Artful Living on the Road

Uplifting Art from the Great Cosmic Happy-Ass

2011-12-11T21:48:00.000-08:00

If you are not already familiar with Diane English, she is absolutely one of my favorite artists who will always bring a smile to your face with her artwork. Living and operating her business in Western North Carolina, Diane is known as the Great Cosmic Happy-Ass.

Diane at work with her "team"

"The Great Cosmic Happy-Ass Card Co. is a one-woman, independent enterprise designing original, greeting cards that reflect my dizzying spiritual odyssey, that happens to be very funny and inspiring at the same time. In 1998 as an aging a baby boomer, I followed my passion to combine spirituality, cartoons, humor and inspiration and plunged head on into a world of fun even though it seemed totally... insane at the time. My original designs, available as greeting cards, prints, and magnets envision playful messages from a universal consciousness that prompts us to play along our spiritual journey. And more often than not, they're hysterically funny because they say, (what those of us on a spiritual path, have often thought but never dared uttered)...you know, spiritually incorrect thoughts! Egads! The cards and magnets are now carried worldwide at really smart and independent bookstores and galleries."

Diane creates several line of greeting cards, prints, totems, and magnets. You can find her work online, and in many galleries and shops.

To visit Diane's Website

http://www.greatcosmichappyass.com/index.htm

Get ready to smile !

Support Local ~ Artisan Made Screen Doors

2011-08-09T06:28:00.000-07:00

As promised in my last post, I begin to share Artisans from around the country who's creations are "functional" for the home, garden, and us personally. My goal being.. to offer you options to buy creations that are American made by some wonderful Artisans.

My first spotlight is on Tim and Karen Chambers, a wonderful pair of artists from Highlands, North Carolina. I met them maybe 5 years ago at the Hard Candy Christmas Art Show in Cullowhee, NC.

I was introduced to their fabulous Folk Art and cheery personalities and have been fond of them and their work ever since.

I later learned that they offered Custom Screen Doors. Classic styles~custom artwork~each created just for your home or business.

Tim and Karen provide Beautiful Quality work, and their screen doors would be a meaningful addition to any home.

You can learn more about them, their show schedule, and how to contact them on their website

http://www.tkchighlands.com/index.html

~Support Handmade and Support your Communities~

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

Support Local Artisans and Farmers and Improve our Economy

2011-08-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

So many conversations and debates about our economy are filling the air. As of late the buzz has been actively talking about how little product is manufactured in the United States, and we are predominately importing almost all of our goods. Recent television footage has challenged consumers to take a look at what is in their homes and asking how much of it is created here in the U.S. And it's not only household goods, but our foods as well.

The state of the economy can be overwhelming, and people get frustrated thinking there is nothing that they alone can do...but there is. My mantra is "Support Handmade and Local Growers". When you support your communities artists and farmers, you will find that most of that money exchange actually stays within your community.

Artist creations have become very diverse and are often overlooked. I have visited many art and growers markets, and each time the offerings are more and more plentiful.

I have found beautiful handmade furniture - desks, dressers, coffee tables, chairs, dining sets, and bed frames. There is an abundance of potters that create functional pottery - baking dishes, coffee mugs, colanders, mixing bowls, along with their other beautiful decor. Fiber Artists are creating wraps, scarves, hats, and clothing. Soap makers have gone beyond just making their luxurious soaps, and are making shampoos, lotions, lip balms, and shaving creams. Wood turners are creating kitchen utensils and children's toys. Metal artists are crafting outdoor art and accessories.

My list could be endless.

Will the items cost more? Generally yes. But isn't your community worth the investment?

I will now begin to post pictures and links here on this blog to promote local artisans and growers.

If you are an artisan or grower that would like to be featured here, please email me.

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

An Artist's Makeover

2011-06-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

An Artist's Makeover

Just as in any other profession, an artist's career needs to have the occasional re-evaluation. A look at what is working and what is not. With the economic downturn that all of us have experienced in varying degrees, this seems to be a good time to ask yourself, "Does my art career need a makeover?"

While I truly believe in the old adage "if it ain't broke don't fix it", as a Feng Shui practitioner I also believe that careers need touch-ups along the way...clearing the clutter...and a re-defining of purpose and focus.

Following are some questions that you can spend some thoughtful time on:

~Self Evaluation~

~ Since the economic downturn, have your sales increased, decreased, or stayed the same?

~ What avenues do you sell your work? (i.e. Online, Art Shows, Galleries). And, have you considered moving into a new arena to sell your work?

~ Do you create in one medium or more than one? (i.e. Pottery, or Pottery and Paintings, etc.)

~ Are there certain things you create that seem to have become outdated?

~ Is there a new medium or product that you have wanted to delve into, but haven't?

~ Do your physical displays need updating? A fresh coat of paint? A redesign? Replacements?

~ Does your web presence need to be updated or polished?

~ Do you offer any kind of service? Teach classes? Custom work? Mural Work? Bridal Wish lists?

~ Are you giving your offered services the advertising attention that is required?

~ Is your current artwork speaking to your collector's needs and wants? Is your current artwork speaking to your OWN needs and wants?

~ How much of your time, percentage wise, do you spend on marketing yourself?

~ Do you feel like you need an assistant, intern, or representative?

~ Is it time to find new ways to market?

~ Do you demonstrate your art? At events or online?

Take your time in answering these questions for yourself and make notes of your ideas and thoughts as well. As I begin to go through my OWN artist's makeover to readjust for our current economic and social changes, I will share along the way some of the things that I am doing.

I will be sharing with you some Feng Shui tips for your Artist's booth at Art Shows, Applying Feng Shui to your displays, and Feng Shui tips for in your studio.

I will also be sharing some of the new or different things I will be doing to re-shape my art career in marketing and networking.

For now, spend some time deciding how you want your Art Career to develop.

Full of Talented Folk at the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival

2011-05-03T05:46:00.000-07:00

Can not believe that it has been so long since I posted, but I have been finding it difficult to get done all the things that I love to do, and Creating Art usually overrides everything on the list.

With the vast amount of festivals and art events that we have been to, participated in and attended, I was very impressed with the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival. Four long days filled to the brim with talented musicians, dancers, drummers, artists, teachers, healing arts practitioners, and organic foods. One of the few shows where the array of foods available were healthy and delicious...crepes filled with grilled chicken, portabella mushrooms, organic greens and swiss cheese, pasta salads, smoothies galore, outstanding coffees, even Easter dinner.

(Art Car)

The organizers did a wonderful job at creating an even balance of talented Arts, that truly you would want to be there for the entire 4 days of the festival in order to see and experience everything they made available.

While the stages were filled with music and the grounds were layed out with diverse artists, workshops were going on throughout the show: eco sustainability talks, dance workshops, art programs for children to be involved in, soap making, and glass blowing demonstrations.The Healing Arts section offered massage therapists, accupuncurists,and cranio-sacral workers.You weren't left wanting for something to do at anytime during the show.

The Paperhand Puppet Intervention was present, making their way through the crowds with their parade of phenonemal characters.

Of course, the thing that was a difficulty of the show was the the rain and mud. The festival is held on a big beautiful farm, and scheduled in the spring - a time when those rains move through. The second day of the show brought with it a contant moderate to heavy rain the entire day and evening, making many areas a mud bowl to walk through. Thankfully the following two days were hot and sunny, helping to slowly dry it up, key word slowly. Many of the campers wore shorts and skirts for the warm days ,adorned with mud boots for walking around. And if you needed to leave the festival at any point before things dried up at the end of the show, more times than not you needed one of the tractors to pull you out, which they happily did.

So, while the sun did it's part to help the process, we did ours by spreading mulch around the booth to dry up mud holes.

A good time was had by most everyone I talked to, in spite of the rain and mud...smiles and laughter abound through the grounds while the music played on.

Long Awaited Spring due to Arrive and Inspire the Artist in You

2011-03-08T06:27:00.000-08:00

Anixiously, Impatiently, and Long Awaiting for the arrival of Spring..new life...new beginnings, and a new season of inspiration to bring to Artists. It has been a long winter, but the signs of Spring are pushing their way through to greet us.

Any day now we will be bursting at the seams with beautiful spring buds and color splashes that are rich and warm. This past week I've watched so many geese flying overhead, birds dancing happily at the feeders, dogs shedding their winter coats...all preparing for those beautiful days that lie ahead.

Humans feels it too..that anticipation that overwhelms you, whispering in your ear that colorful happy days are coming. They have a spring in their step and their artistic flairs are emerging with the season.

Last weekend, while browsing through market we came across a young man who had a most interesting array of his treasures spread out on the pavement. The goal..to sell of course..but he spent countless hours throughout the day arranging and rearranging his prizes, presenting them to you in his own unique way.

He definitely added his own sense of flair to the day.

More exploring led to coming across a beautiful bunch of Windows to the Soul, making me think of all the ways I could utilize them, bringing gorgeous refracted light into your home.

And finally came across one of my all time sweeties, a conisour of Antiquities and Native Craft, Chad. Hadn't seen him in 8 years, and now he has come back into my circle.

We all wait patiently for those warm days ahead, to shed these layers of protective garments, and breathe in the new life of Spring !

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

One Man's Junk is Another Man's Art

2011-02-14T17:52:00.000-08:00

I have always admired the Artist that can see a work of Art, in what other's often overlook, and give it new life.So often items from another time, once loved and often used, get tossed aside when they begin to show their age. Their character is then reborn into a new Treasure, by the diligent Altered Artist.

Saturday I went to Market and came across the mother load of potential, and stories came along with it.

I came across a man who would the best friend of most any altered artist. He had a booth 4 times the size of many of the vendors, that was filled to the brim of metal beauties that would keep you digging for a good while. I asked him if I could take pictures and with his charming older southern drawl said "Why, sure !" "Would you like a little story to go along with it?" Now of course, you know I did.

"Well, he said with a smile, "Lots of folk ask me where I come across all this junk...."

And, I tell 'em "Well, my wife and I are in the Iron and Steel business. She does the ironin' and I do the steelin." A great big smile and belly laugh erupted from him that was contagious to everyone standing around.

Dozens of people worked their way around his trailer filled with metal glories.

After rummaging through his metal works for a bit, I meandered into the adjacent aisles , finding windows that were begging for new homes and crystal chandeliers that could reflect beautiful rays of light in someones writing room.

It was a walk down memory lane filled with daydreams of what COULD be, and I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning. Of course, the one thing that keeps nagging at me is the mannequins....

Oh how the Creative Muse keeps nudging me...wouldn't it be grand to sculpt some heads on top of them???

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

Artist's Altar for Inspiration

2011-01-26T15:12:00.000-08:00

As artists we go through our ups and downs of creative flow. We have different things that inspire us and give us that spark that we need. For some it's color, nature, movies, poetry, or journaling. For others it may be taking a trip, exploring, museums, or art swaps with fellow artisans.

I myself use all of those things for inspiration, but at the same time I keep an Artist's Altar in my studio space. You may have one and not even realize it.

An Artist's Altar is a collection of treasures that you cherish, things that make you happy, kept in a special designated place where you create.

A table, shelf, wall space, or part of your desk can serve the purpose.What kinds of things can you use to create your Artist Altar?

Poetry Books

Artwork of artists you admire

Sketchbooks or Journals

Gemstones, Shells, and little bits of Nature

Photos you Love

Postcards

Flowers or Plants

Affirmations or Quotes

Mementos of Art Events

Your Prized Paintbrush

Color Palettes

Colorful Scarves

The list and possibilities can be endless.

Here is an example of one of mine. They change frequently with my mood and time of year.

Have fun with it and fill it with things that make you smile. It will be a wonderful welcome for you as you enter your workspace to create.

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

Artists in the Still of Winter

2011-01-16T11:59:00.000-08:00

When the Still of Winter sets in, and the business of festivities slows down, much does the schedule for artists. For those artists that exhibit at shows and events, anyway. The hustle and bustle of weekly art fairs and creating in between, morphs into a floating spanse of time

Winter in an introspective time, a time to go within, recreate, build your inventory of work,and experiment with new ideas and techniques. This is the time to create your schedule for the upcoming season and new year, to rebuild a body of work, inquire about exhibits, and explore all of those ideas in the back of your mind that you didn't have time for before.

Nurturing yourself is Nurturing your art. Morning writing or sketching is particularly beneficial now. Sketch out those creations that lie dormant and bring them to life.

Reaching out to fellow artist friends and having a monthy get together can be inspirational and re-light those creative fires that swirl within. This is a great time to take a workshop on another artform that you would like to explore. And most of all it's a wonderful time to visit your local art and history museums.

Feed the creative soul and flourish in your work.

You may want to checkout the Sketchbook Challenge...
http://sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com/

Some wonderful artists have put this together, that I know will fuel your passion to create.
Or, you can enter some Art Contests and Challenges
http://www.theartlist.com/

And most of all, Be Patient, Spring IS coming...

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

Winter Blows in at the Art Crossing at Riverplace

2010-12-07T08:44:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we had the opportunity to participate at the Winter Art Market held at the Art Crossing at Riverplace in downtown Greenville. http://www.artcrossing.org/

Having been gone for a few years, it's exciting to see all of the new venues in town. Wonderful concepts and beautiful art are blooming all over Greenville.

Art Crossing Studios is nestled in the lower level of Riverplace and houses over 20 artists' working studios. If the weather is nice you will see them outside painting, sculpting, and drawing. Ron Gillen, http://www.artcrossing.org/studio201.1.htm , heads up this great team of artists, and is a breath of fresh air to any art scene. We had long conversations during the weekend about Art, Life, and Artists Supporting one Another - a value I find very important.

Ron made us feel welcome as guest artists right away.

This weekend the weather reminded us that Winter was among us in a strong way. With a big cold front moving in, the wind was howling and the temperatures were frigid. Thankfully the sun was shining, luring people to enjoy life to the fullest. The ducks were floating down the river, and people were out jogging and walking their dogs.

Two and a half days of inspiring art graced this section of the Riverwalk, inside the studios and out on the sidewalks. Sunday the outside artists did move inside to take cover from the blustery weather.
Here is a look at just some of what there was to offer.

Erin Cramer is a new resident artist at Art Crossing. Here you can find her throwing on the wheel.
http://erincramer.com/

http://cmestudios.net/

http://www.cassialeidigh.com/#527180/About-Cassia-Leidigh

http://www.artphanage.com/index.html

http://www.skeleton-leaves.blogspot.com/

http://flickr.com/photos/npayne

Art Crossing at Riverplace is a wonderful way to spend the afternoon ~ Take a visit, you will be be engaged with Art.

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

Coming Full Circle ~ A Profound Moment

2010-11-29T20:02:00.000-08:00

This evening I sit here at my kitchen table with my lavender tea and black bean tortilla chips, listening to the rain dance on the roof, and thinking about how amazing the Universe truly is. What started out to be a normal day, as normal as can be in our artful gypsy lives,was soon transformed into one of those beautiful "aha" moments, a moment when you actually UNDERSTAND the journey you have been on. But let me back track a bit....

Two years ago we were feeling restless and discontent. We were thriving in many ways, but still felt something was missing. We traveled lot, went to shows 46 weeks out of the year, and had a nice home...yet we felt we needed change. And change we did, we moved 3000 miles away to Oregon.

We knew no one there, but moved full steam ahead to lands unknown with our art supplies and excitement.

I remember so clearly as we drove up and over the mountains in Western North Carolina toward Tennessee the emotions I was feeling. In one sense....excitement for the journey, in another sense....sadness, of leaving our family and friends, those so dear to us. Tears flowed as we drove over those mountains, leaving our home that was known in the 1800's as a place where travelers would stop and rest while traveling through the Blue Ridge.

Arriving in Oregon we fully immersed into the art scene and started a huge endeavour, sacrificing so much of our lives for our project. Working ourselves from early in the morning to late at night seven days a week, but at the same time battling an economy that was merciless. Finally when we had nothing left to give, emotionally, financially, physically and spiritually...we stopped. And for several months we lived in depression. We asked ourselves over and over, why we had made the decision we did. We were filled with regrets and sadness. And through it all we had been surrounded by some true Earth Angels, beautiful spirited people that kept trying to re-light the fire that once burned in us. We had attracted to us some gorgeous souls that helped us, more than they will ever know.

I immersed myself in my art, for I felt it was all I had left, and my work changed from art that was marketable, to art that was truly from the deepest part of my heart and meant to touch another's.

Our hearts yearned to go home. It was all that we thought about. Back to where the stories are rich, where the land speaks to us, where our feet feel sure of themselves.

Our journey back has been long, and as soon as we had gotten back we were doing shows again, finishing up this last part of the season. After our show this past weekend in western NC, we packed up this morning ready to pull out and travel back to that old place, that place to rest after traveling your mountain journey. As we came down the mountain the tears flowed from me once again, unexpected but most welcomed. As the last tears fell, I felt the weight in my heart lift away. The regrets were gone. No remorse for the choices. We needed to do it, or we would have always wondered. And even though I lost many things while there, I gained even more, because I come back home feeling.....complete. Somehow, somewhere, I filled the emptiness that used to reside inside.

We have come Full Circle, and while I sit here drinking the last of my tea...I am so grateful.

Selugadu Celebration at Hagood Mill ~ Native American Day

2010-11-22T05:05:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday we vended at the Selugadu Celebration at Hagood Mill. For those that love learning about the history of how we used to live, Hagood Mill is a spectacular place to visit.

Hagood Mill is a functioning water powered grist mill in it's location since the 1800's. The site has continued to be expanded where you can find the fully operational gristmill, a blacksmith shop, a cotton gin building, a moonshine still, historic log cabins, a visitors shop, and a large outdoor stage where they hold events on the third Saturday of each month.

This past weekend was the Selugadu Celebration (Cherokee for Cornbread) in honor of Native American Heritage Month. We set up our booth while seeing old friends we haven't seen in two years, amidst hugs and catching up we got ready for the day.

They had a great attendance for the celebration with people coming to visit to see the dancers, the storytellers, and the demonstrations.

Dr. Will Goins was the Master of Ceremony, a dear friend of ours who also officiated at our wedding. Will told stories, kept the stage running smoothly, and danced whenever the opportunity arose.

Vendors were set up amidst the demonstrating buildings bringing a fine example of Native craft.

Flintknapping and Blowgun demonstrating was happening, along with visits to the Old Bear Forge to see the blacksmith.

Along with the many demonstrating artists,entertainment was abundant as flutes, drums, and dancers filled the air.

Hagood Mill is such a special site, bringing an array of culture to experience. Visit them whenever you can get a chance...

http://www.co.pickens.sc.us/CulturalCommission/HagoodMill/default.aspx

We had a beautiful day here.

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

Winter's Approach for an Artist

2010-11-18T06:41:00.000-08:00

As the days become shorter and a bit more blustery as Winter approaches, our focuses readjust as we change with the season. The shows wind down as the holidays approach before giving way to a quiet span through the introspective season. This is time when we set up in warm galleries, do special exhibits, teach, and spend our days evolving as artists in a more pronounced thoughtful process.

Fall has always been my favorite season, and I would dread the winter. But as I have gotten older I have learned to treasure the winter season a bit more. It's colder days have urged me to wrap my arms around myself and tend to the growth of my inner self and explore the ways that it changes my Art.

My writing and journaling become more frequent and important, for it reminds me of why I love being an artist and what it does for me as a person, beyond being a tool for making a living.

And while it is still not my favorite season, I have learned to cherish it more for the beauty it can bring...in my heart.

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

Artful Retreat from the World

2010-11-09T17:47:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow afternoon we will be taking an artful retreat from the world. So much traveling, setting up at shows, and dealing with the duties of life has been keeping us from our daily creating. With more shows coming up and our souls feeling a bit empty from the lack of completion we feel when we create, is prompting us to retreat to a quiet space of nothing but a creative flow.

Dolls need sculpting, Canvas needs painting, Flutes need sanding, Gemstones need stringing. A whirlwind of supplies will embrace us from the time our eyes open til we close them again at night for several days until we emerge with a sense of fulfillment.

I look forward to the moment when I make my first cup of hot steeping Lavender Tea, let the natural sunlight stream in through the windows, and allows the heart to lead the hands.

We will emerge in a few days and share with you the things we have been holding in our hearts....

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

How Show Promoters Hurt Their Artists

2010-10-28T02:15:00.000-07:00

After years of doing art shows and festivals, I'd like to think that I have learned a few things about the ins and outs of the show circuit. There is so much to take into consideration as an art vendor when we are choosing the shows we apply for...location, hours, type of show, the level of advertising, cost of booth and jurying fees, contract rules, and expenses.

Of course there is no way of truly knowing how successful the show will be ahead of time, but we try to make the most educated choice and hope for the best. Most of us that make a living from our shows, take seriously the agreement or contract between the show and the vendor and follow the rules set out. Sometimes I wonder why the promoter does not. They are the ones setting up the guidelines of the show.

One of the biggest things that hurt the Artist Vendor at a show is the inclusion of wholesale vendors. Now, there are many festivals that allow vendors that are art AND wholesale vendors, and when we know that ahead of time in the application process that is our decision whether to be involved.

But when we apply for a show, agree to the guidelines and pay our fees for a show that specifically states that no wholesale will be allowed or tolerated, and the promoter allows it to happen anyway...this is my biggest aggravation.

Artists can not compete with the prices that the buy-sell vendor offers. Those vendors fill a booth with crafty knock-offs they have ordered out of a catalog that undercut us, pushing their product way under our prices. Most of the time they are the very same thing you would find at a flea market and the quality is horrible.

I have watched many an artist, including ourselves, be set next to a wholesale vendor that has a similar type of work and lose sales left and right to that "2 Dollar Carnival Barker".

This isn't a new thing, it has happend for years, but I find it happening more and more. In the present economy, it is even more amplified.

I suppose my expectation is that if you want your artists to follow your guidelines, then you as a promoter should do the same. If you state that you will not allow or tolerate wholesale items, then do not allow it. When it is pointed out that the situation exists...ask the wholesale vendor to remove those items, or forfeit their booth space, which in most cases is what the agreement states will happen. It's just following through.

When it's ignored, it's like the parent that tells the child, "Now don't that...Now don't that..." but there are never any repurcussions. The child learns he doesn't have to follow the rules.

These are the shows that your art vendors will not return to, and many promoters may think...there's a lot of vendors out there and they can afford the loss of an artist not returning to justify not "making waves" or ignoring the situation. But truly you hurt yourself and the show as well.

The attending public wants to see and appreciates handcrafted artisans. They want to buy local, to learn the history, to talk with the artist and know what they were thinking when the created the piece. They desire to collect pieces that are meaningful and are something they can pass on to their children or share with their friends. They love seeing artists demonstrate their art. It perpetuates our history and gives us something to be proud of.

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

Partying at Art'oberfest

2010-10-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the preview party for Art'oberfest in Abbeville, SC. The preview party was from 5:00pm - 8:30pm. Artists set up in the old Livery Stable.

While the Arts Market is running in the Livery Stable, a Silent Auction opens in The Judson Arce' Gallery across the street. I took a little walk across to view the Silent Auction - very impressive pieces were donated. There will be some very happy collectors. I created an art doll to donate to their auction.
Abbeville is known for it's theater. They have a wonderful playhouse that attracts visitors from near and far. So I created, "The World is My Stage" for them.

This Friday evening was a wonderful night of meet and greet. Lots of introductions and conversations about Art and what inspires your Art.

I met Simeon and Towanda Spearman tonight. All evening I kept getting called to Simeon's art and finally got a chance to go visit and take a few photos.

Truly phenomenal work.
I talked with his wife Towanda for awhile, a writer who has not put her work out to the world yet, but I think that soon...very soon..she will begin. Simeon has been wanting to paint a wedding portrait, and after talking for awhile they want me to give them a photo from our wedding. How exciting!

At 8:30 the doors were pulled shut and locked at the Livery Stable and all the artists adjourned to the Artist's Reception across the street. A beautiful gallery and a beautiful spread was organized with the exhibitors.

A buffet table was filled with smoked salmon, cheese, crackers, asparagus, meatballs, and lots of other munchies to go along with some wine, beer, or cranberry orange punch.
A patio in the back boasted a bouquet of roses lit with little lights.

We got to stay for just a short while. I tried to catch up with some of our old friends from Greenville, David and Bonnie.

But soon Cinderella had to get back home...John has another music practice with Ian and Sarah before tomorrow's gig.

Hidden Paintings

2010-10-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

We have been visiting Ian and Sarah Morris. Ian and Sarah are primarily known for their music, and extraodinary musicians they are, but this couple is rich with talents that extend beyond their music. They are also writers and visual artists.

This afternoon I toured through their space looking at the amazing paintings that fill their walls and halls.

Ian has been working on some very large pieces in between recording and putting together his new poetry book, "Descriptions for a New Life".

Sarah is teaching music at Lander University while at the same time finishing up her degree. In the precious moments in between, playing music and following her heart.

While walking through the house, I look at the pile of cd's they are putting together. Ian has been recording, and Sarah designed the cd covers - very unique and with a wonderful artist's touch.

We are doing an art show in a neighboring town that Ian and Sarah will be performing at on Saturday. .As we get ready for the show, John is practicing their set with them so that he can sit in during the performance.

All of them are multi-instrumentalists, but I think the combination of Ian's Moon Lute, Sarah's Violin, and John's Native Flute will bring some beautiful music tomorrow afternoon.

Crazy Indian Chick

2010-10-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

After finishing up the Lake Lure Arts and Crafts Show, we travel down to the Upstate to spend the week visiting old friends and creating more art pieces for our booth.

Four days of friends, food, and art.

One of our evenings we spent with Jeremy and Anita. While John and Jeremy played music together and talked about future endeavours, Anita cooked a beautiful fish dinner while we talked about life, spirituality, and growing as women. An evening spent talking about our dreams. A beautiful night.

The following evening we invited our friend Dana, endearingly nicknamed "Crazy Indian Chick". Dana is a Cherokee artist, who focuses most of her creative energy on beautiful jewelry. A visit with Dana is completely filled with laughter. And our grilled dinner of pork chops, veggie skewers, and salad became a 5 hour dinner filled with continuous laughter...so healing for the soul.

http://www.scindigenousgallery.com/index2.html

This is a link to see some of Dana's work and her bio. She's a great artist.

As it is getting further in the week we move on further to where our next show is, and stop to see Ian and Sarah, two very talented musicians who run a non-profit organization teaching music and getting instruments to those who need them. John will be doing some recording with Ian for a few days, providing some flute accompaniment on their latest cd for them.

And of course in the midst of all this, we are creating, getting our inventory back up before this weekend's show.

Life is good.

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

A New Level of Exhaustion

2010-10-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind for us and this evening John and I look upon one another in pure and simple exhaustion. Fourteen days ago we left Oregon and traveled almost 3000 miles back to the Southeast. With a delightful but short respite in Mountain City, Georgia with friends we then traveled to Lake Lure, NC for the Lake Lure Arts and Craft Show.

The trip between Mountain City and Lake Lure was a four hour trip of heart warming memories as we traveled the roads that we traveled so many times before, with the occasional welling up of tears as we breathed in sweet relief. We are home, we are home, we are home.

We arrived in Bat Cave, a small town approximately 9 miles from Lake Lure where we set up the camper and got those last minute things ready for the show in the morning.

The sides of the winding roads to Bat Cave were filled with Kudzu and the air was brisk with Autumn.

The show in Lake Lure was bittersweet. This show was a regular for us in the past. We had done it for several years, but as with everything...things change over time. New promoters are doing the show now, and it became apparent immediately that they are not advocates for local artists. Even though they say that their goal is hand made artisans, the quality and diversity of artists has dwindled - because of their allowing buy-sell (wholesale vendors) into the show. Artisans can not compete with the prices that a wholesale vendor offers, and so most did poorly in sales.

We still had good sales, but no where near our normal. The decline in the shows organization is sad. The tourists that come to visit Lake Lure on that weekend are looking to see the local art that is offered, NOT the wholesale junk that they could find at their local flea market.

But through it all, we still did well. Many of our previous customers from the past came to see us, and even one of the old show promoters, all bearing hugs and welcome home greetings. This more that made up for the disappointments of the shows organization.

The art doll that I was creating the week before of Kudzu vine and clay was finished late the night before the show and named Mother Vine, and she was adopted by a wonderful woman in Charlotte.

I took a few customers orders for dolls, we sold lots of flute Cd's, and I am running quite low on my canvas paintings. So over the next few days we have to get busy and I mean busy creating for our next show in Abbeville, SC, which is this Friday and Saturday. Three days to rest, immerse in art, and schedule some classes, all at the same time.

And with that, I am off to bed for some greatly needed sleep to heal the body and soul.

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

An Afternoon at Viva ! il Vino

2010-10-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

Life is good, and even better after our first visit to Viva ! il Vino in downtown Anderson, SC. Our good friend Shayna, known to us as Shayna Bella, opened the Viva! il Vino wine bar a few months ago with her business partner, Helen.

When I first heard that Shayna was inspired to open a wine bar, I knew it would be successful because of her creativity and business sense as a piano teacher and soap maker. Now doing all three, she is just as energetic and happy as ever.

We went to visit Shayna and Helen as they were opening this afternoon. Shayna's son Correll was there helping as well. We chatted as they were assembling their Cicchetti plates, which comes free with your first glass of wine.

You can purchase wine by the glass or bottle, and looking over the wine menu I think my favorite would be the Sangiovese Monte Antico Rosso. Besides the chicchetti, they also have baklava which is made by Shayna, and Brutti-Boni, the "ugly but good" cookie.

Correll was unpacking cases of wine after the delivery man came, and soon enough wine glasses were ready for filling.

Simplicity and Good Wine is what it's all about at their wine bar, a reminder of being connected in this oh so busy world we live in now.

Viva! il Vino

Bravo, Shayna Bella ! Bravo !

You can visit them at

Viva! il Vino

110 East Chuch Street,

West Anderson, SC

Playing at the Kudzu Factory, A Healthy Dose of Art

2010-10-11T23:33:00.000-07:00

After our trip across the country our visit with our friends at the Kudzu Factory in Mountain City, Georgia was greatly needed on so many levels.

Sitting in the beautiful mountains with friends and filling your days with laughter is the healing we needed after the trip AND a wonderful welcome back home. Not to mention that, the week we spent traveling, was a week void of Art, so this was a perfect place to fill that space.

Jolene and Cleve own the Kudzu Factory. They weave baskets out of Kudzu and Pine Needles, along with making Kudzu paper and even Kudzu cookies and candies. Their studios are at their home, along with a building behind them called the Promenade of the Arts which is a collective of artists that also hosts a stage.

They have a booth in the Promenade as well, where Jolene also works.

They display their works along the roadside, their yard, outside their home. and the bottom floor of their Factory - Home, along with their booth in the Promenade.

Every day you can find Jolene and Cleve outside making their baskets...and other things that inspire them. They also use the Kudzu and Pine needles to make Christmas trees, wreaths, handbags, earrings, wine baskets, handmade paper, masks, the list could go on and on.

Jolene's ten year old son helps bundle the pine needles that are gathered, and to collect the Kudzu, but he also can weave a basket and knit, so the artistry is already being passed on.

Even though there is a lot of work going on, the days are filled with laughter and fun. We soon became involved with the Kudzu..John was first to play in the Kudzu.

One of our evenings here, our friends Anita and Jeremy came up to the Factory to join in the fun, cook out and play music, and the following evening John got his drums out and Jolene and her son started to learn how to drum to the heartbeat.

We have had much fun and laughter with them and feel grateful to have them in our lives.

And, yes, I played with the kudzu too..although I was not wearing it on my head. I spied a wonderful little weaving that was meant to be a Christmas tree, but if you know me then you know that I see a doll in everything...so a doll it is becoming.

Tomorrow we leave to visit our friend Shayna for a few days before our first show. We will miss Jolene and Cleve and the Kudzu, but I know we will be back soon.

If you would like to see their Kudzu Factory, you can find it on Highway 441 in Mountain City, Georgia.

Just look for the Kudzu and the signs....

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

The Long Awaited Road Trip

2010-10-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

My intention was to blog along the way during this long awaited trip back to the East Coast, but as it unfolded it didn't happen that way. I planned on relying on WI-FI as we came across, but the trip demanded all of our attention.

Our journey began last Monday, October 4th, and with our dog Suki as our back seat driver we headed over the mountain to leave Oregon. It was slow going getting over the mountains of Oregon, a little slower than it should have been.So, not long into California, we decided that some repairs needed to be done on the truck. On we went to the Ford Dealer and Napa, getting parts that needed to be replaced , that we hoped were going to help with it's pulling power. Thankfully they did, and nicely so. A world of difference was made and so we continued through California.

On past the olive groves, wineries, railroads and desert, random thoughts floated through my head that this wasn't even real because I had waited so long for this time to come. And although I don't know where we are going when we get there, I know that once we are there, the road will lead us to where we need to go.

California is such a long state that we were happy to get through it and feel like we were actually gaining ground on the trip.

Arizona presented its own challenges with weather. As we climbed the high elevations near Flagstaff the blue skies turned grey and filled with clouds.

The higher we climbed the more it threatened storms, and soon enough the rain started, and not just with the sporadic sprinkes, but with full out pouring. Even if we had wanted to, there was really no where near to pull off and wait it out. Nor did we think that would have been a good idea. Hail started to come down with the pouring rain and the winds were howling as the cars and tractor trailers were climbing the mountains.

There was a lull in the storm and we considered looking for an rv park or rest area to wait it out and spend the night, but after a few minutes decided to just push through and get ahead of the storm. So, we continued through the mountains..through the rain..and through much of the night through Arizone and New Mexico, who's weather was much the same. Finally we pulled over for the night to rest when it seemed that we had gotten through it.

Gratefulness was the attitude the next day when we found out that the very area we had been in Arizona had two tornades touch down, go through an rv park, and turn tractor trailers over on the highway. There were mudslides and some flooding.

Hearing this, we plugged on through the rest of New Mexico and straight through Texas until we got to Amarillo. We wanted enough space between us and the storm so that we wouldn't be affected. Lunch in Amarillo and we pushed on to Oklahoma.

When we had taken the trip from the East to the West, we had been enjoying leisure and took our time. This trip was different. We were anxious to get home, and even more so because of weather. We did not make many stops on the trip. No stays at RV campgrounds...we simply went to rest areas or Flying J's for rest when we needed it.

On to Arkansas and a ride through Little Rock, we needed to readjust our route because we planned on going to visit our friends in Mountain City, Georgia. Once we got to West Memphis, we started heading south through Mississippi and Alabama. I began thinking about our road systems in our country and how different they are now than what they used to be. On this trip, there were so so many rest areas that were closed..indefinitely. And the roads for pretty much the entire trip were in poor condition and needed repair.

Crossing the border into Georgia was relief, giving us that feeling that YES, we are almost home. And, we had one last stressful part of the drive to make...going through Atlanta. Driving through Atlanta is not high on my list. So many lanes with so much traffic, my heart felt like it was in my throat through most of the city and then a huge sigh of relief when we got on the road to Mountain City.

We headed to Jolene and Cleve's home in Mountain City, where they own the Kudzu Factory. It would be good to see them, a couple that are both full time working artists and seem to live and breathe their Art...kindred spirits.

Ahhh, so good to be back in the South. I'm wanting to see everything that I have missed all at the same time. The land and the air are in sync with my heart and I feel the embrace of the mountains as we step outside. What a perfect time to be coming home, in the Fall, and just in time to see the leaves turning color.

We will take a much needed respite with Jolene and Cleve for a few days, the laughter and relaxing in the mountains is just what the doctor ordered.

Blue Skies and Pumpkin Bread...

2010-10-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

We're enjoying this leisurely Sunday getting ready for the trip tomorrow morning.

Washed the truck, got groceries, and the laundry's washing while John's armed with Armor All.

Even with all the chores we're doing, Autumn has completely embraced me with tranquility. Because it's my favorite time of year, I'm baking breads for the road trip. First out of the oven, is the pumpkin bread which will be followed by a loaf of banana bread.

I may even be able to get these labors of love done early enough so that I can paint for a little while and slide a movie in the dvd player.

We're so happy to be heading home. We can't wait to see the trees turning color in the Blue Ridge.

Trip Planning - Fuel Cost Calculator

2010-10-01T02:12:00.000-07:00

A helpful tool for those that are traveling - this fuel cost calculator allows you to choose your vehicle by make and year, enter your trip miles, and the current price of fuel per gallon..then estimates your fuel costs for the trip.

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/fuel-cost-calculator.php

Buddha's Waiting on His Ride.....

2010-09-30T19:06:00.000-07:00

We're one step closer today in getting ready for the trip back to the Carolinas. We woke up early to our coffee and raisin bran while waiting for the portable storage unit to be delivered. Once the fog lifts, it's going to be hot.

Prepared to spend the entire day packing and loading it, our cooler is stocked with ice water and lunch. No stopping til we're done.

Thankfully the delivery man came early this morning. Now the question, "Can we actually fit all of our stuff in here?"

I'm so glad we got an early start while it was still cool outside. The next few hours were a lot of reorganizing boxes, deciding what needs to get thrown out, and "Hey should we take this with us on the trip?".

Once we got through half of our things, it was time to think about where Buddha was going to ride. This Buddha has been with me for many years, an integral part of our home. In sitting position he is almost as tall as me, and he is very awkward to move, but I just can't part with him.

He has had to go along for the ride in a multitude of ways and this trip won't be any different.

Thank goodness he is who he is, for he never complains and lives in the moment.

All in all, it went rather well today. It only took us about 5 hours of packing and loading which was shorter than I had thought it would be. John managed to get through it with only one bump to the head and a few knock abouts.

Now, on to cleaning the RV, doing some laundry, and getting ready for our last day at the Artisan Market in Grants Pass on Saturday.. where we are having an Art Moving Sale.

Three more days and we're on the Road....

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

Always Looking for that Silver Lining....

2010-09-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life and it's experiences aren't always what we envision them to be, and sometimes the things that we participate in don't meet our expectations. This is when I need to remind myself to "always look for the silver lining", so that I can walk away with something positive, otherwsise disappointment would eat me up.

This past weekend we did the Music in the Mountains show. I suppose to measure whether it was successful or not, would depend on which perspective you were looking at it from.

The setting for the show was undeniably very pretty and the weather was perfect.

There were bands scheduled for the entire weekend and approximately 15-20 arts and crafts vendors for the show, but I knew when we arrived that things were going to be difficult. Our registration letter had stated that we weren't going to be able to drive up to our space to unload, that we would have to dolly it in, so we were prepared for that. What we weren't prepared for was that immediately as we entered the grounds our ears were attacked with loud and angry comments and rants from neighboring vendors as they were unloading. Profanity filled the air. Several of our spaces were on a hill, and the distance you had to walk from the parking lot to your space was considerable. After one trip you were already tired from getting your dolly up the hill through tall wet grass. We only had 1 1/2 hours to set up, although it took a good hour for us just to get our set up and goods up that hill.

As we were finishing, we noticed late arriving vendors who took it upon themselves to just go ahead and drive up to their space and unload. Very irritating to those of use that followed the rules and stood there with soaking wet feet and shoes from the grass and aching backs. Even more irrtiating when no one stopped them doing so.

So, time to regroup, set up our displays, and get happy.

Those first few hours are always filled with some kind of anticipation as you wait to see how the show is going to go, how the attendance is going to be, and how people are going to respond to your work.

Music began to fill the air as people were getting ready for the day.

Close by were two very beautiful horses that I visited several times over the weekend.

Soon we were listening to the music of Al Brinkerhoff and his family. Al is an amazing dobro player and friend we met about a year ago. Sweet dobro music as people started wandering in to the festival.

By mid afternnoon though, the nervousness of the show really began to set in because the attendance was considerably low. There were other shows in neighboring towns that were competition for this show. They all had music and arts and crafts, but only this one had an admission fee.

The day continued by listening to the vendors on boths sides of us complain and complain. They ranted about being on the hill, no sales, not enough attendees, and other logistical complaints. . Yes, I understood and agreed with much of what they were saying, but was trying not to fall into their trap of negativity. I escaped several times to visit the horses or to walk the grounds.

I have to admit, I eventually fell into that space of anger and negativity, when walking by the ticket booth I overheard some of the festival workers talking about the arts and crafts vendors in a not very nice way, calling them whiners, etc. This unprofessionalism was truly disheartening. Many of the vendors complaints were valid, and I feel that if they actually went to the vendors booths and listened, that resolve and understanding could have been found. But instead a divide was formed. Somehow I think they forgot...we are all in this together.

We got through the first day, went back to the State Park where our RV was set up, and tried to shake off the bad day. We cooked out , played with our dog, and tried to bring in some positive energy for Day 2.

Sadly, almost as soon as we arrived, we saw that Day 2 was going to be a continuation of Day 1, with the exception of even less of an attendance. Whispers were passing around that not all of the vendors had even paid their booth fee. Oh, the things that make you go hmmmmmm. Everyone's booth fee should have been paid prior to setting up at the show. None of the vendors were doing well in sales, why should some get away with not paying their fee?

At this point I just turned to John and started talking about our big trip home to the South to get our minds off the current state of things. Sometimes you just have to let your heart go somewhere else when the here and now is rough.

Sales were almost non existent on Sunday, and some of the vendors were talking about packing up early and leaving. I could understand their feeling, but our opinion is that if you paid for a show you should stick it out. You never know, many times sales are made at the end of the day.

But of course, the neighbors on both sides of us started packing 2 hours early. This was going to hurt our potential sales. Many times when customers see vendors packing, they feel it's the end of the show and they don't bother shopping anymore.

And soon enough we had drama in front of our booth. One of our neighbors had not paid their fee. They were packing to leave early and while the show is running and customers are milling, they drive their vehicle straight up the hill and park it to load.

And of course, they're half in front of our booth. The promoters then decide that they are going to approach them to pay. The vendor says no...and the drama begins.

The next hour in front of our booth was the stand off between the vendor and the promoter of whether or not they are going to pay and whether or not they are going to be allowed to leave. Extra show workers come and stand around the vehicle to prevent them from driving away.

This could have been avoided had they been made to pay their fee prior to the show beginning.

And now at this point, how many people do you think are going to come near this drama in order to shop in our booth??

So, did I find the silver lining? Well, Sunday afternoon as we sat in our booth, a most fabulous band took the stage. Two of the musicians had visited our booth prior to their set. As their music started it had an old time, almost gypsy feel. (Probably because of the accordian). They were great, and brought a smile to your face that nothing could chase away.

These are the "Bathub Gin Serenaders". Acoustic Hot Jazz and Blues from the 1920's, 30's and Beyond.

http://www.myspace.com/bathtubginserenaders

Yes, we found the silver lining. No matter how bad it gets, you need to find something to be grateful for.

Music on the Mountain

2010-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

We're getting ready for this weekend's show, and after last weekend's show attempt, we hope this goes better with a nicer weather forecast. We'll be traveling to Prospect, Oregon for the Music on the Mountain Festival held at the Prospect Historic Hotel.

I hope they have a good turn out for this because it looks to be a great weekend with music, art, food, wine, local beers, and quilts. One of the bands playing is Sequoia, who we know and love. Al Brinkerhoff is an amazing dobro player and wonderful to listen to.

So, our jewelry is getting tagged, dolls are getting packed, paintings getting their last shine with Kamar, and lots of other projects getting finished up.

Fingers crossed for a fun and successful weekend.

http://www.prospecthotel.com/bluegrass.html

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

Contending with Mother Nature

2010-09-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Mother Nature and the beauty she has to offer, brings an abundance of inspirations to artists of all mediums. Painters and photographers focus on her. Sculptors and woodworkers can use her offerings. Plein Air artists have a special relationship with her as well. Nature seems to be as important to us as the supplies we own for creating.

Yet, she is unpredictable and has a mind of her own. For those of us that share our art with the world through art and craft shows and festivals, we rely on Mother Nature to be a "partner" wtih us in our ventures. With all of our careful planning, scheduling of shows, creating our pieces, labeling, marketing, and organizing, the wild card in the process is the weather that she controls.

As vendors we can own premium show tents, weights to stabalize them in winds, side walls to protect from strong sun and light breezes, and awnings that attach to shelter our customers from the heat of the sun, but when the skies decide it's time to share steady cold rain, the games changes. Even if we and our art are protected from the elements, or customers are not. Rain isn't a friend to the show go-ers who are trying to enjoy the day by browsing through art booths. At this point, you need to make the decision, do we do the show or stay home?

This was the question we were faced with Friday morning when it was time to leave to travel to Bend, Oregon. A 4 1/2 hour trip with the camper, the expenses of rv parks, gasoline, and food, we needed to decide whether it would be worth the trip. The forecast called for rain both days of the show. Feeling that the rain would keep alot of people away from coming outdoors to shop, we decided to stay home. Even though we would be losing money on the booth and jury fee already paid, we felt that our losses would be even larger if we made the trip with all of the additional expenses.

Of course, we battled in our head all day Friday as to whether we made the right decision. This is how we make our living, and we don't like turning down opportunities. But Saturday morning when we woke up and looked at the skies, we knew we had done the right thing by staying home.

It rained almost the entire day today.

John and I spent the day at home together, on a Saturday, which is highly unusual for us. We are so used to being at a show, that for a slight second we didn't know what to do with ourselves. But within minutes we were popping a movie into the DVD player, and getting our art supplies out to work side by side for the day.

John beaded jewelry for most of the day, and I painted stone tiles, made pizza in the oven and played lots with our dog. For a short time the rain stopped...

and we knew, there's no need to worry. It will all be okay.

It's raining again now and will rain most of Sunday, and we will stay home and create some more - getting ready for next weekend's show.

In the meantime, we updated our website with a Rainy Day Weekend Sale...

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

Who says Artists Don't Work Hard?

2010-09-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

Stereotypes exist for almost every profession, culture, and societal class, and so many of them are just misunderstood perceptions. Many artists and musicians have to battle the stereotype put on them that they don't work hard...maybe because artists love what they do and seem to have fun doing it, therefore people perceive them as not hardworking.

I work harder as an artist than at any job I ever had. Every waking moment is spent on my Art ; creating, labeling, marketing, tracking inventory, networking, creating my show schedule, packing, traveling, setting up our show booth, talking to collectors, social networking, the list could go on. And although I spend from early in the morning to late in the evening on all of these tasks, I wouldn't trade it for anything because it is what I love and part of the "job".

This weekend we did a 3 day show in Winston Oregon. For the most part, it was not a successful show, in terms of sales. We never got out of the "red". It's very discouraging for an artist to do the amount of work they do, and not even be able to cover their expensese at a show. You look for the silver lining though, as with anything in life.

The show had very long hours; Saturday and Sunday were 9 and 10 hours days into the evening with required light set ups in our booth. Those 9 and 10 hours days are actually longer when you add in your set up and closing times.

Our booth space was placed badly for this show. We were in between a food vendor and a carnival game, not the ideal place for an art booth to say the least. All throughout the day on Friday and Saturday we battled with the food vendors who came to use the water spout on the pole next to our booth. Unfortunately they didn't have the curtesy of taking care of their gray water in the proper manner, so they just dumped it on the ground near the water spout...which was approximately 8 inches from the edge of our booth. Oh so lovely, as the bees were attracted to the sludge they were dumping.

I suppose that the customer turnout for the show was acceptable, they did have a fair amount of people. But the people were not so much interested in purchasing items from vendors, rather they were there for the events that were happening. Understandable though, we realized that this was a very economically depressed area.

The Promoters were very nice and accomodated as much as they could. The president of the festival committee came and visited out booth several times, brought us iced tea and bbq dinner today. Hopefully in the future they will be able to make some changes in the festival that will result in more success in turnout and sales. Most of the vendors did poorly in sales, even the food vendors.

Saturday afternoon, the girls and I were not so happy as we peered over the edge of the table to find that our neighboring vendor's dog got loose and ran over to the edge of our booth and urinated on a beautiful wooden floor display that was made for us.

Oh, the girls were upset ! As was I !

We contemplated heavily whether to continue on to the third day with such low sales and so many hours, but did so because you're there and paid for the space and you try to make the best of it while you can.

John and I both came down with horrible colds over the weekend, so with Dayquil, Tylenol, Zyrtec, Ricola, and Vitamin C, we went back in for Day 3 like the troopers that we are.

I can't say that Day 3 redeemed it self in sales, but we were able to find a silver lining. We met a really nice artist , Renee Lillie, who makes chokers. John made a trade with her and got me a beautiful new choker.

Renee had a bit of a better booth space, although she was between 2 stages. As I went to visit her this afternoon, it was at the exact moment that the accordian club was on one stage and bellydancers on the other...an odd combination of music wafted through her booth as we talked.

We made it through the three days...with both us being sick, peeing dogs, food vendors with gray water, skimpy sales...and even with that...we still love what we do.

Do Artists work hard? Hell yeah.

But it's an artist's life for me.

http://www.consciousartstudios.com/

RV Camping Recipes

2010-09-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I found a really cool website with Camping Recipes, while searching for crockpot recipes.
http://www.gorving.com/activities/road-tested-recipes.aspx

I think I'm going to try at least one of them this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.

Arriving in Winston Oregon for the Festival

2010-09-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

It's a short trip north this weekend for the 3 day festival in Winston, Oregon. We were a little surprised with the light rain this morning and cool weather, it sure does feel like Fall.

We've arrived a day early to do a little light set up at the show and get settled in. We have long hours this weekend ; Friday and Saturday we keep our booth open til 9pm and then finish at 4pm on Sunday.

John and I got the camper all set up at a campground approximately 9 miles from the show. Next door is some kind of museum, but I don't think we'll get to check it out while we're here.

There's just enough time for some Split Pea Soup for lunch and a short nap, before we head over to the show and set up our booth...well there's enough time for John to take a nap, I think I'm going to try and finish my Appalachian Granny Woman Art Doll. She just hates traveling when she feels undone.

Hoping we have a good space at the show..we'll find out soon.

Morning Stroll with Artists, Farmers, and Poets

2010-09-04T18:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a complete day of fulfilling all of the senses. Today I took the opportunity, while John watched our art booth at the Artisan Market, to take a walk throught the Grower's Market. I love love love walking through open air markets with fresh veggies and fruits, cut flowers, plants, and art. Friend and fellow artist, Peace, came along to help carry whatever I might collect along the way.

The flowers today were beautiful as always, walking amongst the growers who had diverse bouquets of beauty to offer. The sunflowers were particularly gorgeous.

Today's veggies came from the Fry Family Farm who had some beautiful organic offerings.

Music wafted through the market as people were filling their baskets with goodies.

After filling my bag with fresh zucchini and squash, cucumbers and potatoes, we made our way back to my art booth. New and old friends came to visit, custom orders were picked up, and more of our Art found happy new homes. I made sure to make my way down the street to the Grants Pass Art Supply to see Jeanine who has a wonderful art shoppe and got some new brushes. She is such a wonderful supporter of the artists in this town ; I hope they all frequent her store and support local.

When we got back home this afternoon, I cooked pasta and made a salad with the produce bought that morning, and while checking my email at the same time (yes multi tasking as always), I found that two of the poets that used to come to our poetry circles, had written poems for us. How incredibly sweet ! Such wonderful gifts we received today !

Have Art...Will Travel...

2010-09-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to hear Willie Nelson singing in the back of my head...."on the road again....just can't wait till I get back on the road again"......Things have moved into high gear for us, our shows are booked up for the next month leading up to the big journey when October arrives.
This month is full of paint brushes a flyin', clay transforming, cd's getting shrink wrapped, doctor appointments, getting our things ready to ship back to the east coast, truck tweaking, completing the many many lists that I have created.
In the morning we head off to the Artisan Market to sell our wares, and then back again to finish some art projects that are in the midst and to tackle my art closet in the RV. I'm in the process of reorganizing it to make sure I have everything I need for the trip across.

Martha Stewart, where are ya when I need ya?

Current Public Art Display in Grants Pass, Oregon

2010-08-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

"Artful Living on the Road" wouldn't be complete if I didn't point out Public Art Displays as we journey back home across the country. With that, the first Public Art Display I will share wtih you is at our starting point of this journey, Grants Pass, Oregon.

Grants Pass, Oregon has a love of Bears. In years past Bear Fest has been very popoular, and this year Bearfest showcases "The Wild Bunch"

http://www.evergreenbearfest.com/the-wild-bunch

Ins and Outs of Art Shows Part 2 ~ Finding the Shows

2010-08-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

Finding the right shows to participate in is paramount to the effort. One of the easiest ways is through your fellow artist friends who do shows. Sometimes they are your best resource. If they have already done the show they can share with you their own insights, but a good show for one is not neccessarily a good show for another. Finding the shows that you want to be in year after year takes a little trial and error sometimes.
A successful show has many facets to consider...your space in the layout, the marketing efforts of the promoters (and you) , the type of show, the current economy, customer turn out are just a few to name.

I always ask my potential promoter the number of booths that will be in their layout, if there will be commercial booths, and types of vendors. For example, if you happen to be a potter and there will be 30 other pottery booths, your level of sales competition is quite high. I always try to find a show that has a good diversity of types of art, so that individual artists have a chance to stand out. I also TRY to stay away from the shows that have commercial vendors mixed in with artisans. It is very hard to compete with a vendor who has a product similar to your own at such a drastically lower price because they have imported it.
A few years ago we were at a show near the coast in South Carolina. Our neighboring artisan crafted beautiful carved wood baskets and had very reasonable prices for his art. Further up the street in a more visible space, was a commercial vendor who was selling wood baskets that were imported from another country at drastically lower prices. Needless to say, the handcrafted artisan did not fare well at the show.
Even with this in mind though, we HAVE still done quite well at the shows that allowed commercial vendors. It just depends on your quality of work, your diversity,and the customers desire to collect a hand crafted piece.

Besides the networking with fellow artists and being invited to shows, there are a few resources online that I use to locate our show options.
http://www.eventlister.com/ One of my favorite sources. Fellow artists have the opportunity to comment on shows.
http://festivalnet.com/
http://www.southfest.com/
http://www.fairsandfestivals.net/

These are just a few of the main web resoources I use. They are many many available.
I also search on the official state travel sites, such as
http://www.traveloregon.com/
http://www.visitnc.com/
http://www.discoversouthcarolina.com/
http://www.tnvacation.com/
http://www.exploregeorgia.org/
http://www.virginia.org/
http://www.visitflorida.com/
http://www.visitcalifornia.com/
http://www.experiencewa.com/

And so on, you get the idea. Going to the travel sites for the state allows you to see their event calendars. Many times show promoters gear their marketing more toward getting the public, and not as much as marketing it with a show- vendor site.

Some other things to consider when choosing shows is the vendor fee, and your cost for gas and lodging. Always try to compare your potential expenses with the opportunity that the show can afford you.

Happy Hunting ! Part 3 of the Ins and Outs will focus on Displaying.

The Ins and Outs of the Art Show Circuit Life ~ Part 1

2010-08-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

An Artist's Life on the Show Circuit

Exhibiting on the Art Show circuit, whether full time or part time, is a whole other life. We've worked the show curcuit for several years, took a recent break, and now are re-emerging ourselves once again.

Working on the show circuit is hard work. Many have a misconception of the level of actual working hours, because they may only see you on the weekend, but the schedule is demanding. If this is the life of the artist, it usually means working in their studio Monday through Thursday creating enough quality meaningful work to fill their displays in their booth along with any custom or interent orders. Usually Thursday is the end of studio work to allow for packing bins and vehicle Thursday evening and Friday Morning. Friday is generally travel day to the show and sometimes early set ups are allowed for some shows. But more times than not, set ups are early Saturday mornings, which for us means waking at 4am to eat breakfast, get ready, and arrive for set up. Our set up is approximately 1 3/4 - 2 hours to set up, to include setting up the tent, tables, displays, artwork, and information area. Then...be ready to talk.

Generally you will spend two days at a show, on your feet and talking, before Sunday evening arrives to tear it all down, repack, and travel back home to begin your week again.

I think first and foremost the most important aspect for the artist, is that you have to truly love being with the public and being comfortable talking about you, your art, and the collector, in order to be successful. This is not the place to be shy. The serious customers want to know about you and what inspired your pieces. Sitting in the back of your booth and reading is not going to bring you the attention that you seek. The goal is to engage with your audience.

The Information Highway in Your Art Booth

Having a poster of your bio in your booth is important. During a busy show, often times you will have multiple people in your booth and it's difficult to talk to everyone without losing a potential collector. Having the bio displayed prominently will give someone waiting to speak with you an opportunity to learn more about you.

Nearby you can also have a small portfolio of some of your past works. This will allow them to see a larger collection of your pieces and also how you have progressed as an artist. If you do custom work, this helps in showing the diversity that you can offer.

In this same display area, I have found it useful to keep our mailing list book. Most everyone uses email now. Explain to those that sign up that you do not share or sell your email list with others, this is very important to most people. And, let them know what kinds of things they will receive from you in the emails: showing new work, sneak peaks, contests, special sales, upcoming events, how-to lessons, workshops, etc.

With space permitting, I have found it helpful to keep the Bio, Portfolio, Mailing List, and Business Cards in one central, easy to get to place in the booth. I keep another holder of business cards at the front of your booth for ease of picking up, and yet another holder of business cards near my wrapping area for placement in their bags.

Of course, we have become a very internet geared society, immersed in social networking. Many of your collectors may want to connect with you via Facebook, Twitter, Ning, and your Blog. If so, let them know how they can find you in these venues.

Finding the time to involve yourself in all of these social networking applications can be challenging for any artist, but at this point is almost a neccesity in your marketing.

And with that...time for me to finish up few pieces that I am working on.

Next time I will continue with where to find the shows and choosing between shows.

Back to the Grants Pass Artisan Market this weekend...

2010-08-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

We didn't have any larger shows to travel to this weekend, so it was back to our spot at the Grants Pass Artisan Market.

Some good friends came to visit while we were set up today. A woman who bought one of my Wisdom Keepers last year stopped by, a kindred spirit. I was so glad to know that she enjoys her piece and keeps it in her office. She herself misses the mountains in NC and loves the Appalachia even though she has been here for years. My hope is that the next time she goes to visit, she will look us up and see us there.

Peace came by to visit as well. I will miss him and our talks of Art, Life, and Society. This week I am going to work on something to gift to him before we leave.

Tomorrow I will be searching for more shows that we can try to get into to help beef up the travel budget.

Until then...create, create, create.

It was a Shady Cove Sunday....

2010-08-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

Our second day in Shady Cove was much easier than the first. The weather was a little more cooperative; even though it was still hot, it was much more tolerable.

My Wisdom Keeper Art Dolls got an impromptu photo shoot from a photographer at the Medford Tribune. (This always gets the girls excited)

We got a chance in the afternoon to be able to take a walk through and visit the other vendors.

Our friends, the Garden Gypsies, were at it again...trying to mosaic the town....

The Nut Lady was busy making delicious snacks...

Pete Herzog was on stage playing his Blues Opera....

It was just a wonderful day to be on the river with such a large group of talented artists and musicians.

If I were to have a complaint about anything during today's show, would be artists that break down early and leave. Yes, I know it was hot, but when they break down early and leave, it makes customers feel like the show is over and in turn many times hurts the vendors that remain there to work.

Three vendors right near us started breaking down their booths in a flurry an hour early. In the midst of their dollies wheeling things down the sidewalk, new customers were still coming in.

A young woman had just arrived, trying to hurry and get there after having worked all day. She timidly asked me if it was okay if she looked at our art, which of course it was...that's why we're there...to share it.

She stayed a while and acquired several of our pieces.

I'm happy that she found some things that she really liked, but at the same time saddened that the vendors breaking down early show such a disregard for the show in general by doing that.

Tired after this long weekend of work in challenging heat, but so grateful for the meeting of new people and sales made. Tomorrow morning we leave to head back and create again before the next show....

Shady Cove Day One

2010-08-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of the Shady Cove River ArtWalk, and it was a hot one ~ 100 degrees. Even thought the ArtWalk runs along the river it didn't seem to do much in the cooling area today, unless you jumped in.

We got there early this morning while the temperatures were still comfortable and finished setting up. I'm so glad that we did some of it last night.

We had some nice neighbors for this show, which makes it so much easier. There was pretty good foot traffic from 10am when the show started until about 1pm. At 1:00 the heat really started kickin' in and it slowed down. As it kept getting hotter, traffic kept getting lighter. People were just too hot to be walking around and they looked like they were in a daze. Thankfully we still made sales throughout the day - not as good as usual, but still fairly well.

Jenny Junebug was so WAY too hot today, and every time I turned around she had disappered off her riser on the table and I would find here playing around near the small trees and bushes off to the side of our booth.

But even there it wasn't really cooling her off much.

We did take our fan and had it running in the booth which helped provide a little relief. John took advantage if this most of the day, standing over it in between playing the flute.

But he didn't believe me when I told him that the fan made him look like a Tribal Michelin Man.

So glad when 5:00 came and we could come back to the camper. Picked up some subs from Subway and back here in the air conditioning for the night....ahhhhhhhh.

Now we need to rest up tonight so we can do it all over again tomorrow.

Twas the Night before the Art Show....

2010-08-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Shady Cove this afternoon. We weren't able to get an RV spot at the campground of choice with our friends - the ones they had left were too short for us, so we ended up having to go to a campground that's directly across the river from the Art Walk. I wasn't impressed when we pulled in, but there aren't alot of campgrounds and we need to be close to the show. Not too friendly, not the cleanest, and most of the campers seem to be long long term.

After we set up, we went over to the show to find our vendor space and begin the initial set up of our displays. (Tomorrow we will set up the Art). The promoter, Alma, was really sweet and reminded me of a promoter in North Augusta, South Carolina at one of our favorite shows.

It took us a little bit to figure out how exactly to set up our booth. It is one of the premium spaces for this Art Walk that literally runs along the edge of the river. We will be set up near the Edgewater Inn where the trolley drops people off throughout the day. We won't be using a tent this time - our space is a stone gazebo (where on occasion they do BBQ's).

(And YES, that's a Jenn Air BBQ )

This is as much as we are setting up tonight. Tomorrow morning we will bring it to life.

We went to visit Gypsy and Darla at their campsite for a few minutes and then headed back to ours to cook dinner.

Tired and Hot, we arrived back at our own campsite to be greeted by one of our rude and obnoxious camper neighbors.

I'm staying "in " for the evening, nursing this ongoing sinus infection, petting our dog, and resting up before the show early in the a.m.

Up Next ~ Shady Cove River Art Walk

2010-08-11T17:01:00.000-07:00

One week later we are getting ready to go do the Shady Cove River Art Walk. We have been spending this past week replacing pieces that we sold in Sisters and bringing our inventory back up. Shady Cove will be a two day show, and the weatherman says it will be 102 degrees on those days. Yikes! I'll be filling the cooler with tons of ice and water. Still debating whether to stay and camp on the river that weekend, or drive back and forth.

http://www.upperrogue.org/shady_cove.htm

Back to the Art Market

2010-08-11T16:37:00.000-07:00

On returning from our trip to Sister and Crater Lake, we had to get ready for the Saturday Artisan Market in Grants Pass where we have a permanent spot.

Wandering at Crater Lake

2010-08-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

This is our last day of "vacation" before we head back to Grants Pass for the Artisan Market on Saturday. Some may say that we were saving the best for last ~ a day trip to Crater Lake.

Even though I haven't been feeling well today, it didn't take away from the absolute beauty that we found. Crater Lake is so pristine and majestic that I feel as though I am looking at a piece of fine art, and in a way I think I am, for this seems to be one of Mother Earth's most beautiful pieces of work.

As we drove around the rim of the lake, we picked up a wee hitchhiker...

he sat on the back window sill for a good bit before he finally flew away.

And this little guy's appearance brought out a bunch of his friends who caught our attention for about an hour, snapping pictures all the while.

Soon, we were joined again by yet another dragonfly.

Pure perfection !

You couldn't ask for a more gorgeous and relaxing day to just Breathe.

Tonight we break down camp and get ready to leave in the morning to head back to Grants Pass so that we can have a little bit of time to create a few more pieces before the Artisan Market on Saturday.

Inspiration and Exploration

2010-08-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

After spending the past five days traveling through such gorgeous land, the need to create is extreme. Knowing that parts of our inventory are already low from doing the last show in Sisters, the need is even greater...and so the pull in the mind and heart begin. Time management?? Time feels as if it has stopped. And even though my hands want to pull out the paper and paint, my soul continues to pull me to see more.

The trip leaving Sisters and heading to Crater Lake was probably longer than it should have been, because of the frequent pulling along side the road to walk a trail and take loads of pictures.

Exploring Downtown Sisters, Orgeon

2010-08-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

I love it when a show has been successful enough to stay longer and visit the area. Sisters entertained us fully as we explored.

(This wee one greeted us on the morning at the campground before we set out for downtown. She seems quite used to people, as we had seen her several times over the weekend.)

(The Ram Sculpture outside one of the fine art galleries)

(The Cigar Store Indian and Sculpted Metal Cowboys and Cowgirls in front of the Antler Gallery)

We had a good time in the Antler Gallery...lots of fun stuff. They had beautiful hand carved furniture and paintings...but we had fun pawing through the shelves and bins of turtle shells, antlers of all sizes, gemstones, furs, beads, and old postcards.

After purusing the downtown we headed back to the campground, and spent the afternoon at the park playing with the dog...she needs her fun too.

Tomorrow we head toward Crater Lake....

The Journey Begins

2010-08-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

The first two months of our journey will be spiraling around the Northwest at art shows and markets before we head east on the journey home. First up is Sisters, Oregon doing the Sisters Summer Faire in the park, a two day show.
The differences in the land between Central Oregon and Southern Oregon is dramatic. The weather is hot and arid this time of year, but so unusual to see the lava beds and desert like plants and look off in the distance and see snow on the mountaintops.

The Sisters show was sweet as can be. They didn't have a large amount of art vendors, but had a good variety of art ~ painters, potters,wool spinners, soap makers, and maybe a touch too many jewelry artists which is common now a days. The folks that came through the show were very friendly and welcoming.

(Picking out Wisdom Poppets from Jeanne's display)

We were charmed by the city of Sisters, the people and the land, and will stay an extra day after the show to explore the downtown.