Gratitude

New Moon, Last Night, Color Photograph, (c)2008 Jeane Vogel Photography

This is the week for blogs and articles and broadcasts about how grateful we are - or should be.

 

Ok, I'll add mine.

I'm grateful for people who want art in their lives.

Does that sound self-serving? I don't mean it that way. Sure, I like making a living and I'm very grateful to be able to feed my kids and pay the mortgage every month (mostly) with  money generated from my work. But that's not what I mean.

I'm grateful that people want art in their lives because that means they are willing to think. To be challenged. To see beauty in raw materials. To invest in something so original that they might look at it differently every time they see it.

It means they want more from life. That's a world I want to live in.

Tough Year for Art Lovers

This is a tough year. The economy is tanking. The weather has been deadly. Gas prices ... well, let's just say most of us don't get a share of those huge oil company profits.

There's a trend in times like these: people want beautiful, inspiring things around them, because everything else seems so bleak.

That's certainly been my experience this year. Collectors, patrons and "everyday" art lovers need that one special piece -- that oasis of beauty or inspiration or personal connection that our art represents for them. 

Art isn't a luxury anymore. It's a sanity-saver.

It's been a tough year to go to art fairs too. I'm grateful for every single person who comes out in the rain and nasty weather. This year of art fairs has seen more than just rain. Microbursts, tornados and straight-line winds have destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars of art at fairs this season.

This weekend I was at Lakeside East in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. We set up after dark - in the rain. We finished setting up Saturday morning - in the rain. There was a record 7 inches of rain in Chicago. They cancelled the show for Sunday, so after close on Saturday we torn down and packed up in the dark -- and the rain. The urban streams were flowing in the streets and basements. Still people came to see and buy art.

Thank you.

An Opening

Candle Lighting Time, Sandwiched photograph, 30x24, $350, (c) 2008 Jeane Vogel

"Memento Chai," my solo show of Judaica, opened on Saturday night.

A solo show is a gigantic responsibility. When an artist is part of a group show, curators manage everything: art selection, invitations, atmosphere, hanging the show, getting people to the opening, wine and food, labels. Every little detail is managed. The artist just delivers the work and maybe invites collectors and friends. The artist doesn't even think about whether people will come. Of course they will.

Hang the art and people will come.

A solo show rests entirely on one artist and her reputation. Oy! That's a bit of pressure!

Before I could even worry about who would come, I had a thousand details to consider, not the least of which was selecting the art, framing and hanging it. Fortunately I had lots of help. Husband Steve Sorkin managed the PR for me, getting press releases out and making the necessary contacts. Daughter Hannah worked on my mailing list. Friend and artist Ilene Berman listened to my endless, annoying rambles, and gave me advice (which I didn't take, but I appreciated) about the invitation design. She also ran last minute errands for me and offered endless support and encouragements. And thanks to Ilene, we had lovely cups for our wine and didn't have to swig straight from the bottle.

My friend and rabbi, Susan Talve, talked up the exhibit at every opportunity -- and my talent seemed to be more grand with every telling. If your spiritual leader is going to talk about you, it's nice that she exaggerates in the positive! Susan even modeled for one of the images, Hagbah.

Friend and neighbor Arlene Kerman catered the whole event with the most fabulous desserts. HaShemesh, a klezmer band, filled the exhibit with joyful, inspiring music.

And the people came. Art cannot exist in a vacuum. It needs an audience. It needs a relationship.

Thank you to everyone who came! It was an art opening I will not forget!

Hype

There's a lot of hype in this world. "We're the best!" "New and Improved!" "We're #1!"

Blah, blah, blah. It hardly means anything anymore.

You can believe it when the organizers of the Belleville Art on the Square fair proclaim themselves #1. They are!

I was privileged to be one of only 5 St. Louis artists (of 100 artists from 30 states and 8 countries!) chosen to be part of this fair. It did not disappoint. Part of the St. Louis metro area, Belleville is a historic town in its own right. The people are amazingly friendly. The town is grateful to have the artists there and the artists are grateful to be there. It's a win-win!

The patrons are art-savvy. They understand art and want to collect it. It helps that the show is so competitive that only the best art gets in. There's no "junk" art here. Anything you see at Belleville you will see in a gallery. That can't be said of most shows.

The Art Fair Source Book, the reference for fair artists nationwide, dubbed Belleville #1 in 2007. The rankings come from artists ourselves. We judge fairs on sales, hospitality, ease of set up, etc. We love this life, but the art fair business is hard -- physically and emotionally -- and a fair that respects the artists, pampers us a little, and makes our lives in their town a little easier gets high marks.

Lots of fairs are good. Volunteers are helpful. The food is generally pretty good, even if it's just bagels and coffee in the morning.

So what makes Belleville Art on the Square different? Part of it must be the community. Everyone, it seems, is part of this show. And everyone in town wants the artists to be there. The shop keepers aren't grumbling that the artists' tents are blocking their streets. The community leaders go out of their way to introduce themselves. I got personal visits from the Fire Chief and Chief of Police, both stopping by to let me know what their departments had planned to do to protect the artists. The Chief of Police even babysat my booth for 20 minutes while I attended some business with fair personnel. Who else does that?

This show is so dedicated to art (instead of making money, like many shows), that they have year-long artist-in-residence program that puts artists in area schools, and they sponsor a regional high school art exhibit that displayed student work that was so exceptional, it could have been displayed with the professional art in the booths.

And the fair buys art itself. The fair buys art for the town square and for city hall. That level of dedication to displaying art publicly is rare -- and so refreshing.

Patty Gregory, the show's founder & chair, and co-chair John Rule put together an amazing team. (John didn't even yell at me when I drove in the wrong way!) It's a long, exhausting show that brings 85,000 people to a small, four-block area of town to see some of the best art in the country. As exhausted as I was Sunday night at the show's end, the volunteers worked even harder.

I'm not being modest when I say I was thrilled to be part of this show. Thank you Belleville! You are deserving of every accolade sent your way. Please, please, please, invite me back!

Cherokee Triangle

Even if you don't think you'll be interested, if you have a chance to be in Louisville, KY in late April, you MUST go!

The last weekend in April kicks off 10 days of Derby festivities. Yes, THAT Derby. There's a balloon glow and race, a marathon and mini-marathon, tons of public and private parties, and a general air of mirth and joy.

A parade broke out in the middle of the fair Saturday morning!

Oh, yeah. And there's the Cherokee Triangle Art Fair. This was my first year there and was thrilled to be invited. I was at the St. James Court show in Louisville last October, so I knew that this is a town filled with people who know and love art. I enjoyed an energy and enthusiasm in my booth that I don't see very often. People here are just plain bubbly and happy!

And they seem to like my work. My new work was especially well received. THANK YOU! We never know if our new work will be embraced or rejected.

One woman, who I just adored, just could not decide! So she got comfortable, spread out her favorites, and started deciding! She whittled it down to three, but she kept going back to a few other. Don't worry. I'll be back in October!

Next week: Artfest on Walnut Street in Springfield, MO.

Best of Missouri Hands

I got the phone call last Friday, but the official letter came yesterday: I'm now a juried member of Best of Missouri Hands! It's the art group that sets the standard for excellence among Missouri's artists and craftspeople.

When I applied a few years ago, I thought it would be a slam dunk! I had a nice body of work, thought I was well respected among other artists, I had won a few awards, my craftsmanship was above average, even my mother starting liking my work!

Rejected! I was shocked. Dismayed. Deflated.

Ok. Really I was just a little annoyed and embarrassed. I thought my work was good enough. I think it didn't help that one juror didn't understand that my work was an alternate process photographic art form. Oh well. I blew if off.

All right. I didn't blow it off. It bothered me. And I wanted to improve the body of work enough to be juried in. And I started getting questions over the last few years from other artists: why aren't you juried into Best of Missouri Hands? The jury should love your work. Apply again!

I hesitated because I didn't want to repeat the rejection. Best of Missouri Hands IS the best. There are only 23 photographers in the state who have met the criteria. It's a lot tougher than I thought to get in. The artist ego is fragile. Rejection is not something that is missing in my life.

The jurors were tough. The scoring sheets showed that one juror had lots of questions about the originality and pizazz of my subject matter. Something else to work on! Fortunately, the other two jurors found enough merit, though all three voted my acceptance. The jurors are anonymous -- at least to me -- so I can only thank them publicly. Thank you!

Thanksgiving

It's corny and it's traditional, but as I look over this year in art and life, I am overwhelmed with blessings:

• A family who is left to fend for themselves (sometimes they don't think this a bad thing!) for half of the year while I travel from show to show. It's wonderful to come home, whether the show was a bust, or I earned enough to pay the mortgage for two months. They don't care. They are happy to see me walk in door.
  
• A husband who loves every piece of art I produce. I have plenty of critics around me. It's good to have a fan.
• A daughter who has an artist's eye and Gandhi's soul.
• A son who helps me see the world a little slower and a little kinder.
• An extended family who are interested and patient and supportive, even though some don't really understand what or why I do what I do. It doesn't matter. They think it's cool.
  
• Friends. They are generous and funny, thoughtful and critical, talented and brilliant. And they want to hang with me! They insist on buying my work when I'm happy to give it to them. They live here in St. Louis, and all over North America: Tucson; Palm Springs; London , ON, Lincoln, NE; Montana; Tornoto; Memphis; South Dakota; upstate New York; New York City; Chicago; Madison, WI; Tenneessee; Washington, D.C. All amazing people and all very, very dear.
  
• A space to work. This is a big deal. The basement is still filled with older work and the dining room table is often covered and piled high... BUT a real studio is a gift. I was fortunate enough to find space last year. That space hasn't worked lately and a terrific friend, (see above!) has loaned me her studio while she's in graduate school. This is a little like loaning out a husband for weekly chores (no, not that kind!). A studio space is sacred; to share it is unbelievably generous. Thank you Ilene and Scott (and Noah and Gili, of course!)
  
• A space to shoot portraits. One minute I'm working as a fine artist and the next as a portrait photographer. Or are they they same thing? Doesn't matter. The spaces I work in are different. When I went to Dana Colcleasure at Wombats and asked if I could rent some space to shoot portraits, she didn't even hesitate! She and Kanagroo Kids have been promoting me and welcoming me. Thank you!
• My fellow artists who keep me sane and cared for when I'm on the road, who put me up when I need a place to stay, who offer constructive criticism that helps me improve and grow, and who understand without saying a word.
  
• The ability to work and make a living as an artist. Wow!
• Collectors and clients. Working an art fair is hard work. Long days, bad food, hotels, travel, setting up, tearing down. Why would anyone do this? The people, of course! My husband will tell you I'm lousy at parties. I hate small talk and trivial chatting. But I love talking to people who have something interesting to say. I get to meet the best people in my booth. I also get to meet some who only want to tell me they don't like or don't get my work. I ignore those folks. It makes my day when someone connects with my work and wants to tell me about it. Some people's whole lives -- dreams, disappointments, fears, accomplishments -- come spilling out while they stand inside my little white tent/gallery. That's a lot to be trusted with.
• Gallery directors and owners -- the good ones. You know who you are. We are partners in the art world. This year I'm very grateful to Art St. Louis and Imagine on Main in suburban Chicago. But to the gallery who stuck my work in a closet for six months-- plllltt!
  
• The ability to give back.
• Did I mention my family and friends? Happy Thanksgiving!
  

Highland Art Fair & Aunt Florence, 1908-2007

I was watching CNN a few years ago when they ran a human interest story about a woman in Arizona who celebrated her 85th birthday by para-sailing. Oh my gawd! I called my mother. Guess what Aunt Florence is doing now?!!! My mother wasn't surprised. Five years earlier, my mother had celebrated her 50th by jumping out of an airplane. I come from a long line of very interesting, rather eccentric and quite bold women. Who would have guessed?

I took this picture of Florence at a family reunion in Highland, IL in 2000. She always had fresh flowers in her hair or on her hat. Her laugh was infectious and she was very proud of those gorgeous teeth. A few years ago she went in for some surgery and the nurse tried to remove her teeth. With a patronizing little pat, the nurse said that she couldn't have an operation with her teeth in, thinking they were false because she's so old! Florence threatened to bite the woman's hand if she stuck it in her mouth again. The teeth were real and connected to her face!

Aunt Florence was planning to celebrate her 100th birthday in May on a parasail. She missed it by 7 months. Her memorial service will be in Highland, IL today. Her brother and other family still live and have a business there -- Widmer Florist.

Florence was an amazing woman. Born in an era when women could be mothers or have a career, she chose the latter, as did several other women in the family. She had her own floral shop on North Grand in St. Louis until she was in her late 70s. She sold the shop and decided to marry -- for the first time. She had boyfriends before, but apparently the relationships were quite proper and chaste, because she told my grandmother Genevieve (who told me in whispers) that Florence really liked married life. She REALLY liked it!

Her first husband died and she wasn't ready to be old yet, so she got herself a younger husband. She was in her 80s when she married Norm, in his 60s! They were sweethearts until end.

I felt Florence's presence in Highland this weekend. I was there this weekend exhibiting at the Highland Art in the Park, along with 60 or so amazing artists, many of whom have become friends over the years. Sales were pretty good (Highland is small, but they love art and support the show), I was honored to receive an Award of Excellence.

Thank you Highland. And thank you Aunt Florence. You will be missed.

Spoiled

Hi! I'm Jeane. And I'm an Art Fair Artist.

Yes, it IS a bit of an addiction. We Art Fair Arists pursue that ideal fair -- NEXT weekend --that will bring the collector who just can't live without our work. At every show there are fellow artists who seem to unwittingly find each other and have an impromptu AFAA meeting -- Art Fair Artist Anonymous. I've almost got my 5-year pin. At the "meetings" we swap stories about the great sale, the stupid comments from that odd person who thinks it's sport to poke fun at an artist, the set up or tear down in the rain, the greedy promoters who treat us like like we have deep pockets and no sense. Ahhhhh, promoters. Don't get us started.

Then we talk about the shows that treat us like royalty. The show we can't wait to do again.

The art fair circuit is not easy. It looks glamorous: the travel, the adoring public, the "getting-up-at- 5-am-to-set-up-in-the-dark only to work a 15 hour day" -- but it's hard work. I'm not complaining. I love talking to people about my work. But it's a hard job. So we really appreciate it when an art fair staff coddles us -- even a little bit.

I thought I had been treated well at some shows in the past, but nothing -- I mean NOTHING - compares with the welcome we got in Sioux City's ArtSplash over Labor Day Weekend. It's a long drive from St. Louis to Sioux City -- about 8 hours (ok- I did it in 7.25, but don't tell!) It's also a long 3-day show. But from the moment I got there they fed me, kept me hydrated in the heat, bought from me and oohed and ahhed over me. They made me think I deserve to be pampered!

Thank you, Sioux City! The South may think then know hospitality. You really DO hospitality. I can't wait to come back next year!

And, if that weren't enough, I got to see my friends Michael Wyland and Margaret Sumption, who have a nonprofit consulting firm in Sioux Falls, SD, just an hour away.

Again, thank you Sioux City! I know the economy is hard right now, and dollars are tight. But thank you for making it worth my time and energy to discover your wonderful city and amazing welcome!

Thank you, Geneva, IL!

Geneva Fine Art Show: 168 artists. 4 2-D Awards of Excellence (instead of Best of Show, 1st, 2nd & 3rd place), and a nice little check. Wow! The prize patrol cart stopped in front of my booth Saturday afternoon. Really? Thank you!

Geneva residents responded too. Thank you to all of you who came by to chat, learn about hand-altered Polaroid photographs (no, they aren't digital - not that's there's anything wrong with that!), and collect one or two images.

My new work (Ferris Wheel, Horse in the Smokies and White Haven) were well received and purchased. I started on those images during the Open Studios tour last weekend. Apparently, having guests in my studio as I work is a good thing!

Thank you again, Geneva! Great town, vibrant downtown, and an art-loving public. And thank you to my watercolorist friend Mary Lou O'Brien, and amazing gourmet-husband Bob, who hosted me for the weekend (and fed me so well! No starving artist here!)

Amazing Weekend!

Wow! What a weekend! ArtFest on Walnut Street in Springfield MO had the best weather in years. Normally this wonderful street show has rain for part of the show. The people come out anyway, but we're always a little wet. There were five straight days of rain before the show.

ArtFest is an unusual show -- not from the artists' perspective (wonderful fine art from all over the country. No "pretend" art in this show), but unusual in the traffic it generates. It's a tradition to bring your pet to ArtFest. Unlike other shows, it's ENCOURAGED to bring your pet. Dogs of all breeds are common, of course. But Springfield pet owners are far more creative than just dogs and cats. This year walking by I saw three monkeys, one small ape, a chinchilla, a parrot, a big white bird of some kind, a turtle and a snake. I don't think these folks were buying art, but they were entertaining.

Fortunately, other people were buying art. And this is a sophisticated art-buying public. They know art, appreciate it and want to collect it.

And, I have to say, the judges there are geniuses! Ok. And I don't only think that because I won an award: Best of Show 2D! I have won several awards, including a couple of 1st places, but this is my first Best in Show. Photographers don't often see Best in Show awards (have you seen all that amazing art out there?!!) and I'm very grateful for the recognition.

The prize money doesn't hurt either. Thank you, Springfield!