Much has been written lately, in artists’ circles, about how the “public” should learn to talk to artists. It’s a hot topic, actually, with passionate feelings on both sides of the issue.
As “Art Fair Artists”–how we collectively tend to refer to ourselves–we have come to expect the same fifteen questions or comments or humorous references over and over and over. We try hard to keep that smile on our faces, that spring in our step and that “snarky” attitude in check while approaching each question & comment for the umpteenth time. It’s not always so easy, especially after three or four 10-12 hour days on our feet in our little 10x10 cells…er…booths.
It’s not easy to answer the same questions a hundred or more times in a single weekend and make the person who asked it feel like they are the first to have inquired. No. It’s actually quite a challenge. In fact, it’s exhausting. I will admit to reaching the latter part of a less-than-stellar show feeling like if I hear “that” question (no…I’m not going to tell you what question) again, I’m gonna have a nervous breakdown. And, I’m sure my responses have sometimes sounded more than a bit on edge. I try to avoid that but I am human, after all. Some days my big bottle of “chill pills” is empty.
Some in our Art Fair Artist circle believe we should be instructing the public in the ways of our business and how they should talk to us. I am not one of those folks.
You see, art in all its various forms is a creative enterprise. We who make it are “oddities”. We don’t go to the office or warehouse or store every day like “normal” people, punch a time card and then go home at the end of the day. Most of us DO put in some very long hours in our studios every day, not to mention the time, effort and expense of going to distant art fairs many times a year. Because we are different, there is an understandable fascination about how we tick and I don’t think it is the duty of the “public” to learn how to approach and talk to us. I think it is OUR duty as artists to give you a window into our lives and our thinking. If that means answering the same questions or laughing at the same “funny” comments every single time or responding to the “what’s your best price?” question (the one on the price tag) over and over, so be it. All of this beats so many other really terrible jobs that exist out there in the world, many of which I have done and have absolutely no desire to go back to.
In the end, we are in business. We are businesspeople and how we handle ourselves reflects on our businesses–our artwork–regardless of how good it may be. At the base of it all and beyond all the “glamour” of being an artist, it’s really just retail. It’s dealing with the public–ALL of the public. The ones who are art-savvy and know exactly what they like and want as well as those who’ve never been to an art show nor even spoken to an artist before.
I love what I do. I feel incredibly fortunate to be doing a job (yes, it IS a job) that I love and am able to make a comfortable living at it. There are times I feel like running, screaming into the sunset to get away from it all, but then I remember just how lucky I really am.
As the “public”, don’t ever feel it is your responsibility to learn how to talk to me! Ask me questions. Learn how I do my work and what inspires me. Find out about what it’s like for we artists to do 10 or 20 or 40 shows a year on the road while trying to find time to make the work about which we are so passionate. DO NOT be afraid you are asking questions that have been asked a thousand times before, because they HAVE. Just do it! All I ask is that you DO remember I’m there to work–to sell and make a living. I don’t always have as much time as I would like to simply chat about the weather or give an impromptu workshop…but if I DO, I will! Count on it!
YOU, Mr. and Mrs. Public, don’t need to be taught how to talk to me. Nope. Just come right on in and let’s have a conversation. Who knows? You might even realize you can’t live without one of my drawings or one of my neighbor’s photographs or sculptures or jewels or weavings!
As “Art Fair Artists”–how we collectively tend to refer to ourselves–we have come to expect the same fifteen questions or comments or humorous references over and over and over. We try hard to keep that smile on our faces, that spring in our step and that “snarky” attitude in check while approaching each question & comment for the umpteenth time. It’s not always so easy, especially after three or four 10-12 hour days on our feet in our little 10x10 cells…er…booths.
It’s not easy to answer the same questions a hundred or more times in a single weekend and make the person who asked it feel like they are the first to have inquired. No. It’s actually quite a challenge. In fact, it’s exhausting. I will admit to reaching the latter part of a less-than-stellar show feeling like if I hear “that” question (no…I’m not going to tell you what question) again, I’m gonna have a nervous breakdown. And, I’m sure my responses have sometimes sounded more than a bit on edge. I try to avoid that but I am human, after all. Some days my big bottle of “chill pills” is empty.
Some in our Art Fair Artist circle believe we should be instructing the public in the ways of our business and how they should talk to us. I am not one of those folks.
You see, art in all its various forms is a creative enterprise. We who make it are “oddities”. We don’t go to the office or warehouse or store every day like “normal” people, punch a time card and then go home at the end of the day. Most of us DO put in some very long hours in our studios every day, not to mention the time, effort and expense of going to distant art fairs many times a year. Because we are different, there is an understandable fascination about how we tick and I don’t think it is the duty of the “public” to learn how to approach and talk to us. I think it is OUR duty as artists to give you a window into our lives and our thinking. If that means answering the same questions or laughing at the same “funny” comments every single time or responding to the “what’s your best price?” question (the one on the price tag) over and over, so be it. All of this beats so many other really terrible jobs that exist out there in the world, many of which I have done and have absolutely no desire to go back to.
In the end, we are in business. We are businesspeople and how we handle ourselves reflects on our businesses–our artwork–regardless of how good it may be. At the base of it all and beyond all the “glamour” of being an artist, it’s really just retail. It’s dealing with the public–ALL of the public. The ones who are art-savvy and know exactly what they like and want as well as those who’ve never been to an art show nor even spoken to an artist before.
I love what I do. I feel incredibly fortunate to be doing a job (yes, it IS a job) that I love and am able to make a comfortable living at it. There are times I feel like running, screaming into the sunset to get away from it all, but then I remember just how lucky I really am.
As the “public”, don’t ever feel it is your responsibility to learn how to talk to me! Ask me questions. Learn how I do my work and what inspires me. Find out about what it’s like for we artists to do 10 or 20 or 40 shows a year on the road while trying to find time to make the work about which we are so passionate. DO NOT be afraid you are asking questions that have been asked a thousand times before, because they HAVE. Just do it! All I ask is that you DO remember I’m there to work–to sell and make a living. I don’t always have as much time as I would like to simply chat about the weather or give an impromptu workshop…but if I DO, I will! Count on it!
YOU, Mr. and Mrs. Public, don’t need to be taught how to talk to me. Nope. Just come right on in and let’s have a conversation. Who knows? You might even realize you can’t live without one of my drawings or one of my neighbor’s photographs or sculptures or jewels or weavings!