Trail Guy and our friend went to Mineral King one last time. They closed the Honeymoon Cabin, which serves as a museum for the Mineral King Preservation Society, did a few final chores at our cabin, and took a walk. I stayed home and finished a pencil commission, which I cannot show you because the recipient might follow my blog. (Don’t feel sorry for me – I love to draw.)
Honeymoon Cabin, AKA Mineral King Preservation Society museum
Our friend loves going to Mineral King. (His wife is waiting for new lungs. . . sigh. . . altitude does not work for her.)
Tomorrow, Saturday, November 3, First Annual Holiday Craft Fair!
Recently, Trail Guy was in my studio and took the 2018 calendar off the wall so we could do some planning. The 2019 was hanging behind it and fell on the floor. He said, “Hey, you have a typo in your calendar!”
How can that be?? I used a template from the printer for the calendar part, and my part is all drawings except for the cover and the months on the back.
If you ordered a calendar from me, look at June: the printer’s template had the WRONG YEAR for June!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??
But this is a 2019 calendar!
I contacted them and they will be replacing my order. When it arrives I’ll have to send new calendars to everyone who ordered by mail (65 are sold of the 100) plus try to remember who bought them in person so I can replace them.
If you bought one from me in person, please let me know so I can replace it. (I have records of all who ordered from the website.)
They sent me a proof before the reprinting. Another oops:
It wasn’t just the year that was wrong; it was the entire page! (Look in the corners. . . this is a 2019 calendar, folks!)
My head might be a little misshapen from banging it on the wall, but it is okay for you to laugh. I thought my walking partner was going to fall down laughing when I told her. Remember, my very wise dad said, “It’s better to laugh than to cry”.
I’ve worked in 2 different print shops in my varied “careers” (they were really just jobs, not careers), and I remember how when a job started to go bad, sometimes there was just no hope. This is a good printer that gives great service, and I want to help them get it right for me so that I can get it right for you.
Let’s find a bright side, shall we? I will be helping to keep the local Post Office in business.
I need to see something soothing right about now. . .
These are dogwood “berries” (don’t know if that’s the real word for this). A friend showed me that her domestic dogwood tree made berries, but this is the first time I’ve seen them in the wild.
This same friend introduced me to this: “Cottage gas stations” a style of gas station built in the late 1920s and ’30s. What?! The idea was to have them blend architecturally with residential areas, and some went so far as to have decorative non-functioning chimneys! Many have been remodeled as coffee shops, retail stores, hair salons, markets, offices, and all sorts of businesses, while others have fallen into disrepair. Here are a few links to some of these photogenic structures: History of Cottage Gas Stations, Historic Filling Stations, Gas cottages Phillips 66
The topic of cabins and what makes a cabin is much deeper and more thought-provoking than I ever imagined. A cabin might be simple, but discussing it is not. Who knew??
I learned the hard way that buying a template is no guarantee of correctness. Even when you buy a calendar template from a printer and add your own artwork to the template, YOU NEED TO PROOFREAD THEIR TEMPLATE. If you ordered a calendar from me, you will be receiving a replacement one in the mail soon. If you bought it in person, get in touch with me for the replacement. (I don’t know when they will be arriving, but I will replace every one that I am able to find the buyers, all 65 calendars if possible. . .Oy Vey. . .)
Each summer I think I will learn the names of trees in Mineral King. Then I get so into the wildflowers that I don’t pay attention to the trees. This fall I learned Western White Pine, AKA Silver Pine. We found one between Crystal Creek and Soda Springs, and then I was able to find it in a simple “Tree Finder” book. I’ve never seen this before, and don’t know if I’d recognize it in another context.
Western White Pine conesThe needles are similar to foxtail and lodgepolethe branching pattern is distinctly unfamiliar.
The sign doesn’t identify the tree but in this photo you can see the bark pattern.
Did you know that in the publishing world, it gets busy in the fall? Many people want to get their books printed by Christmas. It is slower in January and February. This is helpful information to me as I work on Wildflowers of Mineral King. No one needs this book in December; no one needs this book until May. Hence, I am slowing down the process of completing the book. (This will give me more time to proofread it. . . sigh.)
Magnifying glasses, just like a kid’s magnifying glass, can start fires or melt plastic.
Well, oops. I’ll be more careful about where I lay my glasses in the future.
Until I began this painting, I never noticed that the sign above the door is not centered.
Now there are chairs on the porch and geraniums in the window boxes.
And now, it is finished! Next, I’ll sign it, paint the edges, wait for it to dry, scan or photograph it, varnish it, wait for it to dry again, and then mail it.
This the season of pumpkin spice everything. This blog post is pumpkin, minus the spice.
I posted this photo of paintings in progress.
A regular blog reader said she’d like to buy the painting. I touched it up, signed it, varnished it, and mailed it off to her. I forgot to scan it, so this is the best I could do from the above photo to have a record of the painting.
And here is the email conversation I had with this friend/reader. I found it charming and appropriate for Pumpkin Spice Season.
I collect pumpkins (since I have an October birthday)
It started with my 60th birthday … instead of gifts … I asked for pumpkins … have the givers name on the bottom of each .. so when I set them out, I am remembered of how much I am loved!
I actually started with some of my own, and friends knew I liked pumpkins prior to my 60th.
And some friends gave me multiple small ones… disclaimer that I have sooooo many friends! Ha ha.
For me .. the gift of friendship was most important, and this was a reminder of those treasured friendships. I just turned 64 and at this stage I don’t want (or need) stuff. I want time with those I love.
To top it off, she shared these photos with me, which I like so much that I am sharing with you.
Thank you, Anne, for sharing your pumpkin friendship thoughts and including my painting in your collectoin.
Someone’s Colorado cabin –definitely not small, rustic or rude
There are three distinct parts to cabin-ness:
The building itself – small, rustic, basic, simple, often without electronic amenities. (But wait! What about the cabin pictured above?)
The setting – rural, semi-secluded, in the mountains, taking an effort to get to (But wait! Have you ever been up Highway 180 to Wilsonia? And do these cabins look semi-secluded to you?)
A Wilsonia road
A Wilsonia neighborhood
The culture – slower, focused on people instead of technology; a place to play, recreate and relax, mostly outside; a place where meals and fireplaces become events in and of themselves; returning to nostalgic pastimes either of our youth or of some idealized youth of our parents and grandparents.
Outdoor dining is a big part of cabin life.Napping is a big part of relaxing at a cabinSee? Outdoor diningEven outdoor cooking!Fireplaces are a huge part of cabin culture.Eat and run??
It seems that the culture part is the strongest determining factor of cabin life. Some of our cabin neighbors gathered in another location for several summers, due to illness of one of their group. One of them told me, “We do Mineral King things in Seattle, and Mineral King is present with us there.” (I probably paraphrased it beyond all recognition – Forgive me, Sawtooth Six!)
P.S. Most of the drawings in this post are part of the book The Cabins of Wilsonia, available here.
The posts called Cabin Thoughts (Part One, Part Two, and Part Three), were popular among my readers, generating conversations through comments, email, snail mail, and in person. Now that our cabin is closed for the season, I’d like to share a few more thoughts.
A dear friend of many years, Natalie, sent these thoughts, titled “What a Cabin Means to Me”. (Nat, I did a tiny bit of editing – hope it clarifies rather than changes your intent.)
Secluded from the general public and hard to get to
In the mountains
Small and rustic, having only basic amenities, and no room for isolation.
Not a second home, but more of a make-do-and-relax kind of place where there is no television or phone service. A place where you interact with family and friends by sharing meals, playing cards and other games, sitting by a fire, hiking, and just cherishing the quietness of the outdoors.
Once again, mountains, small, rustic, games, firesides, food, outdoors, friends and family appear. I think Natalie’s ideal cabin would separate her family from outside influences, causing togetherness among themselves. This is a theme I found multiple times. . . a desire to unplug and simplify in order to focus on the ones who are most precious.
Our Mineral King cabin is definitely a cabin but varies from Natalie’s thorough and excellent definition in several ways.
It isn’t hard to get to if you don’t mind the poor road, and it is highly visible if you hike a popular trail. (This is the World Wide Web, so I am being vague on purpose.)
It is a second home to us, but not in the sense of a home with all the luxuries you may be accustomed to (our first home is purposely lacking a dishwasher, microwave, garbage disposal and heated towel racks, and we’re just fine, but thanks for your concern).
The cabin no longer has a telephone; we tell people to leave a message on the answering machine at home, and we use the cabin neighbor’s phone to check messages. (This makes up for 36 years of cabin neighbors using our phone.)
Neither one of us likes to play games; in the evenings we listen to the radio, Trail Guy reads out-of-date newspapers that friends bring up to him, I read library books and knit.
There is no single definition of “cabin”, but there is a feel to a place that makes it a cabin. I will share a few more ideas about it tomorrow. Then, maybe I will be finished with this topic. (No promises, because after all, my business is called Cabin Art.)
Last Saturday I participated in the first ever Lemon Cove Women’s Club Harvest Fest (or Festival, depending on which sign I read). I got up at 0-dark-thirty and drove the 14 miles to the beautiful women’s club.
Newly painted and glowing in the morning light.
My space was in the dining room, and my assignment was to cover up and protect the china cabinet in the corner.
The giant dining table was offered to me, so I accepted their kind offer and off-loaded my own table and free-standing pedestals so I could get to my display screens. If I had known in advance, it would have made the loading day easier. But, that’s the thing with shows – you just never know.
Alrighty then, china hutch hidden, merchandise in place, time to go exploring around this grand building that I have admired for so many years.
Smelled heavenly, because the ladies of the club baked all morning long.The front door is open, and the dining room with my things is immediately to the right.The front looks much better in the glowing afternoon sunshine, but by the afternoon, my feet hurt and I wanted to go home instead of take photos.When I lived in Lemon Cove, I had P.O. Box 194. The old PO boxes are upstairs in the clubhouse, and I OPENED MY BOX!! (It was empty.)This is the view from the front steps.
The show was fun because I loved the location, it smelled heavenly, the ladies of the club were so welcoming and helpful. The visitors were steady but no giant rush, so there was plenty of time to talk with them. I saw lots of old friends, met some new folks, sold lots of coloring books and calendars, and stood almost the entire day.
The ladies asked if we’d be willing to stay later than the closing time of 4; I said yes, but by 4:30, most all the vendors had packed and left, so I did the same. Meanwhile, I was able to get one more photo of this grand place with afternoon light.
This is the room across the hall from the dining room. It has a stage at one end, so seems to serve as their primary gathering room.
Then it was time to box up everything and schlep it out to the pick-em-up truck. Loading went smoothly, I drove home where Trail Guy was waiting to help me unload, and then I counted my money and called my walking buddy to say, “Wah wah my feet hurt I can’t go tomorrow wah wah”.
Good show. Not a great show, but a good show. I really really like Lemon Cove.
As a Central Calif. artist in a rural place without galleries, I rely on little art festivals, craft fairs, boutiques and other events to meet the public and sell my work. It is lovely to hide away at home in my studio, but people will forget about me and my work, no one will want drawing lessons or to commission me for paintings or drawings, no one will think of my note cards or remember that I also paint murals. Then I’ll have to get a job.
I’d rather die.
An art co-op in Visalia in 2010.
So, I do these little shows whenever they make sense. Sometimes I have to miss a regular one because of a family wedding or graduation, or because we are closing the cabin that weekend or maybe a new one coincides (collides?) on the same date.
Sequoia Gifts and Souvenirs, Three Rivers, around 2009?
It is hard to decide which will be worth the effort. Is the show established or new? Does it charge an admission fee to the public? Do the organizers know how to publicize? How much is the cost of the booth? Do I have work that will appeal to the sector that is likely to attend? Will anyone attend?
Looks like the Three Rivers Memorial Building and the visible cards on the spinning rack indicate it was in the fall. Looks as if I brought EVERYTHING.
Participants must commit months ahead, fill out applications, pay entry fees, reconfigure electronic files to match the requests for samples of work, rewrite biographies, and fend off requests for freebies. The artist/vendor has to learn if set up is on show day or a day ahead, find out how much space is available (10×10′ is the most common), and learn if there is Wifi available (for taking credit cards).
Summer of 2018, Silver City Store
This artist has to learn if her husband’s pick-em-up truck will be available, or maybe the Botmobile, or maybe I will be strapping display screens to the rack on top of my 2-door Accord.
May 2016, Redbud Festival in Three Rivers, the debut of my coloring books made me feel very very popular. While working on the new coloring book, there wasn’t much time to paint.
As the time approaches, I begin tailoring my merchandise to the area. For example, if it is near Mineral King, I go through my cards, prints and paintings to make sure that everything I have of Mineral King is available. If it is in Lemon Cove, I look through my merchandise and find anything related to citrus or to the area around Lemon Cove. If it is Visalia, I scratch my head and try to figure out what might appeal to city folks. I also take into account the seasons: for example, if it is in the fall, I bring a few paintings of pumpkins and autumn leaves; if it is spring, I include artwork with wildflowers. Sometimes I do something special for the show, like new cards or a few paintings specific to the area.
The day before set-up, I begin gathering all my supports: display screens, screen covers, free-standing pedestals, table-top easels, tablecloths, and anything else that the sometimes unknown and never-before-seen spot will require. Then I figure out how many paintings, drawings, cards, prints, coloring books, Cabins of Wilsonia books, and other miscellaneous merchandise will go.
Redbud Festival in 2007 before I discovered screen covers and wrap-around canvas that doesn’t need framing.
My experience is that I need a giant painting or drawing to catch visitor attention in spite of the fact that those rarely sell at an event like this. People may bring $200 but they want to get as much merchandise as possible for their money, so the least expensive items sell quickest. There are exceptions but this is Tulare County, and what is inexpensive for art in other places is perceived as astronomical around here.
Cards and prints often need to be repackaged and repriced. With or without sales tax? Will I be handling my own $ or will it go to a central cashier? Does it have an old price sticker on it? What is the price of that on my website? Why did the previous gallery put a sticker on that says “6 cards” when it already said “4 cards”? (Have I had these things too long? Why am I doing this again?)
The Perfect Gift Boutique at the Three Rivers Arts Center before I began sharing the stage with Nikki The Fabulous Weaver (and before I discovered screen covers).
Do I have enough business cards? flyers about drawing lessons? flyers about commissions? price stickers? receipt books? pens? signs about prices of paintings and other merchandise?
Is the iPad charged? Shall I take my camera? Did I get small enough bills? (Several years ago I started pre-pricing everything to include tax, rounded to the nearest dollar so that I no longer need a cash box or coins, a brilliantly simple decision.)
Exeter Garden Club Tea, where I was the speaker and took my early paintings, which I painted on boards and put into frames. Glad I don’t do that any more – too heavy, too expensive, and too hard to guess peoples’ tastes.
Everything has to be packed into boxes, and loaded into (or onto) the vehicle. Every single time, I forget the best way to fit it in. Every time I am amazed that it is the support equipment that hogs the room and the merchandise is only a small part of the load. Every time I question what I am taking – enough? too much? the right things?
If set-up occurs the day before the show, it uses up a day of driving if the show is far away, even just 35 miles down the hill (gotta get groceries as long as I’m there!) But it makes the day of the show is easier. If set-up happens the day of the show, it means leaving at O-dark-thirty, unloading, setting up, and then summoning up a cheerful attitude while other vendors waste time chit-chatting, the organizers aren’t sure where your paperwork is, someone else is set up in your spot, and there is no convenient parking for unloading or a clear place to park afterward.
And all that is part of preparing for a show. The show and the break-down of the show is another stack of paragraphs. Are you tired yet?
P.S. I used to do a 3 day show at the Visalia Convention Center that cost hundreds of dollars to enter, required Trail Guy to take a day off work and bring his pick-up, along with my Dad and Mom and their pickup, and my friend let me dismantle her front window store display to use her tables. That show has folded, and no one has matched their grandeur (or high dollars earned) since.
Did you forget that I was showing you the Mineral King oil paintings that sold in Silver City over the summer? Here is the other half:
As before, the sizes shown here are a little whacky in terms of how they are relative to one another. I was shocked by the stellar rise of the Honeymoon Cabin to the top position this year and also shocked by the relative unpopularity of Sawtooth. One, maybe two, are all that sold of that subject, previously #3 in popularity. The second top seller was the view of the Crowley cabin and Farewell Gap as seen from the bridge.
What a year! If the economy keeps clicking along this way, next year I may bring some of my larger pieces. In the past, people admired them, but they didn’t sell and then I didn’t have them when I needed them for other places and events down the hill. But who knows. . .?
Recently, Trail Guy was in my studio and took the 2018 calendar off the wall so we could do some planning. The 2019 was hanging behind it and fell on the floor. He said, “Hey, you have a typo in your calendar!”
These are dogwood “berries” (don’t know if that’s the real word for this). A friend showed me that her domestic dogwood tree made berries, but this is the first time I’ve seen them in the wild.
Until I began this painting, I never noticed that the sign above the door is not centered.
