What It Takes to Survive Doing Shows | Nancy Gardner | Episode 545

Nancy Gardner | Episode 545

Nancy Gardner received a BFA in Ceramics from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia 1980 and MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1984. After that Nancy taught for 3 years in Dayton Ohio. When Nancy and her future husband decided to get married, she moved to Chicago where they started Nancy Gardner Ceramics, a line of highly decorative, somewhat functional ceramics. They raised 2 boys, rehabbed some buildings and sent a lot of pots out into the world. They lived happily ever after and remain there to this very day.

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How do you pick your shows?

You have a list of the best shows, there are 10 or 12 shows that are the A list shows and you try to get in them. If you get in those, you do those, and maybe drop down a level and get a few back up shows. It kind of depends on what you need, in terms of how much money you have to make. But at this point it is not really worth it for me to go to crappy shows, so I go where I get into. So I just apply to all the good ones and go where I get into.

Where do you find this list for shows? Is there a list that you know of or is this just from word of mouth?

It’s word of mouth, I mean once you get on the circuit everybody knows. And there is a lot of Facebook groups too. If you are new to the thing you can go find a Facebook group and they will tell you. I mean, it’s no big secret, Plaza, St. Louis, Ace, Cherry Creek,…everybody knows, Ann Arbor, they are the shows that are the best.

What is the typical cost for applying to get into a show?

I think about 40 or 50 dollars. I have to say Mr. Burt does the applying. He doesn’t get to do any of the fun stuff. I get to do all the fun stuff.

How many shows a year does a potter need to do to survive?

You know, that really depends on where that potter lives. I mean, if you live out in the sticks somewhere you can probably get by on a lot less than if you live in a major metropolitan area. So living in Chicago, I mean, it would be the rare person that could live on some…you know, Burt teaches at the art institute, I taught for awhile at Triton, you do a lot of extra stuff. So you would have to do pretty well, you would have to do a lot and do pretty well to make it on just doing the shows I think. Particularly in ceramics because it is so underpaid.

Generally speaking, what should a potter be shooting for when they get into these A list shows saying this is generally what one ought to make?

The booth fees are 500 and they say you should make ten times the booth fee. That is kind of a rule of thumb. I mean, if you are making between 4 and 7 I would say you are probably doing okay. It is a lot less than that if you have to trouble much, it is just going to get eaten up with travel expenses. You have to have a hotel or air b and b, you have to feed yourself, plus the booth fee, gas, plus you have to make the stuff, which I have never taken it into consideration. (laughter). As an expense I haven’t even figured that out. So I would say you want to be making between 4 and 6 at least at an art fair.

How do you prepare for a show? How much work to you plan on bringing to a show?

I go by my boxes. I can’t begin to tell you how much it is worth or how many pieces there are but there are 5 or 6 boxes, those white crates. That probably means nothing to anyone but in my mind that is when I know I have enough.

My last question is : How did you meet Burt?

I met Burt through a mutual friend. He had done a residency at Kohler, and he met Michele Conroy who was teaching. So he came down as a visiting artist when I was a graduate student and that’s how I met him. Then we kind of had mutual friends and back and forth and got together at NCECA in Texas in San Antonio.

NCECA is the place.

Yes, we got together at NCECA.

One more reason why NCECA is amazing.

Yes, and it worked out.