Sales!!!

 

I thought it might be time to show you the booth set up again. When we do the downtown market we leave the side wall off because it allows folks to easily see what we have, unlike when we do a full blown art show when the fourth wall is required. Speaking of which, I'd not applied to any shows for the spring, but suddenly last week they all fell into place. I'm going back to Deland at the end of March, Baldwin Park (they contacted me), and Windemere. I won't be re-doing two of the shows I did last spring for several reasons--one of which was poor visibility at Maitland, and too high an entrance fee at the Expo. The Expo is held at Lake Eola, same place as the market, and we'll most likely get the overflow crowd, so I might as well keep my great location. I had a young man sit in one of my chairs last week and ask me how was it I got 50 yard line seats. I told him I'd been through the struggles of the market, and now I was enjoying the successes. Anyone who comes this January will not recognize the market from last year.

The last two weeks have been crazy good for me. To put it into perspective--all last January I had $239 in sales. In the last two weeks I've had $1,300+ in sales!!! The first week was slow, but man have these last two weeks been good. That includes the Whole Foods market as well.

When I go to Whole Foods I do not take the tent or walls. Thus, I only have one small canvas on a table-top easel to get strollers attention. It will have to get busier for me to bring the whole set up. Furthermore, Bruce usually can't help on Saturdays, and looking at this set up, you can imagine I can't do it by myself. I'm in awe of those ladies who do put up this kind of thing without help, but I'm not one of them.

Everyone gets a laugh because Mr. Bruce hangs everything with a level as this photograph shows. I usually get them hung (crookedly) and he comes behind me, fixing things up. It does look nice and neat, doesn't it?

Last week I posted the orange dahlia to show you how different it looked from two different perspectives. I had Roger make the canvas with the sky background because I thought it might be good, and guess what? It was. It sold in two hours. The dilemma comes when you wonder if you should re-print, or move on, and be glad for the sale.

With that in mind, I spent yesterday going through my prints--removing those that have never sold. There comes a time when you just need to get rid of them. As well, I stripped a few canvases off their frames, and Mr. Roger will put something new on the frames that might just sell. I believe that the loss will be worth it in the long run. It is not like I don't have anything new to show now is it?

On Friday night we had Jane and Micheal over for dinner. I'd gotten a bunch of tangelos from the volunteer at the Polasek (remember him from last week?) and I decided to use them in the meal. As such here's the menu I served:

Pork tenderloins, seared, then baked in an orange/balsamic vinegar glaze
Creamy, dreamy polenta (fabulous recipe from a cookbook that Matt gave me)
Roasted green beans in lemon-infused olive oil (first time I tried this--yum!)
Sliced, cooked carrots in orange juice/zest, and maple syrup glaze with a dash of cayenne for kick
Gingerbread with real whipped cream and blueberries for dessert.
Is your mouth watering yet?

They left around 10 because it was past Miss Gail's bedtime, being a weekend worker and all. Really, you know I go to bed so early most every night. Anyway it was very fun and I think everyone enjoyed their meal. Before I went to Saturday's market I emptied the dishwasher, refilled it, and ran it again. It was nice to come home to a clean kitchen.

I wonder if I can turn the television on at the museum today to watch the inauguration. I've been thinking that with all the pomp and circumstance that it is if we are crowning a king instead of installing a new president. I'm sure it's always been this way but it doesn't seem all that different from other governments. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Speaking of which, with so few comments, is anyone reading this blog, or have I worn out my welcome?