Frank Amigo's letter
Here is what Frank wrote. I think it is going to come out as the December AAW Board letter, so I have not asked for permission to use it.
The Why and How of Chapter Gallery Shows
In this month’s board newsletter I will try to explain why gallery shows should be attempted by AAW chapters. I will also describe how my first chapter, the Chesapeake Woodturners (CW), ran several gallery shows, and continue to do so successfully to this day.
When I started the CW, we had no professional turners, and none of us wanted to be professionals. None-the-less most of us wanted to turn professionally. My classes covered basic wood turning, but once a semester I brought in a well-known turner like Al Stirt or David Ellsworth to do a master class. These classes were much in demand so our club members could see and imitate the skills of professionals. As the club grew, we developed a large group of mainly older men, many of whom had few skills as turners. At the same time a few of us started doing gallery shows in different venues around Annapolis. We opened some of the shows to all our members. I noticed that the less experienced folks started to do better and better so as not to be embarrassed when they were selected for a show. Because of this most of the chapter started turning in a more professional manner and the sprit of our members really took a rise. I think chapter gallery shows would do the same for all chapters.
Now, the how. First you should select four to six folks who do good work. You could have a local art teacher or gallery owner look over the work and pick the turners if you have no one in your chapter who feels qualified. Then you have to find a venue and pick a date. Usually this would be six months to a year down the road. The next step is selecting and planning the advertising. This too can be far down the road. Depending on the venue, your members may need to make and paint stands for the show. A week or two before the show the local advertising should kick in. For the opening night, depending on the venue, you should plan to have finger foods and drinks available. Most gallery shows last a month and if the items are for sale, the gallery will take a commission.
First of all, most of you know who in your chapter are good turners. These are the folks that you want for the first show, but if you have professionals in your club, make it a mix of professionals and amateurs. As I said, if no one in your club wants to jury the items, try to get an art teacher or a gallery owner, someone who doesn’t know the entrants to select the items.
In Annapolis we had many venues from which to select. The school where I taught was a community-based art school with a wonderful gallery. Our two neighboring counties had similar facilities which we used, and still do. The Maryland Federation of Art, a non-profit, has a gallery in Annapolis and one in Baltimore. They are always looking for folks to fill their spaces. The local county park has a large office building with a big room that they like to fill with gallery shows. They especially like woodturners, since we would demonstrate on their porch on Earth Day, showing people finished pieces and the rough logs they came from. This also got us wood from the park when trees had to be taken down. I am sure this does not cover the myriad of venues you can find out there.
For advertising you should contact the arts person at the local newspaper to do a story on the show, which usually comes out after the opening. They can also do announcements of the show, the week before. Six months to a year before, you can put write-ups in art magazines and flyers with tourist attractions. You will need a good group photo of the turnings for postcards announcing the show. These can be sent to friends and relatives, but especially to local collectors. U.S. Press in Valdosta, Georgia, and Modern Postcard in Carlsbad, California, are two very good postcard vendors. We mostly used Modern, their prices were pretty good.
Depending on the venue, you may need to make stands. If any of you need help with that, I can get you a set of good cutting diagrams using ¼†plywood and Luan plywood, designed by Phil Brown. Our club did a set for themselves and one for the park. Before a show we would get together to repaint the stands. The venue owners may want to set the show up, or may want you to set it up. If the latter, you should have no more than three to do it, preferably only one person. You will probably have to order goodies and drinks for the opening at least a week in advance.
Other things needed for smaller shows are biographies and maybe pictures of the folks displaying. We had a nice framed (about 10†by 12â€) write-up with picture. These can be used again and again. You’ll also need typed cards for each piece with the maker’s name, title of the piece(if any), type of wood, and price (if for sale). These can be attached to the stands below each piece.
As I stated earlier, a commission will probably be charged for any sales, depending on the venue, anywhere from 25 to 50%. Work can usually be displayed “not for sale.†Depending on your ability to get local papers to write up the show, your chapter can get pretty well known in the area. This can bring in many new members and get the attention of local collectors. All of which helps the local chapter and the AAW. In Annapolis the newspaper stories on our shows brought calls from people who had some pretty nice trees down and wanted to give away the wood. The chapter also got wood from some historic trees; one very old one in downtown and parts of the Wye Oak on the eastern shore. Good luck.
Frank Amigo
AAW Board
(The same Ed, not the other Ed, nor the Webmaster Ed)
