Virginia craft makers and artists convened at Hotel Roanoke over the weekend for the second Artisans Center of Virginia Conference, where one goal was to help artists think more like business people. “That’s difficult sometimes,” said Sherri Smith, director of the Waynesboro-based group. Smith said developing more of an entrepreneurial ethic is important for craft artisans, since “they represent small businesses in their communities.”
Keynote speaker Becky Anderson, founder of an organization called Handmade in America, declared that artisans and craftspeople “need to think more like business people. It is a real job. We like to eat three meals a day like anyone else.” Anderson, also a consultant based in North Carolina, said artists needed to “get out of their studios on occasion as well.”
Sculptor John Wilson, of Roanoke’s downtown Wilson Hughes gallery, was on hand at the artisan craft fair that closed the three-day show. “Most artisans spend their lives in their studios creating art. They don’t really understand that their art, if they want to make a living at it, has to be approached from a business standpoint. They don’t really have the education or background in business. This conference is about developing artists as entrepreneurs.”
Wilson liked the idea that the conference might lead to a “cross pollination of ideas and possible collaborations. I can see more of that happening.” Suzun Hughes, Wilson’s wife and a fellow artist, also attended some of the workshops over the weekend. “There’s always something you pick up. It’s valuable on a lot of different levels.” Hughes would like to see some sort of “Crooked Road” type of arts motor trail come through Roanoke, drawing tourists to venues like their gallery.
Salem-based Appalachian Flutes produces handmade, carved wooden flutes. Artisan John Ferguson said he’s done well via a website (appflutes.com) but the visibility and knowledge gained from being a member of the Artisans Center of Virginia is helpful. “Marketing is the one thing artists aren’t real good at.”
Among the presenters at workshops over the weekend was Susan Egbert of Gallery 108 in downtown Roanoke, who broached the idea of starting an artist cooperative.
By Gene Marrano [email protected]