Art Shows

I love doing art shows...craft shows...whatever you want to call them I love doing them. I like seeing what's out there in terms of other artists, I like when people appreciate and buy my work, and I like make money at them. I like my job and this really is my job. I was at an art show this last weekend helping Roxy at her booth. I was really excited because while I wasn't selling my it was the first craft show of the year that I was going to. Not only was it the first craft show it was also a show that was put on by really good promoters. This is a rare thing. The promoters and volunteers at this show take really good care of their artists. That means clean easy check ins, excellent directions and signs to get you to the event, clean bathrooms, complimentary snacks and coffee, they bring cold water like every 30 min, and they only take handmade high quality art! none of this buy/sell crap out of China. There was great weather this weekend and lots of people out too, this all lines up to be a great show but it was one of the worst shows I've ever been to. Very few of the artists did well at all and very few made back booth fee and travel expenses. Like I said this is our job and when a show is bad it hurts. The reason the show was so bad was because nobody was buying. Sure, we are still not in a great economy but let's look at all the factors here. The show was in a nice suburb of Atlanta, the art was all handmade, the art was all made in America, and the art was all well priced. Even with all that no one was buying. It makes me sad to think that these people who came out specifically to an art show (and it was just art there ie it was not a music or food festival with art thrown in, it legit was a pure art show) didn't want to even buy any art. I can't stress enough that this is our job, artists need to make a living too. What better way to support America and the economy than to support these little businesses where you know it's handmade, made in the USA, and that it's gonna be quality work. So, the next time you are at an art show think about what you are getting when you make a purchase. This is not pressuring you to buy something from every booth and no you don't even need to buy anything at all but just think about who you are supporting when you do buy something and how happy you will make the artist.

New Addition

Earlier this week Roxy's parents discovered that there was a cat and her kittens were living in the insulation of their newest trailer. It took two day to coax these little bundles of fur out of the underbelly of the trailer. Once out we found that there are four little ones and one mama cat. The mom is a sweet and friendly little cat who we think was a house cat that got pregnant and when the owners found out they dumped her at the trailer park. The babies are real young probably only about 3 weeks old. Instead of taking them to the pound where they probably wouldn't last Roxy and I brought home the little family to add to our little family. They are living in Roxy's studio right now aka the basement and seem to be adapting to their new home nicely...better than insulation in a trailer. Well, these little guys are too young right now but if anyone wants a cat let us know...we can hook you up!

I Need Bottle Cap Jewelry...NOW!

I have started making a new kind of jewelry. I used to work primarily in copper, brass, and sterling silver (and I still do) but since the beginning of the year I have been working predominantly with recycled bottle caps and I'm loving it! It's a cheaper material to work with and it's not so bad when your beer becomes a business expense. I also really like working playing with the colors and images on the caps and I also find that people can relate to this kind of jewelry a little more. Well, I have put my bottle cap jewelry in a couple different stores now so check these places out if you are in the area

Dream Givers in Toccoa, GA

dreamgiversgallery.com

Re-Inspiration in Atlanta, GA

reinspirationstore.com

Indian Town Gallery in Frisco, NC (the OBX)

indiantowngallery.com

Tullulah Gorge Gift Shop in the Tullulah Gorge State Park, GA

and also you can find my work on etsy.com and also at the craft shows I will be participating in. I'll keep you updated on all that!

New

So there are a lot of new things happening in my life. New home, new studio, new past time activities...this is one of the beauties of change, you get to start fresh. Well, I am loving the new even if it's not drastic, it doesn't have to be extreme. Here are some pictures of the new things in my life

Beatrice's New Summer Haircut

My New Studio Space...kinda still a work in progress

New Garden...Roxy put in the beds and I helped plant the seeds...we have little sprouts!

My New House!

Hello?

So, it's been over a year and I thought it was time to dust this thing off and say hello again. A lot of business has happened over the last year. Starting from March 2011

March-Get a $10,000 grant and move to Columbia NC

April- Start setting up Columbia Art Space a handmade art gallery

May-I get a dog and CAS is open for business

June- Craft shows and tourists

July-same as above but there's more fireworks this month

August- Hurricane Irene hits the OBX and IBX hard :(

September- Recovery

October-Candy Corn and Pumpkins and fun festivals

November- I get married! and continue to not eat turkey for Thanksgiving

December-Christmas fun and hanging out with the in laws

January- Say goodbye to Grandma as she passes on

February- Start making bottle cap jewelry

March- Close up shop in Columbia and move to Toccoa, GA

So that's a brief recount of what I've been up to but now as I'm setting out on a new adventure here in Georgia I want to share it with y'all out there. Lace up your sneakers and get ready

Necklace

Marlene took a picture of our necklaces after the critique on Friday. It's copper fold formed around a sawed up goat jaw bone with steel jump rings.

Goats!

So, the unfortunate thing is I have my camera but I do not have the usb cord readily available to download pictures. I have misplaced it. I would love to show you the awesome jewelries that I've been working on but until I find the usb or figure out how to get my cell phone to send pictures to the internet you will have to use your imaginations. So far it's all been masks, ee cummings poems, and goats. Like I said I've been working on sawing up a goat jaw bone to turn into a necklace. I made some great strides today which is good because it's due Friday! well I don't have a picture of the necklace but here is a picture of a goat for you to enjoy instead.