Thursday, October 30, 2014

artoberfest, carb-tober-fest!

Holy cow, October is almost over! It feels like the month has just flown by. This October has been filled with wonderfulness, though, don't you think? The first half of the month featured my painting workshop at Maine Behavioral Healthcare and the final Second Friday Art Walk of the 2014 season; the second half of the month brought the Yarmouth Art Festival, ARToberfest, and a last-minute development, too: a solo show at Mister Bagel in Brunswick!

ARToberfest was, fun, fun, and more fun! It turned out to be a wonderful community event, just like the Gorham Art Fair had been in years past. There was a nice mix of arts and crafts, and no two booths were quite the same. ARToberfest provided all participants with 8 feet of pegboard, so I didn't have to worry about schlepping and assembling (and then disassembling) my metal racks, which was really nice. Of course, I filled that 8 feet about as much as I possibly could have!

No wasted space! 

When I arrived to set up on Friday afternoon, I was thrilled to find that I had been assigned to the space directly across from the Think Greene booth! Sabrina Thiemke-Greene and her husband, Jeremy Greene, are dear friends who I haven't seen in quite some time. Not only are Sabrina's wares beautiful and thoughtfully crafted (making them a joy to look at all weekend), but I knew that if there was any downtime at all, we'd fill it easily with conversation and catching-up.

Think Greene! 

My first sale of the weekend came on Friday evening. A little boy and his dad stopped at my booth when they first arrived at the show. The little boy told his dad he wanted to buy a magnet, and his dad suggested they walk through the show first before making any decisions. Sure enough, a little while later, they came back and he made his choice. I think it's a big compliment when little kids like your work, and I'm happy he still wanted to get something from me after seeing all of the other possible choices at the show! 


Art for all ages! 

I started Saturday morning off with my first-ever iced Rocket Fuel, courtesy of the Gorham Grind! I can tell you it will most certainly not be my last, either...it was delicious! If you find yourself in Gorham and you need a pick-me-up, stop by the Gorham Grind. You will not be disappointed! Carson Lynch is fantastic at what he does, providing service with a smile to all those who are in need of caffeine. Thank you, Carson! That Rocket Fuel did the trick, too...it kept me going all day long. Good thing, because it was busy, busy, busy! 

Starting the day off right! 

I had a wonderful day on Saturday, filled with lots of laughter, time spent with old and new friends, time spent with family (yes, it's true: my sister, Addie, and her husband, Marc, came all the way from Boston for ARToberfest!), pleasant conversations, and lots of sales, too! I sold a mixed media piece, a bunch of magnets, and three paintings! WOO HOO! I even treated myself to a Think Greene t-shirt and, in turn, Sabrina and Jeremy treated themselves to a couple of magnets!

What a deal! 

Artists supporting artists! 

I am so happy I was able to participate in ARToberfest this year, and I'm already looking forward to the next one. Major thanks to everyone who was involved in putting this wonderful event together. Yay for community! Yay for ARToberfest

So, here's the Mister Bagel story: a few months ago, I got a Facebook message from my friend Linda saying, "I'm not sure if you're interested, but Robin at Mister Bagel has artwork on display all the time and she is looking for artists." I jumped at the chance and said, "Sure!" Linda gave me Robin's information, I emailed Robin, and sure enough, Robin felt my work would be a good fit. Lonie Ellis (who is wonderful!) was scheduled to have a show of her encaustics followed by a show of her fiber art, so we weren't quite sure exactly when my work would go up, but we knew a show was imminent. Sure enough, I received an email from Robin early in October (just before Second Friday Art Walk!), saying that they were thinking now would be a good time with the holidays approaching. I asked if I could wait until the end of the month because of ARToberfest, and thankfully, that worked out well for everyone! 

I heart carbs.

I am thrilled about the timing, and I am very happy to have my work up in such a sunny, new building. Mister Bagel gets a lot of traffic, so a lot of people of all ages will be seeing my work, and plus, I love their bagels! They have the best bagels I've found outside of New York, and that's no joke...and I'm not just saying that because they have my artwork up, I've been saying it for years! They are smaller than New York bagels (which is a good thing, I think!), but the taste and the texture are very similar, and that makes this carb-loving Lawn Guyland girl very, very happy.  







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