Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Where Have I Been Lately?

Life as we know it, right? A week after I last posted on this blog, I experienced a week from hell that I think I'm still recovering from.

*Dear Friend, I did what I said I'd do today- thanks for the inspiration!!!*

Let's see...one of our cars bit the dust. A favorite aunt died.  Jason left for college in Vermont. Excrutiating phone calls to companies trying to fix their mistakes. Our beloved Elsa was hit by a car and died. And of course, a very upsetting experience that is still not resolved is the fact that a friend still owes me a $200 balance for an art quilt that I created for him - I could really use some advice on that one!!!

I really don't remember getting so much artwork done during that time, but I did.  I realize now in writing this is that I didn't enjoy the process. I was pushing to get ready for the Greenwich Art Fair, and I know that what I created was good, but I missed that joy that I usually experience...

A week after the art fair, I was heading off to Green Mountain College for their "Friends and Family Weekend." Wanting to save some money, I flew into Boston, then rented a car for the trek across Massachusetts, then north to Poultney, Vermont.  Never having traveled that part of the country, I got lost big time.  The drive that should have been around 3 hours took me almost 6!  It was dark, there was road construction, and it was raining. I never made it to my booked motel and ended up staying somewhere else for the night.

The next morning I headed off to Green Mountain, and was never so excited than when I saw my son standing outside the main entrance to the campus with a huge smile on his face!  We had a fantastic weekend and were able to just sit and talk for hours - that was the best part...
  



Since then, I have been working at the store and it is now the crazy time of the year for retail, so when you visit your local Jo-Ann's store, be patient and kind to all the team members.

What else, let's see...the Rockford Area Arts Council's Fall Artscene was fun this year - the Art@Emmanuel group hosted "Beyond the iCon," which is an exhibit of all things iconic.  I put together a 12x12 mixed media piece inspired by the "27 Club," and it included a word search puzzle in the center with all the musicians' names and other words pertaining to their lives.  I don't have a photo of it yet, so I will share one soon!  Marilyn Monroe and Elvis were also there...very iconic!

I was invited to be the featured artist at the local Coldwater Creek store last week.  They were wonderful to work with, and supplied me with any display items that I might have needed.  It was a wonderful venue, and they've asked me to come back, so I'm thinking about the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  They're calling it "Art at the Creek" and I was thrilled to be a part of it...


Also coming up will be a new venue for me as we get closer to the holidays.  There are a couple of wonderful groups that are promoting events in our downtown area - this sounds good to me as Jeff and I used to live downtown and still miss being a part of it. On the first weekend in December, there will be 2 art markets that both sound promising - I just have to decide which one will be a good fit for my artwork.