Hi all, so I'm off tomorrow to Michigan to be a vendor at a super nice high end art show!  If you are traveling in the area, drop in and say hello.  Also, take some time to explore Michigan because in the summer the state is beautiful! I really enjoy exploring different cities, visiting new places and meeting new people when out on the road doing my art shows.  You never know who you are going to meet or fun experience to be had or cool art to scarf up. http://www.hotworks.org/orchardlakefineartshow/index.php

I'm gearing up for the 12 Annual Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival / Pittsburgh Creative Arts Festival held on March 4, 5, and 6.  http:pghknitandcrochet.com   I'll be there in the Marketplace to show and sell my jewelry as an exhibitor.  Come out and drop by!  You can also register for classes each day and then shop all the other great vendors.  Registration for classes is open!

Marketplace Hours:
Friday: 12:00 - 7:00
Saturday: 9:00 - 5:30
Sunday 9:30 - 3:30

For advanced ticket prices: http://pghknitandchrochet.com/2016-admission-tickets/
110 classes offered.  This show embraces jewelry making, fiber art that includes quilting, sewing, embroidery, surface design, recycling, weaving, tatting, spinning, wet and needle felting, rug hooking, dyeing, and paper crafts.

Let the shows and crazy crunch time begin....

So there is a lot that goes into fine art shows on the road.  You have a ton of prepping to do and inventory to make.  Once you get on the road, you never know how a show is going to turn out, let alone what may happen along the journey that you have to face.  Here's a snapshot of what goes on for us traveling art vendors! 

Yoki gazing up at my helper as she works on parts of earrings!  What a big help they are during crunch time... well, Yoki is just there for moral support and wags her tail to say "job well done" as we work to complete earrings.

That heavy copper ball helps me put some unique curve to some of my jewelry and is part of my technique.

Cut-out earring in production, almost done, but not quite.

Chaise said she was channeling Piver!  If you know a fabulous artist friend of ours who has given up making some wonderful jewelry, you'd totally get it! 

Earrings prior to the finishing!

Steel bangles & rings about to get nubs!  These soon-to-be beauties will go to Manhattan Golf & Gallery when completed, but first I need to fire up my torch to complete these!

A pile of work that needs blackening.

What is blackening you ask?  Well this!  I get this via a chemical, and later I add a "brushed" finish to pull most of that back off, except for the recessed areas.  Gives the work a whole new dimension!

Almost packed to head off to Ohio, Indiana & Kentucky, but need to add merchandise and huge overloaded suitcase, snacks, and iPhone gps!

My home away from home in Toledo Ohio, thanks to Barbara who rents via Airbnb!  I rented a room from her.

Barbara is also an artist!  Her stipling on tile are cool.  She's also a writer and fabulous hostess!

We took a walk, this is the neighborhood she lives in.  Love all the walls around the properties and old trees.

And the coolest birdhouse ever!

I'd love to be in there, if I could fit!  I could pretend to be Rapunzel! I do have the hair for it!

On the edge of a park, a cool book nook!  Grab a book temporarily, plop a squat on the grass, relax, read and then put it back so someone else can read it too. 

Getting set up for the first show in Sylvania near Toledo!  It's a lot of work!

My neighbors booth had a directional arrow pointing at what you should buy!  I wonder if they sold it?

Rain comes to mess with our second day!  Good thing day one was great! And thanks to the few who ventured out in this all day downpour!I did not bring appropriate shoes on the road for COLD and RAINY weather!

Barbara and I sit down for a healthy bite to eat after my festival ended to celebrate and chat. 

A cool stipled cow tile she made... Look at that hair!

Steel & brass nubs.....



steel & brass nub rings

A few new designs I have created   are available at http://manhattangolfandgallery.com/.  I dropped these steel and brass nub fun pieces last week.  Snatch them up before they are riding the body of someone else! "wink"




steel & brass nub earrings

steel & brass nub necklace w/forged links

I know you can't see it, but this necklace is handmade links of both steel and brass... I'll be experimenting more with this cool and fun design.  The nubby horizontal bars move, so its fun to play with!



steel & brass nub bangle

 Hot item! They are a fast seller! That means I have made this similar design before.

A little tid bit:  Steel jewelry is easy to care for.  Your body oils keep it from rusting on you, but don't allow any of your jewelry to sit in standing water for any length of time, especially steel.  If you get it wet (in the shower), just towel it off and wear. If you want to make sure you get the water off an item, blow it dry for a few minutes with a hair dryer!  I do this when making the jewelry to insure no residual water is left!

Show schedule....

has begun!  Come out and catch me at a show this year.  Exciting for me that a lot of my shows are in the Midwest this season as I'm on a journey to work and explore our country!  It's fun for me to bring my work to new customers in new places!  Here's the general line up - details will follow soon on the right side of my blog:

May 30-31 Maple and Main Art Fair

Sylvania (Toledo) Ohio

http://www.sylvaniaarts.org/maple-main/

 

June 6-7 Arts on the Green

LaGrange Kentucky

http://aaooc.org/arts-on-the-green/

 

June 26-28 Easton Art Affair

Columbus Ohio

http://eastonartaffair.com/

 

July 3-4 Arts on Cullers Run

Lost River West Virginia

304-897-6664

 

July 11-12

Three Rivers Festival:  Art in the Park

Fort Wayne Indiana

http://www.threeriversfestival.org/art-in-the-park/

 

July 25-26 Orchard Lake Fine Arts Show

West Bloomfield Michigan

http://www.hotworks.org/orchardlakefineartshow/

 

August 15-16 Lubeznik Center for he Arts Lakefront Art Festival

Michigan City Indiana

http://www.lubeznikcenter.org/Special_Events/art_fest.html

 

September 26-27 Carmel International Arts Festival

Carmel Indiana

http://www.carmelartsfestival.org/

 

October 2-3 Springs Folk Festival

Springs Pa

www.springspa.org

 

October 30-Nov 1 Mountaineer Week Craft Fair

Morgantown West Virginia

http://www.mountaineerweek.wvu.edu/

 

 

Plans for road trips....

It's that time of year again, where I begin in earnest to make inventory for my upcoming summer and fall shows.  Keep your eye out soon for an updated list of shows I'll be attending.  I'm taking it on the road a bit more this year to explore new places & faces and will be putting my jewelry on lots of new, interesting peeps!  I can hear the tires whirling now.... Exciting!

Jewel-Ry-Ward launches soon!

Launching "Jewel-Ry-Ward"!!! I've got the best. LOYAL. customers. EVER!  So to say thank you, I've developed a new program called Jewel-Ry-Ward to reward  you for coming back again and again!  I appreciate your patronage and your support of my art, work and business over the years!  Launching happens during my next festival at Mountaineer Week Craft Fair & Quilt Show on October 24th - 26th in Morgantown WV!  More details will be posted on my website and facebook soon!  Meanwhile, click on the images for the basic information!  And THANK YOU!!!

My next stop is at the

Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine Festival!  Art & Wine - what a great combination!  Come out on this Saturday for the festival wine event and shop great artists booths and taste some yummy wines!

The Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine event is a multi-day event, but the large festival and tasting part is on Saturday, Sep 6th from 12-6pm! Check out the details at:  http://deepcreekwinefest.com/events.php   I'll be there selling my jewelry but guarantee I'll go home with a few bottles of wine and even hope to do a little early Christmas shopping!

Fabulous Fun Festival June 7 & 8 in Frederick...

Come out and see me at my first festival of the season!  I'll have some new and fabulous jewelry to show you.  This is a wonderful event, full of beautiful art & artists!

 

The 21st annual Frederick Festival of the Arts is a juried, three-day fine arts festival held the first weekend every June along Carroll Creek Linear Park in downtown Frederick. The event features over 110 artists from across the country, two stages of live entertainment, artist demonstrations, children’s activities, food, and much more.

 2014 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Saturday, June 7, 2014 – 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 8, 2014 – 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Where
The Festival is an open-air event and all walkways around the show are fully handicapped accessible. Handicapped parking is also available in and around the City of Frederick.

ACTIVITIES
Schedule of festival activities being offered by the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center
These activities are free and open to the public.

Saturday, June 7 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, June 8 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

• Community Supported Art Market
• International Children’s Films
• Building-wide Gallery Exhibits
• Boys & Girls Club of Frederick County Exhibit
• Frederick Hot Glass Society Torch Demos
• Frederick County Knucklers Marble Shooter Demos & Games

Drop-in Art Activities for all ages from 12-5 p.m. both days:

• Paper Mosaics: Create colorful designs using paper tiles and shapes.
• Paper Roll Art: Create kings and queens and other figures using paper rolls; embellish with colorful fabric pieces, construction paper, and yarn.
• Make-Your-Mark Mural Project: Express yourself!

Entertainment

The Frederick Festival of the Arts is proud to present this years stellar Entertainment at the FFOTA Main Stage!

Friday, June 6th-
7-9:00pm: King St.

Sat, June 7th-
11-11:45am: Dan McGuire Group
12-1:00pm: The U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors Dixieland Band
1:30-2:30pm: Straight Up Tribal
2:45-3:15pm: ESP Dance
3:30-4:30pm: Yardslippers
4:45-5:30pm: Word of Mouth-A Cappella Group
6-8:00pm: The Freddie Long Band

Sun, June 8th-
12-1:10pm: US Navy Jazz Commodores
1:45-3:15pm: Big Hoax
3:30-4:30pm: Basswood


Parking Information

Getting around town is easy. There are more than 5,000 public parking spaces available in historic downtown Frederick with five parking decks from which to simply walk to the festival site.

For more information, contact the Frederick Arts Council at 301.662.4190, or by email at kris.fair.ffota@gmail.com

Cram in a bus.....

or a car and come see us on the WVU campus in the Mountainlair for our next festival event.  Come visit us this weekend - get directions:
http://mountaineerweek.wvu.edu/arts_crafts

Friday, Nov. 1 Noon – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 2 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 3 Noon – 4:00 p.m.

 

I'll be waiting for you!

 

 

Enjoy October by checking out ART

 

I'm part of the tour again this year after taking a break for a couple years.  Copy this address into your browser to get details and directions. http://artsaleandtour.com/artistpage.cfm?recordID=284 I'm artist 22 in the book and will be at Manhattan Golf & Gallery for all 4 days of the event!

2013 Mountain Maryland Art Sale and Tour
 

The 2013 Mountain Maryland Art Sale and Tour will take place over two weekends this coming fall: Saturday and Sunday, October 19 & 20 and Saturday and Sunday, October 26 & 27. On all four days of the event, all participating Tour locations will be free and open to the public from 11:00AM to 5:00PM. Coordinated by the Allegany Arts Council on behalf of the many talented visual artists in Western Maryland, the Tour has grown for more than a decade to become a highly anticipated annual event. Free guidebooks for the Tour will be available by mid-September.

Chandelier Earrings by Macee McCunn

This year’s Mountain Maryland Art Sale and Tour will feature 41 participating artists (several of whom are new to the Tour), so there will be lots of great artwork to experience and enjoy! As you make your way around from location to location, be sure to register for your chance to win a $100 cash prize during each weekend of the Tour. You may register to win at each location where you stop to visit participating artists. The more locations that you visit, the more chances you have to win! Winners will be contacted by phone or email after each weekend.

 

In advance of your visit, be sure to check out www.artsaleandtour.com, which is the official website for the Mountain Maryland Art Sale and Tour. The web site will provide you with detailed information about each participating artist, downloadable driving maps, and links to additional information about hotel accommodations, other area attractions and special getaway promotions. For questions about the 2013 Mountain Maryland Art Sale and Tour, please call the Allegany Arts Council at 301-777-ARTS (2787).

Acrylic painting by Sibyl MacKenzie

Sibyl MacKenzie will be joining me on the tour (artist 21) at the Manhattan Golf and Gallery!  Her work is lovely and quite vibrant!

 

Good, but hot, fall festival days

Springs Folk Festival just ended and boy was it a hot one.  My fabulous niece Makayla and I are supposed to dress up for this event as early Americans.  That was a bit difficult considering the heat wave that began in October, so we cheated.  Usually this event is cool, chilly, colder and mostly down right freezing!  We have had years of having to dress in layers so heavy we look like a Parker family member wearing a Christmas Story red snow suit!  Ok, so not quite that bad, but you get the point!  Even with all that being said, I have the best loyal customers who return year after year to this event, no matter what the weather to buy and enjoy the festival.  Thanks to all you lovely people, many of which who have become my friends!