Not many booths with live music right outside the window! This is one of the shows that is easy on the back, easy on the eye, and easy on the ears! Just to give credit where due, this is the 100 American Craftsmen show in Lockport, NY last weekend.
and not many booths with a hard working nephew ready to help!
Pat and Vanna show off my first poppies of the season!
We're off to Northhampton, MA for a show tomorrow. Will probably miss a few days since we have a free place to stay that may not have internet access..... how will I survive? I'll take some pics to share on my return though. The cactus flower above is right in my office. Sort of a big ugly, spiny, sharp plant that just sort of sprawls across my window sill ----- growing in a pot that fell over several years ago. You don't think I'm going to try to set it straight do you? Very regularly big 3" across by about 5" long flowers appear.... sometimes several at once. Always a great day when I spot one! Started from a little piece about the size of my thumb salvaged from the floor of my lawyer's office about 20 years ago!
Several years ago, my brother Dave found a rubber duck on the path to the campsite while at Merlefest. He kept the duck, called it Carolina Duck - the americana music festival is in North Carolina - and rubber ducks became a part of family history ever since. Carolina Duck went to every Merlefest after that, and was joined by quite a few close relatives. Dave is gone now, but rubber ducks remain, along with memories! I found several "hippie ducks" at an anti-war store front, and added them to my van dash, and also thought why not take one along on on my bike rides. I definitely do not want to become one of those old guys with flags, pinwheels, and even bumper stickers on their bikes, but thought this was a nice touch. Someday I may need to move him to my future walker or wheel chair, but for yesterday at least Carolina Duck's hippie friend and I went for a 22.8 mile bike ride. Dave would have enjoyed the ride!
Another "Look what we made" day. This simple automata's dancers move back and forth to whatever rhythm you move the front lever to. Looks marvelous just sitting there, and is fun to play with! About 10" x 10" x 6". To see them in person come to our up coming shows - schedule on the web site.
A few weeks ago Wyatt invited me to see Spider-man 3. In our world, that is code for wonderful time together, and we proved it again this weekend! Spider-man was indeed part of the formula, but this abandoned bridge over the Erie Canal was probably the highlight! We rode our bikes along the canal path that I ride several times a week, and I got to show him things I see regularly, and tell him stories about my rides. But something made us venture off the path, over a little hill, and right to a bridge to nowhere! Notice that there is nothing but flowering bushes at the other end ...... same thing on this end. Not sure what went over this bridge. There is a railroad bridge right next to it..... tracks not in use any more, but at least they are there. The picture below indicates the future of that bridge too, but this one has no deck, nothing but the frame. Nothing but an adventure for a couple of guys out for a ride. 50 years apart in age, but both ready for the joy of discovery, the vertigo of stepping out over the water, however briefly, and the pleasure of someone to share the story with!
We also saw Spider-man 3, cooked Mother's Day bruch for Aunt Cheryl, Grandma Peg, Cousin Deanna, Cousin-in-law Linda, etc.
In a way yesterday's story was about recycling. That cool couch found a new home, and a ride to that home on the back of a car that was being lovingly cared for after 34 years instead of rusting away in a junk yard. This man, and his father-in-law, drove along that same street tonight, the night before the weekly trash run, and collected anything with metal in it. The truck sure looked full, but they found room on top for a gas grill abandoned after several summers of family picnics. All this stuff is off to the junk yard for recycling instead of off to the landfill. I watched amazed as this guy mananged to get just one more piece on his load, and remembered my grandfather who made some significant part of the family income collecting stuff from the "dump", and recycling it, back when there was no landfills, and no recycling!
Another one more of those fabulous spring moments.... the beginnings of a little plot of wonderfully big ferns right ourside our back door every year!
I love grapevines, and other things of the forest that form natural spirals. This one seems to have lost whatever it spiraled around, but grapevines are pretty sturdy things!
Very tiny beginnings of spring - I didn't cut it off - honest -- just a file card behind!We have a great Lilac Festival here ----- http://www.lilacfestival.com/ - May 11-20 this year. That little cluster above has a way to go in 2 1/2 weeks.
And along the canal today a Canadian friend!
So many things to see along the canal today..... a tiny bit of green...... how long till the berries are ripe?
This little wooly bear spent the whole winter somewhere around here, and was out to find a prime spot for a coccoon!
Paint Brush before --- above, and after --- below!
Every spring, Robert Frost's line comes to mind --- "Nature's first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold."
Many years ago, about 40 actually, I went to Divinity School. One of my friends from that period of my life was Bob Babbitt, the guy on the left in the above picture. I hadn't seen him in all of that 40 years, but thanks to Google, I found him last weekend .... the title for this could have been "This is April 15th, so this must be St. Paul???", but "Old friendship renewed" seemed better. Bob called back immediately, and along with his partner Gerry, fed us, showed us around town, and even helped tear down the booth at the end! Many thanks to Bob and Gerry. We'll stay in much closer touch this time!
Here we are in Phildelphia! Tried a new booth arrangement with a sort of window/counter in the side wall..... corner booth. It was visually fun, and made for a great over the "window sill" conversation spot.
Here are Cheryl and Christina enjoying the new window.
Here is Don and our new friend Ed Bing Lee on the other side of the booth!
Back in February I was missing the warm weather, and the daffodils. The other day the daffodils emerged from the snow, and while a bit sad looking right now, they are definitely green, and will soon have those wonderful bright yellow flowers lining the sidewalk and brightening our days and the days of the neighbors. Thank you for the continuing process of life!
Sorry for the delay in entries if anyone out there is checking regularly. We've been on the road from Atlanta to home (about 36 hours) and now we're in Marlborough, MA. ---- near Boston. Didn't sell much today because of a bit of snow, that the weather folks turned into a huge event like they love to do..... job security question I think. Job security for them, and job insecurity for us because when everyone stays home, our sales, and our ability to pay the mortgage suffer.
I love odd things..... here is Cheryl standing in front of a picture of a store. The Cumberland Mall in Atlanta, GA. ---- remodeling a store. The "covering" over the work area is a picture of three stores! The t-shirt over Cheryl's left shoulder says - Detroit. That is where she is from? Also note the folks walking by in t-shirts.... it is March, and back home it is 15 degrees with lots of snow on the ground!
Pretty much nothing compares to seeing kids do something really great! The only thing I can think of that would make it even better is having your nephew be part of it. Last night I had the pleasure of seeing a group of 5th through 8th graders put on the School House Rock musical at the Wayland Cohocton Middle School. They had fun doing it, they did a really good job, and they made all of the audience - their parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and neighbors - have a fun time too! That is my nephew Wyatt, in the middle with the black suit and red sash! (kind of hard to get a great shot in those lighting conditions)
Another use of our spirals! And some Art Start! Liberty Montessori Preschool in Philadelphia used some of our spirals and miscellaneous Art Start parts as part of a mural for the wall! We just love knowing that our work brightens so many lives! That's Ms. Madelynn, the newest teacher. Thanks to Monica Wright for sending along this picture!
Here is a view of the booth in Philadelphia that we tore down yesterday! Picture courtesy of Walter Johnson. Walter and Christine are wonderful friends who always come and help us tear down after shows in Philly. Yesterday a record 54 minutes! 7 minutes ahead of a previous record when our son Casey, and wife Deanna, and a couple of their friends helped!
I meant to show more of the process of space conversion that happens as a craft show is set-up, but I forgot to take an earlier picture of the crate with all the walls stacked on top, neatly shrink wrapped, and sitting next to the little 10x10 foot square of carpet we ordered for our booth. About a week ago, that crate was in our studio, neatly packed, and ready for folks we don't know, and probably never will, to load it on a truck and take it to Baltimore for us. Quite an amazing process if you stop and think about it. I walked in today, and there it was, looking exactly like it looked last week in Rochester, NY ( just a couple of extra labels added) and now sitting in a big hall in Baltimore, MD, right next to "our" space! Usually we drive our big van to shows with all the walls, product, etc, but this time we have two shows almost simultaneously, with only one van, so we shipped to this one..... a lot less work!
Here is the view from the front of our space. Lots and lots of unconverted space.... vans being unloaded... electric cords laid out ready to power lights, etc. Last week, maybe there was a car show here, next week maybe a boat show. Week after next maybe a foot of dirt will be right there with flowers growing out of it for the flower show? About 30 years ago, I attended a Dave Brubeck concert here ---- I think the stage was right behind where that white van sits now.
Just empty space that several hundred of us will mark out with walls, curtains, sheets of cardboard, to seperate our 10x10 foot space from the next 10x10 foot space. And it will really be our space. Most of us will be very friendly, like the US and Canada, even helping each other out with heavy walls, or sharing our food from the deli. There will be some border disputes however. Somebody may decide that the space behind their curtain is the perfect place to store those extra boxes, but the space behind the curtain is my space, and like the US and Mexico, I will try to send their stuff back. The most common problem is folks pushing those ugly orange extension cords under the curtain into the next booth so they won't clash with the beautiful glass vases! (somebody needs to invent attractive extension cords) I like our hard walls - folks can't slide that big vase to the back of the table, creating a big bulge on my side of the curtain! On the other hand, when we like our neighbors, which is 99.9% of the time, we can't just slide the curtain aside and say Hi!
Below is our space, as I marked it out today, and put up our stuff! That big crate is inside the grey display on the left. I learned long ago that it can take hours for the show folks to return the empties at the end of the show! I don't know who will be next to us on the right - still empty space when I left tonight, or the space behind. To the left is a big aisle that will carry the crowds our way. In front, between us and the aisle is nothing --- just a line in the carpet, but folks will generally stay outside the booth, thinking that they need some sort of passport to cross the line. I remember the "line" my brother and I drew down the middle of our room. "MOM! He's looking at my side!" We want them to look, and we'd love for them to come in, but most won't, even if we specifically invite them.
I mentioned earlier that Dad and I both like to grow things, and to notice nature in the back yard! This is more like nature in the house, and another way to get some spring thoughts going. We got Dad this hydroponic garden for Christmas, and within 3 weeks he and Mom were enjoying spring lettuce in January! Not enough to skip any trips to the grocery store, but a lot of fun, and great tasting!
Winter seemed to take a long time coming this year --- it was still quite warm in late January, and that didn't feel quite right. But the snow did come, and we've had real winter since. This picture was taken last spring, and somewhere down under that pile of snow along side the sidewalk, a bunch of bulbs lie in wait! The above scene will be repeated..... this spring, and for many springs to come! And we hope to keep making art for a lot of those springs!
