Cape Cod Fine Art Festival - August 30

The Cape Cod fine art festival in Hyannis was supposed to be 2 days but because of the excessive rain, wind, potential hurricane, etc on Saturday, the event was called off and made into a 1-day festival. And the weather wasn't particularly great on Sunday with rain and more rain, but by the afternoon, it stopped. There were originally 100 artists scheduled to participate, most traveling quite a distance from all over the US. And I was only one of 3 artists from Massachusetts so I think given the weather, many non-local artists cancelled... :(

Thanks mom and dad for stopping by to make the day more fun and bring me a delish soy latte!

My neighbors Don and Theresa Carter of Down East Wooden Boat Works traveled from Florida to present their large scale replicas of classic down east boat designs. Beautiful pieces made from original plans by Don - unbelievable craftsmanship and attention to detail. Theresa was so sweet and helpful especially offering help to set up my tent in the rain :) and then bring me coffee later in the day! I hope we run into each other again so I can return the favor, maybe in Florida sunshine...

Mashpee August 21st

Ok.. so I know I blathered on and on about the previous weekend's heat, but seriously, it was even more sticky/sweaty/gross on friday. If that's even possible. But I suppose being near the ocean helped because there was a slight breeze now and again. In fact, there were a few hearty gusts including a very special one that blew over my window display. Fortunately, I just happened to be standing right behind the display when it started to fall over. And with cat-like reflexes, I quickly responded by catching the display mid-fall, thus saving the day. The photo above captured a special moment... as in me celebrating and dancing with my blue-eyed crab. Yay... nothing broke!! Woohoo! In addition to that excitement, I had some friendly visitors including the Solomons AND the Smollers which made for an all around marvelous day!

I spent the weekend in my little studio making some new things including the newest earring style inspired by the music symbol called the Treble Clef, aka the G Clef since it looks like a fancy G (above) and completing some custom orders including a peace + love mezuzah and a business cardholder. See you next weekend in Hyannis...

3 Days + 4 Events + 1 Liza = &(@%()@#!

Mashpee, Marshfield, Cotuit & Boston…. Another 3 days back to back and I survived! Phew! It was a little draining, mostly because the weather was so HOT and steamy. And though I would’ve preferred to be at the beach sipping a cool cocktail instead of shvitzing under a tent in a parking lot, incredibly, the hot weather and humidity did not seem to bother the crowds! So it was well worth the sweaty effort. Friday was an exciting day because I had 2 events. The first stop was Mashpee Commons for the Mashpee Open Market. Some standout vendors and all around fabulous ladies (drumroll please)... Cindy Slater of Letter C Design (above) from Connecticut is the owner and designer of her darling paper goods studio. Her stuff is adorable, delicate and girly! And you can personalize everything including notebooks, labels, cards, etc.

And if you’re in the market for something special, as in semi-precious and precious gemstones set with sterling & fine silver, 14K gold and vermeil, you need to check out ZuZu’s Petals, (above) hand-crafted jewelry by Adriana Mead. Beautiful color combos and timeless pieces!
After packing up at Mashpee, I headed north to Marshfield to an art opening at Porcello Gallery (839 Webster Street) where they have 2 of my paintings on display and several of my mermaids in the window. The current show, " A Weekend By the Shore" runs through mid-September so pop by and say hello to Hilary, the gallery director.
On Saturday, I spent the day at a lovely Cape town called Cotuit, very close to Mashpee actually. My tent was adjacent to the Cotuit Federated Church, the sponsors of Craftfest Cotuit 2009. And I have to say, I was blown away by my neighbor, Sandy O’Connor, Red Hill Studio. She is a watercolor artist, recently accepted as a gallery artist by the Copley Art Society and I can see why. Her work is amazing! It looks like she also teaches classes in Hyannis so keep her in mind if you want to brush up against greatness and hope some of it rubs off. Finally to round out the weekend, I shared a tent with my pal Saya Cullinan of Saya Studio, designer extraordinaire and maker of fabulous handbags and accessories. She and I had a night of adventure planned following our day of hard work and fending off sweat, but, unfortunately, our plans were dashed last minute. (damn restaurant week!) Anyway I guess it was a blessing in disguise since I drove straight home following the market, showered and fell asleep at 7:30pm... right in the middle of a movie! So much for a night on the town… I guess I needed the rest after many late nights in the studio and long days in the sun!

Harwich Cranberry Festival - August 8 + 9

Well I didn't see any cranberries this weekend but I did meet lots of great people from Harwich and Brewster along with vacationers from Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Maine, Connecticut and even Toronto. The weather on the Cape and the constant flow of visitors were fantastic. And I hope to head back to Harwich for next year's festival!
I was also excited to use a new display feature, a 10' mesh wall that will now properly display my paintings and prevent them from flapping around in the wind. The display walls are great because they're rigid enough to hold artwork yet full of holes to allow air flow. Also they're made by Flourish Co in Arkansas so if you're in the market, I'd highly recommend this product. Plus when placing an order, you actually speak to a human being. Yup, that's right folks... a real, live person who answers your questions and is super helpful.

The Arts Affair - First Place!

I've had quite an exciting two weeks with regard to painting!

Over the weekend, while I was busy in my studio, I received word that my painting "The Challenger" (above - portrait) won first place in the oil/acrylic category at the 14th annual Arts Affair in Marina Bay, Quincy.

I'm so happy I had my camera with me so we could snap a few photos! I'm pictured above with my mom Dassie and her painting "Approaching Hull Gutt" (bottom left) from the exhibit.