One morning at a street festival, a bit before the show was officially opened, I engaged in some conversation with an early art browser. Looking at all the artist displays set up, he asked, ”Wow. Does the festival provide all these tents and walls for you?”

Overhearing, the artist next to me looked at him with dagger eyes.

I took this to be a teachable moment. People who are not artists frequently do not know the nuts and bolts of how art life works. It was a well-intended question.

(Short answer: No. The festival just provides the space, which artists pay for. Hours before that stroller arrived, starting at about 5:30, the street looked and sounded more like the circus elephants putting up the tent. Metal poles clanging. Lots of grunting. A little swearing. And some friendly camaraderie among the artists. It’s a fun process if you have ample helping hands and it’s not raining. But it is always hard work.)

More frequently, as shopping online has become something consumers are used to, and frequently prefer, the behind-the-scenes setup involves creating a virtual exhibit.

I am participating in such an on-line event this month. This is an all-new adventure for me and I am as intrigued and inspired by it as I was when I entered my first street Festival. So, I thought I would share the behind-the-scenes with you.

Here’s the event.

(Throughout the rest of this post, I’ll intersperse images of some of the works I’ll be exhibiting so this is not all dry, dull text.)

 Who is Artburst? It’s a group of artists based in Denver. I’ve enjoyed meeting them and forming new friendships. They have worked street festivals for years, and hoped to find a good online event they could participate in as well. Not finding one that was just right, they decided to create their own.

What artists are in it? There are 25 artists participating. So, it’s more like a boutique gallery than a big street Festival. More personal. More targeted. Easier to digest. And what an interesting mix! In addition to me, there are painters, jewelers, sculptors and mixed media artists.

How did I become a part of this? I’m happy to say they found me online and recruited me. Being a skeptical soul, I thought at first it was some sort of scam marketing come-on. I soon learned that these are real artists who have organized a real event and I agreed (with a spirit of adventure!) to give it a try.

What did I have to do? First I had to create twelve all new works. They quickly explained this was not a place to get rid of the old un-sold stuff. So I have created four new wall quilts and eight new larger-than-usual paper collages. And, I agreed that between now and the time of the show, I will sell those twelve pieces only through the Artburst event.

What did Artburst supply? All the marketing. The website. A secure way to take payments from customers. They will prepare a digital catalog of all the work for all the artists that buyers can browse through before the show opens. (Sunday, October 22 – 10:22am MST) They have a funky, upbeat graphics style I like and are working like crazy online to spread the word about this show. Each participating artist is also supposed to help tell people about the show.

Learning Take-aways?

ALL methods that artists use to present their work to the world take hard work. Sometimes, making the work is the easiest part!

It’s good to try new things. I have worked for a number of years at introducing myself and selling my work online by myself. Being part of a team effort has been a great experience.

Deadlines matter! (I remember being grateful that my daughter landed her first post-grad school job BECAUSE she was a studio artist, not in spite of it. Her first employer understood that a working studio artist has to be a problem-solver and also one who can meet deadlines.) I agree.

And now—an invitation

I would be honored to have you visit the Artburst website and then to check out the event on October 22. No cost. No obligation. You can just browse. (Looking at art is always fun!)

BUT… if you know yourself to be an art-lover who also from time to time enjoys purchasing artwork, I encourage you to either 1. SUBSCRIBE at the Artburst website. At the bottom of the homepage. (That puts you on the list to get a preview 24 hours before the show opens. Plus a few email teasers between now and then.) or 2. JOIN at the Artburst website. Also free. Also no obligation. This just makes you a subscriber AND sets up your information as an account in advance so that, when the show opens on 10-22, you are ready to jump in. ARTBURSTSTUDIOS.COM

OR - If you REALLY like to see things in advance, to make decisions leisurely, you could sign up to be a collector plus. Your special benefit is a full digital catalog of the show a full week before it opens. All details are at ARTBURSTSTUDIOS.COM

By the way – this is NOT a bidding event. It’s just shopping and – if you find something you love – purchasing.

Thanks so much for taking this peek behind the scenes with me. I sincerely appreciate those who follow my posts and are nice enough to respond and share.  Art  is good!

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating 

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

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