#artinthetimeofcorona interview with Ginny Herzog

This is one in a series of interviews with our customers to see how they are adapting to the COVID-19 world.

Ginny Herzog lives in Minneapolis, MN and has been a customer for over 20 years.  Utilizing her digitally manipulated photos, as collage, she pieces portions of different architectural elements that are unrelated to each other and constructs new, intriguing forms in her paintings.

This is her #artinthetimeofcorona story.

 

herzog art

How was Minneapolis affected by the COVID-19 virus? How have you been affected personally?

I think Minneapolis was hit harder in the last month than earlier on but that gave our hospitals and staff more time to prepare, by delaying the peak. Our governor and team have been very forthcoming with cases, hotspots and progress of obtaining testing, PPE, etc. They've laid out plans and adjusted them as needed. Living in a state with some of the best healthcare experts in the world, puts us at an advantage in having some of the best advisors to our state and local officials.

I've made my living for 45 years, selling my art at art fairs around the country, doing 5-7 shows per year in the past few years. I had a near perfect schedule set up when the epidemic hit and all of the shows have either been cancelled or postponed until fall. Those that have been cancelled have offered us a full refund on our fees or we can roll them over to 2021, with a guaranteed spot in the show.

Luckily, my 23 year old grandson is living with me this year, so I'm enjoying his company every day. However, I miss the company of many other family members who live throughout the city.

Do you have a daily routine that keeps you grounded these days? 

The first half of my day is pretty much a wash, and I don't accomplish much. The afternoons find me in my home studio either painting or doing computer work. I try to walk every day and usually watch TV in the evenings. I try to connect with family or friends several times a week. We sometimes FaceTime as a group or just a couple of us.

Are you reading, cooking, streaming, or doing any activity that is helping you cope?

I do some reading and cook all of our meals.

With museums and galleries closed are you seeing a shift to the internet for viewing/selling art?  How is this affecting you?

My website is always current with available work. I plan to add a shopping cart and signup for my email list. I have 2500 collectors on my email list now and will be sending out an e-blast a few times this year to update my collectors on new work. My plan going forward for marketing my art, may no longer include art fairs. I feel that we are probably a good two years away from having those events being safe for the artists and the patrons. Instead, I have major collectors in about four or five areas of the country and I am considering taking my work on the road to meet with these clients in the privacy and safe environment of their own home. I have often called on my collectors in the past, especially about commission work so I feel this plan can work for me. In the meantime this year, I will be doing commission work.

Do you see any positive changes for artists in a post pandemic world?

I feel that there have been far too many shows and I believe the pandemic will help to thin out the weak ones.

Groups of artists have been joining together posting their websites as a group. However, I'm not sure how successful this will be in the long run. Also, the art fairs that have cancelled have been promoting the artists on their event website.

I also think that collectors will become more comfortable selecting artwork online. I've been able to digitally install work in my collectors' homes with my use of Photoshop. They can see how the work looks in their space before I ship it. This has been a huge help in closing on a sale.