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You*ve perfected your art or craft. You*ve given tons to your family and friends and now their friends and family want your art as well! Your workspace overflows with finished projects that you move from side to side so that you can create more art. The cost of your hobby eats away at your family budget. . .

If any of this sounds familiar you may consider turning your hobby into a business. I stood in these same shoes not so long ago. I realized that in order for me to continue feeding my addiction for my art; I needed to begin selling my art.

Only I didn*t know where to begin until it came knocking on my door * a charity bazaar. My first collectors, by default, consisted of my wife and her friends who approached me one day to participate in their charity bazaar as a vendor. *Would you please, please consider selling your work at the bazaar,* I heard time and again. Forcing all of my doubts and my secret *no one will buy my work* thoughts aside, these fans of mine pushed me to say *yes* - and my business began.

I paid less than $100.00 for two tables and loaded up my car with artwork. I displayed my artwork, stood back, took a deep breath and waited. What a wonderful experience to see people react to my work! Watching their smiles, listening to them talk about my artwork and better yet, having them actually purchase something that I created!

When selling your art, understand that you certainly cannot and will not please everyone. You won*t create something that's everyone's cup of tea, but remember you must remain neutral and distance yourself from the negative. I want to create an effect on people with my art, so I like all reactions.

The success of my first show gave me the confidence to continue selling my art. In my opinion, charity bazaars rate as one of the best ways to begin your art business.

Private schools and charities that have these bazaars are always looking for unique vendors. The home based artist is a perfect match.

Most charity bazaars require you to rent 1-2 tables from them at a cost less than $100.00, with an additional percentage of your sales going back to the charity as a donation. It doesn*t get any easier!

The bazaar will take less than one full day of your time. The organizers and other vendors have promoted this event and invited customers to the bazaar. These customers come for the sole purpose of buying from the vendors at the bazaar.

Worried about direct competition? You can rest easy because most bazaar organizers limit how many of each type of vendor are invited to participate in the bazaar. They will not, for example, have too many glass artists at their bazaar. This creates a diverse group of vendors and promotes sales at the bazaar which increases the profits for the charity.

Perform well for the charity and you will be invited to year after year and other charities will contact you to participate in their events. Before you know it you can achieve the dream of actually earning a living doing the thing that you love to do the most*make art . . . and make money!