More about the Seawall show in Portsmouth

Actually I don't have much else to say, my summary was probably it. But do you want to see my display?


Of course I fuzzed out my name. But here's what my booth looked like at the beginning of the show- I did fill in some of the blank black space with more artwork. This is how much display space 4 and a half ProPanels will get you. And an old plastic shelf that you painted black.

And some sweet shutters that your stepdad and Sexy Engineer Mac N Cheese Man Husband made for you. They are excellent for displaying cards! Even in the wind, my cards didn't blow away. Surprised? I was.

Seawall Art Show in Portsmouth, Part 1

This post is just words, not so fun, but may be of use to other artists looking for information on the show :)

I haven't uploaded any pictures yet, and sadly I left my camera buried in the car the 2nd day so I only got a few pictures the first day, but figured I'd write a post about the Seawall Art Show this past weekend in Portsmouth, VA.

Before I did the show, I hunted around on Google to learn more about it and didn't find a whole lot, so hopefully another artist who may be applying to the show next year will find my blog about it and find it helpful. As long as they don't apply to the show and end up getting in and taking my space. Heh.

The short review in a nutshell, and the things they don't tell you about the show before you go (at least I didn't see this info anywhere, maybe they don't publicise it because then 4732897 people will want to do the show, hehe):
The Pros:
-You set up on Friday evening, and there is security at the show on both nights. How cool is that? Not only do they have security, but I was told by another artist that the police are actually volunteer police- so they're people who genuinely enjoy being there and take the job seriously. That was a HUGE load off, to know I could unpack just about everything and not have to worry too much about it, although I still didn't leave my original art there on either night because I'm paranoid like that.
-Saturday morning while everyone is there doing their final set-ups before the show, volunteers are walking around with coffee and OJ. That was a really nice surprise. Turns out they also do this on Sunday morning while people are setting up!
-Both days, volunteers are walking around with carts and bottles of cold water. Another huge plus!
-There is a parking lot nearby the show and while you can't leave your car there during the day, it's really convenient for loading and unloading. You can pull your car into that lot, and unload everything there, and it's pretty close to almost all of the show spots, too.
- The kettle corn was stellar, and Starboard's Coffee was phenomenal (they had coffees and smoothies).

The Cons:
There really weren't any.... I will say that the food there was just meh. I'd suggest packing a lunch to eat- a PBJ or something that won't spoil, or else bring a cooler for meat sandwiches. Next year I'd pack PBJ's and veggies to snack on and take that with me, plus it saves a little money, too.


It was a really nice show and I hope I'll get to do it again next year.


My costs for doing this show- I'm not usually one for throwing around numbers, but these are just the matter-of-fact numbers and not subjective, and may be useful to others considering the show:
Application fee: $30 (i think)
Booth space fee: $150
Rental Car (our cars are WAY too small to fit everything in them): $40 (we had it for 3 days, Friday at noon till Monday at noon, but my husband had a coupon for a free weekend which took 2 days off the price)
Gas: $38 + $38+ $20= $96 total
Hotel: $0, we stayed with my grandparents
Food: $59 total ($10 burgers on Saturday, $17 sandwiches on Sunday, $3 kettle corn, $7 iced coffee & a smoothie, $22 dinner at Cracker Barrel on the way home)
Toll on 301 bridge- $3

for a grand total of $378ish dollars.


I'll make another post about the show when I upload a couple of pictures from my display, and include the more fun stuff there :)

Aw, heyll yeah!

I might finish this painting after all!




I really wanted to have it for the Seawall Show next weekend. I had hoped to finish it long before now (so that I'd have time to get it scanned and made into prints), but with everything else that's been going on, there have been times when my painting sat on the easel, lonely, for weeks at a time, untouched and neglected. :(

I am ashamed of myself.

I was looking through my blog and realized I started this painting back in February. FEBRUARY!?
SERIOUSLY FEBRUARY!?!?!
That means this year I've done two paintings and two drawings?! What a disgrace.

On a more positive note, I am happy with the progress of this painting this week, and if I do finish this today or tomorrow as I am hoping, I'll update this blog-thing and post the pictures of it in progress all in a row- I always think that's fun to look at :)

Deez.... Palm Nuts!

I am so excited to think that I may possibly be done with the palm branches on this painting. I think once I fill in the middle parts, I may add some more various colors here and there, depending on how everything looks when it's done. Maybe more green to the nuts, maybe more yellow hues in some of the fronds....



I began painting the nuts yesterday, so some of them only have 1 coat in this photo, but the ones on the lower left may be just about finished here.

Unfortunately I REALLY would like to get this painting done this week so I can bring it to the Seawall show with me on August 23. I am not sure if that will happen- I will have to bust my behind, for sure.

It's not easy being green..... :(

In my last blog post, I wrote about ordering some business cards from www.greenerprinter.com . I'm very excited about them, but it also got me thinking about what else I can "green." Especially related to art.

Sure at home, I recycle even the tiniest scraps of paper (to the point it probably drives my husband a little nuts). I compost veggie/fruit scraps, coffee grounds and filters, drier lint, and sometimes tissues- with the amount of tissues I go through, I could never compost them all as I'd end up with about 80% of the compost pile being nothing but tissues. I'm pretty sure the compost dwelling roly polies and worms would not be amused. (And we can't have a yard full of displeased roly polies and worms.)

With artwork, it's a little tougher. Until recently, it was really hard to find archival paper that had any recycled content (and I still hear artists debating, "can it REALLY be acid-free?!"). When shopping for paper, I find myself going in circles, asking:
Which is better..... To buy non-bleached/chlorine-free (is that the same thing??) paper with 100% post-consumer recycled content produced by only wind or solar power?
Or buy all new archival acid-free paper made from organic free-traded cotton or bamboo or hemp- or any of the other plants they're using now?
Which is the BEST option?
IS there a best option?

And then there is the printing.

I looked online for a company to order some greeting cards from. Ohh, look, such-and-such a company will offer solar and wind powered production and 100% post consumer recycled cardstock and use soy inks.... and you have to order at least 500 cards (of the same design) at a time.
...For only $250!
Plus artwork set up fees and shipping and handling and did we mention tax and don't forget to add extra if you want the cards cut to the proper size and if you'd like them folded too, please include your first born with payment thank-you-very-much.
(While that's a great deal and all, when you've got 20 or more designs to have printed, that just isn't practical in most cases.)

Would you like envelopes with those?
Organic free traded cottonhempbamboo blend, or 100% post consumer recycled content?




Aaarrrrrgh!

And-- why do they have to cost that much if the production is being handled by wind and sun? Huh? Huh? Aren't those FREE??

::peeks outside::

Been busy, but...

I did just order my new business cards from www.greenerprinter.com . YAY!! I have been perusing the samples they sent me for at least 6 months now, and since I've got at least few shows coming up, I figured I better hurry up and order some. I can't wait to get them!

The samples I have from greenerprinter are gorgeous- great paper and great inks, I love everything about them. The cards I ordered are 100% recycled and printed using soy inks.

Neat!

When will they make soy inks for my home ink jet? WAAAAANNNNNNT!!!!