Anyone who has strolled the pathways of white tents at an art festival, witnessing all the various creative wares of these nomadic artisans, has probably entertained the notion of trying their hand at this lifestyle. The idea of traveling from town to town, meeting new people, seeing new lands, comparing regional cultures, with a dash of the unknown thrown in, is a romantic ideal. For Karin Connolly, her nature photography life is the business of art festivals. The romantic designs we may have for that lifestyle is best left to daydreaming because the reality is, it's a lot of hard unromantic work. I caught up with her at the Westport Art Fair in Connecticut to talk with her about her life on the road, her photography and the business of art festivals.

Karin is one of those few people who has opted to vend her art at the most prestigious and profitable art shows available to her. From May through September, she travels the Interstates and back roads of the U.S. to the tune of some thirty five thousand miles, going from one art festival, to another, from one state to the next. It's not the easiest way to make a living but it has proven, for her, to be the most successful way to make a living as a nature photographer. Regardless of the frustrations and stress of being on the road, Karin perseveres. She has moved well beyond the idealist notions of the traveling artists' romantic life. There's no romance at 4am, when the weather is miserable, and rainy and you're trying to set up a tent, alone, in the dark, hoping the day isn't a wash out.

Karin participates in about 30 shows a year. In the winter she does shows in her home state of Florida and in the summer months she's on the road. During her traveling season it is not uncommon for her to do three weekend festivals a month, each show in a different state. She's been doing this for eight years. It's only been the last three that she has been making a good living for herself.

"I was told early on, that you need 5 years to get yourself established. That helped me keep the faith." Some of those early years were met with a lot of hard knocks: ruined inventory, blown over tents, and 'sorry, only cash and checks' (she learned quickly that you have to accept credit cards). She admitted that her first two years were money-losing propositions.

"That's why there are a lot of people who come and go in this business, they think they can just buy a tent and make money." So what should one do if they think this lifestyle is worth exploring? Karin suggests, " Try getting into 5 festivals within a two hour drive or so from your house. See how that goes for the first year. You'll answer a lot of questions for yourself."

One of the questions you'll answer is, how will your spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend react to you spending weekends away? And if weekends are a problem, what will happen when you're spending weeks away at a time? "You definitely need a supportive spouse. I've seen a lot of relationships fall apart because you're away so much. There has to be good communication and support." Karin is married and one of the ways that her and husband survive this lifestyle is that he will fly out on certain weekends to help her out. "And thank God for cell phones. We can talk everyday if not a couple times a day."

Karin expanded on her beliefs, "The thing is, to make a decent living at this you have to go on the road and your partner has to understand this if they can't come on the road with you. There just aren't enough good money making festivals in one area to make it in this business."

So where are all these great festivals? There is a book that is popular amongst art festival folk. You won't find it in a bookstore but it is a best seller. The Art Fair Source Book by Greg Lawler is the Bible of the art festivals. It is in this book, that you will find out which art festivals are the best, the second best and so on. In this guide you'll also find out how to get into a show, what is required (slides for review, fees, etc.,) and how much money the shows produce, as well as a host of finer points that are important to artists. It is not a casually priced book, as it will cost you $200 for the privilege of its information every year. For Karin, it's essential, the lifeblood of any serious art festival participant. She also suggested you can find good information about art festivals in a magazine called Sunshine Artist.

As we talked, she commented that it was a slow morning.

"Is that bad?" I asked.

She shook her head no, "it's so hard to tell. Last year this place was mobbed in the morning. I can only tell you how good it is when I pack up Sunday."

Without getting into particulars, I asked Karin if she minded telling me what her best money-making weekend was. She smiled a great big proud happy smile.

"Let's just say it was a comfortable 5 figure weekend."

WOW!

"Yea, Wow. I stayed in a nice hotel that weekend."

After revealing that staggering success, she was quick to tell me this was far from normal and that there were many more zero to paltry dollar days than giant paydays. Still, one big payday like that helps makes the year go by easier.

I was now curious to know what she heard were top end salaries on the art festival circuit. Without hesitation she told me that there were several artists who topped a quarter of a million dollars a year. I was quite surprised at that number. She also noted that these artists usually all have some sort of gallery that they own or in which they are featured in.

"And they can afford to bring assistants with them on road. If they have assistants with them, you know they are doing well."

Karin was also quick to point out that for every art festival participant that does lucrative business traveling the circuit, there were many more participants who were sleeping in their vans and living paycheck to paycheck. "I don't want anyone having illusions of grandeur about this business. This is a tough way to make a good living."

All this talk about money brought me to my next question. How much money should someone who is thinking about getting into the art fair circuit budget for? Karin thought about it. She thought about her experiences and came up with a figure of between five and ten thousand dollars. This she said was to cover travel, hotels, initial inventory, fair applications and admission fees (once you are accepted it can come with a hefty tag), foods, bins for unframed pictures and of course a tent. Karin was able to point out a couple kinds of tents.

"When I first started out I used an Easy-Up tent that you can get at Sam's Club or Costco for two hundred dollars." She then pointed to the various inexpensive tents with pointed roofs. "They aren't good in the wind and the rain. The wind is your biggest enemy and those tents are the first to going flying."

Karin used an EasyUp for five years before moving on to a LiteDome. Crafthut is the other big festival tent maker. Karin's particular set up ran her about twenty five hundred dollars. She also has a nice little canopy in the back so she can keep inventory on hand and dry. I mentioned that it was a nice amenity to have. She smiled, yes it was. It cost a little extra but she's worked hard for it.

"You are always learning in this business. It might not look that way but there are always new ways to improve your business while at the same time trying to keep costs under control."

So you've learned a lot while being out on the road? I asked half sarcastically.

She nodded, "Oh yea. Just about everything."

Stay tuned for part two where Karin shares more of her knowledge and talks about her photography and how digital has influenced the art festival. To see more of Karin's unique work, check out her website: www.kcphotography.com

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