Before I get a little bit negative I will say that I had a few responsibilities here: 1. Organize the show. My feed back on that was great! A lot of people said I did a really good job in coordinating the show. So, I am very happy about that. It all came together nicely. I was nervous all the way through because it was my first go at this whole art show atmosphere. 2. Be a participating artist. I did in fact show 4 of my photos. It was a really big deal to be seen in the NYC scene.
While those were my sole responsibilities I had other expectations. I wanted to sell at least one of my photos. I didn’t meet my expectations. I am being hard on myself for this. I guess when things don’t go the way I expect them to I get really bummed about it.
My boyfriend says that I should feel proud of myself because of what I did accomplish. I learned SO MUCH from this whole event. I couldn’t imagine beforehand how much I would learn from all of this.
So, what did sell? The gallery owner did make money. I am satisfied with that as well because he invested in us. He gave us all an opportunity to show our work, and possibly sell. I wanted for him to at least make the money back he invested in us. The entire show had about 25 artists. We each had about 3 to 5 pieces. That makes a little over 100 hundred pieces on the wall. Out of everything there were 5 sales. Thats a little under 5% sold. Once I found this out I was inquiring about average sales for any show in NYC. I was told that this was pretty much normal. Anymore than 5% is doing REALLY well. After that piece of information I was less bummed about not selling anything.
I then realized how much work I’d have to do to actually/probably just sell one photo.
I did have that feeling of being a failure for a bit. There were some really great work displayed, and those didn’t even sell! It really put things in perspective for me big time. I have my work cut out for me. Makes me wonder about my original plan to start doing Art festivals. Thats is going to be tough, but I still want to do it.
I do need to get more exposure. All in time. What I do want to do is get all my panoramas together print and frame all of them. I love them!! I am working on one now. They take so much time, but the end result is so great.
There is another show in January-February. I do intend to do something for that. I think we are allowed only one piece though. I am working on a square one. I edited it already, but thinking about framing now. I usually do 8×12 photos, and doing a square piece is challenging for me thats why I am choosing to do that format. I like experimenting with different things. It’s good for ya! lol
When I sell my first piece I’m going to be very excited thats for sure. Selling isn’t everything. I have to remember to go by my saying: Don’t Chase the Money. You’ll be disappointed.
