Ready for the Sunshine!

Whew! It was quite a busy day at the Cottage. Artists arriving between raindrops and setting up their wares. I love the energy and exchange of ideas/creativity that happens. I would be perfectly content if we all just sat around and examined each other's work and talked about our processes. Geek. Art geek?

To add to the excitement of set-up day, my amazing #2 daughter and the babies showed up to help out. Ella drew pictures to sell and Alice taught herself to climb the stairs. Up and down. According to Ella, Mimi's house is "fantastic".

A special thanks to the talented Bailey Jack, for generously donating her art to a fundraiser for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. #2 daughter is one of her biggest fans. Don't know if that donated painting will make it to the auction...

Can't wait for tomorrow - it promises to be a perfect spring day. Combine the weather and the inspiring art to make for a memorable experience. Please join us!

THE SPRING ART MARKET @ CHICKEN CREEK COTTAGE

Come one Come all!

The Spring Art Market at Chicken Creek Cottage will be open this weekend - Friday and Saturday - April 9th and 10th from 10 - 4.

Our winter market was so much fun that we decided to do it again, only bigger and better. It's going to be a wonderful country outdoor art fair. We have 9 talented artists bringing their work to the cottage. They'll set up their tents on the lawn and we'll have art on the porch, too. We have 2 creative women who are arranging spring flowers in vintage containers and offering homemade goodies.

Come join us for great art, good friends and a beautiful day at the old cottage.

Directions:
exit 11 Windward Pkwy off 400/head west for @ 6 miles/ turn left on Westbrook Rd
after Hopewell Baptist Church. Or Mapquest: 15825 Westbrook Rd Milton GA30004

Needlecraft obsession

Crafty women need to keep their hands busy. When I'm too tired to paint, I sit on the couch and watch my DVRed shows or ancient movies from before I was born. And that's a really long time ago....

This winter I have been obsessed with knitting hats. Plain old cloches/skull caps/watch caps. So many names for the same basic beanie. A few rows of ribbing and the rest is stockinette. I could do it in my sleep. No counting. No pattern stitches. Perfect for keeping my hands busy while my mind takes a little vacation.

I have been a beginner knitter since I was 12. It's fine with me not to know how to make popcorns and cables and fair isle patterns. I would have to concentrate on the work to do that. I like how I knit. My hands keep moving without much attention from me and at the end of an evening I have a new hat for a daughter or grandbaby.

I get my creative impulses satisfied once the hat is finished. I dig thru my collection of antique buttons and jewelry to find the perfect embellishment. Then I add some hand dyed silk ribbon or vintage velvet. It makes each hat unique and has my "signature" on it.

My mother taught me all the needlecraft skills I possess. She could sit in a dark movie theater and knit cabled sweaters. The little yellow sunshine caps in the photo are for all 3 of her great granddaughters. I know she's liking that a lot.

It's snowing in Atlanta tonight. That's a minor miracle and it feels extra cozy inside the cottage. A perfect night to start another beanie.

Post Show Thoughts

The Gift Show has been over for a month and I'm just getting around to posting about the big event. The booth came together in a way that I was proud of. It was great to see old friends - buyers and exhibitors alike.
It's the best part of exhibiting. Those relationships are treasured.
The show was pretty good considering the weather and the continuing hell of an economy. We have some exciting new things in the works that I'll be posting about when and if they come to be.

Good things from the show: Michelle Allen's work continues to amaze me - it has the same energy Michelle does. And I got to purchase some special jewelry from Angie Olami - her inspired work always enchants me, as I sit here looking at my "amore angelico" ring. And now I'm off to sort, organize and stock new inventory so we can start shipping orders. This is the not fun part!

READY, SET, GO!

I'm almost to the finish line for the Gift Show. Now if I can just do a snow dance that will keep it from snowing in Atlanta Thursday night. It never ever snows and sticks to the ground here. Never. But the night before the Show opens the prediction is for 1 - 2" of snow that's not going to melt immediately. We had rain dances and rain prayer vigils during the drought. I may be the only Atlantan praying for the snow to move to another city.

About the pictures posted: I used roofing paper/tar paper for the floor in my booth. It's cheap, sturdy and in keeping with my black and white theme. It looked too plain after I taped it down, so I took a white paint pen to it. Drawing on it was the most fun part of setting up. I'll post pictures of the finished space as soon as I can.

New Art!

"LOOK FOR THE HAPPY"
A sneak preview of a new favorite - I love the color and design and of course, the message.

TO MARKET TO MARKET (to buy a fat pig?)

My little tin roofed cottage is home to much pre-market frenzy and planning.
The new art is painted and loved by me. Props and booth materials are piled in the car and at the door. Labels are printed, lists are written/crossed off and I can see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Now I just need a good night's sleep so I can set up tomorrow with lots of energy and good cheer.

Atlanta residents are lucky if they exhibit at the Atlanta International Gift Show. We can set up on Monday when no one is around, the aisles are not crammed with drayage, packing materials and stressed out exhibitors. It's quiet at the Mart and I can get it all done before the chaos begins. Sweet. (The process is akin to staging a Broadway show - out of a big old mess comes beautiful magical theater....)

As usual I love all the new images - kind of like the way I feel about my children. Can't pick a favorite. And that's as it should be. So much thought, feeling, time and work goes into each painting.

When they're all finished and signed I take them to the printer to be scanned. That way they can be reproduced in any format I choose. Tonight I was there with my 7 new babies. As each one showed up on the computer screen I thought of any number of changes I wanted to make/add/subtract to the image. Am I the only one who can never let go? Always tweaking and re-imagining. I wear myself out with that stuff.

I am excited about showing the new art and seeing my friends and buyers. It's like Old Home Week at camp. I'm looking forward to a new year that isn't all about the ecomony. Art was one of the first categories to feel the recession and I hope it's not the last to come back. Who doesn't need a little visual sunshine in their lives?