Friday, July 5, 2013

Support Your Local Artists ...or those in areas you visit.

A lot of people love to go to Art Shows and there are those of us who love to be there to meet you, share our artwork and  enjoy our imaginative offerings enough to take some home.

Also many of  you will walk up and down the aisles of art shows , enjoying the art work, some of you make comments like "oh I could make that" or wow that is really awesome never thought to use an ironing board that way ...or appreciate the intricate time consuming designs of bead work, pottery , paintings and more.

I want to enlighten you as to why you should buy local art especially if you are a visitor to our fair paradise called the Outer Banks.

Reason number 1:  Our area where we have chosen to live is unlike the metropolitan areas where you come from, where sales and traffic is brisk and continousos every day of the year.  We have a season that if we are lucky to not have hurricanes, noreasters and a ton of other life interuptions can be 4 to 5 months long which leaves us 7 to 8 months every year to earn a living.  Many years once you all go home things slow way down and many of us travel to markets outside the area to sell our Art. Buy art while you are here.

Reason number 2:  Art is a soul soothing object you can hang in your home or sit on your credenza or wear that will remind you of the special glorious time you had visiting our beautiful beaches.  Every time you glance at your art you fell in love with, you will remember the love you feel for the Outer Banks and the beautiful beaches, sunsets, ocean waves crashing on our beaches and more.  

Reason number 3:  It is beneficial to our local economy to be able to sponsor a variety of Art Shows year round , establishing a opportunity for our local artists to establish a career selling their art.

Reason number 4:   I think this is the most important reason to buy local art, Supporting local artists who are your fellow human beings who have taken a leap of faith to do what they love and use their God given talents to paint, make pottery, make jewelry, sew quilts , take photographs and more.  It is not easy being Artists , but we find so many times we just don't have a chance but to be creative.  But eventually unless we find a outlet for other people to buy and appreciate our art , we end up with either a room stuffed full of the love of what we do,  and have to stop or we are forced to give it away.  Which is not fair because it all costs money to create.

Reason number 5: Price ...we as artists do not just sit there and go wow that is a great piece I think I will charge X number of dollars for it. No just like everything there is a system for determining the price, just like a dentist has a set system for pulling teeth and what to charge. 

We take into account cost of supplies, the hours of creating the design , then making the design , finishing it , photographing it , marketing it and finally selling it .  Especially with the cost of fuel these days , traveling to art shows has added a greater expense...and art show fees are higher than ever.  on the average a artist will "Give" away $200.00 worth of art , art made and sold just to cover expenses for every show they work just to keep doing what they love.  (Many artists have one or two "Real" jobs besides their art, to pay bills).
But we still love what we do and are willing to suffer the sacrifices to create.

SO next art show you go to ...think and remember what you have read...and be adventurous and buy ART from local artists ....











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Why I create (my new name Lorri Lee Glennon)

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Hobbsville, North Carolina, United States
Having been a artist literally all my life, I love color and dimension.I learned to sew at age 10 , by age 13 started a stuffed animal business, which grew into a collectable Teddy Bear Business for 15 + years. I opened my own bead store specializing in Spontaneous Creation classes and love to teach everyone they could be creative and open the door to their imagination.I recently returned to one of my favorite art forms taking photographs my father gave me my first camera when I was a child and I have loved photography ever since. I took professional family portraits and weddings for the first 5 years living in the Outer Banks, I am now shooting Family portraits again and sharing my love of the Outer Banks through my blogs. Be creative, walk in faith and never give up....It all happens in God's time