Recession and art sales do not go hand in hand.
After finishing Art at the Source with an open studio two weekends in a row I was exhausted. Sales were at an all time low in the five years of doing this event.
The second weekend I fell off the “No Sugar” wagon as I found my anxiety mounting. Though frustrated, I am not giving up on my dream to become an international artist. I am just going to have to work harder and be more creative.
I realized that I am going to have to create a new game plan to survive this recession. Some ideas I have came up with are making lots of small affordable pieces of art work, creating a couple of extra art events in my studio, gift cards and advertising.
Yesterday was spent at the Marin Art Festival doing a demo and attempting to sell more paintings. Though again no sales, I did get lots of positive feedback. So I have decided to look at these events in this economy as advertising. Hopefully when things improve, all those people who took my business cards will remember me. I did see some beautiful artwork at the festival and gave one of my cards hoping to do a trade. There were these unbelievable handmade glass vases with the most brilliant colors and patterns.
There are some interesting articles online with suggestions on how other artists survive during a recession. There is an EHow post called How To Be A Successful Artist During A Recession, and The Artists Network has 12 Tips For Selling More During a Recession. Both have some great suggestions and some ideas I have not tried before. Do you have some suggestions for me too? Let me know your ideas!
In the meantime, today is an extra long day at the festival because we have to take down the booth after the event. Only two days to my trip to Mexico. I can hardly wait! Grad school is still in the works. I have been approved for aide now I just have to figure out how to get my son to school. Wendy
(Wendy’s dream is still to become a influential international artist, but she left 8 Women Dream in March of 2010 to complete grad school. She is still a strong supporter of 8 Women Dream and you will see her in the comments on the blog.)
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