Sept 10 : 2nd Friday ArtWalk in Brunswick & Topsham, 5-8pm
Go to 2nd Friday ArtWalk page for detailed listings.
Sept 17: 3rd Friday ArtWalk & Drive in Bath, 5-8pm
Go to 3rd Friday ArtWalk page for details.
Image: Bayview Gallery in Brunswick on ArtWalk night.
Sept 25: Family Arts Festival, 10-4 on Brunswick Town Mall
New this year: Maine Street Mile. The day begins with a family fun run (1500 meter) and then the festival kicks off at 10 with hours of fun, art-making, music, dance and more! More details soon.
May 10 Member Meeting: “How to Succeed at Outdoor Art Shows” with Biff Higgison and Kennebec Art Club
Outdoor Art Shows and Craft Shows are to be found all summer and fall across Maine (and across the country). On May 10, Five Rivers presented “How to Succeed at Outdoor Art Shows with presentations by Biff (Peyton) Higgison and Tory Jackson and Connie Bailey, representatives of the Kennebec Art Club. Image: Biff (Peyton) Higgison.
Biff Higgison described his 30+ years of selling his work at outdoor shows, and actually got his first experience helping his mother sell her artwork at exhibits. He attended MECA (then Portland School of Art) and sold abstract prints at art shows when he was in college. He has also shown extensively at galleries, but now works primarily at outdoor shows, making art, plans and applications in the winter months.
Consuelo G. Bailey and Tory Jackson of Kennebec Art Club presented with additional insiights and tips for exhibiting and for Maine shows. Bailey also invited participants to the Saturday, May 15, 2010 Photographer's Talk & People's Choice Award winner at the Topsham Public Library "Joy of the Lens" exhibit, which she curated. The event is 11am - 12 noon and the drawing for the Topsham Public Library Friends Photo Lottery. Topsham Public Library, 25 Foreside Rd, Topsham. Details: http://www.friendstopshamlibrary.org/JoyoftheLens.php
The Kennebec Art Club is a non-profit organization representing more than 40 artists in the MidCoast region of Maine. The Club meets monthly, holds a number of exhibits, and sponsors the annual Art in the Park during Heritage Days in Bath.
Comments:
- Make your tent into a gallery-professional racks, rug, signage are all very important. Some people bring battery-powered lights.
- Weather! One must be prepared for rain, wind, sun. Buy a quality tent. Zip up flies are better than tie-offs (and help keep secure at night by using zip ties to secure zipper handles). Corkscrew stakes work very well for tie-downs. If ground is wet, protect your visitors and your art with rubber maps and/or carpet.
- Constantly learn new things and develop your art. Connie spoke of learning paper batik and Biff commented that his painting style continues to evolve.
- Quality prints are an essential part of a successful sales strategy.
- Paper collateral pieces(brochures, postcards) are important for people to take home. Higgison and Bailey have each sold over phone or web after the ourdoor show.
This talk was presented by Five Rivers Arts Alliance with support of Women, Work & Community. If you are a Five Rivers member and would like a list of Maine Art shows and comments, please email us at info@fiveriversartsalliance.org.
Wrap-up of April 12: "Guerrilla Marketing" with Karen Dominguez-Brann 
We called it Guerrilla Marketing but a better title would have been her own: “Vision Logic: Marketing your Art.” Image: Karen Domiguez-Brann.
Karen presented her 8-point plan (you can find it at www.kdb-visionlogic.blogspot.com for marketing your art, beginning with defining your art, vision and market. The core of Karen’s practice is to use Free social media tools in a planned and coherent manner to promote her work, ideas and events. This entails Blog, email blast and Facebook updates to maximize visibility and set off viral marketing that reaches more and more folks as it reaches friends of friends….
For skeptics-Karen indicated that one blog she has been writing blog for 3 years. One blog, for a North Carolina fabric store (Mary Jos: http://maryjoscloth-design.blogspot.com/) has received 124,000 readers in one year and her blog posts and design website are often findable on page one of Google searches (eg: Maine encaustic artist).
Blog posts are generally both personal and informative (it is important to not just self-promoting) with links to additional information sources. An example-her article on her own encaustic work sites Jasper Johns and Miranda Lake, and these links help raise visibility of it. She also emphasized that accurate, reliable information, pertinent information, the “context of content” are all-important for achieving Google visibility.
A few tips:
- “You only have one chance to make a first impression.”
- Karen adds widgets to her blogs. One tracks where visitors are coming from
- Think of a blog as “building a place for yourself on the web”
- Give space to others on your blog-with links back to your site or blog.
- Art Hooligans-group of artists and craftpeople that held Art Rave last December meets weekly to talk art and marketing.
- Postcard or business card/leave behind should have great art, your name, phone, web or blog address
- Make blog posts visual and short.
- You can do this.
Next Month: Five Rivers Member Meeting will be “How to Succeed at Ourtdoor Art Shows” with Peyton Higgison and Kennebec Art Club representative: May 10, 6pm at Frontier, Brunswick. Details coming to: www.fiveriversartsalliance.org
This presentation is designed for artists and is presented by Five Rivers Arts Alliance with support of Women, Work & Community. This meeting is free to Five Rivers members and $5 for general public. Reservations are recommended. To reserve a seat email Five Rivers at info@fiveriversartsalliance.org.
Previous Member Meetings
March 22: Maine Arts Commission Listening Tour.
Thank you Donna McNeil and Darrell Bulmer for beginning the Maine Arts Commission Listening Tour in Brunswick.
The Maine Arts Commission is conducting a series of statewide meetings this year in order to gather information and feedback that will allow the agency to refine its services to the field. These meetings will provide the people of Maine a chance to give their input on the future direction of the Maine Arts Commission.
Maine Arts Commission Director Donna McNeil and Communication Associate Darrell Bulmer will attend numerous meetings around Maine to engage artists and community members in an open dialogue about the agency’s offerings.
The meetings are open for all interested parties to attend and will concentrate on two main aspects of information gathering; namely, gathering feedback on the services and programs that the Maine Arts Commission currently provides, and gathering input on what the agency may not currently offer but could potentially do so in the future. These meetings will provide a two-way conversation where attendees can express their views on the Maine Arts Commission to ensure that the agency continues to provide the most relevant services to their constituents. The conversations will also afford those who are not so familiar with the agency’s offerings a chance to learn more about what is currently available.
In addition, Five Rivers has asked tow state agencies to offer a brief outline of their services for artists. Check back for additional details
February 22: Pecha Kucha Brunswick.
Another great event with capacity crowd at Frontier. Image: Blake Hendrickson presents at Pecha Kucha Night Brunswick, Vol. 2
January 25: E-Commerce: mainecreates.com
Presenter: Matt Zito of mainecreates.com presented.
Nov 2: "Artful Marketing" with Nanette Giacoma
In this talk, Nannette discussed what is marketing and what in the heck are the four "Ps". She touched on why artists need a marketing plan and review an outline for the basic components of a plan.
Nanette Giacoma is the owner of New Moon Rising Coaching, LLC is a business coaching practice that helps artists, creative enterprises and small businesses succeed using Whole Business PracticesSM, a creative approach that looks holistically at both the people and the business, to achieve sustainable growth and profitability.
This Five Rivers Member Meeting is Monday, November 2 at 6p.m. at Frontier Café, Cinema + Gallery, 14 Maine St, Brunswick. This meeting is free to Five Rivers members; $5 for general public. Reservations are recommended. To reserve a seat email Five Rivers at info@fiveriversartsalliance.org.
Miss the ArtWalk? Visit studios and galleries on your own. Check our online directory or the listings for 2nd Friday ArtWalk, 3rd Friday ArtWalk, or Arts Downtown & All Around for information about artists, studios, and other creative businesses in our region.
Image: In the Footsteps of Marco Polo at Frontier, 14 Maine St., Brunswick.
