I Survived the 2007 NM State Fair!

Made it through another year at the fair! Always fun, always exciting! Thursday was the most exciting day. One of the Belgian Draft horses got loose and charged into the Arts and Crafts area, causing the characature(sp?) guy to go diving across the tables of the booth next to him. Luckily, the horse made a sharp right turn and ended up out in the street instead of going through our tents.

The same day we had a cloudburst of rain(1 1/2 inches in 20 minutes) that created a river through the entire Arts and Crafts area. Of course, this happened at the moment Aaron decided to go check out the south end of the fair and my booth neighbor had gone on a bathroom break, so I stuggled to get tarps up while rain poured in and got everything wet! Luckily, the next morning everything looked much better than it did when we closed early. Thank goodness for Clear Bags! Nothing of mine was actually damaged, all the water stayed on the outside.

The last weekend ended up being the best of the Fair, so I ended up doing well on average for the whole show.

I'm very excited about a contact I made on the last day, but I will keep that a secret until I work out the details and make sure it happens. This contact is a woman who wants to license my art for a special product! This is the type of direction I have been wanting to take my art and I'm blown away by how everything seems to be coming together for me!

As always, I met some very wonderful people out there, thanks to everyone who made it a wonderful show!

This week we plan on taking it easy! Today we will do nothing but lay around the house and watch movies! Seventeen days straight of 12-14 hour days is difficult when you aren't used to it! We can finally have some homecooked meals (no more Fair food!) and actually do our grocery shopping! Not to mention getting the house cleaned up and doing the laundry!

Tomorrow I hope to get back in the studio for a few hours. I have a couple more shows scheduled for the month of October, I will post info about them once I get back to work. Plus I have several new paintings to photograph and post. Until then, hope everyone is having a wonderful day, week, month and year!

Six days to go!

At my studio today. Taking a break from the Fair to ship out orders and rest a little. Aaron is out at the booth holding down the fort. Last night was his show at the boxcar stage, it went VERY well! The State Fair has been lots of fun, but very exhausting! This Sunday is the last day! Next week we will take it easy, in fact, Monday we plan to do nothing but sleep in and watch movies! I can hardly wait.

I've sold a couple more of the framed daily journal paintings!(Fire and Bold as Love) So, if you are interested in buying one, I suggest you do so soon! Of course I plan to make more.

I don't usually like to write much about my personal life here, but my two younger boys are giving me fits! Teenagers! They seem to think at 17 and 14 that they are ready to move out on their own! They don't even have jobs! So, along with spending 12 hour days at the fair, we've been coming home to arguments and hassles with the boys. We even had to call the police the other night and didn't get to bed until way past midnight! Aaron is about ready to kick the 17 year old out on his butt! It wouldn't be the first time! Actually, we did kick him out, but he came back a couple days later and "says" he'll follow the rules. We'll see!

Funny thing is, everything else in our lives is going wonderfully! I hate to wish away their childhood, but I am looking forward to having an empty nest! Why is it that teenagers think we are doing things to try to hurt them? I'm just trying to help them have an easier life, you know, graduate from high school, get a job, etc!! I've decided that they act this way so I WON'T miss them so much when they finally do grow up and move away. Anyway, sorry, but I had to vent about that!

New Daily Paintings and Painted Instrument

Just listed four new Daily Journal Paintings in my Etsy shop. Also, I've been keeping busy at the State Fair by painting one of my recycled instruments. This time it's a Russian Balalaika, another stringed instrument. My husband has had this one for some time, it is totally unplayable as it doesn't have a soundboard. So, now it has been recycled into a wall hanging. I'm not completely sure I'm done with it, please let me know your opinions!

Handpainted Balalaika

Business at the Fair has been pretty slow, which is why this instrument is taking me MUCH less time than the guitar. Also, I finally finished the guitar, stringing it with beads. I will try to get a photo posted soon.

Spiraling, 8 x 8" Daily journal painting

Let it Rain, 8 x 8" Daily journal painting

Hypnotized, 8 x 8" Daily journal painting

What the World Needs. . . ., 8 x 8" Daily journal painting

Getting closer!

Went out to the Fairgrounds today to see my booth location. How exciting! We have a great spot right out on Main Street! The past couple of years we were back behind the petting zoo. This year is going to be great!

Still not completely ready with all my art, but getting there. I will have lots of my new framed daily journal paintings ready to go, plus I will have my paints out there with me to work on more in my booth. I plan to spend some time everyday demonstrating my work.

Plus, I will have a clearance bin of the last of my black and white prints that came out of my booth at the 4th Street market. Just cleaned out our booth this morning.

Also,Aaron (my dh) signed his contract for his guitar performance on the 17th at the Boxcar stage. (7-9pm)

The State Fair goes for 17 days, Sept. 7-24. It's a long show but so much fun! The festive atmosphere makes it fly by! Cotton candy, turkey legs, carnival rides, rodeos, concerts, etc etc! How can you not have fun for days!

Last year we had intermitant wireless internet, we shall see if it's better this year. Hopefully, so I can post daily and keep everyone up to date on how it's going.

Hope to see some of you locals out there!