More Shows

I liked the first one so much that I'm ready for more. This week I found out that I was accepted to Omaha's Art on the Pointe show. It's September 14-16. I'm really look forward to this one. It's small - 50 artists. The big perk, though, is that it is located in a great shopping center with Nebraska's only Apple, Coach and other shops like Gap and Banana Republic. I visited the area in May and I can't wait to return.

Tuesday brought some additional good news about a show in Parkville. Get this...I didn't even have to apply. They invited me because they saw my work at the Prairie Village show. Art at Park is October 14 & 14 in Parkville, Missouri on the Park University campus. I'm sure this is a small show as well, but right up my alley.

I ordered about 50 more canvases this week, but this was before I got the news on these two shows. I better order more ad I better get cranking on producing some inventory!

Cloud Nine

I'm officially considering my first art fair a huge success! Seriously, I'm on cloud nine. I didn't make a TON of money, but that wasn't really the point. In 2006, my only New Year's Resolution was to apply for an art fair. I didn't have to get in, I just wanted to go through the motions of applying for an art show.

The entire procedure started last fall when I started planning to apply for a few shows. I had to come up with decent work that I would feel comfortable being juried, build a booth, borrow a tent to take a booth shot and that was just the process of applying.

When I got the good word about the show, the preparations began and I started working on getting enough inventory to fill the booth display. Was it 100? 80? I settled on 60 pieces once the weather got nice and being in the dark basement every night and on the weekends was just not my idea of a good time.

The last two weeks were spent almost entirely in my "cinder block studio". I cranked some pieces out and, more importantly, I was pretty confident that people might really like them. When I wasn't working, I was nagging Chris to get the credit card stuff up and running, making him spray varnish the canvases in the garage (I'm pretty sure he lost significant brain cells in the process since he only opened the garage door a crack and if any of you saw the sunglasses he purchased at the drug store on Saturday you would believe me), putting hardware on the backs of each piece, designing business cards, posting to the blog and buying more supplies. I made lists and checked them twice.

Friday morning came and I had a live interview with Darren Mark on Kansas City Live. What a crazy guy! He asked me to put all of my pieces out on the stage, so the camera guy could pan to those while I was being interviewed. Anyway, Daren was standing off to the side and I thought he was communicating with the studio through his earpiece and microphone when all of the sudden he started rushing toward me and bumping into everyone in his path. I'm not sure what I really said...all I remember is that he called me an art fair virgin, I said that I was nervous and felt vulnerable and compared in to being naked in my booth and then he asked me how I was going to celebrate International Doughnut Day and I responded "I guess I'll eat a doughnut." Then we high fived and he threw it back to the studio. Not your average live television interview, but he was a blast.

So...the show started on Friday evening and I fell in love with the whole aspect of showing and selling art. I posted a little note in my booth next to my artist statement (thanks for the idea, GT) which said "This is my VERY first art fair. I would love your feedback." People couldn't have been nicer to me. I felt that my work was very well received. I got a few strange comments like..."Why do you use masking tape? I couldn't buy it because it looks unfinished with that masking tape on it?" "I don't get it. Are we supposed to know these people?" But those comments were far outweighed by comments like "Keep it up" "Beautiful work." "Sweet and refreshing."

Two women cried and lots of women claimed to get goosebumps. (OK...my sister cried 4 or 5 times because she was proud, but I think it is just because she is pregnant.) Their reaction wasn't because the work was so outstanding. I know it's not. It's simple, but some people just get it. They "get" that were supposed to look at the artwork with the forgotten photographs of mothers holding their newborns, of a single woman in a field of flowers, of a happy family in simpler times and be reminded of distant memories or emotions that may they might have tucked away. I didn't really know that there was a true theme to my work until I started working on my artist's statement last week.

This is what I came up with...

"My approach to my art is purely explorational. As a self-taught artist, I learn a little bit more about my process and myself with each work that I create. I’m always eager to see how my own feelings and emotions are revealed in the multiple layers of the final piece. The imagery I choose to use often references family or nature and reinforces the importance of these things in my life.

I work with found papers and vintage imagery including antique books and lost photographs, as well as various forms of media including acrylic, oil pastel and pencil. Beginning with a blank canvas, the collected elements, although dissimilar, come together to tell a story through the various layers.

My hope is that the viewer finds their own personal meaning in each collage. Whether it is a simple word or an obscure image, each work tugs at forgotten memories and serves as a reminder of their own life experiences."

This was a wonderful life experience for me and I hope that it is only the beginning. Thanks to all of my family and friends who came down to visit me during the show. I appreciate all of your support and well wishes. Our fair neighbors from Boulder couldn't get over the amount of people that stopped to talk to us. I don't think a 15 minute period went by that we didn't have someone stop to say hello. The cooler full of beer in the back of the booth did the trick!

I promised to take some pictures, but I didn't take too many...

Picture of the booth display with fresh flowers courtesy of my bff's at Highwoods Properties.
A closeup shot of the right side of the booth. I had an ugly electrical panel just behind the booth, so a straight on booth shot wasn't possible.

Sorry, but I have no photo cropping software at home. This above picture was called She Would Bloom and it's the one that made one women tear up. She was so sweet!

This is a 16x20 that I really liked, but it didn't sell. I loved the greens and yellows and the vintage picture of the family in the swimming suits. Apparently nobody else liked it as much as I did. Perhaps I will find a place for it at my own home.

Here is a full shot of Prayer for a Little Home. I could have sold this one 50 times, but my mother-in-law knows a good thing when she sees it!

This is another 16x20 called No Longer Broken. It didn't sell either, which is OK because I sort of hated to part with it so soon. I just did it Thursday night and I really liked it. I think it was too bright for others.

And we're off

The Prairie Village Art Show starts tomorrow. I'm ready, but nervous. I've been working so hard to get ready and I wonder how many hours I've really put in to it. I just hope that it is all worth it in the end.

Emily, Ben and my mom surprised me with my very own artist/directors chair. It's very fancy...white with a reddish canvas seat and back. Oh la la. And Chris...I mentioned that I wanted a pedestal to place a vase of flowers, business cards and a mailing list notebook. The next thing I know, he's built one for me. This is the same guy who tried to build a patio set out of 2x4's. The chairs weighed 110 pounds each. I must say he did a very fine job on the pedestal table.

For those of you in the Kansas City area, my connections (aka friends) have paid off and I'm going to have a live television interview on NBC's Kansas City Live on Friday morning. The shot should be at 10:10 or 10:40 a.m. Check it out and watch me make a complete fool of myself. Fun times!

Here's a little glimpse of the preparations...I will try to document the weekend and post next week!



Here are two photos of two of my three 16x20s. The photos don't do them justice and there is no time to scan them at the camera shop. So...you get the idea.



Stop by if you're in the neighborhood. Booth #34 across from Mr. Goodcents! Friday 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A Busy Weekend

I had all weekend to get ready for the Prairie Village Art Show. No plans other than Corporate Challenge Volleyball pool play in which our team took first place...no big deal. The Director of Accounting stepped on the back of my ankle within the first two minutes of the game and she severely twisted her ankle leaving her on the sideline for the remainder of the afternoon. I admit that I was playing a little bit out of my area, but I also think she had on crappy Reeboks that wouldn't protect an ankle if you stepped on anything wrong, not to mention the most competitive volleyball player in Corporate Challenge.


For fear that I would have no pictures to take over the weekend, I snapped this shot when Chris and I headed to Johnny's to eat and drink on the patio. There was a Backyard Burger napkin stuck in the grill of my car, but Chris thought it looked like my car went to the bathroom and walked out with toilet paper on its foot.



Sunday was another beautiful day. We took Annie to the D-O-G-P-A-R-K. We have to spell it or she FREAKS! She instantly gets a foamy mouth because she gets nervous, which is proceeded by diarrhea. And I mean diarrhea every five minutes. Not only is it embarrassing, but then she starts scooting on the ground. That's about the time when Chris and I stop claiming her. She had a ball regardless.

I finished this piece last week. It's a 12x12, but since my scanner is so small I've only scanned the middle of it. It's called Prayer for a Little Home. I like the neutrals and blues because I rarely work with blue. I was happy with the way it turned out.

But not as happy as the roll I went on when I woke up on Saturday morning. I have to admit that on Friday, I actually googled "How to paint with acrylics". OK...maybe if I was going to be submitting work for an art fair, you'd think I might have an inkling about how to paint with acrylics, but NO. I learned a little bit about washes and glazes and some other stuff online. On Saturday morning, I got up and thought, I'm just going to go for it and not worry about ruining canvases and wasting time. So started a new technique and I;m sure there is a name for it, but I don't know what it is. This is the outcome...

The piece above is a 12x12 as well, so only about 10x12 is represented in the scan.

This is an 8x8 with Baby Bird stamped on it. I guess I had Thea in mind when I did this.

This is a 6x6 that I did last week st to get back in the groove again. It is simple, but I like ended up liking the simplicity of it.

I'm certainly not very good at drawing and now we all know that I don't really know how to paint. So I cheated and cut out the silhouette of a couple and then traced around the outline. I kind of liked it.

The grand total now stand at 52. I wanted 100 pieces, then I decided 80 would suffice and now I think that 60 sounds like the perfect number.

My apologies

I apologize that I haven't been good about updating the blog lately. I don't have much to report on because I have been hard at work in my "cinder block studio" trying to get some pieces done for the PV art Show. I've determined that I need to finish two pieces each day to get the desired number of pieces for the show. Well...I'm a long way from two pieces per day. I actually plan to take the day off from work on Monday to get some pieces done!

I promise to scan and post them here as soon as they are ready for viewing.

I also have a desire to start posting a few pieces to www.etsy.com just to see what happens. It seems that all of the really great home decor and design sites that I check out refer to Etsy quite a bit. Who knows...maybe I could get "discovered" on there!?

Not much else is new in my life. I've told Chris that we need to plan a vacation just so I have something to talk about. We are boring. Check back soon.

Bring it on

I don't know about you, but I am ready for some warm weather. The lovely pictures of plants I posted last week...well, all of those plants are dead. Why did we get teased with such pretty weather and then suddenly it's cold and everything is dead!? I'm over it.

I've been a busy little bee getting ready for the Prairie Village show. I need to really get in gear to accomplish what I think I need to accomplish prior to the show.


Until next time, here is a piece that reminds me of summer...

Drumroll, please!

A very special envelope arrived in the mail today! A "Congratulations. You've been accepted to the Prairie Village Art Show" letter! Needless to say, I'm absolutely thrilled. According to the letter, more than 350 artists applied to the show and 90 were accepted.

If you've followed my blog since I launched it back in October, you may be asking yourself, "Is the same Prairie Village Art Show that she said she talked her way into?" Well, kind of, but not really. I had a conversation with the director of the show in October and told her about my interest in participating. I was encouraged by the conversation and decided to send the director an email in February as a "reminder." She never replied, so I went ahead and went through the process of getting slides made from my electronic images. I've now come to realize that I had the wrong email address for her and she never received my email. So, I'd like to think I got in based on my work and not in my sly way of talking my way into things.

I think that it will be great to participate in my very first art show so close to home. Not only do I love the neighborhood and I'll surely have friendly faces stopping by (friends, family and blog readers...wait - my blog readers are only family and friends), but it will be so nice to try this thing so close to home. If I forgt something, it's only 3 minutes away.

Now I must get busy with my work. I've just felt so unmotivated since the holidays. This is exactly the kick in the pants that I've needed. There is so much to do. I need a tent. New supplies - canvases, paints, brushes. Antique letters and ephemera. Business cards. Credit card machine. Oy!

Luckily, I will finally have some work to share with you here. I started this blog to share my work and techniques and I've been bombarding you with stories about my dog and my bathroom. So sorry!

Anyway...yeah me! I'm SO excited.

Still a Wannabe

Yep, I'm still a wannabe art fair artist. I received my email rejection from The Brookside Art Fair. I've now decided I will apply to one last show in my hometown. The Smoky Hill River Festival doesn't take online applications, so I've emailed my digital images to have slides reproduced. It takes two weeks and the deadline is in two weeks. Cross your fingers that I make it before the deadline.

In the meantime, Chris and I began our bathroom remodel today. Woo Hoo! I'll post progress pictures, but I'm too embarrased to show the "before" pictures because they made me realize exactly how badly this little project was so sorely needed.

We decided on 3x6 white subway tile with dark grey grout. The floor tile it a dark grey slate with brown tones. I'm so nervous about the grout color because I was watching a home show on HGTV and they talked about dark grout with white tile and how it was "SOOO 80s". Oy! We will see...

Oh well...

I received a regret email from the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. More than 2,400 artists applied to the show! I had less than a 1% chance of being accepted. It's OK though. I still feel good for trying. I'll continue to apply to shows, but I think I'll stick with more of the mid-level shows.

I stayed home from work today with every intention of organizing and working on a few new pieces. Instead I went to the gym and the bookstore, where I bought another home magazine - shocking! Even better...I got my baby fix by visiting baby Thea and then baby Campbell came to visit me! They are the sweetest and worth a PTO day anytime. I wasn't sure how Annie would react to a baby in the house, but she just wanted to sniff and give kisses.

I have to finish this post because "The Hills" starts in 9 minutes. One of my guiltiest pleasures. I have to see if whatsherface is preggers.

Still nothing

Still no word about the Cherry Creek Art Fair. I've become obsessed with checking my personal email. When nothing pops up in my inbox, I then check Cherry Creeks web site to see if any info has been posted. When nothing has been posted there, I check the online application site. Oy!

I haven't spent much time in my "cinder block studio" since the holidays. It's been very hard to get motivated. I went down to see if anything might inspire me and realized that all of my brushes had dried up. So, I have no new art to upload.

In the meantime, here is a cool picture I took at a Kansas football game this fall.

Still waiting

Artists that are selected for the Cherry Creek Art Festival's Emerging Artist program should be notified on Friday. While I know that there is a slimmer than slim chance that I would ever be selected, I'm still checking my e-mail constantly to see if I've received notification in advance. As if they might let me know before the other 2,000 people that applied to the show.

So...I wait.

Everyone that knows me knows that I have a magazine addiction. I've been trying to wean myself off of subscriptions. For a while I was receiving Lucky, Oprah, Cooking Light, Country Living, ELLE Decor and I could hardly make a trip to the store without picking up US Weekly. It's bad that I spend so much on magazines (which I DO read), but it's worse that I keep them!

Recently we've been thinking about finishing our basement, so it's been a good reason to go through all of the home magazines at least and tear out projects and ideas that I could see using in the basement or in any other future home projects. I feel very proud that I've sent huge stacks of magazines to the recycling bin this week.

Today on my lunchbreak, however, I picked up three more magazines and a Pottery Barn book that focuses on storage and display. $35 later, I have more pages to tear and place into my nifty orange binder of dream home ideas.

One of the magazines I picked up was Martha Stewart's new magazine Blueprint. I've only thumbed through it, but I love it! It's only on it's second issue, but I'm already a fan. Click here for the ideas of how to build a sleek home office. It is exactly the look I'm going for in my basement.

New Year's Resolution

Well, I think this might be the first time I've actually completed my New Year's Resolution. Keep in mind I'm referencing LAST year's resolutions, which was to apply to an art show. I applied to the Cherry Creek Emerging Artist program - which allows new, wannabe art fair artists to apply to the show without having a booth shot. This is a great program because everyone needs to start somewhere. I'm happy to know that there is a program for young-ish artists.

I did finally set up my borrowed tent in the backyard last weekend, so I could apply to the Brookside Art Annual here in Kansas City. I was pretty pleased with the way the booth shot turned out. It was a very windy day though and all of the pieces look crooked. Here is the final look...

Has it been that long?

Oh my…has it really been almost a month since my last post? I swore that if I started a blog I would keep up with it. I’m slacking. I’ve been so busy with the holidays right around the corner. I think I might finally be done shopping with a few days to spare. Yeah!

I’ve also just completed three 12x12 collages for my friend’s in-laws and a surprise gift (for someone that I cannot reveal in the weird chance that he checks my blog). Commissions are such pressure! You have one chance to do it right and please the person that commissioned the work. Sue – I really hope you like the work when they arrive!

In the last month, I’ve also been trying to design my own art festival booth. I borrowed a tent from a woman in Salina. She is so generous and kind to let me keep it in KC for several months while I try to get my stuff together. Chris and I set up the exterior of the tent one Sunday and it wasn’t too bad. There’s really no way that I could do it alone though. After it was set up in the backyard, I decided that I wanted something a little different than the ordinary displays that you see at every festival across the country. I decided to purchase several (six?) hollow wooden doors at Lowes. Chris cut each of the doors in half and drilled three screw eyes into the non-hollow part of each door. We hung the doors from vintage feedbag material to the tent. It looked really cool and different. I think the booth lends itself well to my work. At that point it was getting dark and we had to break down the tent. On the next nice weekend, I plan to set it back up and shoot my work in the tent. My nice next door neighbor offered to shoot it with his semi-pro camera.

I also applied to an art fair in the emerging artist category. Since it’s a category for new artists, there is no booth shot required. There is really no chance in hell that I would ever get in, but I feel good that I took the steps to actually apply. It was one of my New Year’s Resolutions, so I’ll check that off the list just in time.

Applying to an art show was quite a process. I had to take my larger work (too big for my scanner at home) to a camera shop to be scanned. When the deadline came for the application, the camera shop had not yet completed the scans! I was so upset. My best work was not included in the application. Oh well. I’ll just have to wait until next year.

Merry Christmas!