Last weekend I wrapped up my short tour with The Oddities and Curiosities Expo. I did three shows with them that were close to home, Louisville, Columbus and Indianapolis. This was my second year working with them so when I applied I wasn’t sure how many shows I would get or what my commitment level could be. I made the mistake of holding out for a different convention that was highly anticipated to happen but turned out to be a flop so needless to say I will not be doing that again. Next year I would like to make time for 6-8 shows with O&CE if they’ll have me. I’m honestly amazed at how well I did being just a small table vendor. The talent at the convention is incredible and it’s overwhelming and very difficult for me to not just give all these lovely vendors my money. I had to set a rule for myself which is I can only buy one item for myself at each convention. This year I bought a woodcut print in Louisville by Travis Lawrence and in Columbus I found a Muntjac deer skull that I’ve been wanting for a long time. Deer will always have a special place in my heart but this is a very interesting and unusual little animal that I like to put in some of my art pieces. Look it up online if you want! I kept my cool in Indianapolis and didn’t come home with any collectibles but I let my daughter spend some money so that counts.
My best sellers all around are anything from my Cordyceps series, the Last Supper aka Prima Cena print, the print of the Winter Witch aka Winter Solstice, the Ritual Night print, the individual ghoulish cherubs and all of my stickers. Every copy of at least one of my art pieces finds a home but those I mentioned are my most popular. When I was in Indianapolis I decided to bring a few original paintings because I had several people in Columbus ask me if I had originals. I was shocked that one of them was purchased with in the first hour of the show. I regret not asking the nice woman that bought it for a picture of her holding it but I think I was just so excited to see someone buy it that I didn’t think of it. My daughter was inspired by all the vendor artists and started to draw some pictures while she sat with us. I let her put some of her pieces on my display board for a small price and a free sticker by mom and she got some buyers! I didn’t push anyone to buy her drawings. Most people would see it and ask me what the story behind it was and once I told them it was my daughter’s art they would insist on buying it. She has a tough time dealing with attention as it makes her anxious so sometimes it’s hard to tell how she feels when people talk to her but she lets her guard down around us and she was very touched. It was so great to get her involved. Her father and I were a little concerned about having her in the booth all day with us because she would get bored. We were both glad to see her drawing instead of playing video games or scrolling on her dad’s phone all day. She loved the sideshow performers and kept asking us all kinds of questions like, “How does that guy not hurt himself really badly when he hammers that nail up his nose?” I just kept saying they are professionals and don’t try that at home kid!
This is the type of art exhibition I am loving. I think I am done with gallery exhibition unless I’m asked to be in a group show, but for now vending has been the best way to share my art and also find buyers. I believe people are more inclined to buy when they can meet and talk to the artist and be a little more hands on with the artwork. I love setting my table up where people have to look through the bins at the prints. It also helps that while some people might come to the expo to just look or collect from a specific vendor, they want to be there to see all the things. I like that bars, coffee shops and restaurants want to display art but I feel that generally people are in a different mindset and might acknowledge an artwork hanging on the wall for a couple seconds but not really think of owning it or researching it more.
It has been great making friends with other vendors. There is a real sense of community with the O&CE vendors and that’s refreshing to see because when I first thought about stepping into the world of vending I was worried their would be negativity or pretentiousness. I was in a group chat room for arts and crafts vendors in Kentucky that was unrelated to O&CE but I was put off by one of the participants attitude towards the O&CE. This individual was upset about not getting into the exposition and started talking negatively about the O&CE and its vendors. They were claiming that the O&CE didn’t care about local/regional vendors and only picked the same people for their shows and that the work in the show wasn’t any good. After listening to them speak negatively about the vendors I chimed in and said I was in the show and applied just like they did. It was so off putting to read such disdain simply because they were not accepted that I left the group. I even tried to offer some professional advice but only got a passive aggressive response. DIY makers should be supportive of each other no matter where we are from. I am grateful to be accepted and welcomed in cities and states outside my own. If I had the negative attitude that this individual displayed it would be counterintuitive to be a vendor.
While I am done with O&CE shows for the rest of this year I am not done with vending. I am in one show every month until November with most being in Kentucky but I do go down to Nashville in June for the Rotten Revival Show and then to Ohio for the Halloween Market in July. You’ll find all the information on my Events page.
My shirts arrived and I can now sell them. If you went to Indianapolis you were able to grab one there as some of you did,, thank you!
I started sketching out a design for a linocut with the grim reaper in the famous Marylin Monroe pose where the street vent blows her dress up. It screamed to be on a shirt and a sticker so I ran with it. The color variants are rust and citron as I wanted to get away from everything on a black t-shirt. I love a black t-shirt but this just needed to be on a different color. You can purchase your shirt and a sticker here, Web Store or if you are local you can buy one at Mothers Tattoo in Covington KY.
-love and light always