niebruggestudio.com

Just a quick entry today, this morning I’m working on a painting in my studio and have to be at the Fair by 4:00 PM to sign prints and meet people. Busy, busy Alaska State Fair time.

The first day opened to rain, but that didn’t seem to daunt fairgoers. People from all over Alaska plan in advance to visit the Alaska State Fair, and many travel from great distances so a little thing like the weather will not stop their fun. In our Niebrugge Studio booth we met many dear old friends from the Copper River Basin, and made new acquaintances from as far away as Texas. I can’t explain how rewarding and encouraging it is for me, an artist who works alone most of the time, to have the positive input from so many people who love my work.

Another side benefit of being at the Fair is meeting upcoming new artists and helping them learn the ropes of presenting their work and talking to people. For so many, meeting the public is a frightening new experience. They are ready to hide behind the nearest potted plant and are mortified to be identified as the creator of an artwork. I try my best to encourage new artists to make eye contact with each person who enters their booth and smile, and greet them. Most people have no idea how hard this is to accomplish. Artists feel that they have bared a little piece of their soul in every painting and that the world can see inside their brains, therefore they can be easily hurt with a random comment. I advise artists to take every comment as positive feedback, and try to glean a little insight into how the public views art.

I guess doing this for over 30 years has helped me realize that it is the public that is timid about approaching artists, they need to be encouraged by artists and nurtured. Most are awed by what they see, they admire and treasure the work. We all need each other. God Bless all who appreciate art.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

This entry was posted on Friday, August 25th, 2006 at 10:29 am and is filed under Art Shows. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.