Why I'm singing "I'm a loser baby"

The true cost of art.

I just returned from Florida where I attended two art festivals with my textile art: Mount Dora Arts Festival near Orlando and Coconut Grove Arts Festival in Miami. Both festivals are very popular, highly rated, juried events, and I was honored to be accepted! 

Last year I attended one art festival in Florida (Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival) and it went reasonably well. I learned a lot, sold a moderate amount for being a new artist, and gained many new friends and followers. My next step was to try two in a row to make the most out of my travel expenses.

I had good reason to expect that the two festivals I got into to would be decent shows for me. I did my research on both events and I heard great things. But I'm not naïve, I know that doing any art show - especially if it includes large travel expenses - is a huge gamble. But I figured that if I could double the amount of sales I made at one show last year, it would be worth it. 

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"I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?" 

Unfortunately, the end result of this experience has left me not only in debt, but also questioning my art. I've decided to share the true cost of selling my art at these shows. This is not an easy decision; I know that people unwittingly prefer to support winners and I could lose sales over this. I usually try to be as upbeat as possible about my art career in public. But I'm not sure it can get much worse; this week I definitely feel like the loser in Beck's song.

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Two Art Festivals in Florida, February 2023

Costs and Expenses

• Fees paid to apply to two art festivals: $75
• Total Booth fees (for a 10ft x 10ft space) for two festivals: $1250
• Gas money spent on driving to and from Florida: over $600
• Hotel costs during the drive: about $500
• Hotel costs during the two events: $2800
• Airfare to come home for a week in between shows: $360
• Airfare for my husband to assist me with the 2nd show (two one-way tickets): $526

​​Total = $6,311.00

What costs are not included here?

1. The cost of materials I spent to create my art.
2. The cost of my studio rent in order to have a place to make art.
3. The cost of my tent and display so I can show art at outdoor festivals.
4. The cost of a vehicle that will transport the art, the tent, and the display.
5. All of the miscellaneous costs that simply cannot be counted in order to run a business.

Artists are not paid for their time.

It's hard to imagine all of the time the entire art-festival-going process takes. Usually I try not to think about it since none of it is paid time. But, in an effort to be transparent, here's a look at some of the time I put into doing these two art festivals. 

1. The time I spent creating the art. This really can't be measured. Years, months, days, hours...
2. The time spent driving to and from the art festivals: 52 hours.
3. The time I spent setting up my tent and art display. This takes about 4-6 hours each time.
4. The hours that the art festivals are open to the public. The two-day show was a total of 15 hours. The three-day show was a total of 23 hours.
5. All of the time I spent taking down my display and tent. This takes about 3 hours each time.
6. All of the time it takes to run a business. Seriously, I don't even know how to measure this. I guess the best I can say is that I spend several hours on my business every single day. This is separate from making art.

Total hours put into the festivals (does not include making the art!) = 108 hours

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The hardest question I always get asked is:
​"How long did it take you to make this?"

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Sales

"Okay," you're probably saying, "but how much money did you make?!" 

Here is the dismal truth...
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Show one: $698.00 in sales 
Show two: $2,323.00 in sales

Total after expenses =  -$3,290.00

This result is extremely embarrassing to share. Sure, there are places I could have cut costs. I could have slept in the cheapest (worst) hotels available. I could have driven through the night (dangerous and stressful). I could have done the second show without my husband's help (no lunch or bathroom breaks and no support) and saved on his airfare. But regardless of expenses, the amount I made in sales wasn't worth it.

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​Art festivals are great for public interaction, feedback on my art, and it's always wonderful to hear compliments about my art. 
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Sadly, compliments can't pay the bills.

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Conclusion

Where do I go from here? I don't know. I have more questions than answers.

​Is it me? Does my art suck? Should I get a "real" job? If so, what makes something a "real" job? Maybe it's not me, maybe it's the economy? Perhaps people are too worried about inflation? Do people ever spend money on art? Do any artists make money at art fairs? Maybe it's my medium? Perhaps people aren't interested in purchasing textile art? And around again: Is it me?

Who knows. All I know is that I can't NOT make art. (I've tried to stop.) So despite the huge emotional toll all of this puts on me, I'm already planning for my next art festival.