Best show of my career!

Well I should have had this post written about four days ago, but I tend to procrastinate when I want something to be good. I wait, hoping to get the inspiration to do the idea justice. In this case to adequately describe the greatest show of my career. But I just have to jump in there and start writing.

Like most other shows this one began with a long drive;

a pleasant back roads drive, but a long one none the less. But instead of ending at the customary camp ground we actually ended at a…hotel! Indoor plumbing, clean sheets, air conditioning and great water pressure. Mom thought the pressure a little too strong, but when forced to live with the water pressure in my home, there is no such thing as too strong!

There were of course the customary navigation issues, but we only had to make one, possibly illegal turn. Plus we narrowly escaped a completely gridlocked over pass that we weren’t suppose to be on anyway. I’m quite sure that if we got on that ramp we wouldn’t have made our set up time. And set up; oh set up how you never really get easier. The roads are always tiny but the trucks never are. But we made it without a scratch either to us, or anyone else.

For me, the days and hours proceeding shows are always filled with equal parts worry and excited anticipation. There is always the worry that the large amount of work and monetary investment expended for a show will be for nothing. But there is also the hope and possibility that this could be “the show.” The show that makes makes months of work, sweat and tears worth it. This show was the latter.

The weekend began with the finishing touches on the tent and a search for coffee.

It ended with “Rooted,” “Sanctuary,” “Up the Clock,” “Indubitably,” “Gus,””Dandy Fox,” “Lantern Light I & II” 6 Bloomingstackers and….the whole original alphabet series finding new homes!!! So a big thank you to everyone who took home pieces. At the risk of sounding corny and esoteric I feel like every piece went to the home it was meant for. So thank you, thank you, it wouldn’t have been the same without you! Thank you to everyone who stopped by the tent as well. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with everyone. There was so much appreciation and interest through out the whole show. It was uplifting. I especially enjoyed talking with the kids that came through. One brother and little sister in particular spent their own money to buy prints from me. It gave me hope for the future of art appreciators! Plus they were just fun to talk to:)

I actually don’t talk that much, but I talked myself into a sore throat every day. With that much talking Katie foot-in-mouth moments were inevitable. My two particular favorites were ” I hope I have as good a day today as I had tomorrow”…time travel would have some devastating effects on grammar. My second favorite was a new word to describe my Bloomers. “Decoramental.” I was asked what they were for, and I guess I tried to say decorative and ornamental. This wouldn’t be unusual except that on repeated attempts to correct myself I was unable to think of decorative and could only say decoramental.

So in summary, best show of my career. I don’t know if it will ever be topped. But the excitement and the feeling of success is permanently ingrained in my memories.