I Won An Award!

The Holy Hill Art Fair dawned as a perfect Fall day with temperatures in the low seventies, sunny skies and cool, dry breezes. The picturesque cathedral towered in the backround, and a prayer and National Anthem opened the fair. As always, I was hopeful to do well at this show. My hopes were not dashed!

I've been in my "birch tree" phase, experimenting with various paper and fabric bases, mixed with acrylics, bark, doily pieces and more. I'm really liking the extreme textures, and the play of colors against each other. Adding silhouettes is fun too! One thing to learn when you're creating, is to embrace the process. Trust that you'll make something you like, even though it might not be what you had in mind when you started. MOST of my pieces end up very differently than what I started out doing. The piece below was a painful one. It was a hot mess. After over a month of looking at it, it came to me to add the leaves. I never wanted the leaves, but by doing so I now have a piece I like, and I have it hanging in my living room. Of course, it's still for sale!

Tip: When you've created a hot mess, set it up where you can see it all day long until something comes to you to make it right!

In my living room.

Back to the fair. My art was placed in the textiles category of fine craft. The judges came around early, and I had a very nice conversation with my judge who said she really liked my work. I always get a lot of compliments, but not much in the way of sales, so I wasn't really expecting any kind of award.

Well, she fooled me! Back she came with two other judges. At this fair they have a prize category called "Purchase Awards." The judges have a total amount of $500 to spend across all categories, and over 250 exhibitors, to purchase door prizes for people entering the fair. The three judges looked around for a while and then brought over one of my birch tree pieces, bought it, and informed me that I'd received a Purchase Award! Later they brought a beautiful ribbon to affix to my tent. My brother-in-law said I should pin it on my shirt. Tee hee! I told him I'd feel like a prize winning cow if I did that.

Sales were good, and the sun and fresh air had Joe and I feeling exhausted, but happy. Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for their pre-fair lodging and hospitality, and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law for their post-fair assistance! A wonderful experience all-around.