Summer Art Festival Finds

I love going to outdoor art shows in the summer. I was fortunate enough to attend a few this year and make some purchases along the way. I thought I would post a couple of fun things I found this summer, plus an interesting sight I spotted very close to home.

First up is a big, fat green frog made by local artisans, a husband and wife team. He searches for logs and bits of wood and comes up with great ideas for turning them into quirky animals. The wife half of the team does the painting. We have bought quite a few pieces from them and Mr Frog is just the latest. Isn't he a giggle?

Last year we had a number of trees removed from our property and kept all the logs to use for camp fires. This morning among the logs, hubby spotted a very large base of a tree about three inches thick and thought it would make a perfect lily pad for our frog and so there he sits.





















Next, is a piece of pottery I bought today, both the front and a side view. Now I wonder what could have attracted me to it?

The artist is Alexander Kastulin.



























And finally, I found what looks to me like a stylized goldfish on a piece of slate by my neighbour's goldfish pond. Now I know no one put the fish there knowingly, so it is obviously a happy accident. I have no idea what caused this rust stain but I really love it. I would love to take this chunk of rock home but I don't think my neighbour would go for it. ;)

Pink Goddess

Just to relax a bit last night, I made this little Goddess Doll while playing "I Love Lucy" DVDs on my laptop. Someone sent me a swatch of butterfly fabric during a swap (I wish I could remember who). I have to thank that person as that fabric has been useful. Miss Pink Goddess is wearing one of those butterflies.

We have an upcoming Community Art Show in our area which is a part of a much larger arts programme that includes visual artists, artists' studio tours, musicians, actors, authors and film. Most of the participants are accomplished and respected in their field. I, who am self-taught and virtually unknown, see a great opportunity to take part in the Community Art Show. According to their flyer, the show is "open to all artists, young and old, to exhibit their work". So why not?

Also, it just occurred to me that I could display a few of my dolls at our local Fall Fair. So lots to keep me busy and out of trouble.

Display For Jazz Festival

Below is the write up I did as part of my display for the Art Cards I will be selling at our upcoming Jazz Festival. I wanted to keep it short and sweet. My sister says I did just that and gives it a "10". I don't know about that but I thank her for her kind words.

The scan is probably too small to read, so if you're interested in having a closer look, just click on the image to enlarge it.

There certainly is a lot of work involved in getting ready. I have to assemble all the cards by hand which is time consuming. And I still want to come up with at least three more designs. I have never sold any of my work before. It will be interesting so see what the response will be.

Friends, relatives, beware! If I don't sell any cards, you guys will be getting these things for birthdays, thank-yous, etc. for the next five years. Or I'll have to get hubby (the natural born professional salesman) to start peddling them for me.