Morgan Creek Art Fest, Harpersville, Alabama

I think that I need to invest in a laptop (APPLE, of course).
From the time I leave my 9 to 5 day job on Fridays, I'm engaged in my artwork in some form or fashion, until I return to the job on Monday mornings. My weekends always fly by (what is that saying about time passing quickly when you're having fun??) and I'm constantly jotting down tidbits of information, in real time, to use as points of reference when I find a moment to blog. Of course, I always misplace my notes and I mumble and grumble to myself when I finally settle in front of my home computer and realize that I have to rely on my memory (which ain't that great) to write. I truly believe that it'll all come back to me, if I stare at the monitor long enough. What a waste. But! If I have a laptop I'll be inspired to blog as my adventures unfold and I could even upload the pictures within a matter of minutes, right? (Pausing to laugh out loud.)

I exhibited my artwork at Morgan Creek Winery in Harpersville, AL yesterday. The weather was perfect, the grounds were impeccably landscaped and the setting was absolutely beautiful. Setup was between 8:30a and 10:30a. The event opened at 11a and closed at 6pm with a jazz concert following at 6:30pm. Sales were slow but I was okay with that. Sometimes, it's not always about sales. It's about meeting and greeting or explaining your art process to someone who is interested enough to inquire; taking short breaks to introduce yourself to new artists and sharing stories and laughs with artists and craftsmen who are no longer strangers but friends on the circuit. I met Jean and Jack Lincoln, jewelry designers, from Pell City. They're great friends of Penny Arnold, glass artist, who is a new acquaintance of mine. Last year, I blogged about taking a class with Penny at the Birmingham Museum of Art and she and I have developed a friendship since that time. Jack sits on the board of the St. Clair Council of the Arts and Penny is the newly elected President of the organization. I, also, met Jennifer from McCalla, AL who owns Tiny Hineys. Love, love, love her baby boutique clothes line! Bill Palmer furniture designer stopped by; a new face, new name. Fellow artists Becky Bolton Crisswell & Troy Crisswell, Art Bacon, Lonnie "The Sand Man" Holley, Donna Branch and others were in attendance. Artist John Sims & his lovely bride joined the crowd early afternoon. They strolled the vineyards, viewed the art then disappeared into the wine tasting hut. Laurel Mills, the coordinator of the art event, allowed each artist to select a bottle of wine to take home. A lovely gesture at the end of a long day. I selected Morgan Creek's Sweet Peach table wine.

KENTUCK '08 Recap

One week has passed since KENTUCK. I still consider myself a neophyte with regard to the juried art festival circuit. However, I've now participated in all of the major shows in this region, in three short years. It's very satisfying. I'll concentrate on my grant (administered by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham) over the next year and then will begin considering applications for out of state juried art festivals next fall. What can I say? I love the circuit!

I don't know how I happened to have landed a perfect spot for set up: B-34. I wish that I could post the pics of new friends and artists who I spent two days with but I failed to ask their permission to upload their faces and art. (I feel very strongly about that.) Bummer. Well, since I didn't ask, I'll just say that Peter Rose of Knoxville, TN, Kathleen Fetters with husband Glenn House of Gordo, ALA, Sam the Dot Man and Amos Paul Kennedy, Gordo, ALA among others made the event fun. Interesting note: Glenn is a retired faculty member in the MFA in the Book Arts Program at the University of Alabama. A number of patrons stopped by my booth to see my new block print designs. I was honored to have Buddy Palmer, President & CEO of Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham to stop by, and Julian Hazlett. Actually, I remembered to ask Julian if I could add his pic to my blog. Here he is with his trademark smile! What a handsome guy. Gush. Gush. My friend John Sims and his wife stopped in. John is the individual who literally pushed me into filling out my first application for an art festival -Bluff Park.

Although on-site security was great, I couldn't leave my prints overnight. The risk of dampness or dew saturating my paper is scary. I had to set up at 5:30 every morning then break down and pack up each evening for the drive back to Birmingham. I didn't do any of this alone. Tom did it all and I'm grateful for his effort. What a guy.

KENTUCK was fun! Thanks for stopping by my booth and saying hello. See you, again, next year!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

I celebrated my birthday on Friday, July 25th.

I've reached a milestone.

This is the birthday where I looked in the mirror and (with a smile on my lips and laughter in my heart) had to honestly admit to myself that "I have turned into my mother!" I remember laughing with my mom many, many years ago when she looked into the mirror and had declared on her fifty-something birthday that SHE had turned into her mother. Thinking about that moment makes me laugh out loud. My mom passed into spirit on April 30, 1997. I miss her. I think of her every day.

I received a number of lovely gifts and cards. My daughter surprised me with a beautiful vintage botanical print which she found in Ann Arbor a few weeks ago. I'm posting a picture of the print. You will, also, see a delicious individual cake that my friend Donna presented to me. It's too pretty to cut. Look at the sunflowers! You probably can't read the script along the bottom. It reads: Happy Birthday to my BFF! It was a nice surprise. Unexpected surprises are the best!

I drove to Atlanta on Saturday (26th) to spend the day with my son. He and I made our way downtown to the Georgia World Congress Center to see the sampling of fine art offered at the NBAF Artists' Market.
I was particularly interested in the sculpture of George Nock a former running back with the NY Jets and the Washington Redskins. My friend, John Sims, had a beautiful display of his work.

Late afternoon, we enjoyed a meal at a restaurant in Atlantic Station. Nice.