What Is It Like To Have A One Person Show?

Robert L. Straight, a 3-D artist who combines materials such as wood, clay, wire, fused glass, and various other items, shares his thoughts on the long process of presenting a One Person Show. In addition to creating artwork for a show, the artist must also allow time to design materials for the marketing and public relations efforts needed to assist with making the show a success.

“Artists usually start planning and working on a show two or three years before the scheduled date of the exhibition. The first thing I do is decide on a theme, decide what kind of materials will be used, and how much time will it take to create specific ideas. If the creation of an idea takes a long time, what will the price be?

Pricing is always a problem. As an artist, you want to use the best materials possible. This is great in theory but when an artist buys first class materials, the expense of those materials must be passed on to the buyer; otherwise, the artist is losing money. As it is, artists often spend $1000+ on materials and marketing before the show even opens! So, while wanting to keep pricing in an affordable range, artists must also recover their expenses.

When creating work for a show, my goal is to complete 30 to 35 works of art. I feel that my clients like to see lots of new and different artwork, so I have fun making as many pieces as possible and hope that someone likes it as much as I do. My aim is to have someone look at my artwork every morning and know that it brings a little joy to that person’s daily routine. To an artist, this is the joy of making art!

I strongly feel that collecting artwork is a personal thing. When someone looks at their own art collection, it should be a joyous and happy experience. And this artist will love you for it.”