New Friends

I have to tell you I am always so impressed with the quality of art I see at the shows I do. I met a man with turned wood, a lady with antique door knobs on hardware that were gorgeous, a very talented print lady (check her out at www.janvanderburgprintmaker.com)  and an egg tempura artist these all at the Chessman Art Festival in Denver.  Most artist can not afford to pay big bucks into these shows and not have quality work. Most of the people I met are so good at what medium they chose such as  at the Jackson Hole show I met Cathra-Anne Barker (check out her wonderful art at www.parker-meyer.com). Each time I have a show I meet phenomenal artist again such as www.melissahughston.vpweb.com and www.lorettayoung-gautier.com all sweet talented artist.
I enjoy so much meeting the other artist and I want to always mention them in reference to a quality show...it always is not about the money (even though it helps pay for your travel and show expenses and seed money) but also the relationships you form along the road. Not only the artist but you get to visit with a lot of remarkable people , the organizers that work their tails off to make the shows work, the patrons that walk all day through the tents patiently looking for that perfect work.
As usual we had various weather in Denver for the Chessman Park Art Fest, it burned us, it melted us, we ended up opening up the back of the tent to let in fresh air but yet had to keep an eye open for the dark clouds that would promise rain. I used two portable battery operated fans inside the tent that both myself and the patrons appreciated.
I had a nice surprise as the time arrived to pull down our tent and pack everything away...my daughter, her husband and my two grandchildren arrive to help and it really went a lot faster.
So thanks to all for a job well done.
One more show to go and I will complete my journey this year, it is Estes Park and I will hopefully be able to include some pictures with my entry in September. Happy trails.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming Art Festival

We arrived on Wed. before the show in order to set up our own campsite which we found Gros Venture to be the perfect spot. Just outside Jackson Hole and far enough away that we had a young moose wonder through camp around 6:00 am the next morning. He had been kicked off his mom when she probably became pregnant again and knew that she would have a new little one again.

 The entire area is so beautiful that it was truly difficult to put my responsibilities aside and not run off into the wild to just take pictures.

Most of the drive was bleak the first few hours as it goes from flat and dry to valleys and pines. The entire trip up took us 8 and a half hours from Greeley to Jackson Hole.  There are beautiful ranches along the way though that have taken advantage of the beautiful rock formations to choose their locations...course the wind probably had a great deal to do with that decision.

This was a shot of the Tetons that I just could not resist using.

You can tell by the pictures of our tents set up that it was the beginning of the morning and this was just a small percentage of tents in my area...I think there were around 150 tents with over 800 entering the juroring.

This was my tent set up and we had a variety of weather, hot (86) and then wind and rain so we got to test our fortitude. Yes the sandbags are a distraction which we solved later but were required (100 lbs on each leg) in order to handle the gust or micro burst we experienced.

Like I said I could have stayed all week and just taken pictures. The flowers were the cream on the top of the mountain shots. Just gorgeous.

 

Small note, we had to put all our food items in a steel box called a bear box in the campground so that we did not intentionally attract a bear. That also included toothpaste, soap, deodorant etc.

 

This was a show that even though I did ok it will be debatable as to whether it would be one that I would drive 8 1/2 hours again to attend. The crowds were ok and the views tremendous and maybe you just have to think that, hey I had a great vacation and made sales also so what do I have to whine about.

 

As I have always said the greatest thing that I can say I enjoyed was meeting the patrons I met and the other creative people that were around my tent...that is what makes a trip enjoyable.

 

Back home again I begin the process all over again and prepare for the Chessman Art Festival in Denver...at least I can sleep in my own bed this time even though you can not beat the fact that I went to sleep one night watching the most beautiful full moon slip its way up through the trees over the Green River.

Packing up and Moving Forward

The big day has arrived and for the past few days I have been preparing the trailer and back of the truck to accomodate not only my work and pedestals but also all the things we will need camping in the Tetons.

All of work is wrapped in either bubble wrap and packing blanket or the foam you use under flooring and blanket and placed in Rubbermade tubs



Our trailer is just large enough to haul the 11 pedestals I carry with me and the ice chest and one tub if you notice I have "seal a meal" type plastic covering the pedestals to prevent damage or moisture and all is cinched down tight

The truck was a jumble of three tubs with pieces (trailer would be too rough) sleeping bags and tent