Sunday, April 15, 2012

May (or June) Art

Another Art Walk is coming sometime in May (actually June 15th) . The real question is, will I be participating??  The Art Walks have become problematic for many of the participating artists.One issue is the venue. In earlier days, the Art Walks used to be held within the Old Courthouse in downtown Concord, a lovely old building that once was an actual courthouse, but now is a lovely venue for art and theatre. But when I say "art", I mean  . . . well what do I mean? The main part of the Old Courthouse, is a series of rooms, connected by a hallway, all of which used to be used for the Art Walks. Now, that space is reserved for . . . art shows--artists are invited to display and sell their art--paintings, sculpture, pottery, ornamental glassware. There is even a small gift shop. Apparently, the "Art Walk" is not considered "artsy" enough for that space.  I guess, we're all just too amateur. Some real "artists" don't even consider what I do--digital art--as "art." No paint brushes, I guess.
So, the "Art Walks" have been settled into an old bank building next door. Now, the old bank building is also lovely space, except that it's too small for the number of participating artists, and so it's all kind of a jumble.  Partly as a result, and partly also because the folks who visit the "Art Walks" seem disinclined to spend any money, the number of participating artists has been shrinking. I suppose it may all be a self-fulfilling prophesy kind of thing. As the number of artists shrink, the Art Walk itself become less exciting, so fewer people decide to visit, and so on.
It is also the case that the Council--the sponsoring group--has been unwilling to provide any credit card sales capability at the Art walk. And, since nobody carries cash any longer, that puts a bit of a crimp in the whole event. A few artists have begun using "Square", that device one can plug into a smart phone. But mainly, the artists rely on cash sales.
So, there may be a time in the not too distant future, when the Art Walks simply disappear.  As a result, I am beginning to question why I participate. It's all becoming too expensive.
On the other hand, should I decide to continue with this profitless venture, along with most of the remaining artists, I may select some scenes from below.

Artist at Work:

C&O Canal: The Lock


Summer Critters:

Fountains: DC Style

Another Summer Critter:




Pond life in a Zen Garden:

Pierglow



Nag's Head: The Pot of Gold