As you probably know, I spent most of the last six months on the road, doing art shows in three different states this year. As a whole, business was down from last year, not only for me, but for most artists I know. However, I did have some very successful shows, including a couple of new ones I tried for the first time in Gig Harbor and Coeur d'Alene. I will definitely be doing those again.
As for Leavenworth, it was a major disappointment this year. On an average basis, sales were down 35% from last year. The kinds of people coming to Leavenworth, for the most part, were those folks who had little or no interest in buying art, or much else, for that matter. We were mostly a place for people to go while eating their ice creams. From what little I know, most of town's businesses did not have a great year. I think a lot of that had to do with the high gas prices during the summer.
I was strongly considering doing only a couple of shows there next year, if at all, when Leavenworth's Village Art-in-the-Park beat me to the punch. I received a letter a few days ago informing me that Village Art-in-the-Park is no more. After 40 years of operation, sales have fallen to such a low point that expenses are greatly exceeding income. It is very sad that the oldest art show in the Pacific Northwest in now over. They gave many a fine artist their start in the business...and it paid for all the art programs in the Leavenworth schools. Lord knows what will happen there now.
In the meantime, as you may know, I decided about a year ago to diversify my time by becoming (again) a professional photographer doing weddings, portraits, and other photographic-related operations. In June of this year, I opened a photo studio and gallery at 256 Basin Street NW, here in Ephrata. In case you don't know where that is, I am on the north side of town, next to the Gourmet Kitchen Store and across the street from the Country Deli and Bamboo Shoot restaurants (look for the two large murals).
Because of my time on the road, I didn't get much chance to work on the gallery until mid-October when the shows ended. I am now in the process of getting both the studio and gallery up and running full time. Lots to do, as you can imagine.
In order to tell the world about all these changes, I am doing a major revision of my website, now promoting my photography business as well as my existing art business. I would appreciate you dropping by there sometime and telling me what you think. It is a long way from being done, but I am adding new pages on a daily basis.
I was busy this year in August, September and early October doing high school senior portraits, which turned out very well. You can see a few examples now on the website. I continue to do weddings and am enjoying those immensely. There are also several example of my wedding photography on the web.
One of my new offerings in weddings is what I call the Storybook Album. It is a professionally printed and bound book that can be considered a coffee table book, including a custom cover. I do all the design and layout of the book, then send it off for publication. It looks so much more professional than a standard wedding album.
One of the things I can do for a couple who wants the Storybook Album is publish it first to my website and let the newlyweds approve the book before it is published. If you would like a sneak peek at that, I have put a partially completed one up on my website. It is not yet linked on my site, but here is the secret address:
http://weddings.corkrum.com/album/Album_Test3/
It is a self-running program and each page changes every 15 seconds. Remember, it is not yet finished as I have some additional editing to do and several more pages to add. I really want you to give me your opinion on this one, so please take a peek.
As far as the Oxford House Gallery goes, I am currently displaying my works, although I have worked out agreements with other artist friends to come and display their works at the gallery. Some are even coming here for receptions and demonstrations of their painting skills. This will not begin until probably early spring of next year.
I am enjoying being in my new studio gallery and I hope you will drop by and take a look. There are more pictures of the gallery on the website, as you will see.
Not much else going on in my life other than Sunday and Monday NFL football. My new studio is taking up most of my time. Susan and I are hoping to go see Aimee and Brian in Pocatello for Thanksgiving, with a side trip to Yellowstone as it is so close. We shall see what the weather holds in store.
I look forward to hearing from you about my new website.
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