Speechlessly honored

Mrs. Dragon, of Fantasy Artists of Etsy (FAE), has featured my artwork on her blog this week. I have no words of my own to express the gratitude I feel for her words. It's a tremendous honor to be highlighted, an even bigger honor to be highlighted so eloquently, beautifully, charmingly.

I feel a little like Sally Field right now, and that's not a bad thing.

Goings-On

The convention was great fun and a fantastic (no pun intended, really) learning experience. Mainly, I learned that peddling my wares to crowds of strangers is a lot more fun and a lot less overwhelming that I had expected. I will actually be looking forward to the next time, now, instead of stressing so needlessly.

You can read more and see pictures of my table here (I'm really proud of that table). I didn't sell a whole lot, but I had a very good time, especially once Al brought me coffee on Saturday. I got a lot of attention, which felt good, and received a lot of compliments. I did learn that I actually am more energetic when I am trying to keep myself awake, because I stand up and move around and reach out to people more, than when I've had a full night's sleep, in which case, such as on Sunday, I am far more mellow and quiet and far less interesting. Strange, eh? So clearly, next time, I should stay up until 2 a.m. the night before, like I did this time. Of course, my exhaustion might have made some strange things come out of my mouth. I'm not sure.

Also, I have received the tremendous compliment of a wonderful review on Mrs. Dragon's blog, here. It is always a bit strange to see yourself through other people's eyes; she has made it feel great.

As for the uncreative title of this post, yeah, sorry about that. I'm just getting back into the swing of things, back on track. Seems I'm always trying to do that. One of these days, I might actually be good at it.

And speaking of the swing of things, I generally try keep this blog free of sports and politics, but I must just say, GO PHILS. What a feat. I knew you could do it. Thanks for the most nail-biting week of baseball I've ever watched. I'll be telling my grandkids about this. Woo-hoo!

Showing off

My first live-and-in-person art show/sale was a great success. A few of my magnets and prints and one of my very favorite paintings are on their way to new homes, and I wish them well in their journey (and I hope I get used to this sweet sadness when I say goodbye to an original, because it is such an incredible feeling to think of other people gracing their walls with my paintings).

Equally as important, this was a fantastic opportunity to explore the public side of being an artist. The event was not huge, which was a great thing for me, because I never felt overwhelmed, and I also had a chance to practice reaching out to passersby and talking to people without worrying too much about interrupting one person to talk to someone else.

Of course, it always helps to offer chocolate. Sometimes, I practically shouted, "Hey! Come get some treasure!" And people would give me a funny look, which in itself is not necessarily uncommon at an event like this one, and then edge closer, and look at me questioningly, and I'd add more quietly, "It's chocolate." I think it is a worthy goal to make the world a better place by handing out free chocolate.

But I was both surprised and delighted by how many people stopped by my table even before the offer of chocolate. So many compliments and questions and conversations about maps and cartography. Many people signed up for my mailing list, took brochures and took MOO cards. (If you're one of them, hello and welcome and thank you for stopping by! Please let me know you're here!).

I was very proud of the way I set up my table - after hours of tormented thought about where I could find a tablecloth big enough for a ten-foot table, it occurred to me that a canvas dropcloth, the house-painting kind - would be a bit like a ship's sail. Perhaps too big for me to iron, but attractive nonetheless. Al suggested the fishing net and the shells, and he built the display board for the little paintings.

The treasure chests were a natural display option; and I am very, very pleased by the "brass" sign for the Interimaginational Institute (this photo from the practice table I set up in our living room the night before).

I wanted it to look like the brass plaque one might find outside some kind of Victorian academic society housed in a pompous stone building in an old city, and in the right light, I think it does.

Next time, I'd like to add some more props to the fantasy/make-believe side of things... I love the way the net and treasure accented the treasure maps, but the realms and lands were slightly underflaunted, even if they didn't complain, not once. The purple velvet scarf - a hand-me-down I've had tucked away for years - was a good royal touch, though.

All in all, a great first outing. AND, as you see, I got to dress up, which is always a good reason to get up in the morning.

The larger paintings, I hope, pending my acceptance to the show, will be going with me to the Handmade Parade in Norfolk on November 10; until it is time to prepare for that show, I will make some of the smaller framed mini-paintings available on my Etsy shop, starting tomorrow afternoon. The magnets (which I don't make by hand) are available on my Cafe Press site. I will be experimenting with my own handmade magnet recipe soon, so keep an eye out for those!

Happy travels, my friends.

Observations on This Modern World

A disadvantage of living in a world with e-mail is that when I am expecting something to arrive in the regular mail, I have an impulse to go check our mailbox every ten minutes, even if the mail has already come for the day.

And a disadvantage of living in a world with cell phones is that whenever I misplace something - anything - I have the urge to call it so I can figure out where it is. Sadly, my wallet, keys and sunglasses did not come with telephone numbers. They should. (Fortunately for me, when I lose those things, I usually lose them in the same places every time, and my husband knows where those places are.)

Things overheard on the road trip

"Guess what? Your car goes 95!"

"They didn't say the speed limit was 40. They said the highway was 40."

"Wouldn't it be great to have enough money to buy stolen art?"

***

If I'm absent a great deal this week, from my own blog or yours, please forgive me. The FantaSci convention, at which I've rented a table to sell my paintings (live and in person for the very first time!), is this weekend, and I'm starting to hyperventilate. So many things I never even knew I had to do, so many things I forgot I had to do, so many things I just plain have to do. So little time.

And yet, I think it's going to be great fun. If you're in the area, please stop by.

If I could say this without words...

In fourth or fifth grade, our elementary school, which at the time was pretty isolated in the deserts north of Reno, held a talent show. I was always a super shy kid, one of those nerdy kids, with purple glasses and a bad perm, who was perpetually teased, and had no idea how to get around that. But for some reason, I signed up for the talent show. I played the piano, but I didn't think of that as a talent. It was just something I did. I wanted to do something extraordinary for the talent show. So I decided to create a mime act.

I didn't know anything about miming - I'd never done it before - and I don't remember the plot exactly, except that I was camping and at one point I got marshmallows stuck all over my fingers.

I do remember the laughter, and the applause, and the kids who came running up to me for months on the playground to say, "You're the girl who was the mime!"

I'd love to say that I suddenly became one of the most popular kids in school, that I miraculously gained social skills, that life was great after that. I didn't and life stayed pretty much the same. In fact, the attention made me a bit uncomfortable and even more awkward, and eventually, it faded. And I didn't even begin to gain the few social skills I have until the very end of high school.

But for a short time, inside, I felt wonderful. I felt confident. I felt like a success. And even though I probably didn't know his name at the time, and still don't know that much about him, I think I owe some of that to Marcel Marceau, who died yesterday at 84.

Bravo, Mr. Marceau, and thank you.

Shiver Me Timbers!

It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day! What better holiday is there?

Learn the lingo here. And even my German-speaking friends can learn to speak like a pirate here. And my Swedish-speaking friends can listen to Swedish pirate-speak here. And, yep, my Chinese-speaking friends (not sure I have any, yet, but if I do...) can find Chinese-pirate-speak clips on this page, too. See? Told you it was international.

I think I'll celebrate by drawing more treasure maps and raiding the rum. Later. After I draw the treasure maps.

(Coincidentally, I am listening on my iPod to Buccaneers and the Pirates of our Coast, by Frank Richard Stockton; I downloaded it from LibriVox, and it's so compelling that I find myself looking forward to going to the gym or getting in the car, just so I can listen to some more. It's like stepping into another world. Now that's good "reading," my friends.)