Arriving in Miami

I have a collection of vintage postcards that I used in some of my collages. This really neat card of Florida is the only one I have found with a rainbow. It inspired this collage/assemblage of two frogs arriving after a storm. I call it "Arriving in Miami - Two by Two". Perhaps it was the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 - one of the deadliest to hit the US.

I split the card and inserted it into two wooden box lids and attached some objects that could have been found on the beach after the storm.

We recently bought a house in Florida and are loving our time there especially when the winter storms hit the north. Some of my friends are concerned about hurricanes. It's not that I don't think about them. I just choose to see the rainbow.

More Birds

I never really paid too much attention to birds until recently. My friend Anne is a big fan of birds and so is my friend Alice. Guess it sort of rubbed off.

So here is a new one.

Big Fish is missing

I just realized that I haven't seen one of my favorite pieces in a while and then I remembered that someone bought it!
Big Fish has a new home.
This one was created on an old board onto which I attached the lid to a wood recipe card box. I found the lid in a box of junk that I bought from one of my favorite shops just out of town.
The fish is a hand made polymer clay tile. There is of course, one of my painted sticks, some bark and a sign punched into copper. At the bottom is a really cool painted latch. And I have another latch just like it to use somewhere else. I love that part. And there are a couple of metal charms and wooden beads. Around the outside is a "frame" of stained wood.
I might have to make a Big Fish II.

My show booth

That's a big topic! I don't plan to write a thesis or anything. It is just that everytime I see that image of my space at Artist's Row last week, I am reminded of how much better everything looks indoors. So I thought I would share an image of my show booth at the American Craft Retailer Forum in Las Vegas. This was a new show being presented for the first time. I was in on it from the beginning so I got this "primo" space right in the front.I agonized over this set up for weeks knowing that mine would be one of the first booths seen as gallery and store owners entered the exhibit hall. Having a corner is so cool because you get all this extra display space on the outside.

This is a ProPanel booth with heavy duty fabric. Panels are 2.5 feet wide and 8 feet high. Also, I had just purchased the "desk" that is in the left of the photo and the "pedestal" on the right.
What I was offering at this show was a line of mirrors, frames, folding screens, walking sticks and magnets. There were 16 designs each translated into different accessories.

I also have this really great carpet that has a 1" foam pad attached so it is such a comfy space to stand in.

Shipping was a new experiencce! I ended up with two pallets of material in large shipping boxes. The tricky part was getting the poles and light bars into the boxes without having to send something oversized that might not arrive with the pallets.

But this was such an exciting experience. When I arrived, my shipment was sitting next to my space and all I had to do was unload and set up.

I quit doing wholesale shows that year after doing one more show at the Buyers Market of American Craft in Philadelphia. I loved the experience but it was getting so difficult to do and the cost of these shows has skyrocketed!

I do miss it, though.

Shows and other musings

Just participated in another show in Rochester last Sunday. The Artists Row was held at the Rochester Public Market. It was sort of surreal for me to be there. Almost like a time warp. Back in the 70's when I lived in Rochester, I went to the market for Produce Row to buy veges. I remember seeing meats and cheeses and all this produce and thinking how cool it was.
Suddenly, or not so, I am standing there with my art around me and I had this memory of walking through the market with my children when they were quite young. I guess I was too back then!

It is difficult to get good pictures at outdoor shows. But here is one. Without a tent, everything looks so messy. But you get the idea. There is my little car in the background and on the left is my friend Alice, who also drove up for the show.

After I tore down and loaded my car, I was so beat that I was sure I would never do another show! But now I am sure I want to do this one again. It's like having children. After the first childbirth, it is the last thing on your mind. Then time passes and all you choose to remember is the little one and how special she is. Shows are like children - each one different, each one a challenge and each one so unique that you cannot compare them.

All you know is that you love the experience.

Art finds a home

The Clothesline Festival in Rochester was last weekend and many of my pieces found new homes including the "Cat Bird Seat". The woman who purchased it told me that she has three cats and that they would want to sit on it. I love that!This is a show where I have return customers who come for my mirrors and frames. This year a few of my favorites went to new homes, too: "Sonoran Sunset" - inspired by the Sonoran Desert.
"Beach House" with a painted grasscloth finish and tile depicting a school of fish,
"Bahati" with a zebra tile. This one went to a woman who had bought a piece with the same tile last year to give to a friend. When she got it home she didn't want to part with it. So this year, she bought the frame with the zebra tile for her friend. I don't have an image of the one with the zebra tile but here is one with a mask that is similar. And "Petroglyph" frame is going to become an engagement gift. And the "Garden" mirror is going to be a wedding gift. Many sets of magnet tiles and mini-frames with little "artifact" tiles got wrapped in tissue and sent home with smiling visitors. Then it was tear-down time and the two-hour drive home. That is the hard part but my friend Alice, who has the booth next to mine, always stays and helps me with my tent. Otherwise, I might have been found there the next morning asleep underneath the tent.
And if that wasn't enough, I am going back to Rochester on Sunday for the Artist's Row Show at the Rochester Public Market. I just learned about it at Clothesline from a fellow artist. So, I called yesterday to see if there was still space left. Yikes -I better get into the studio and make more "stuff"!

First Friday - September

As always, the opening for First Friday Gallery Night was a fun evening. Lisa and I reset the entire store and it was a whole new look. Our theme for the opening was "Take a Seat at Belle Melange". My contribution, besides display, was a new chair which featured two drawing and some decorative painting. It is called "The Cat Bird Seat" and was predominately turquoise - one of my favorite colors.

We had many wonderful new pieces to work with including several chairs from Luann Demare which were being featured. Luann ownes Vintage Lulu's, a charming shop near Ithaca that features antiques and many pieces she has designed and restored.

We created several new vignettes oriented around color themes. This green collection is my favorite. It includes a pair of bamboo chairs which I restored and Anne Steinle covered in a green leaf pattern fabric.

The turquoise vignette features a stool by Nina Maniscalso and a pair of wrought iron chairs covered in black Sunbrella fabric with turquoise binding.

There was also a little "room" of African motifs and black and white objects including this chair by Luann Demare with a fun animal print.