A Great Day at the Village Venture

This past Saturday was my 8th year participating at the Village Venture - a wonderful arts and crafts show along the tree-lined streets of historic downtown Claremont, CA. The sky was gloomy and threatned rain all day, but the crafting gods were looking down on us and held back the mositure until 30 minutes after the show...what luck!

 

Set up started at 6:30 am. Who knew that the sun wasn't even up at that hour! I asked the show promoters for a new booth location this year as I had spent the last 7 years set up next to the Folk Music store's performance booth. The music is wonderful, but the sheer volume made it impossible to talk with customers. My new spot was centrally located right on a busy corner - perfect location!

 

The show officially opens at 9am - my first customer was there at 7am! She came early to watch me unpack and get first pick. That's dedication! Here she is making her decision...thanks Holly!

The gloomy weather really put people in the shopping mood. I had the single best sales day of any one-day show, ever! Thanks so much to Marty, Jeff and Wendy for helping me setup, teardown and wrap and bag all those sales. And a big thank you to all my friends, fans and collectors who came out to support me.

My BIGGEST Day of the Dead Creation EVER!

I just finished up my largest Day of the Dead figure so far to date. It may not look like it in this photo, but this fellow stands at over 13" high and is about 9" wide. I always like to make at least one LARGE piece for each show I attend; call it a "show stopper!" Something to really grab people's attention as they pass by my booth. The larger size also made it much easier to paint in all those intricate details on his face.

This bone-daddy makes his debut at the Claremont Village Venture, Sat. Oct 23rd. Hope to see you there!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Halloween is still several weeks away, but I've put the orange and black paint away for now. It's about time I start working on holiday creations. I have to admit that a bit of melancholy comes over me when I know that the mad Halloween-rush is through. I still have one more Fall show to attend, but just about everything is completed for that show. Creatively, I find it tough to switch gears so abruptly, so I like to ease into it slowly. I may start by looking through some old Christmas catalogs, or books about Vintage collectibles. I remember as a kid, I found it easy to get into the holiday spirit when the Sears Wishbook would arrive in the Fall - does anyone else remember that? I know I'm really dating myself with that reference ;)

Somehow, this weekend I found the Christmas spirit and starting in-head first on some snowmen. Now I'm anxious to get working on those Santas, angels and gingerbreadmen.

And before you know it, I'll need to get out those pastel paints and start getting enthused about eggs and bunnies. Wow, where does the time go?!

Halloween and Vine - The Afterglow

As any artist who has ever worked a show will tell you, it can be an emotional roller coaster. The "fun" starts long before the show as you frantically try to get enough pieces made before the event. Then, as it approaches, you begin to question: do I have enough merchandise...do I have TOO much merchandise...are my prices too high...too low...will I even sell anything?

All those questions were answered, and I am happy to say that as an artist, my participation in Halloween and Vine was one of the best exhibiting experiences I have ever had.

More than 200 people were lined up before the doors opened at 9am. Some folks were there at 5:30 am!!!! Talk about determination! And believe me, these folks are determined! When the doors opened, the customers rushed past my table in search of their favorite artists; William Bezek, Nicol Sayer, Jack Roads.... It was like a feeding frenzy at many of these wonderful artist's tables. It was at least 10 minutes before anyone came to my table. And what a long 10 minutes that was. All those feelings of doubt kick in...I don't belong here...my work is just not good enough...maybe my stuff is just too "cute" for these collectors....

But then, it hit!!!! I had a customer, and then another, and then another. Before long, I had a line of people in front of my table holding 2 or 3 pieces each waiting to make their purchases! While I answered questions and made the sales, my partner Marty was frantically wrapping and bagging the purchases. For a solid hour and a half, everything was a blur of credit cards,  receipts and bubble wrap! When the dust settled and I was finally able to take a breath, I realized that all those initial fears and doubts were unfounded.

Halloween and Vine is truly the quintessential collector's art show on the West Coast, and what an honor it was to be a part of it. The chance to show my work and the chance to meet some of my favorite artists (and exhibit amongst them!) was a dream come true.

I would like to thank all my collectors and friends who came out to see me. And a big thank you everyone who supported my art with your purchases and your words of encouragement. Just wait until you see what I have in store for Halloween and Vine 2011!

Skitzo the Zombie Clown!

I don't know why I've been so obsessed lately with making zombie clowns. I guess maybe because they scare the heck out of me and this is some kind of cathartic creative cleansing. Whatever the reason, here's my latest...I call him Skitzo! He is a dual sided piece...first I've ever made like him. One side...good and sweet clown. Other side...mean and nasty clown!

Skitzo makes his debut at Halloween and Vine, Sept 25th!

More Dia De Los Muertos!

I've been bitten by the Dia De Los Muertos bug! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I collect Day of the Dead art, and it wasn't until recently that I started making some myself. Now, I just don't want to stop making these colorful creations! They require a lot more detail painting than I normally do, but there is something quite zen about painting the decorations on the faces. In fact, I've found that I can get carried away with putting so much detail that none of the white skull shows through! Guess I need to learn restraint.

These 2 photos represent my lastest creations. Each is about 8" high, hand sculpted from papier-maché and paperclay.They will be making their debut at Halloween and Vine on Sept. 25th - www.halloweenandvine.com

Return of the Candy Corns!

I had so many wonderful responses to my last posting of the Candy Corns in progress. I was thrilled to see that so many of you share my love of this iconic Halloween treat. So, I wanted to share the final finished corns with you. Here they are in all their sugar-filled goodness. I've made about 8 hanging corns and 3 standing ones. I will soon be packing them up for their road trip to Petaluma for the Halloween and Vine show (www.halloweenandvine.com).

One corn, however will be making his way over to the next Spookytime Jingles update on Sept. 13th (www.spookytimejingles.com). Which corn will it be? Stay tuned to find out!