Hi people. I'm working furiously to get things ready for my next show which opens in Hudson WI at Seasons On St. Croix Gallery (click link) Fri Oct 2nd.

I thought I'd talk a little about why I show my work various ways and tease you with some close-ups of the beautiful material I work with-- steel. You'll have to come to the show to see what becomes of the steel pictured in these shots.

Recently I had a show at my place, an open house. It was the first time in years I'd done any such thing and it was a good experience. It gives me a chance to meet some of the people who enjoy my art and get direct feedback. That's why I do the 50 on 50th show every spring and fall too.

Another motivation for doing DIY (do it yourself) shows is that aside from paying an entry fee- you keep whatever $ you make on the art. (Well, kind of. We artists generally give back about 37% of our income after self-employment, income, and soc sec taxes are taken out.)

When you show at a gallery, you as the artist pay them a cut, anywhere from 35 to 50%. If they are a good gallery (as all the ones I work with are) they more than earn this by running an attractive, friendly, beautifully maintained space, displaying and lighting your work to its best advantage, and putting it before many sets of eyes that may otherwise never see it.

There's a different kind of pressure when preparing for a gallery show. Your work will be shown amid other top notch artist's works, and it needs to stand up. Sometimes you finish creating a piece and while there's nothing wrong with it, it just doesn't have "it". I don't bring those pieces to galleries. Only the very best examples of my work make the cut.

Why is it worth it to you- as an art appreciator to attend both kinds of shows? DIY shows give you a chance to connect personally with the artist if you choose to, and to see some smaller, more value priced pieces you might miss if you stuck only to galleries.

Gallery shows usually have opening night parties that are free and very welcoming and fun to attend. Going to see work in a gallery gives you a chance to see the very best of that artist's efforts, and be exposed to other great artists, new things you'd not see at a DIY show, and you can get ideas for creative ways to group & mix art in your home or office.

Look for sneak peeks in the coming weeks, and don't forget to sign up to be a follower of this blog (on right) and be eligible for the drawing for a "Grove" sculpture.