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Meet The NAIA Executive Directorand Board Members
NAIA Executive Director
(this position is vacant at this time)
Bonnie Blandford
Board Treasurer January 2004 - December 2008
Jewelry - MichiganI've been a behind the scenes supporter of the NAIA, almost from the beginning, so I'm thrilled to become a Board member. I'm looking forward to this particular time on the Board with all the new challenges that are facing artists doing shows such as digital jurying.
I'm bringing the experience of 29 years of doing art fairs as a jeweler. I ran my local, hometown art fair for 4 years which gave me a huge appreciation of Art Fair Directors and their side of the issues. With Michael Kifer, I'm currently running The Garage Sale Art Fair in Kalamazoo. I've been a juror for art fairs 16 times over the years and firmly believe in using working artists on juries. I love just about everything about this business and how I make a living. I look forward to hearing what issues others would like to see the NAIA address. For more information on me, please see my website: www.bblandford.com. Please feel free to at any time.
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Sally J. Bright
Board Chair January 2007 - December 2008
Fiber - MichiganThe first time the NAIA was mentioned to me was absolutely thrilling and exciting! Finally, I thought, an organization not for employee dependent “art” and craft, which already exists, but an organization for the artists and craftsmen that actually design AND make the work, thereby creating specific authorship of it. That will always be my focus.
I’ve always believed that if you belong to an organization run by volunteers, especially one that is of great benefit to its members like the NAIA has been, you should do something to help keep it alive and thriving. Now that it is my turn to do so for the next 3 years, I plan to continue finding out what we, the members want, and do all I can to further our organization’s goals. Can you help? Organizations like ours always need people to help on assorted projects and committees.
I love our on-line forum, it is a marvelous place to share information and find answers to questions about the art/fine craft show universe, often very quickly.
Beginning in 1985, I now do about 10 – 12 shows per year, exhibiting my basketry/sculpture. And I also do the free artist directory website, artshowartists.com
You can reach me by or by classic mail at: Box 817, Fenton, MI 48430 I would love to hear your best idea for us, the NAIA, to continue improving this art/fine craft show world.
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Patricia Hecker
Mixed Media -
I've been an NAIA member since 1996. I've derived my income from selling art at outdoor festivals for the last 20 years. Having participated in close to 300 + shows I feel I have a grasp on this business based on experience and enthusiasm. I still love doing shows, meeting the public and getting to know other artists.
I hope to bring to the board some "mixed media ideas". I think I have some decent ideas now and then but I'm not always sure how to implement them. I hope to hone these skills here. I initiated the cookie recipe fund raiser to benefit NAIA which raised a little over $500.00. and increased waistlines of all who participated.
I see NAIA moving forward on a steady keel while adding members who are enticed by the initiatives and direction we can expand upon.
I love to cook, garden and dream and perhaps some of the ways I go about these passions can be used to come up with ideas for NAIA. I make no guarantees other than wanting to try to help. I strongly admire all who have served on the board who have helped make a livelihood I so enjoy - continue.
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Suzanne Juneau
Board Secretary March 2007 - December 2008
Jewelry - LousianaI have been a professional artist, making jewelry, since 1973 receiving all my income selling my work. Prior to 1973, I earned a degree in advertising design from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and taught elementary school.
From 1990 to the present I have been involved with the craft component of Festival Acadians in Lafayette, Louisiana, the third weekend in September. This festival showcases Louisiana craftspeople, both traditional and contemporary, in a festival which involves both music and food. I have planned and executed many parts of this event from preview parties to layout to evaluation. I was one of the founding members of the Louisiana Crafts Guild, chartered in 1998 and served as president until January 2005. I am now a member of the board of the LCG. My focus to this point in time has been working within my state to improve venues for craftspeople to make a living here in Louisiana. I have been the guild representative to CODA, Craft Organization Development Association, and the Louisiana Partnership for the Arts, our state arts advocacy organization. I have assisted in grant writing to the state of Louisiana for the guild. I was one of the founding members of the Baton Rouge Arts Market, a juried event now in its fourth year, which takes place on the first Saturday of each month in conjunction with the farmers market. I am currently assisting in the planning stages for an arts event in northeast Louisiana. I have learned much from this experience and would like to share this with the NAIA.
I know there is a direct association between economic development, quality of life, and the arts, and for this reason we, as artists, have much to offer our states and nation. Artists' voices need to be heard politically at the national and state levels. The NAIA needs to find a place in this discussion and be able to use its voice to direct its membership to affect change beneficial to artists.
I think that each member of the NAIA can make a difference. Each member should be involved in some volunteer capacity using their knowledge and abilities, whether it is direct involvement in the organization or volunteer to help the nearest art show to them.
I believe that if we can get this to happen, working from within to maintain the great and reengineer the problems, we can assure that our lifestyle will not disappear. I love what I do, being able to make what I want and travel to sell it. I know that art shows only appeared after 1960 and if we don't help take care of them, may disappear. I believe that this is our primary aim.
Please feel free to contact me at any time or my home phone is 337-873-6295, or cell, which I share with my husband, 337-654-6731.
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Richard Lobenthal
Consultant - Michigan
Richard Lobenthal will be NAIA’s first member of the Board of Directors who is not a working artist (although he is an amateur photographer). Richard first came to NAIA as a consultant aiding us in finding a proactive way to dispel misinformation, and get the word out about NAIA. Out of that discussion came the Independent Artist, NAIA’s newspaper. Richard introduces himself with this personal statement:
I retired from a lifetime career of being a civil rights agency director, dealing with civil rights, and civil liberties, to become a full-time consultant in the same field for another 7 years, adding organizational development and staff training to my repertoire. Following that, I joined boards addressing the same thing! (I am very focused!) In between and throughout, I took photographs and dabbled in showing and selling them, which I still do, although I work in film and digital will be the death of me. I bring years of experience with volunteer organizations, organizational development, strategic planning, fund-raising, and the like to NAIA and look forward to offering whatever skills I have which could be useful.
(I am compelled to add a little more of Richard’s resume below. -- Michael Kopald)
He directed the Michigan Office of the Anti-Defamation League; later, in addition, supervised other offices and was one of the 14 people who ran the national organization. Prior to joining the management team, he was the President of the Professional Staff Organization - a bona fide Landrum-Griffin labor union, and learned about union management and collective bargaining. As a consultant, one of his clients was the Michigan ACLU, which hired him as their Director.
Lastly, another client was the Ecumenical Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding, which also hired him as their Director. (Other clients included many school districts and medium and small businesses.)
His past is further cluttered with numerous other items like teaching Sociology at Wayne State University, organizing the Michigan Public Interest Group (PIRGIM), representing the U.S. in a UN organization, consulting in Bulgaria (on democracy) and Germany (on social problems when the wall came down), being Michigan Public Radio's civil rights commentator, substantial experience with print-media, etc.
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Holly Olinger
Mixed Media
Charlottesville, VirginiaI left the wold of non-profit management with no regrets. Life comes full circle and now I am tremendously excited about joining the Board of NAIA. I have a special interest in seeing the organization take full advantage of the marketing, networking, and advocacy opportunities that are available through agressive internet usage. I hope my tenure will be remembered as a time of great technological progress for the organization.
My journey as an artist was very business oriented initially. Having previously run a small business, I was very concerned with issues regarding the accounting and marketing end of things. This led me straight into the wholesale marketplace. The intensity of competition at wholesale really helpe
d me to hone my skills in product design, workplace efficiency and customer relations. Although I have made the decision to now focus on my independent work and the artfair scene as a source of income, I still believe many of the basic communication skills I learned from wholesale are of great benefit at art shows. Staying alert and working to sell yourself and your creations must be the number one focus at a show. I love setting up my camp in various cities and beautiful parks, but more importantly, I love the thrill of knowing the "look" when someone comes into my booth and they are intently focused on something I hav e created. There is no better feeling as you close that sale. I hope my passion for this business will be a benefit to all NAIA members.
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Teresa Saborsky
NAIA Board Vice-Chair January 2008 - December 2008
NAIA Newsletter Editor
Sculpture - Kentucky
I’m a stone sculptor and a “newbie”, starting art shows 5 years ago. From the beginning I loved art shows. To meet my customers and potential customers was exciting to me, but the best discovery at shows was the family of artists. It was at my second show that I heard about NAIA and joined.
Now you may realize that when I say I started 5 years ago that this was at about the time that our business began to make a change. I never experienced the art show “boom” and, starting at the time I did, trying to build a customer base has been a challenge. I’ve utilized the NAIA in many aspects while learning the business, markets, how to keep costs low, etc.
I’ve always thought that as a member of any organization, I had a responsibility to give back to it in any way I could. I began my volunteer work in resurrecting the newsletter. In doing that, I began learning the “voices” in the art show world and all they have to offer. I also began learning of all the hard work and long hours devoted by some amazing people to provide a collective voice for artists. A tremendous amount of work has been done by this organization and I feel extremely fortunate to be one of the voices for artists to make sure we have a fair and honest marketplace for our work.
Thanks to NAIA Board Chair Sally J. Bright and her ArtShowArtists.com website for several of these photos!
