Bohemian Mermaid Palace

Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival - Winthrop, WA Craft Shows, Art Fairs, and Street Festivals: What's the Difference? My last post about the hierarchy of art & craft stimulated a bit of discussion in some of my fb arts groups. Something I realized reading through it, is that some people have a strict idea of what a venue will be like according to its name. Some artists put a lot of credit and credibility on an event named Art Fair or Fine Art & Craft show. Likewise, some of them have a very specific idea of what a Craft Show is or is not. They have a vision in their minds of what is for sale at a craft show, as if it's always the same. It's not. At all.  I think it's really strange. Because unless you live under a gallery rock, you have to know there is a VERY broad range of shows out there. They are named to be descriptive to their audience yes, but there is no master checklist for naming a show Art or Craft or Fair or Festival or wh

The Judgement of Art vs Craft is Useless Ah, I have been wanting to write this for a long time. The discussion around Art vs Craft has been happening as long as I can remember. Especially in art school, I heard this talked about a million times. What is art? The conclusion I came to then was that this debate is futile, similar to talking religion. Everyone has a different view, and none of them are wrong. It's a debate you cannot win, and so has always frustrated me. I just don't participate, unless asked directly.  But recently I saw a thread in an artist group I'm in. It's a national group on Facebook called Art Fair Reviews. Many people in that group have very high regard for what they do, and lesser regard for those they consider to be... lesser. The discussion was so arrogant and gross, I had to leave. But I've seen it a so often. And in my own group, West Coast Artists and Artisans , I have struggled with this same tendency toward something I