Moving On

Yesterday was my last outdoor show of the season. Rain had been forecast all week but Friday night and Saturday morning, the forecast changed to partly cloudy and cool. No rain within 40 miles.Great weather for an outdoor show. Full of joy and expectation, I headed to Beech Acres Park for the Anderson Affair of the Arts.With the word "Arts" in the name of the show, how could I miss? Well, as soon as I got the tent up the rain started. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights. At least it seemed that long. We had a few dog walkers and die hard soccer players come through but really just a handful of people who had come for the show and most of them were relatives of other artists.The rain finally stopped about 1pm and the sun came out at 2. We closed at 4.I would be surprised if we drew more than 200 people all day. I sold enough to pay for my set up and gas but the trip to the concession stand probably put me in the hole for the day. Friends did not seem to fare much better.I'm not blaming the park board. It was a nice site. They were open when they said they would open. Set up was easy and parking fairly convenient.They had real restrooms that worked and smiles on their faces.It just boiled down to the fact that a small show in a cold rain is not going to draw a crowd.I shared this because we all have bad days. Part of being an artist is how we deal with things like this. We can worry that nobody loves us and crawl into a hole as we try to change directions or we can dust ourselves off, stand up straight and move on. Me? I'm packing up my donations for empty bowls, clearing out the old and making way for the new, and getting ready for Christmas sales.Thanks for listening.

New Shelves

Here a a couple of shots from last week's show that give you a look at the shelves I added this year. The free standing unit some of you have seen before.The table top unit in the back of the booth is designed for an indoor show or two I am doing this winter.Total space 30x72 inches.The shelf unit should let me double the space. I just need to decide what to take with me to use it effectively.Some of those big jars are going to have to stay home.

The consensus from Blog comments, Facebook, and direct comments is that the jury is still out on my singing on the web. Actually they are out looking for a rope.Don't expect a repeat anytime soon.If you are around this Saturday, stop by Beech Acres and watch me try to sell pots in the rain. It is my last outdoor show this year so there should be some clearance bargains available. Thanks for stopping by.

They Love Me in Loveland

Now that we all know why I didn't sing on the first musical post, let's get back to pottery.Yesterday was the 15th annual Loveland Art Show. Packet pick up opened at 7 so I was there at 7. I'm no longer a fan of getting up at 5 AM but I hate to rush in the morning so I always arrive early and take my time with setup. It was still dark so I needed a flashlight to findmy booth number spray painted on the grass.My booth was 50 yards or more from the unloading area but they had a crew of high school girls who carried every box to my site and came back at 5:30 to reverse the process. I could not have done it without them.

The day was mostly overcast with an occasional sprinkle of rain.It could have been better. It could have been a lot worse.Sales were off and on as usual. I always worry that I'm not doing well but when I get home and tally things up it turns out I did pretty well. Also as usual, when I went to get lunch, I came back to a booth full of people who actually bought stuff til my burger was nice and cold. I sold a fair number of mugs and a few small bowls, but as has been my pattern this year, I sold more $40+ pots than I have in the past. Jars, big bowls, and baking dishes made my day.Here is a picture of a big batter bowl the my friend Mike let me glaze and fire in his big gas kiln. It lasted about 45 minutes. I might have to make more.

One More

After yesterday's post, some of you insisted that I completely embarass myself. Here is why I don't sing in public.

Exposing Myself

I feel that every now and then we bloggers should go off topic and reveal a bit about ourselves no matter how ugly. Have a great weekend and stop by the Lovaland Art Show Sunday.