Spirit Of The Hills Tries Art Show And Sale At Golden Beach Car Event

During last weekend, we went to visit the art show and sale put on by Spirit of the Hills at the huge annual auto show at Golden Beach. The show was organized by Beth Rhind and was regarded by her as a bit of an experiment. The weather was a problem on Saturday with pouring rain, but on Sunday it was sunshine and very warm temperatures. All in all, 10 artists from the spirit of the Hills participated in the display attractively presented in a spacious tent.

We had a chance to talk to two of the artists. Perhaps their response could be regarded as typical of those who showed off their art at Golden Beach. "This is the first time that we have tried to be part of a car show, but in my experience, mixing art shows with other events does not work. I have been at the Shelter Valley Folk festival and jazz festivals and there the arts are a sideshow to the entertainment. Even arts shows and antiques shows don't mix. It's really tough to know your market place, but I still think that arts shows work best on their own.”

“Actually, we were hoping to see more Americans, because Americans tend to spend more.”

The other artist noted that "I have introduced myself to a half-dozen people who did not know me before and they may come to my studio. They took my card and I might just get a call. And you don't want to miss the opportunity either"

The candid responses of the two exhibitors are a good indication of the difficulties that visual local artists face in finding a market for their art. Our visual arts organizations are constantly on the lookout for suitable venues to showcase their ‘products’. And like Beth Rhind, they have to be ready to experiment. As one of the Spirit of the Hills artists put it, "you never know until you try it".