Dreaming of a Wet Christmas?

It has been raining in Three Rivers since Friday. Today is Monday. Thought you might like to see a few pictures.

Looking downstream from the Dinely Bridge, Three Rivers. (I know you know that, but it helps people searching for Three Rivers to have Three Rivers in the text. There, that is 3 mentions of Three Rivers. Nope, four mentions of Three Rivers. Oh-oh, that makes five mentions of Three Rivers. . . wait, now it is six!)

On Thursday, the water didn’t even reach the stick. On Friday afternoon around 3:30 it was at 1.5. On Sunday afternoon at 1 it was raining too hard to read, but my memory of how much was showing says 4.5.

Looking upstream (white buildings on high right are St. Anthony’s Retreat). It has been higher but the rain isn’t finished falling yet!

Sundries

Not “sundried” but “sundries” – it is a word that means “various items not important enough to be mentioned individually”.

Sometimes the sun is so good coming through the windows of the workshop that I can prop small paintings on the door for photography purposes. Kind of handy to not mess with the tripod!

This was the Stocking Stuffer boutique. It was more of a girl-hang-out day than a work day.

Last Blast of Autumn

December is winter in our minds, but the reality in Three Rivers is that most of the month is still autumn. Have a look at my studio and workshop with the flowering pear tree! When my friend Stacy sold it to me almost 10 years ago, I told her I needed the largest one she could get because I didn’t have time to wait for it to look good. It still looks like a skinny pencil tree to me – no fault of Stacy’s, just my crummy soil and inconsistent watering.

The Elephant

Those of you who have shared your eddress with me received an email with the subject line reading “Have you seen the elephant?” If you live in Three Rivers, you know of him. If not, here are a few paintings in which he is sort of visible on the side of Alta Peak in snow. Have fun!

The Road to Alta Peak – 8×10″ – oil on wrapped canvas – $90

Lake View VII – 16×20″ – oil on canvas in rustic wooden frame – $350

(sold)

(sold)

Tulare County Fire Station #14 at Sierra Drive and South Fork Drive

Presentation is Everything

Having just finished another weekend show and sale, I’ve been thinking about the truism “presentation is everything”. During set-up, I was done quickly so I had time to help Ginny Wilson, photographer extraordinaire. She brings so much inventory to shows that it takes 2 vehicles to transport all her support materials and the merchandise. Together, we hauled tables, scooted display screens, unpacked boxes, and constantly discussed which pieces should go where – both the display pieces and the photographs. There was a great deal of adjusting and stepping back to survey the scene from a visitor’s point of view. Her space looked bright and inviting, and a side effect was that I brought lights for my own area the next day.

On Friday, my fellow artisans told me that they had been studying my work and decided the ice cream cone (called “Worth It!”) was in the wrong frame AND should be displayed at “lickable” height! I pulled it from the frame and replaced it with the wreath painting. BOOM, the wreath sold!

On Saturday, I rearranged my paintings. This time, instead of isolating the bright little fruit/vegetable/leaf squares onto one screen, I clustered them in groups and used them to surround some of the scenery. This is how it looked partway through the day:

Those bright little squares began selling themselves. I rearranged several times, trying different groupings. My hope, of course, was to sell scenery AND little squares, but sales are sales. If people want those little pieces of fruit, I want them to have those little pieces of fruit. There is no photo at the end of the day because I hadn’t planned on writing this post and the screens looked too bare to bother photographing. Bottom line: presentation is everything. There is no One Right Way, but there is definitely something to that arranging thing that causes people to notice and be drawn in.

Another Perfect Gift Boutique for the Record Books!

Janene lives in Three Rivers and makes all this wonderful natural skin care stuff.

Ja Nene Natural Body Products – for the whole family

Nikki is a Master Weaver who also makes soy candles – and she draws beautifully too!

Handweaving by Nikki

Marn sold poppy seeds for the Three Rivers Arts Alliance.

Arts Alliance of Three Rivers CA

Wendy is a versatile artist with a terrific studio/art shop in Three Rivers called Colors.

Wendy McKellar, Three Rivers artist

Perfect Gift Boutique

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Three Rivers Arts Center

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Here is a look at the building and some of the vendors and merchandise:

my space

some of Ginny Wilson’s photography (it will make you want to travel!)

Homepage

Sam McKinney’s Gourd Art (you should see her miniature ornaments!)

We  pierced women can always use another pair of earrings from Tina!

Tina St John Designs – Home

The painting of the wreath sold but there are plenty of other items from which to choose!

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!


I’m thankful for more than I can list but here I go in random order anyway:

  1. Living in Three Rivers where there are wild turkeys, quail, and yes, even thankful for bears and deer and raccoons and skunks (but not opossums or wood rats)
  2. My good husband
  3. My Mom, sisters and their families
  4. Technology like this blog where I can express myself
  5. Cats, even Zeke the Terrible
  6. Knowing God
  7. American freedoms and abundance
  8. Not having to fly anywhere any time soon
  9. More authentic friends than any human being deserves
  10. Painting, drawing, teaching drawing lessons, my students, people who read my blog and people who buy my art
  11. KNITTING! (deep calming breaths, don’t get overly excited)
  12. My friend Dave who deep-pits my turkey every year

Show Summary

Shows take a ton of work:  gather the work, package it, price it, load it, unload it, set it up, and THEN sit there for a day hoping people come, hoping they buy, hoping they buy lots of things and mostly big things.

It rained hard the day of the Senior League Bazaar.  There were hardy vendors who set up outside the Memorial Building with canopies. My space was dry inside the building, this year near the windows for better lighting (and a beautiful view of the Chinese pistache trees). Some neighbors of mine had no canopy for their outside space, so I squished my stuff and myself over. Who knows if it enhanced the visitation to both our spaces or if it diminished each of us?? I just know they needed to be dry in order to sell their wares. (Where is that dad-gum crystal ball???)

The show seemed crowded and noisy, always a good sign. It is always a bit surprising that I can walk great distances at a fast pace and feel fine but talking and listening in a noisy room for a day wipes me out. Felt as if I talked and listened to a ton of people but wasn’t selling much. When it was time to pack up, it seemed as if I was taking the same amount of merchandise back to the studio that I brought. Funny thing is that I made money – an average amount for a 1 day show. Go figure! And, I picked up a commission and perhaps another drawing student. Shows are about marketing, exposure, and public relations just as much as they are about sales.