My open studio has come and gone, and boy is my studio clean! It's a work of art in itself. I've left up some of the more interesting displays and tableaus.
I've even been cleaning up after myself the last few days, but that will pass.
It was our state League of NH Craftsmen's first Open Studio Tour, and results were mixed. I made enough sales to cover expenses, but not what I've made when I've had my own private open studio.
I know what I could have done better, though, and that's good knowledge to have. Next time I will do my own mailing as usual to my own customer list, with my own postcards (if the LNHC postcards again don't allow room for my own information.)
I will also provide more brochures to local hotels and restuarants much, much earlier. A board member from our local Chamber of Commerce came by to. She was delighted by my studio and offered to work more closely with the League (and me!) next year to bolster the event.
A friend offered to help one day, and we had a wonderful discussion on art and life. She is fired up to try out some new ideas for her own whimsical, sweet art, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with.
A local writer stopped by. We both participated in an art exhibit a few years ago, a series of collaborations between writers and artists called "The Solitude of Self". She seemed a little discouraged about how her busy life had compromised her ability to write enough to be published. I shared with her some thoughts on how blogging can allow a writer to get work out into the world without necessarily going through the publishing industry. It seems a shame, I told her, that someone could have something worthwhile to say to the world, and because a publisher doesn't deem it economically feasible or because competition is so fierce, it would be totally lost to the world. I would say she left a little thoughtful and maybe a little more hopeful. I hope she finds a way to share her work with a broader audience.
My friend Lee Filamonov came by with his sweetie, Margaret, who visits here from upstate New York. Both are talented artists in their own right, and it was good to see them.
Two F.O.L. (Friends Of Lee) came by, too, Sage and Tim. Tim spoke so enthusiastically of alternative colleges that my daughter was inspired to look them up on-line. Intrigued by what she found, she actually applied on-line. THAT was worth the entire cost of the open house! She's been anxious about applying to colleges and dragging her feet, so this was a wonderful outcome.
A long-time customer came by to purchase a few things, and told me how she'd raved about my work to another customer at a prestigious gallery in Cambridge, MA that carries my work. That felt good!
Jan Shepherd, formerly a writer with the Boston Globe, came by and we had a wonderful chat. Jan now produces the New England Crafts Connoisseur, a quarterly guide to fine contemporary craft in New England. Jan discovered my work back in 1998, and encouraged fellow writer Linda Matchan to write about it in my first published review in The Boston Globe Magazine that year. You can learn more about Jan's newsleter here: http://www.ne-crafts.com/
A fellow artist here in Keene came by and offered a little consolidarity about my upcoming debut at the ACC-Baltimore show in February 2006. You can learn more about this fine craft show here: http://www.craftcouncil.org/ We also kicked around the idea of hosting another, more local open studio tour, coordinating artists and craftspeople in the Keene area.
Cherished customers came all the way from Massachusetts to purchase holiday gifts for special people, and that made it all worthwhile, too.
All in all, enough monetary gain to keep me going, and enough spiritual and professional gain to make me WANT to keep going.
And, of course, there was plenty of leftover wine and chocolate to ease us through November.
