Popping my California Craft Cherry at Patchwork

This past Sunday I participated in the Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival here in Long Beach. It's been quite a while and 3000 miles since I sold at an outdoor event and I'd been busting my hump preparing for this event for weeks. As is my wont, I'd built this show up into some sort of symbol, a benchmark of my artistic prowess. A hump I needed to mount and vault in order to prove to myself my inherent worth as a "maker" (a hipster term for artist/artisan which I despise).

I'd painstakingly created labels, tags a banner bearing my name and lots of new artwork to dazzle the crowd. My wish, though resources were slim, was to dazzle the looky-loos with my odd array of thematically odd artwork. I craved a sell-out show and feared phenomenal failure. The day of the event my kite-like anxiety was brought crashing down to earth on site of the parking lot and all the other peddlers unfolding their packs on wet pavement. We all were in the same boat, or more correctly parking lot puddle. As I was setting up my tent and looking at all my carefully concocted displays as though I were from Mars, I began to adjust my aspirations to a less lofty level.

 With tent erected (heh) and artwork secured, I surveyed my set-up. I was very pleased with the solutions I'd come up with to show art on the go. I was especially glad that I'd brought cinder blocks to weigh down my tent. The morning was damp and as the day wore on it became breezy - neigh, blustery, blowing unsecured umbrellas precariously close to my display. Also flying high on the breeze were many of my own art prints which eventually secured residence under my table to prevent further travels. Through it all the glory that is the Zip Tie kept my glass framed watercolors from moving so much as an inch!

The event took place two weeks after Mother's Day, which we all know is preceded by more frantic gift and card getting than even the big "C" in December. Consequently, people were keeping a pretty tight grip on their purse strings. Although sales were slow,  I was pleased to meet new admirers and sample a savory bacon wrapped hot dog from an Argentinian food truck on site. Additionally my Lucifist wall trophy found a home as a father's day gift for some lucky father with apparently eclectic taste.  

Altogether the day was successful and I'm now ready to attack the Long Beach and L.A. art walks with my passel of art. Hopefully the art walks are ready for me...

Happy Headless Chicken

I decided this year that I was going to take my show on the road and bring my art to the streets. It's been a couple of years since I sold at an Arts and Crafts festival and during my hiatus I've found myself pining for the open air, the congeniality of fair folks and egregiously fat ladened, deliciously fried, festival food.

My location in sunny Southern California allows for ample art fair opportunities from the smallest town farmer's market to the most highly regarded juried festivals as well. In order to start my season off with a bang, I applied to the esteemed Patchwork Indie Arts and Crafts Festival last month and much to my delight, I was accepted to the May 15th Long Beach show!

As I mentioned, it's been a while since my last fair and I find myself frantically, but gleefully preparing myself for my maiden CA craft voyage.  I'm resolved that there will be no half-stepping with my set-up at Patchwork. I have already begun to devise my product layout, purchasing display racks and baskets mined from a variety of sources including the local thrift and ebay. I'm designing my own cards, tags and promotional items. I'm sourcing out tents, tables and lighting. Oh, and naturally, I'm creating a gang of new art, art objects and accessories for the occasion. I'm expecting a complete emotional collapse about a week before the even, but so far my crazy train has remained on the rails. The battle cry for success has become "Branding and Cohesion"! I intend to present a unified art identity front at my booth, without any hint of the chaos that created it.

A hint of said chaos.

Of course, every war has its casualties and preparing for this beaux arts battle is no different; my dining room table is now crusted in a festive array of pink glitter, resigned to its new fate as a circus side table as I create a handmade bunting banner for my display area. Yesterday, I spent the greater part of the afternoon designing hang tags (the kind you tie on to your work to denote cost, not the things that hang eerily off your hide awaiting removal). My dedicated studio space is creeping across its confines to the common areas of the apartment as I build inventory and gather supplies. As I look around I realize I would have done well as a communist general, commandeering property to suit the needs of the state. Especially given the fact that l'etat c'est moi.

Bunting bits, pre-construction.

Despite the mess, I'm truly excited to begin the season. I'm fortunate to live in a city overflowing with parks and public space. Markets and fairs abound just within the confines of my municipality and I'm hoping that momentum will serve me if I merely take advantage of what's nearby. Reclaiming DIY may have truly begun with a boot in the ass from the world wide web, but I believe its future lies in the old fashioned notion of gathering a community to meet its artists face to face. Inviting an audience to witness what we do in the flesh via demos and conversation and allowing them the chance to satisfy their senses by experiencing art first hand is gratifying for everyone. And access to corn dogs and cotton candy whilst immersing yourself in culture certainly sweetens the pot.