Monday 21 July 2014

See you at Chelsea Town Hall for Parallax Art Fair, next weekend!!

Have been SO BUSY getting pictures ready for Parallax next weekend! The Art Fair in Chelsea Town Hall next Saturday & Sunday is a huge event and it's wonderful to be exhibiting in London again!

Parallax is a huge craft fair with work of a very high calibre and I was dead chuffed to be allowed to be a part of it this year. It means I'll meet lots of new artists and have my work seen by a big, new audience. Which will hopefully mean sales!!


See Lizzy & her work at Parallax Art Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, London on 26 & 27 July

As much fun as exhibiting is, for an artist showing work is about building visibility & reputation but primarily about selling. Only a few years ago I'd get so excited about having my work on display that I'd forget what I was there for and miss sales opportunities through sheer inexperience. No longer!

The business of displaying pictures at exhibition is a minefield one enters with caution! Where a picture is selected by a gallery it is hung where and how the gallery or show curator wants it seen. If it ends up tucked in a corner near the floor, well, that's life. Being accepted to have space at an art fair is quite different.


Chelsea Town Hall - Parallax Art Fair venue, London
Despite having to have one's work evaluated, an art fair is more about selling that a gallery or exhibition. One pays to take a space which one is then told how to fill. Sometimes the requirements are precise; all works will be fixed with mirror plates, or be no less than 10cms apart, for example. This keeps the overall appearance consistent, as in a gallery. And it pays to obey the rules since pictures look so much better when displayed well.

This time I'm taking Max along with his trusty drill & spirit level! As befits a one-time photographer, Max is great at detail. With Max in charge of hanging, pictures are positioned EXACTLY as planned! And credit where it's due, while I'm busy getting anxious, Max always makes a great job of the business end of exhibitions.


Inside Parallax Art Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, London
For Parallax I've bought a couple of little display units for the postcards commissioned by Visit Leicester, which I still feel are among my best work. Those too can now be displayed to best advantage. And at the suggestion of a friend among my bits and pieces I'm taking Tippex to cover mirror plate screw heads. Plus ready-mounted replacement pictures so that sales don't result in unemployed exhibition space. My attitude really has changed!

However, once the exhibition closes I shall still enjoy the nightlife London has to offer. I'm sure there will be photos of the weekend to share with you in due course..!

I do hope I'll see many of my readers at Chelsea Town Hall on 26 & 27 July - it's going to be an excellent event and I'm already excited! There will be LOTS to see and while I hope you make the most of the quality art & craft works on offer, please don't be a stranger; make yourself known and come have a chat. I'm looking forward to meeting you at Parallax next weekend!