Art Festivals: Frequently Asked Questions & Other Practical Matters
"I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man's." - William Blake
When I first started the art festival guide I had a somewhat clear organization and, once I decided on the main points to cover, I kept to my outline more or less faithfully. During the course of art festivals, I would think of bits and pieces and almost all of them fit neatly into my chapters...almost. Another phenomenon that occurs in art festivals is that some of us get a lot of visits from artists that want to entertain the idea of embarking upon the art festival adventure. Most of them ask the obvious questions but some pose a few practical and sometimes not so obvious questions. There is so much more to know!
On an average year, whatever that may be, I figure I spend about 30% of my time making art, 30% selling art, 30% on the various business tasks and 30% taking care of the home front. If you notice, that adds up to 120%, not counting sleeping and eating, which is the appropriate amount of time to dedicate to making a living as an artist. Seriously, I have never worked so hard or so long on anything, although the rewards of making a living as a living artist are without question worth every minute of every day and the minutes in between. Nobody said it was going to be easy!
While you are starting out and still not knowing who to ask, I will just answer the most frequent questions that came pouring to my booth and my website and that logically made me fashion this last chapter as a summary of Frequently Asked Questions. They are arranged in no particular order; I simply jotted them down as people asked both in person and online although I guess I tried to address them in order of importance or at least relevance to the business. You might call them tricks of the trade, nuts and bolts, tips from the experienced or frequently asked questions. I will also try to answer them succinctly since I have already explained most points in the previous chapters. Well, I might throw in a story or two, but that's to be expected by now. So here are my loose ends, whatever didn't neatly fit into the previous chapters, I kept for this last one. Now you can't say nobody told you!
Entering an art show, at any level of your career, is a wonderful means of gaining validation and recognition. For beginning artists, receiving appreciation from people other than friends and family can be very encouraging. Competition is an excellent way of building up a resume, especially if one is fortunate enough to win an award. Plus, more people may see your work, increasing the possibility of sales and getting into galleries. 
When you promote yourself via e-mail or with the words you use on your web site, you have a choice. You can be straight-forward and matter-of-fact (also known as bland and boring). Or you can communicate with pizzazz. 
One of the most baffling non-creative aspects of running an arts and crafts business is figuring out what to do about taxes. Owners who can face down extreme bargain-hunting customers at a craft show or vendors shorting an order that was needed yesterday can adopt that deer-in-headlights look when trying to get their tax situation under control.
Fellow artists and gallery owners share 12 tips for holding your ground during a recession. 