Bats from the Past

A little red bat etching

Peddling Affection from a Sweet Bouquet

In lieu of All Hallows'

Curated show "In Tents: Prints from the Art Fair Circuit"

I am curating a show at The Ink Shop Printmaking Center in Ithaca, NY that will include 6 great printmakers. They are all full time artists, traveling thousands of miles a year to get their work out to the public. They are tenacious and business wise trying to make a life and a living by taking their work on the road. The artists are Heinrich Toh Kansas City, MO Daryl Storrs Huntington VT Christopher Plummer Alexandria, KY Ann Eldridge Bradford, New Hampshire Johanna Mueller Denver, CO Marina Terauds Leeper, MI. If you find yourself in upstate NY, the show opens Friday November 4th and will be up until December 23rd.

Being “on the circuit” selling art full time is an interesting life. All of us have loads of gear; tents, portable walls and pedestals, directors chairs, and a large van to pack it all in. Dodge Sprinters, Ford Cargo Vans and a whole medley of Minivans drive in and out of cities full of artists and their gear. We set up in streets, fields, courtyards, and shopping plazas. The show usually goes on regardless of hail, hurricanes, downpours, and sweltering heat.

This year I heard a number of stories from the midwest of tents blowing away. During the heat wave in July artists were standing in buckets of ice water to keep cool. My booth flooded in Pennsylvania due to hurricane Irene. There are times where I stand in the rain for days and barely make back my booth cost, when I miss my partner and my poodle, or my tire blows out on the journey. Even so, it is encouraging when somebody purchases something from me and says that they have never bought art before or when a newly married couple tells me they are going to make art a part of their lives. I know I don't have to wake up in the morning and drive to a job that I don't care about, and everything I do for my business will continue to pay off, I just have to keep showing up. A colleague once said, “being your own boss = priceless.”

I am an advocate for people who want to try art festivals to get out there and do it! It is not just grandma's painted jars and grandpa's whittled ducks for sale, there is some truly wonderful work.  If there is a festival in your town, appreciate the vendors on the street and think about the path (or super highway) they took to make it easy for you to see their wares.

Starlings Shipped

New starling woodcut showing the birds journey across the Atlantic

My partner Craig wondered if I cracked open a can of bondo for the first color. See more starlings on my website.

Deep Sea Delicacy

                                  What a green! It may be awhile before I use this color again.

                                           The wooden handle palette knife is my favorite!

I love this little spookfish and rubber duck. Bioluminescence has to be one of the most amazing feats of that ma'nature.