Friday, May 11, 2012

One day Tommy ate a bug...




The Yeti!
  A couple weeks ago I was at an art fair in St. Charles, MO. I had never been there before, but apparently they have a quaint little historic main street area filled with various shoppes, boutiques, restaurantes, etc. it was not too shabby a place for an art fair. Traffic was on and off, partly due to the interesting weather that struck Saturday. I always find it odd when the sky gets made enough at you to throw chunks of ice and such. It rained for a brief bit and then turned to quarter and golf ball sized hail. Thankfully it did not last very long and the weather was a bit better Sunday. I was happy with the whole deal and hope I get to go back again soon.  I would have pictures, but I am terrible about remembering the camera and such.

 I am always amazed at how little time artists get in the studio some times. The two weeks before the St. Charles show I don't think I stepped a foot in the studio. I did however build a new display set up featuring a number of pedestals and shelves. I was pretty pleased with how they turned out, but it will take a bit of tinkering to get everything arranged in the booth just so.
Tools of the Trade
The pieces of the puzzle

The end result
They are still a little rough, but they work.  I will clean them up and paint them eventually, but it is not really a pressing matter as they get covered with cloth for the display.


And on top of the new displays, I finally got a new tent! Some shows require a white tent canopy, but the one I have is blue…shazbot. I was originally looking for a high end tent (craft hut, trimline, etc.) and actually found one for a really good price on ebay. Unfortunately the person who listed it had no idea what they were doing and I never got the tent. Thankfully ebay has a buyer protection program, so I got my $1100 back. Later I found a cheaper tent that, while not quite as good, will serve the purpose and last a good while as long as it is well cared for. It will get a test run this weekend as long as the weather cooperates.

And I finally got around to finishing a few teapots I started a number of weeks ago. I tweaked a few things from the last teapot I made, which did not pour quite right. These have narrower spouts, so hopefully that problem is taken care of. The handles are still a little weak; they need to be a bit beefier in the profile.

And last but not least, for anyone who might be in the following areas at the following times, I have a couple shows coming up in the next few weeks. May 18-20 I will be in Paducah, KY at the Lowertown Arts Fair. June 1-3 I will be in Webster Groves, MO (close to St. Louis) for the Art & Air Festival. It would be wicked cool of you to stop by if you can.


Next time…kombucha!