Craft Fairs and Art Festivals

So, we had great hopes for selling some stuff at the Nampa Festival of the Arts, last weekend, but it was not to be. We sold less than $150 worth of carvings, after spending almost $125 to get set up for it. Quite disappointing, as far as sales go, if I do say so myself. But we did have a good time talking to others about our art, and visiting with friends who stopped by to offer encouragement and a nice hug!

I did have two heroes and friends of mine stop by and visit the booth. Ted Smith, a world famous bird carver from here in Idaho (Nampa) wished me well. His carvings are so amazing. Check out his work at http://deerflatwildfowlartstudio.weebly.com/. 

And my good friend Cleve Taylor (http://www.cca-carvers.org/bio-pages/taylor.html) came by with his wife, Sandy and his grandkids. Cleve wished me well, and stated that he had tried desperately to make a living in the 1980's and 1990's just by selling carvings, but ultimately realized that it was extremely hard to make a living just by selling carvings, unless they were of the highest quality and aiming towards a specific market, such as wildlife, sculptural and architectural. 

I feel better after talking to him about my struggles to sell a few carvings. If you see my carvings, they are heavily influenced by all the times I spent at Cleve's house and workshop, and by sitting with him at our Idaho Woodcarvers Guild club meetings, as well as our weekly Thursday carving sessions at the Woodcraft store in Boise. If Cleve Taylor, who is a member of the Caricature Carvers of America, and who has written several how-to carving books, struggled with selling his carvings, how can I expect to do any better?

But I will still try. I love carving so much, and even if I never sell another carving, I will just give them away and make someone's day better. I can send them off as gifts to friends, colleagues and family, as well as donating some to good causes. And I will continue to promote the art of woodcarving, hopefully picking up a few commissions along the way.

I did speak to a young lady who wanted a Wonder Woman carving, as well as a very nice couple who wanted a carving for their friend who will be retiring soon. I have a few ideas for writing a few books about carving, so I better get cracking on those carvings, so I can take some great pictures. I am continuing to teach classes at Woodcraft, and will be starting a woodcarving club after school at our middle school, Meridian Middle School this year. All of that should be a great deal of fun, passing on all the training and education I have received from other great carvers. 

I do have another craft show in November at Meridian Middle School on November 2nd and 3rd. Let's hope we have better success at that show than we did at the Nampa Festival of Arts. 

See ya there!