Ok, so I figure I better get this off my chest then I’ll stop whining! Who’s the art director over there? Last years poster was…bland. Nicely drawn but not nearly as interesting as some of the ones from the past! Then, when you do decide on some interesting art, there’s never enough! Last year no one in our party cared for the ‘official’ art, but we decided to buy some of the ‘alternate’ t shirts, such as the one with the Martin guitar and some of the batiks. Went back to camp to get everyones sizes and came back with $650 to buy shirts, and they were gone!
Not trying to give PB crap, but this seems to happen a lot…2010 was amazing ( Instrument Stampede!) and we were only able to fulfill 1/3 of our orders because the XLs & L sizes were gone…
I asked a clerk in the tent why this happened so much and he said he didn’t know, and that they try to keep the art ‘traditional’. Whatever that means… but I will say this: traditional doesn’t have to be boring.
I give t-shirts and posters to this event to all my friends and family for Christmas, Hanukkah and birthdays…people love 'em. Please print more of the cool designs and maybe less of the bland ones…we festivarians appreciate interesting design!
Thanks for listening (me, my husband and all of his friends are trying to give you our money!) :eek
Gotta be a tough job to choose the official art. Some people are gonna like it, some people not.
Thanks for the the comments, KatieQ.
Opinions are always welcome, good or bad…it lets us know what we’re doing wrong AND right!
Art is one of the great equalizers. It’s all preference and taste. Your least favorite piece is the coolest piece someone else has ever seen. Some people didn’t like the stampede at all and thought it was too fantastical simply because it could never happen…or they just didn’t get it. That’s one of the great things about art, though.
That said, it’s impossible for me to “…print more of the cool designs and maybe less of the bland ones…” because I’m not sure which design you’re talking about. :lol 
When someone told you we strive for “traditional” art for the main artwork, that’s not quite right. Generally speaking, the official artwork for TBF has been “fine art”, i.e. a watercolor or hand painted piece of art instead of something digitally produced or manipulated. “Traditional” isn’t far off, but it puts the idea a bit too much into a corner (I’m not even sure what traditional art is or means). For years the art was done by the internationally renowned William Matthews (back this year for the 40th!) who is a very well respected painter and artist. The past few years, since Willie left, we’ve branched out and tried some new artists. One thing is true after 40 years of art: you win some, you lose some.
Your comment about the t-shirts is valid…to an extent. The reality is that we do not sell much festival merchandise outside of the festival(s) themselves. Especially dated and year specific items. With that in mind, it’s very hard for us to justify spending loads of money to purchase tons of merchandise that, if we don’t sell it, becomes dead weight. With that in mind, my goal each year is to sell out the Country Store. The less I bring home the better! That’s why there is ALWAYS a line on Thursday for the store. People know that if they don’t get in early they are bound to miss out on something super cool. I also do my best to ensure that we have lots of diversity and something for everyone…hopefully you’ve at least found something that has met your needs.
We usually have t-shirts through the weekend, but we usually don’t always have all the designs left and the sizing can get tricky. We will reorder shirts occasionally during the weekend when we can, but that loops around to the idea of not taking anything home with us…and there can also be limitations to that option (which I won’t bore you by going into).
The best thing I can suggest is to get that camp order sooner than later and come get your stuff early!
I’m sorry you didn’t like the bridge piece last year. I personally thought the depiction of the waterfalls from way up in the canyon closer to the source was a unique perspective…but that’s just my taste. 
I’ll do my best to print enough of the piece(s) you’ll like this year. I promise. :flower
:cheers
D.
Dustin,
Thankyou for your thoughtful reply. I was probably a little harsh in my original statement, but I know you guys do appreciate honest feedback. I hear what you’re saying, and it has got to be difficult trying to decide on quantity. I guess what I was trying to say is that good artists, who can paint a pretty picture are like good musicians who can play incredible technical riffs- and there are a lot of people who fit that description. But good artists who can paint well AND create unique, original concepts are very rare. Just like the Sam Bushes and the Robert Plants and the Alison Krauses of the world- technically amazing but also unique enough that they will always be remembered.
Excited to see what Mr Matthews comes up with! He is no doubt a top notch painter, but even he has come up with some clunkers in the realm of interesting and original concepts.
In reality it probably comes across as nit picky to complain about the art and I do feel a little ungrateful even complaining! But the music is so incredible, the venue amazing and the way the festival is run is perfect every year, so when the ‘official’ art goes up and down and up and down we all wonder. But like you said, that’s the opinion of our group, and not everyone feels the same as we do.
Thanks for listening… :cheers
Don’t feel ungrateful! It’s a compliment to us that you care enough about the festival to have an opinion of what the art is!! it’s exactly that kind of dedication and enthusiasm that makes TBF so unique.
…and we wouldn’t want it any other way.
:cheers
D.
What other festival would ever put so much effort into keeping fans informed throughout the year and actually responding to comments? Just this one, and that’s why we keep coming back!
Exactly! I have TBF T’s and tanks from over 25 years ago ! I will never throw them away, they each bring back memories like a photo. More Xlarge and Large!!
Thanks D!!! :flower
I’ve had to dedicate two entire drawers to my Telluride Bluegrass and RockyGrass shirt collection.
Could we get some new t’s made of teflon so they last longer and never wear out?
Kevlar? :lol
FYI…Kevlar degrades in UV light. I had to quit wearing my fav TBF shirt from 1997 so it would not disintegrate into lint. I’ve got a closet shelf dedicated to retired festival shirts I refuse to part with. My eventual departure from this planet will elicit a massive festi-estate sale!
Lifting an imaginary cup of Crunchy Frog to toast that many, many, many, many more shirts are added to the collection before that happens. :cheers
Totally love the CD’s that hang on the bridge I want to do that all the way around my house :lol
Totally love the Program Art and yeah some years are better then others, what do ya want rubber bisquets? :rolleyes
I personally can not wait untill the day I finally get to frame each poster and fill my reckless rec room with all these beautiful memories. I need to build a room around this Art good and otherwise to capture all this … Flippin crazy good. :meda
l
I have an Art idea for the program. Don’t we all after so many great years of practice and fun. :medal
And I have to add, I had to finally throw away some very old TBF T’s and I could not part with the ying/yang logo and one other design patch . So I actually removed them before tossing. Pretty good stuff. :medal