The Grand Old Day Fair in St.Paul

I participated in the Grand Old Day Fair on June 2nd this year and although it is supposed to be the biggest one day fair in the midwest I was sorely disappointed in my sales. I did a few craft fairs in CA and was somewhat successful selling my greeting cards and block prints but not so this time. I believe most of the failure was due to the fact that this fair was not exclusively an art fair, but an all around family day fair, including a parade as well as music stage with bands. So it seemed that most of the people there had not come to shop but to see the free events, such as the parade; which went down the art fair street for at least and hour, stopping all foot traffic past the sale tables. I also realized once there that most of my art is rather small and priced accordingly so next time I would definitely have a larger range of sizes and items to diversify my price points. Overall it was a learning experience of what to not do at large art fairs, and also a good lesson on what to bring. Sunscreen being top on the list, as well as lots of snacks as the food vendors were far away from my table, and more small bills for change than you think you need, as well as weights for my cards which kept blowing away. In the end I got a bit burnt from the sun but sold a few cards and prints, no original paintings, but gave away a lot of my new business cards.  Hopefully I will get some work from one of those business card recipients, that would be an added bonus to the learning experience. (see my table below-looking a bit too empty)

A trip to Minnehaha Park with Onie

Now that the summer has arrived in full force in Minneapolis, we have all had to try to keep cool, this includes our dog, Onie too. So instead of just going to the off leash park in our neighborhood, I have started driving south to Minnehaha Park which is at Hiawatha Ave and Minnehaha Parkway in Mpls. It has become an oasis in the city for both Onie and I. It is over 193 acres of park which includes many wooded areas, long walkways and even a 50 foot waterfall; all within the limits of the city! It is a great escape on especially hot days since the off leash dog area is in the woods down by the Mississippi river. It is a nice leisurely walk down through the woods where only one fence is visible and no buildings can be seen. Although I am a bit afraid of pollutants in the water of the river, I feel confident enough in my immune system to still stick my feet in while Onie romps around with all the other dogs. It is a nice long beach with over hanging trees and plenty of stumps to sit on and watch the dogs go crazy. Here are some pics below from one of our wonderful visits.

NAVS Art for Animals 2010- Contest Results:

Got the results from the NAVS contest and I received an honorable mention for my works (see below). My artwork will be used in their quarterly newsletter and also on their website! I am hoping to get a copy of the newsletter for my portfolio and will be posting links to the webpages when I get them. Glad I entered the contest and got some great pieces from the project. I definitely had to think outside of the box on this one.

Here is the link to the actual winners of the contest below.
http://www.navs.org/site/PhotoAlbumUser?AlbumID=8271&view=UserAlbum