Membership Has Its Privileges

Back to the topic of I'm Not A Joiner. One thing I really dislike is joining arts organizations. I only do it when I have to which is usually when I show work in a group-run gallery. I just never see the benefit of it. I end up feeling like I've wasted my money.

Earlier this year I joined Pro Arts (the East Bay arts organization) so that I could participate in this year's Open Studios which is the first two weekends in June. But, almost immediately after, I regretted it. I didn't want to do Open Studios. My work never sells and it would be one to two weekends of my time just spent hanging out at the studio not selling any work while I could be doing other things with friends and family. I tried to get out of it but the best I could do was change my listing to "by appointment only."

Okay, that's cool. I'm still listed in the Pro Arts directory and I have a very nice display going on right now at the Pro Arts Gallery in downtown Oakland. That's a fair amount of marketing right there. So, I'll call the cost of the membership and the Open Studios registration fee "advertising expense."

Well, it's working. I was contacted recently by a salon/gallery owner with a shop in Piedmont (a nice little neighborhood in Oakland) who wants to feature my work in her gallery. We made an appointment for her to come by my studio yesterday to see my work and talk about what she wanted to do.

So, I gussied up my workspace, made it presentable, and proudly displayed all of my bottle cap art. The meeting went well. She seemed to like what she saw. I'm not exactly sure what she wants to display. I'm waiting to hear back from her with more details.

When she left I felt a little odd because I wasn't sure what the next step would be but I'm just going to wait and see what happens. The most important thing to note is that this would not have occurred had I not joined Pro Arts and signed up for Open Studios. So, I guess being part of a Group ain't all that bad.

Just don't expect me to make Little Pink Cats. I will always draw the line at that.

Another Group Worth Joining of the Day:

Museums.

That you frequent a lot, that is. Totally worth it. Just a few visits and you've recouped your annual fee. Plus, you can take other people to the museum for free, go to member events, get a discount in the gift shop, etc. It's cool.