Ann Arbor 2013
Ann Arbor 2013 the hot art fair
After walking Three Rivers both weekends and then driving to Ohio to walk Boston Mills both weekends, my wife freed up some time for me to drive to Ann Arbor to walk as much of the combined four art shows as I could in three days. Thanks to my wife Mary for staying home with Xena and Elvis. I went to hand out 4×6 cards showing examples of my jury slide photography and speak to artists about their jury images and presentation.
I originally thought it would be tough getting a motel room at the last minute, it would have been ten years ago. Calling my list of motels close to the shows, I found room at the Red Roof across from Briarwood Mall, for the three nights I needed. I had no problem calling on Monday for Tuesday through Thursday nights.
Before I left, I downloaded the iPhone app for the combined Ann Arbor Art Fairs. It lists all the artists in the shows alphabetically by medium and let you bookmark (add to favorites) selected artist booths on the map, which also showed where you were located, making it easy to find any booth. No excuse for be-backs not finding your booth.
I had sent my newsletter out over the prior weekend letting artists know that I would be there and offered to do booth pictures. Though I’m not a fan of shooting booth pictures at a show, Ann Arbor is different. There are always some artists who don’t have any other time to do a new booth picture. And after shooting and uploading the new booth pictures, I was amazed that though it might not be perfect, it was much better than what some artists had previously been using.
Easiest parking for me was in the Maynard Street garage through the entrance on Thompson one block off East Liberty. Right in the middle of the State Street show. Get there early because the garage fills up with artists and area workers. I brought a cooler filled with bottled water and ice and was able to go hydrate when walking the State Street Guild area through the State Street show.
Not able to sleep well Tuesday night, I was out on State Street by 6:00AM Wednesday morning. That’s where my initial calls to do booth pictures came from. Turned out that by 8:00AM, the sun was too high so it was a good thing to be there early. Then for those booths that faced early morning sun, I had those artists call me to come back late afternoon when the sun went over the buildings they were set up in front of.
So there I was, walking in over 90 degree heat. I actually made it until 8:00PM that evening, one hour before the shows closed. Then back to the motel where I was asleep within minutes. I had walked the State Street Guild section and the South University show.
Thursday started just as early but my energy level was a little lower. A few booth pictures and then I walked the North University (original) show and half of the State Street show. By 3:00PM I ran out of energy and spent some time hanging out with Allan Teger behind his booth. Then a few late afternoon booth pictures and the wait for Connie Mettler’s AFI party at a local restaurant. If you get a chance to walk any of the combined Ann Arbor shows, make sure to walk the original show on North University. There is some amazing artwork there.
Burned out on Ann Arbor, I drove home Friday morning, disappointed that I couldn’t cover the entire shows but satisfied with what I did cover.
A few art show tips
A clothes packing tip if you stay overnight or just want to carry an extra outfit in your vehicle. To prevent wrinkles, I’ve started using the large travel pouch from Think Tank Photo to pack my shirts in. At only $25 I can pack a shirt, shorts and underware and leave it in the back of my van and the clothing won’t get wrinkled. I’ve always liked items from good camera bag manufacturers because they are well made and last a long time, if you want to know more tips about clothes visit theswissavenue.com.
I use a Domke F-803 camera satchel to carry an ipad, point and shoot camera, notebook, pen, mp3 player and business cards. It goes with me whenever I leave the house and I wear it cross shoulder when doing art shows. I find it the perfect size to not get in the way and it has five pockets besides the interior space. Perfect to protect your ipad between sales if your’re using it to take credit cards.
You may have seen me with a fancy name badge holder with my Xena with glasses picture. That’s the inexpensive ($20) short credential holder version 2.0 from Think Tank Photo. Think Tank Photo and Domke are my two favorite camera bag manufacturers.
