The Galleries Site Map Ordering Information About the Artist Upcoming Shows Trophies Art How-To How Bronze is Made How to Care for Your Sculpture How to Display Your Sculpture Cool Links Web Rings Newsletter Guestbook Contact Us Whimsy Hill Studio
15401 Eaton Pike
West Alexandria, Ohio
USA
45381-9610
Phone (937) 687-3151
FAX (937) 687-1479 | Many artists start their show career showing in 10' x 10' tents. I did this for a while too. At several shows, the wind and/or rain made me load up all my art because the tent was not protecting it. And at night, I'd have to load everything up for security reasons. Then I thought, "why not a rolling art gallery? A trailer!" I've thought about this possibility for several years, but when my dear hubby bonked his head one time too many helping me load my old 6' x 12' cargo trailer, he said, "You need a bigger trailer!" And so my dream of a "rolling art gallery" came to be. I've been asked to post "before and after" pictures of the trailer, so here goes:
 
We special ordered a concession trailer with as large a window as they could fit on the side. My idea was that the window would be like looking into a store window -- they could see what's right in front of them as well as what's in the "store." This trailer is 26' long overall, 8 1/2' wide on the outside (7' 10" on the inside), with an 8' gooseneck section (TONS of storage!) and an 18' gallery area. The window is 8' long. We ordered an extra-tall trailer so nobody would have to duck while inside. It's 7'3" inside (the same as a horse trailer for warmbloods). The walk-through doors are 36" wide. The entire back of the trailer opens in two doors. The trailer is insulated, has two wall outlets, two roof vents and has florescent lights as well as track lights in the front that my husband installed.
 
These pictures show the trailer with unfinished walls and floor (the first one looking forward, toward the gooseneck, the second looking back at the back doors). We primed the walls and painted them a pale peach, which looks mostly off-white and is a "cozy" color, very attractive. The tile we installed looks like red sandstone. We got it at Home Depot. I got so many compliments on the floor, I wished I'd had some boxes of tiles there to sell! :-)
Walls are painted, floor is tiled, moldings are all in place. My husband built a stepped shelving unit just a little wider than the opening of the window. There are walls on the end of the shelves so people will notice and not bump into them. I made a tailored covering out of black ponte fabric, the same as I use on my tables and pedestals. The back of the shelf unit is open, and I can store boxes, the broom and dust mop there. I made the cover for the back so the sides have velcro attachments. That way, they stay in place unless I need to get into that space. This shelving unit is not attached to anything. When we travel, it is pulled agains the front wall of the trailer, in the center, so it will ride well. The tables are folded and put on the floor for traveling. Nothing shifted, and everything arrived intact.
Above, you see the trailer set up at a show. I put flower garlands on the brackets that hold up the awning, thinking that would make those bars more noticeable so people wouldn't bump into them. In reality, it was not a problem at all, so the flowers were probably unnecessary. On the shelving unit's front shelf, I put brochures, notecards, business cards, and some of my painted tiles. On the second shelf are painted tiles folks can see when they're inside the trailer, as well as two small sculptures and one large one. To the left is a painting by my friend Candi Farmer, and one of my show chairs (with "Equine Art by Lynda Sappington" embroidered on the back). The small black table by the right hand door holds rubber stamps made by my friend Marcia Van Woert (Raintree Rubber Art Stamps). John made the steps and then topped them with left over rubber mats from a horse trailer we used to have.
 
The two pictures above show the interior of the trailer. The curtain over the gooseneck area is a fabric shower curtain I cut in half, then put button holes along the top (reinforced with a backing fabric) for the shower curtain rings. The rod is a white enameled metal closet pole from Home Depot. All the art rode in the gooseneck and came through with no problems whatsoever, so it must be a relatively smooth ride up there. The tables on the left are an 8' and a 6' table, both with table covers I made. The boxes on the top of the tables are 12" x 24" boxes I bought from a friend years ago -- they make great storage boxes when they aren't being pedestals. I also used my big pedestal in the back corner. I showed with the one back door pinned back against the outside of the trailer, the other one latched, and a fan in the open doorway to keep people from falling out, as well as cooling the trailer.
 
My dog, Mickey, helped me at the show the first three days. The fourth day it was just too hot to take him. Having him there did draw people into the trailer, but they were more interested in him than in the art! I had the sign shown made at FastSigns, which has a Website. They do great work. Of all the vendors with signs, mine was the one that never blew over (it had a huge sandbag on the bottom bar of the frame). The sign frame is a nice one -- it folds up as soon as you pick it up by the handle, and has a bar between two of the legs where you can lay something heavy to hold it down.
You may have noticed there's no signage painted on the outside of my trailer. My husband believes if I have signage painted there, it will lead to my being robbed at some point. One of the other vendors at this show, a jeweler, was robbed of thousands of dollars in gold jewelry a few months back. She has signs everywhere. So we're sticking with the small banner shown in the window of the trailer, and the sign outside. There's also a "Whimsy Hill Studio" sign on the front door of the trailer.
It takes very little time to bring in the things displayed outside, and to close up the trailer. There's shade under the gooseneck for the dog and the cooler, and I did sculpt under there for a while on the table shown in the picture with Mickey. I found it easier to watch the trailer when I set up my sculpting table under the trees across the driveway from my trailer, rather than under the gooseneck. All in all, a great way to show!
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