Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!


I’m thankful for more than I can list but here I go in random order anyway:

  1. Living in Three Rivers where there are wild turkeys, quail, and yes, even thankful for bears and deer and raccoons and skunks (but not opossums or wood rats)
  2. My good husband
  3. My Mom, sisters and their families
  4. Technology like this blog where I can express myself
  5. Cats, even Zeke the Terrible
  6. Knowing God
  7. American freedoms and abundance
  8. Not having to fly anywhere any time soon
  9. More authentic friends than any human being deserves
  10. Painting, drawing, teaching drawing lessons, my students, people who read my blog and people who buy my art
  11. KNITTING! (deep calming breaths, don’t get overly excited)
  12. My friend Dave who deep-pits my turkey every year

Show Summary

Shows take a ton of work:  gather the work, package it, price it, load it, unload it, set it up, and THEN sit there for a day hoping people come, hoping they buy, hoping they buy lots of things and mostly big things.

It rained hard the day of the Senior League Bazaar.  There were hardy vendors who set up outside the Memorial Building with canopies. My space was dry inside the building, this year near the windows for better lighting (and a beautiful view of the Chinese pistache trees). Some neighbors of mine had no canopy for their outside space, so I squished my stuff and myself over. Who knows if it enhanced the visitation to both our spaces or if it diminished each of us?? I just know they needed to be dry in order to sell their wares. (Where is that dad-gum crystal ball???)

The show seemed crowded and noisy, always a good sign. It is always a bit surprising that I can walk great distances at a fast pace and feel fine but talking and listening in a noisy room for a day wipes me out. Felt as if I talked and listened to a ton of people but wasn’t selling much. When it was time to pack up, it seemed as if I was taking the same amount of merchandise back to the studio that I brought. Funny thing is that I made money – an average amount for a 1 day show. Go figure! And, I picked up a commission and perhaps another drawing student. Shows are about marketing, exposure, and public relations just as much as they are about sales.

Senior League Bazaar

Holiday Arts and Crafts Bazaar

Saturday, November 20, 9 AM – 4 PM

Three Rivers Memorial Building

Free Admission

Hot Food

Drinks

Bake Sale

Door Prizes

Handmade Gifts

50 booths

Auction

Rummage Sale

Getting Ready for another show

It is Show Season – one per weekend through December 11! This is what it looks like to prepare for a show after doing 2 already (or was it one and just feels like 2?) Packaging prints and cards, pricing everything, getting the right mix of merchandise for the crowd (anyone have a crystal ball I can borrow??), remembering all the little hooks, hangers, bits and pieces of the display systems. . . you’d think I would have this all figured out. The truth is that every single show is different. Repeat shows also feel brand new each time because sometimes we are placed in new locations and merchandise varies from year to year. I am a bit spoiled since doing more Three Rivers shows than any other town. If I forget something, I race back to the studio and get it!

Peculiar Sights #11

In Three Rivers, it is common to watch the river. We cross over certain bridges, or take certain walks and always check out the river to see how it is changing with the seasons. When one frequents the same routes, one comes to accept the sights as normal. I’ve been walking across the Dinely Bridge regularly since January 1999, and I am used to the views. However, there is something rather curious there- it is this vase of flowers, regularly updated and replaced.

The story is that someone’s Mom’s ashes were scattered from the bridge, and her son keeps fresh flowers there in her memory.

A Painting is Happening

Kind of terrible looking with only one layer! Terrible, but with hope.

When all this new background dries, I’ll start on the large sycamore tree.

Peculiar Sights, #10

Yesterday Michael and I took a stroll down to the bridge to see the river. It was peaceful, not too slimy and slow for October.

But wait! What is that??

Someone has been stacking rocks! Now that is a peculiar way to spend one’s time.

Good thing I got the photo yesterday, because this morning all this was under water.

Happy Centennial, Kaweah P.O.!

The party was well attended. Very well attended! Here is one area – isn’t that the cutest little building with the grandest oak tree?

I only brought art with Three Rivers as the subject. Almost everything Kaweah Post Office sold.

The stick is where the mailbag hangs so the horse-riding mail carrier can grab it quickly. There were a couple of demonstrations, but I was selling art and missed both.  (Don’t you just hate that??)

This might be the only photo I got without people wandering past!

This is the Postmistress, Miss Ida Purdy. Can’t remember the years she served but we obviously had a bit of time travel today!

Kaweah Post Office

This charming landmark up the North Fork of the Kaweah is probably the most photographed, drawn and painted building in the Three Rivers area! The Post Office began service in 1890, but the building itself is 100 years old this year. On October 23, there will be a 10K run and 5K walk at the bottom of Lake Kaweah, with net profits going to support the Kaweah Post Office. In addition, there will be a celebration at the post office itself, from 10-4. To quote the Kaweah Commonwealth, “It will be a day of food, fun, music, and history. And, best of all, the centennial event will help raise funds for the preservation of the historic post office. A wholesome experience awaits all who attend this Centennial Celebration where past and present meet.”