JP Open Studios - Sept 26 + 27

I’d been looking forward to spending the weekend in JP for open studios and now I know why… the crowd is engaging, interesting and supportive of the arts/artist; and the exhibiting artists are talented, inspiring and great company! The weather was gorgeous on Saturday so we were set up in the parking lot adjacent to the Sam Adams’ Brewery on Amory Street. My immediate neighbors were the lovely couple Jim and Helene of Urban Kitchen, handmade soap and distinctive accessories (their tent smells AWESOME!), and Amanda Accardi, painter and new owner of Around the Corner Custom Framing, 637 Tremont Street. Congrats! I’m pretty sure I heard talk of the "grand opening" on October 8th so be sure to check it out and definitely head there if you have framing needs. On Sunday, the weather was not so nice and, fortunately, we were able to move inside. I condensed my set up to one table and shared a fantastic space with 3 other artists in an exposed brick hallway in the Brewery building. They are Shaun Provencher, custom jeweler; Marc Cote, printmaker (and Chairman of Art and Music at Framingham State College); and Gwen Friend, handbuilt ceramics.Thank you to all who came by to shop and say hello. And happy new year to my MOT's!

stART on the Street in Worcester – Sept 20

On Sunday, I participated in stART on the Street in Worcester, an overwhelmingly organized event from beginning to end. There were several hundred vendors plus musicians and food kiosks and the plentiful volunteers made everything from arrival to departure seem like a breeze. And nothing brings people out to a show like clear blue skies and sunshine. Yay people!

This week’s “forgetfulness” award goes to none other than moi… ah yes, #1: I left all of my business cards at home (seriously, they serve no purpose sitting on the kitchen counter); #2: though I remembered to actually bring my camera this week, it was rendered useless since I forgot the battery back home..errrrr....; and lastly #3: the forgetfulness continued on site when I left the table covers in the car and had to retrace my steps up a mountainous path to the artist parking lot to retrieve them. Yup, I’m losin it folks! Fortunately, I made lots of new friends and had my lovely iphone to capture at least a few pics of the day.

I tried a different set up, the old inverted "L" which I'd say worked out quite well except it was a bit cramped, only leaving me a foot and a half of space behind the table. Overall, I think this set up was a success especially if I have more items to display but I need to work on it. So the pursuit of the ideal setup continues as well as the hunt for a clever way to display and simultaneously protect the more delicate glass items (hello!) from little hands... because as much as we love 'em, those little creatures touch EVERYTHING!!

Sept 13 SoWa Open Market + Artscope Centerfold

Saturday was, you guessed it...rainy!! So I did not end up going to Providence. But as Annie and I used to sing endlessly, ‘the sun’ll come out…to-mo-rrow…’ and thankfully it did and I got to spend Sunday with my tent mate, Saya of Saya Studio at the SOWA open market. We had some fun visitors including my dad... can you find him in the photo below??When she wasn’t swarmed with customers, I was able to share some lively conversation with our neighbor Liliana Cirstea Glenn of Liliana Bead who was so thoughtful and full of encouraging, positive comments. Oh and by the way, her glass work is absolutely stunning.. so colorful, intricate and beautiful! In addition to viewing her work in person, I also enjoyed visiting her website and reading her remarks about the art process. For example, “I have been growing in the imagining and the making of glass beads because this process and its results constitute art for me and art has no limits. I feel that I have finally found a place where I can be limitless and always transforming and that place is behind a flame. With a mandrel and a glass rod in hand, I can go where no one has gone before and explore beauty, identity and skill in just one glass bead.”One final note... in addition to sculpting and creating stained glass, I also paint. And I'm very excited to have won the Artscope Magazine's centerfold contest in the medium of painting. Of the paintings submitted, "Reading Time With Spot" (above) was chosen for the magazine and is featured on pages 32 + 33 in the current (Sept/Oct) 2009 issue. The contest was juried by Ron Crusan, Director of the Ogunquit Museum of Art; Anne B. Zill, Director of the University of New England Art Gallery; and Artscope writer Elena Sarni.

Hello September!

Friday, September 4th was the last day of the Mashpee Open Market for the season.. and sadly, I forgot my camera (heavens no!) so I don't have any pics of the day. It was a small group, only about 16 vendors, and I got to see some of my artisan friends, many familiar faces who stop by the market weekly as well as some new friends. Thanks to the suggestion of one of my fellow artists, graphic designer Cindy Slater of Letter C Design, I created my own font (yawn). Well, for some of us, it's quite exciting. And you can see the results above (insert cheerleader going bananas!). Anyway, there are apparently many, many easily accessible websites that allow you to create your own font with just pen & paper, computer and scanner.. and I think it's exciting AND fabulous. If you want to know the (FREE) site I used, email me and I'll pass it along... This weekend I'm heading to Providence on Saturday the 12th and... I'll be sharing a tent with Saya of Saya Studios in SoWa (that's Boston) on Sunday the 13th. Hope to see you there....p.s. Happy 44th Anniversary to Ken & Dassie!! Wowza!