There is still some innocence left in Miami. Representing it is Seattle artist Justin Gibbens. "The beauty of it for us," he says, "is that none of us have ever been to an art fair before, so if it's a total bust, we won't know it because we have no frame of reference."

Gibbens is one of the member artists of PUNCH Gallery. The gallery decided to rent an $8,000 booth at the Aqua Wynwood art fair during next week's Art Basel Miami Beach extravaganza. ABMB is a blue-chip fair surrounded by dozens of satellite fairs, including Aqua Wynwood (run by Seattle artists Jaq Chartier and Dirk Park). To finance the booth rental, PUNCH used all the money it had in the bank (around $4,000), and got a credit card to pay the rest. Most of the gallery's 12 artists are going; they're paying their own airfare and, unlike the ahead-of-time shipping commercial galleries do, the PUNCH artists are going to wrap up their art in their luggage and bring it on the plane.

"I think everyone is just hoping to make some connections," says Gibbens, who makes elaborate, completely charming drawings of animals (above). "We're used to not selling work, so it's not going to break our heart if we come back with everything." If that happens, though, you may soon see PUNCH bake sales or car washes.

As for the rest of the Seattle art world, even in the midst of a recession dealers say they're optimistic. "I actually think it's going to be really good," says Billy Howard of Howard House. "The opportunities are great right now, both for buyers and for dealers."

Unlike in years past, Lawrimore Project and James Harris Gallery are staying home this time. Lawrimore lost money in Miami last year, and Harris has a family conflict. But the artist-run gallery SOIL will be there, along with Howard House, PUNCH, G. Gibson Gallery, Greg Kucera Gallery, Winston Wächter Fine Art, and Platform Gallery.

"We feel like we can't not go," says Blake Haygood of Platform. "It's just one of the best places to highlight your artists. Hopefully, we'll make money too. It's certainly scary. We're cautiously optimistic."

Last year there were a record number of satellite fairs—21—and it's looking like there may be just as many this year. Flow canceled, but other franchises sprung up, including Art Asia and a fair on a yacht.

The crush of fairs was not great for business last year. Everyone seemed to agree that there was too much art. "People reached the point of snowblindness," Kucera says. "I think everybody is going with the expectation that it will be somewhat less frenzied this year." Or as Harris puts it: "There's not going to be that time of the three-minute hold."

Most dealers fly down Sunday in order to set up before the fairs open mid-week. Dirk Park, one of the Seattle artists behind Aqua Art Miami, is already there and says he expects plenty of action. "Hotel rates are still high, so that means people are still coming," he says. Last year his booth fair, Aqua Wynwood, drew complaints from people who said it was hard to find. This year, the fair is advertised in 80 banners on poles and in an 8-by-40-foot banner at the end of a road. "We learned our lesson," he jokes.

As for me, I'm staying home. But a part of me wishes I were going. To read my account of what happened when I went in 2007, click here.