by the Park Hyatt in Washington, DC. At 29'4" (with 206 rails), it had to be constructed in 3 sections, yet even with a close inspection it is hard to find where the joints are.

David Hurwitz was also at the show and, although he had very little time to create new work, he managed to finish this great new mirror (the cherry didn't have time to get a red/brown patina).

©David Hurwitz

The angled curves and tails at the beginning and end give it much more movement than his other waves (see neighboring mirrors). A nice addition to his portfolio. Perhaps he will be integrating the design in to furniture pieces as well.

My booth was across from ClearLake Furniture so I heard a lot about this impressive quarter sawn white oak round table.

They have a contract to create 60 of these for The Taft School, a private boys boarding school in Connecticut, as part of a $30 million renovation of their dining room. The table is a rock. Made with 1.5 inch boards, it weighs close to 400lbs. Thankfully, it breaks into two pieces of about equal weight. Normally, ClearLake creates pieces one at a time with one woodworker on each piece, start to finish, so production work like this is a big change but also a welcome source of income.

An interesting addition to the show was the Naked Table Project, conceived and organized by Charles Shackleton and Miranda Thomas. The idea is to promote sustainable forestry, woodworking, and agriculture. Participants pay around $650 to assemble and finish a table, over two days, that is made with sustainably harvested, locally grown, sugar maple; finished with Vermont Natural Coatings' environmentally safe whey-based finish; and inaugurated with a diner party featuring locally grown/raised food.

Here are the participants at the beginning of the project, sanding the table tops and preparing it for the finish. I think that is Andrew Meyer (in the middle with sweater and khakis), owner of Vermont Natural Coatings, giving some instructions. I have to say, they do have a great product. I got a sample at last year's show and compared it with General Finishes High Performance Poly (Fine Woodworking's top choice for water-based finishes) and I thought VNC was every bit as good if not better. The viscosity is very low so it goes on smooth but it still has a high percentage of solids so it builds up very fast. Two coats seemed to be plenty whereas with most other polyurathanes that I've used, three seems to be the minimum. Also, the fact that there are no noxious VOCs associated with it is a huge plus. You can be use it indoors without ventilation and have no fear of causing brain damage.

Here are the finished tables prior to their inaugural meal. They are nice study tables made with mortise and tenons that are pegged together. I don't think ShackletonThomas is making much if any money on the project, rather, it is an honest attempt to promote sustainability.

Kit Clark displayed this Maloof inspired rocker as part of the Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers booth. Not to take anything away from Kit, because it is a very nice - and comfortable - chair, but I think it speaks to how great a designer/woodworker Sam Maloof was that none of the rockers he has inspired come close to his artistry. His chairs are so organic and welcoming, they take on a life of their own. The great thing about Kit's chair is the gentle give of the back rest that contours to the body of anyone who sits in it. The back rails of his chair are laminate so they are both strong and flexible. If you can't afford an original Maloof, this is a nice substitute.

©Kit Clark

Another studio furniture maker that really raises the level of the show is the work of William LeBerge. His arts and crafts inspired furniture is meticulously designed and constructed. Very impressive work.

©William LeBerge

©William LeBerge

Also participating in the show are a number of larger companies that create good solid furniture one at a time, such as Maple Corner Woodworks, Pompanoosuc Mills, Copeland Furniture, and the already mentioned ClearLake Furniture as well as ShackletonThomas. They aren't really doing production work, each order is custom, but they have a large number of existing designs that customers can choose. There presence gives a nice balance to the numerous studio furniture makers. Below is an image of a new piece by Maple Corner Woodworks.

©Maple Corner Woodworks

They said that the structure is an existing design but that they just started blending walnut with maple. I like the style. I think blending different color woods together raises the aesthetics of a piece. It makes it much more interesting.

I plan to be back next year and hope the show continues to improve. Hopefully, the economy will turn by then and it will draw more buyers.

Paradise City - Northampton Debrief

I got back from Northampton late on Monday night and have been busy catching up and putting everything back in its place. It was a good show and I actually made some sales too. Both of my blistered maple pieces are gone "Thrice in a Lifetime" (left side of back wall) and "Yin/Yang" (left side of left wall) as well as "One Walnut Strip" (right side of back wall). And there seems to be interest in other pieces so maybe some follow up sales will come through as well.

The response to my work continues to be very good. Of course, plenty of people walk right by and aren't interested, but the people the stop and look have some really intense responses. I'm always a little surprised by it because I'm a little jaded by my own work. It is hard to see what someone else sees when they see it for the first time. I constantly here people ask "how do you get your colors?" and say that they have never seen anything like it before; that it is very original. Some people just stop and say "Wow!" so I must be accomplishing what I intend.

These shows are very draining though. Long days of saying the same thing over and over and over again. I try not to sound like a broken record but whenever I mix it up a bit I get lost and end up sounding inarticulate. Other artists have told me the same thing, the rule is, if you have a good spiel, stick with it. You may have heard it thousands of times but the public is hearing it only once. I've also found it is important to drink a lot of liquids. I'm amazed by how much moisture I lose by talking constantly.

My display walls seem to have worked out well. I get a lot of complements about them. The only problem is that I need a lot of space to put them together so it is hard to do when everyone else is getting ready. I thought I designed them so that I could put them together in place but that hasn't worked out as planned because it is hard to slide the panels into place. Someone at the show suggested that I rub soap inside the grooves of the rails and styles. If it works, I might be able to put them together without getting in the way of others.

There were some other interesting wood artists at the show. In addition to Jeffery Oh and Carl Schlerman who were both at the Baltimore show, I saw work by Brian Wood and Nathaniel Smith. Brian creates these great wood turning sculptures with blocks of wood. This sphere is pretty impressive. He says that he turns three reference lines and then carves the sphere from there. It doesn't looked carved to me but I'm not sure how else you could do it so I'll believe him.

©Brian Wood

I also liked his vases that had missing blocks. It reminded me of Bud Latven's absolutely insane work so I had to ask Brian how he though Bud made his sculptures. For Brian's work, it is "easy" enough to remove a few blocks during glue up, but for the amount of missing block that Bud has, he has to carve them out after turning.

©Brian Wood

I also really like this small vase with holes.

©Brian Wood

I also liked Nathaniel's dancing branch sculptures. They are all made with beech branches and either finished with india ink and tung oil, or just tung oil. It is amazing how much personality each branch has. Nathaniel is an arborist during the week so he always has a good, inexpensive source for his art.

©Nathaniel Smith

Baltimore Show Debrief

I just got back from the Baltimore Fine Furnishings and Fine Craft Show after an all night drive (we left at 6:45pm and arrived in Montpelier at 4 am). It was a first year show so it was pretty much a gamble for everyone involved. Unfortunately, although the quality of the art was high, there were some problems in bringing in the people. Saturday was extremely slow; Sunday was better but still not what it needed to be. Most people were disappointed but seemed to realize that it is especially hard to get people to come to first year shows and that future years would probably be better. I didn't hear anybody say they wouldn't be back.

Personally, I didn't make any sales but that wasn't the primary goal anyway. I was looking for exposure and connections. The response to my work was good and I talked to at least three people that were either dealers or friends of dealers who were interested in passing along information about my work. If just one of those conversations leads to something, the show would be worth the time and effort. I'm sure it will take several months to find out if it pays off so I remain hopeful. At the same time, I was surprised there were not more dealers and collectors at the show.

I also had a number of interesting conversations, including talking with James Adajian, co-owner of a fine furniture restoration, conservation, and reproduction firm - Adajian and Nelson. We had a good conversation about french polishing and SDA 3C shellac solvent (it is what the pros use). As I suspected, SDA 3C 200 proof is a much more aggressive solvent and it makes french polishing more difficult. I just need to improve my technique, its still doable, just need to have a softer hand (update: James had recommended using upholstery cotton inside the cloth ball used in french polishing and it does work much better than the old cotton t-shirts I was using. It is much softer so touching down and lifting off the board much gentler). I also learned that french polish was traditionally done on table tops and that they still do it. It does get damaged but so does any other type of finish you could use, but the french polish is much easier to repair. Traditionally, people would just schedule a refinisher to come by the house every few years and renew the polish.

Here are three images of my new 5 x 20 booth. It was quite a lot of work to build and put together but I think it worked well. I'll modify it slightly for the 10 x 10 space at Paradise City in a few weeks. The good thing about not selling anything is that I still have my best work for that show. I find you can't have enough lights. I had 17 for 15 pieces of art and still could have used two more. I also think the paint color worked well. I chose "Anonymous" from Sherwin-Williams. It is about as neutral as you can get, a dark greenish-brown gray. If figured it would help the colors pop and I think it worked.



My favorite work at the show was by Katherine Park. She creates these amazingly complex and original surrealistic sculptural furniture. Although it is museum quality (in design and craft) she is still below the radar. I didn't get a chance to interview her and find out more about her history, but you can see from her resume that she hasn't shown much and that she isn't currently represented by a gallery. It looks like she has taken a break and is just getting back into promoting her work. Amazing stuff though. She has an undergraduate degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and a masters from the Rochester Institute of Technology School of American Crafts - and it shows.

"As the Deer Pants for Water" and Untitled (clock)
©Katherine Park

"As the Deer Pants for Water" (close-up)
©Katherine Park

"The Kingdom will Come" (writing desk)
©Katherine Park

There were also a few people at the show who were showing off beautiful wood in its almost natural state. Both Jeffrey Oh and David Stine had enormous slabs of walnut. They both also used butterfly key joinery to stabilize cracks -- Jeffrey with contrasting/highlighting bird's-eye maple protuding from the surface, David with flush walnut butterflies. Wood is art and both of them did a great job of highlighting its natural beauty.

Jeffrey's slab is Bastogne Walnut, an extremely rare natural cross between California Claro Walnut and California English Walnut. He got it from Talarico Hardwoods and said he hasn't paid for it yet, the purchaser can pay for the slab directly from the retailer and Jeffrey will add his time into the cost. The purchaser can also decide what he wants to do with the slab - table? counter top? wall sculpture?. He said it sells for $100/board-foot or around $4600. Pricey stuff but truly amazing.

Bastogne Walnut
©Jeffrey Oh
Bastogne Walnut
©Jeffrey Oh (close-up)

David Stine's walnut slab is about 9 feet by 4 feet and comes from somewhere in the 360 acre wood lot he manages sustainably from his family's old dairy farm. He harvests, mills, and kiln dries the lumber himself. This table has a convenient whole in the middle so that you can pass scraps to the dog without sliding your hands under the table. The base is made with knock down pegs so it is easy to move around as long as you are comfortable swinging around 150 lb slabs of lumber. David is a big guy and it is clear that he is using woodworking as a substitute for going to the gym.

Lowder Table
©David Stine

Next to my booth was Corwin Butterworth Custom Furniture. His work wavers through the Asian/Shaker/Mission aesthetic. I particularly like his Asian influenced pieces, like this "Four Post Chair". A really great design. He said it was influenced by the rear seats in the Suburu Brat. Apparently, it had handles for the passengers to hang on to like this chair.

"Four Post Chair"
©Corwin Butterworth

Also at the show as Carl Schlerman's company Crimson Asphalt. I especially like this combination of concrete, ash, and spalted maple. Talk about solid furniture. The whole thing probably weights between 350 and 400 lbs. At the same time the tappered legs and slopping top give it a very elegant and welcoming form.

©Carl Schlerman