Riverssance Art Festival

This past weekend I sold my jewelry at the Riverssance Fine Art Festival in Davenpot, IA. Whew! What a weekend! I had a great time and sent some nice pieces to new homes.

So my days started at 4:45am - I left home each morning to drive to Davenport around 5:45am. I was dreading the drive but the beautiful sunrises changed my mind about that! The morning sky on Saturday was pretty nice...

I got there on Saturday with plenty of time to get ready and was finished with my booth set-up (all by myself, thank you very much!) by 8 minutes past nine (the show started at 10am). Quite pleased with myself for having nearly an hour to spare, I moseyed across the way to talk with another vendor and noticed that my booth looked awful! The way I had set it up made the booth actually appear empty from just across the aisle. I had set everything up along one side wall and if someone was just strolling by, they might not even see my artwork. What luck that I had decided to be sociable that morning!

Anyway, I had time to re-arrange everything and was so happy with the result. I moved the lace backdrop curtains across the back of the booth and set the tables in a shallow "V" so that there was roughly 2 feet of room between the tables and the back wall. I was able to interact with guests from behind my work and hide stuff completely out-of-sight, if needed. Duh. I can't believe I wasn't doing it that way all along! So, here are some shots of the booth AFTER I changed the set-up:

The day went really well - I sold lots, well.... not lots, exactly, but enough to make it a great day in my book! Here's one happy customer wearing her new cuff bracelet - "Brocade".

Sunday started out pretty much the same except the morning sky was even better...

All I can say about this shot is: "Wow! I need to get up early more often!"

Sunday was slower - the second day typically is, IMO - but, again, I made some nice sales and was extremely pleased with the show. I hope they invite me back next year!

*All photos by Cindy Caraway

Going to the Birds!

OK, so some of you may know that I have been thinking a lot about assemblage and mixed media. Not that I don't still love beading but I've really been jonesin' to do something completely different! Finally, today, I decided it was time to go for it and started on my first assemblage art box. I'm not quite Joseph Cornell, but, what the hey...

So I started with an old cigar box and cut the lid off. I decoupaged torn pages from an old dictionary and a Chemical Engineering text book on the inside and around the outside. Next I used some Distressing Ink from Ranger (color: Vintage Photo) and improvised a bit to make it look old and time-worn. Anyway... I sure wish I had stopped to take some in-progress shots if just for my own info!

Then came the fun part of trying to figure out what to put inside! I have finally been using some surfacing treatments I bought years ago (another time when I thought I wanted to do assemblage/altered art! You see, this is a recurring desire...) and painted up a cheapy bird ornament from the thrift store with "Blackened Bronze Metallic" surfacer from Sophisticated Finishes. Again, no before shot, but it turned out pretty nice!

I gathered some white river rocks, shells gleaned from beaches in the Caribbean, twigs from the backyard and a nest (a thrift store find and not a real one... shucks...) and started playing. The twigs were bound together with some tea-stained eyelet lace and found black wire. In front of them is a river rock "cairn". The nest is settled nicely on a beach rock with a white river rock "egg" inside. I didn't like the inside edge of the box showing, so I laid some more twigs along the back and added some shells.

Nothing is permanently attached yet - I may still change my mind about placement and contents but I like it so far. Another thing I'm not sure about is where my little bronze bird should go. I like her perched on top...

...but I also have the idea to have her suspended inside, like she's flying.

If I decide to go with her perched on top, I will definitely need something suspended into the empty space but I have no idea what!

Hmmm.... so what do you think? Let me know - and be nice - this is my first crack at this so don't rain on my parade, OK?

The Dubuque Guitar School

My hubby has just started on a new adventure by creating The Dubuque Guitar School! It's been sort of a whirlwind trying to get everything up and running: building a website, designing print materials, trying to figure out how to advertise... We are, of course, hoping for great success! You can help us by visiting our new website at www.dubuqueguitarschool.com and looking around. Let us know if links don't go where they're supposed to or if you find any of the content confusing - we'd REALLY appreciate it! Thank you, thank you, in advance :)

A Sneak Peek at the Latest Project

Just a couple of peeks at my latest, in-progress...  :)

What I Did Today!

I went to see the President speak today! He made a stop in Dubuque * and - as an added bonus - we also got to see Michelle Obama! I'm not sure which I was more excited about. I'd love to wax philosophical on the wonderful things he said but, really, today wasn't about that for me. I love the guy and he's got my vote... period. I wanted to go today because there are some truly great men and women in our world and it's something to see them and hear them speak about the things they hold dear. Today I got to see two of those people - Barack Obama is a great man and Michelle Obama is a great woman.

We went early, of course. The line was literally a mile long! The appearance was in an outdoor amphitheater along the Mississippi River and it was a beautiful day. We saw Air Force One fly over on it's way to the airport and then watched for the cavalcade to come down the hill into town. I found it all very exciting (I wish I had another word for it!). Another wish for the day is that I had taken the camera... ooops... I had it ready to go in my purse and then found out that no bags were being permitted (although cameras were!) and left the purse - with the camera tucked in a side pocket - safe at home. dang.

Well, I have my ticket and my memories. I lifted a couple of photos from the AP news site for my own personal scrapbook and that's enough for me!

*If you click here - you might be able to see me waaayyyy up in the top left corner of the crowd - get out your magnifying glass! :)

Catch of the Day!

We have a little putt-putt fishing boat that we enjoy taking out on the Mighty Mississippi. Some of you may already know that I love to fish! The hot weather and hectic schedule has kept us off the river lately but we finally went out early Monday morning. Lots of fish were caught but ultimately we brought home 3 freshwater drum, 2 catfish and a bluegill. What a tasty dinner we had that night! Here is a shot of me with the catch of the day - my monster freshwater drum, measuring in at 23" long!

Bright Colors and a New Commission - Part 2

In an earlier post, I showed you the beginnings of a commission piece for my friend Ali. She's getting married in October and her colors are any but ordinary! An artist herself, trained as a sculptor but concentrating on fiber art and quilting at the moment, she wanted her wedding jewelry to reflect her passion. Here are just some peeks of the progress. None of the components are permanently attached yet because I still want the freedom of moving them around. This just happens to be one of the many arrangements to date. I would love to know what you think - symmetry? asymmetry? More orange? Less blue? Whatever... leave a comment and let me know! :)