Post-Buckman Report

Well, so I lied: this post is not about drawings, as I promised in my last one. I simply haven't gotten that far yet. This one is about what a great time I had at last weekend's Buckman Art Show & Sell. With the help of my new jewelry cards, I sold a little over twice the number of pieces I've typically sold in the past. Thank you, Morgan! Folks were sticking to the lower-to-mid-price range, since we're not out of the recessionary woods yet, but it was a very busy show and they were buying. It was fun and lively, full of good energy.

I especially enjoyed connecting or reconnecting with fellow artists: old friends Lisa Gastelum (TQB Designs) and Lisa Kaser; Ann Hymas (Circle Couture) & Taya Koschnik (Tasi, w/ her sister Silvija with whom I didn't get a chance to speak) - Thanks, ladies, for the awesome trades! Christopher Reitmaier, my cohort in the use of bottle caps (I think each of us showed pieces made with odds or ends given by the other), just to cover the highlights. I have to thank Taya for making my highest-priced sale of the day while I was taking a break (the necklace pictured above). That's another great thing about these shows. Without official booth-sitters, we take turns with our neighbors to make sure none of us are chained to our tables without relief. And I must thank my neighbor Samantha, who's involved with the running of the show, and who volunteered to haul my work (and my husband's) to & from the show, as we don't have a car. Much better than dragging it all in my granny-cart in the rain.

And, the spirit of generosity abounds. A quite dapper gentleman in a pinstriped suit and a bowler hat came to see me. He'd liked my button pieces when he visited the show last year, and this year he came back with a small bag of gorgeous vintage buttons for me. I was touched not only by the actual gift, but that he'd actually remembered and saved them up all year to bring to me. This is one reason I know I'm on the right path - ever since I started making jewelry with buttons and other found objects, abundance has come my way. With every show, there comes a perfect stranger willing to share collections of buttons, in some cases family heirloom buttons. Or friends who collect bottle caps for me when they're walking their dogs or traveling. One friend has brought me bottle caps from a surfer beach in Hawaii, and from trips to Australia and New Zealand. (Although the pickings were slim in New Zealand: apparently, they just don't throw trash on the ground like we do in America...) The universe does provide, and I'm grateful.

In any case, it was a great show. And as soon as I get through with my taxes, I'll turn my attention to drawings for awhile, and keep you posted.