By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The final touches are being applied to the visual art shows at the Black Swamp Arts Festival.
The shows, both the Juried Art Show on Main Street in downtown Bowling Green and the Wood County Invitational in the lot at the corner of Clough and South Main streets, will feature a mix of new and familiar artists.
The festival gets underway Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. with music on the Main Stage. The art shows run during the day Sept. 10 and 11.
About 20 percent of the 108 artists in the juried show are new this year, said Brenda Baker, who chairs the festival’s visual arts committee. That’s down a bit from previous years, she said. Notably some regular vendors missed the April 1 application deadline.
This year 245 artists applied for the juried show which has space for 108 artists. Since award winners from the previous year are automatically accepted, that means they are vying for 100 spots.
The majority of the applicants “heard about the festival through word of mouth,” Baker said. “That shows we have a strong reputation in the artistic community.”
While artists often rave about how they are treated in Bowling Green, the key element to attracting them to the festival is sales. They want to be assured there’s a market for their wares. Those sales at the Black Swamp fest have rebounded to about $2,600 since the depths of the recession.
That’s good enough for the festival to place 67th in Sunshine Artist magazine’s ranking of fine arts and crafts shows in the country. While other area shows dropped off the list in the lean years, the Black Swamp fest has help steady.
Bringing in new artists is important, Baker said, because it gives something fresh for festivalgoers to buy.
“People appreciate new things to buy for Christmas,” said Linda Lentz, a member of the visual arts committee.
Also, Baker noted, many artists on the art fair circuit are getting older. A number of them have already retired from other careers. Now they are doing fewer shows or dropping off the circuit all together.
“We’re starting to see younger people coming to the festival,” she said. “Some have come in and been award winners.”
That includes Kentucky-based woodcut printmaker Chris Plummer and area jeweler Amy Beeler, from Oregon.
Plummer won Best of Show honors last year and in 2013. Beeler won the top award in 2014.
The festival hands out more than $5,300 in juried prizes.
Support Local Media!Having returning artists is also important, Baker said. Often people will start by buying lower priced items from an artist, and as they develop a relationship, buy more expensive pieces.
Those returning artists develop a strong rapport with their customers, she said.
The Wood Count Invitational Art Show is open to exhibitors living within 30 miles of Bowling Green.
This year, 68 artists applied for the 50 spots, said Andrew McPherson, who coordinates the show.
“We have a large number of return applications,” he said, “so we’ll have the crowd favorites.”
But, McPherson added, “we’re looking to mix in some new people, too.”
He said that given all the visitors coming in from out of town, it’s important to give local artists exposure. “It wouldn’t be the same without local representation.”
The festival also includes an area across Clough Street from the Wood County show for the university art clubs to exhibit and sell their work. That has been part of the festival since it began.
