"Confetti"

Working toward a possible craft show in December, my fingers are punching each and every day!

A collection of 'petite pockets' seem to be in the offing.  I've begun with this happy design.  I love the colors of green, coral and soft yellow and it was a joy to work with them.

As with the heart design, I will be using the center front to put in designs - some punched, some found objects, some miniature stitcheries.  I hope to stick something into each bag -- perhaps just some tissue paper or some paper flowers, or some candy... any suggestions will be more than welcome.

For awhile, I shall be punching pockets -- we'll see what I come up with.  Thanks for joining me on this part of my journey.

"Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive...then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurman

A Job Well Done

Whew!!!  I am tired right now.  This past weekend my art/craft guild "InspiredArts" produced a fine craft show held at Flat Rock Theater in Flat Rock, NC.  We have worked for months and months and months to bring this show to life.  Our 'call to artists' began last September, the jurying was held in January and after that it was one detail after another to be ironed out.  We designed the show to be presented as a 'gallery' showing or a fine retail art store so the Guild was responsible for the display, the inventory, some of the publicity and what seemed like every other detail for a show this big.  We juried in over 40 artists which was a task in and of itself.

Flat Rock Playhouse sponsored the show and it was held in their YouTheater building.  They were wonderfully helpful and gave us such good publicity outlets.  The posters were fabulous.  This show was designed to benefit the Playhouse with them getting money from the fee at the door and the 30% commission that the artists would donate on sold items.

Whenever you participate in a show of any kind there is always worry and wonder as to whether it will be a success or a failure. There are so very many variables - from the space, the artists involved, the economy, the weather, etc., etc., etc.  I'm so happy to report that this show met and exceeded our fondest wishes.  After all of the effort, sleepless nights and yes, tension within our small group, the show ended up meeting all of our dreams.  We had a vision a year and a half ago and it came true this weekend.

The room was lovely (no, beyond lovely, with art in all medias shown by excellent artists), the crowds were good and people were buying.  All of our fears were laid to rest as the weekend went on.  I want to give a big hug and congratulations to my fellow InspiredArts members:  Tamsin Allpress, Ellyn Berstein, Mary Beth Jung-Ganser, Sandra Macklem, Libby Miller, Ruth Obolensky, Peggy O'Connor, Sharon Richmond and Andrea Stern. 

And now its time to rest on our laurels (and actually get some rest for a change)!!  WE DID IT!!

"Action is the foundational key to all success". - Pablo Picasso

Buried Alive

I've been buried alive in paperwork this week.  I am part of a small contemporary craft guild called InspiredArts.  We are planning a major craft show to be held at Flat Rock Playhouse.  Flat Rock Playhouse in Flat Rock, North Carolina is the state theater.  A wonderful, magical place where all sorts of creativity abounds.  Flat Rock Playhouse has never held a craft show and InspiredArts has never run a craft show -- so this has all been a unique adventure.  Last Tuesday we completed our jurying process.  We now have 42 artists who will be converging on the YouTheater at Flat Rock Playhouse over Mother's Day weekend.  My job has been to handle the jurying which has meant accepting the applications, organizing the jurying, notifying the applicants after the jury process and sending out acceptance packets.  Sounds pretty simple when I compact it into a sentence like that.

The jury process this last Tuesday was quite wonderful. I mean who can complain about sitting and looking at images of art all day long!  We all enjoyed it and the creativity that we saw was overwhelming at times.  Of course since then I have been overwhelmed with paperwork and computer work and calling people and so on and so forth.  Who would have thought that so much energy and planning would have to go into a gathering of creative souls?  

Today I sit here confident that things are under control, all my lists have been checked twice (or three times or four times but who is counting).  The acceptance packets are almost ready to send out and I'm to take a few deep breaths. 

"We can lick gravity but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming."  - Wernher von Braun