I’m happy with the look of the booth, though I will admit I find myself missing the larger booth we had in Baltimore.

In some ways this 10′ x 10′ feels more enclosed after having the 20′ x 5′, but we’ve been told by many visitors that it feels very inviting and open, so that’s good.

Besides, how else am I supposed to pass the idle time at shows other than finding the smallest things to obsess over?

I suppose I could work on my memoirs…if only I were an interesting read.  I think if I were a TV series I’d have to cancel myself.

Until next time,
-M

I’m doing jewelry as well as mixed media now, and this was the first show where I’ve had it out in force.

It’s off to Atlanta next for ACC Atlanta March 8-11.  Hope to see you there!
-M

Here are some quick shots of the show

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Along with a shot of our booth

The space was wonderful for a show like this, and set-up and tear down couldn’t have been any easier.  As always it was a great show, and I want to give a big shout out to all of the lovely Handmaidens who work so tirelessly to put this show on.   Thank you ladies!

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In other news, Victoria Falls is progressing nicely, and I have reached the point in this painting where I need to decide the final direction it will take.  Basically I have two options, the first is to continue on much like I am now with a more interpretative painting, and the second is to begin adding more substantial details to make the piece more of a translation rather than interpretation.  I think I might just have to go with my gut on this one.

Until next time,

-M

Turns out, what Kristina and I thought was going to be a cavalcade of high drama, he almost couldn’t have cared less about.  I think even Kristina thought she was going to be more upset than she actually was- it is amazing how J can bring a calming perspective to things.

With almost no effort he went from this

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to this.

Granted, I’m sure it helped that he got it cut at this really cool kids salon, and got to sit in a plane (of all things), while watching “Madagascar” on a small TV in front of him, but even without all of that, I don’t think he would have really cared.

We even got him to give us his version of a smile when all was said and done.

It got me to thinking about the painting I’m working on

I’ve had it sketched out for several days, but have been delaying in starting it.  Not out of any real fear mind you, but more wondering more why I’ve been making such a big deal out of this project.  It is only paint after all.

So, I put down the first layers of base color this morning

As soon as I was finished, Jeremia came in and sat down on my lap; we stared at the painting for a minute, then he was ready to go play.

So that’s that.

-M

I’ve finished up a fair amount of new work

small to mid-size pieces mostly

I think this one might be my favorite of the lot

and a few others

Have a good weekend, and if you get the chance

Relax.

Talk soon,

-M

Its a beautiful photograph that my client shot, and I think that may be part of what makes the task so daunting.  Because I was not there, I have to try and capture the power and wonder of this place using only the memory of a snapped photograph.  The locals call the mist that rises from the falls, “the smoke that thunders.”  This piece will certainly push me out of my mixed media comfort zone, much like I’m sure people must feel when they are actually there; that slightly uneasy but exhilarating feeling of standing at the edge of something so vast, while being held back by only fear, and grace.  Will I be able to capture that using only paint?

Who knows?  But here we go anyway…

I stretched the canvas earlier today, and now it waits only for the first strokes.

First however, I will sketch the landscape out to be as accurate as possible; I feel like this painting will be more of a translation rather than an interpretation.  As it proceeds, I will try to keep you informed as to how it’s going.

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This is not the only news however, I am continuing to work feverishly on some new pieces in preparation for the Handmade Market this weekend, and several other shows coming up fast.  Here’s a quick shot of some more of my flying birds.

I’ve got an idea of how I’m going to use these, but that will be for a later time.

-M

He particularly liked this one tree which was perfect to climb in.

I liked being able to shoot his shadow in the late afternoon.

From our experience- don’t know if it was the same for everyone- the crowds were great, but there weren’t that many people purchasing art. For the show to be located in such an affluent area, and garnering such a prestigious reputation, we were expecting to be swamped.  We were busy from time to time, just not as much as I expected.

So in between, I had plenty of chances to shoot some photos.   Lately, I’ve been beginning to experiment with photographing objects, animals, and such in motion -especially birds in flight- and I think there are a lot of possibilities; especially when combined with mixed media.  Here’s a piece I sold, that I hope better illustrates the point.

“Flight Study III”

My favorite shot of the weekend, at least of the birds, was this image of a pigeon taking off.

J and I had been feeding it crackers, but it would only let him get so close before it would take to the safety of the tree above our booth.

Finally, on Saturday afternoon, a lady came along randomly snapping photos and decided to take a shot or two of us.

Kristina and Jeremia were their usual, beautiful photogenic selves, whereas I was too busy yacking about some nonsense to stand still.   Oh well, at least we’re all in the same photo.  Often with us and family pictures, it’s like trying to herd cats…

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On Sunday evening, we packed up but decided to stay an extra night at the hotel before heading home.  This seems to be a theme for us, but we tend to do better with the long drives once everyone has had some rest.  The next day we were back on I-95 heading north, but we quickly found a detour at Washington Oaks State Park just north of Palm Coast.  Not a well known place, but it was beautiful and secluded- we practically had the place to ourselves.

Definitely the kind of driveway I’m going to get when I move out of my parents’ house.

The was a small playground where Jeremia could play, and some nice hiking trails that went around the park, so we decided to check them out.

It didn’t take long for J to find some large palm leaves-

I’m not sure if he was happier carrying them or “sweeping” with them.

He certainly was enjoying trying to whack me on the head with them as he rode on my shoulders.

We strolled around for the better part of 2 hours, but decided that it was probably time to get on the road.

On the way out I shot one last image of this nice large oak.

It might make for a good art piece sometime in the future.

Until next time,

-M

It was clear, temps hovering around 80, perfect weather for an Art Festival.  Or so you would think…

Let me tell you first off, the show was in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park which is a beautiful location, but load-in for this show was an absolute beast.  Kristina was watching Jeremia, and because I was not allowed to take our small trailer directly into the park, I had to instead unload piece by piece, then trek each load app. 150 yards to our booth space.  What normally takes us 15-20 minutes to do, took me a full 2 hours.  By the time I was done I was sweating more than a fat cow in a hamburger commercial.

Once in the booth however, set up was fairly easy, and I was happy with the final look.

For this show, I tried to choose bolder and larger pieces which turned out to be a good thing.

Sales were good for the two days, and it was interesting in that people seemed to want to purchase the larger rather than smaller pieces.

I’m not complaining, with so many shows lined up one after another, it actually makes my life a bit easier by not needing to make as much work.

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Sunday evening came, and load out was a little easier; some of the volunteers came with golf carts which helped shorten the number of loads it took to get everything back to the trailer.  By the time we left, Jeremia had just had more fun than he could stand and promptly passed out in the car with a fry in his mouth.  We couldn’t resist a good picture before removing it.

The next day we headed home again, and as per the usual, we made a slight detour on our way home.  If any of you have ever been up or down I-95 then you know that on the border of North and South Carolina there is perhaps the largest and most ridiculous tourist trap known to man, “South of the Border.”  Seriously, its one of those places that understands what it is, so it relishes in it rather than try to deny it.  Its been there probably since dinosaurs roamed the Earth, and its mascot is the most prototypical politically incorrect figure, “Pedro.”

Someone of whom Jeremia was not a big fan…

However, all hope was not lost, while stopping to look for me a leather hat which I could wear at shows to keep my head out of the sun (Yes, I naively thought that we could stop here and I could go into a building simply marked, “Leather” and there a hat would be, miraculously waiting),

we met none other than….

Fabio.

Yes, Fabio.

Well, a cardboard cut-out of Fabio, but close (and scary) enough for me.  I mean seriously, wouldn’t it weird you out to know that there were cardboard cutouts of yourself floating around in the world where you were sporting nothing more than a tight pair of jeans and chains?  I love how he guards the emergency exit.

Jeremia tried to work a new purse out of the deal (probably to keep things quiet), but we instead we talked him into a pair of plastic glasses with the goofy eyes.

And yes, in the entire store marked “Leather,” there was not a single leather hat.  Notice however, the ample supply of Pedro dolls.  Needless to say, I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Once we got outside we stopped to shoot a quick photo with a horse.  J was preoccupied with noticing that horse wasn’t wearing a diaper and should have been-

I just wanted to find the car.  Once we were loaded up and preparing to leave it was then that I spotted it-

a lovely Ferris Wheel just begging to have its picture taken.

So of course I obliged.  What I love about this shot is the “Convention Center” in the background.  Can’t you just see yourself entertaining some million-dollar clients at that locale next time you need to set up an important meeting?  Yep, me too.

I got one other nice shot; this RIDES sign-

then I was ready to hit the road…

Where’s the tequilla?

-M

The first is The Handmade Market which is Sat. April 23 from 11-5, at Cobblestone Hall, in Raleigh, NC

Its a great one-day show with over 40 fabulous designers and craftspeople-definitely worth checking out!

The next show will be Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philadelphia, PA the weekend of May 14-15.

We’ve never done this one before, but Kristina and I have heard a lot of good things about it so we are really jazzed.

The following weekend, May21-22 we come back to Raleigh, NC to do Artsplosure.

The website doesn’t look like all that much, but it is a great show.  It gets about 100,000 people in attendance over the weekend, and sales for us have always been strong.

The following week we are taking off to rest, but then the week after that – June 3,4,5 – we are off to Columbus, Ohio for the 50th Annual Columbus Arts Festival.

This is another monster show, getting about 300,000 people over the entire 3 days.

I have several more to tell you about, and I’ll pass that info on once I have all the details.

-M

Here’s an image of the booth from the American Craft Council show in Baltimore in February.  Overall, it was a wonderful show, and we will certainly do it again next year.

If you want to see the best in contemporary and traditional craft this is the show to visit.

Until next time,

-M