Showtime in DeLand

Every show has it's own vibe; I'll try to describe DeLand for you. Before I continue I wanted to show you the beautiful orchid I bought while there. An Asian woman came by the booth selling these incredible orchids for, are you ready for this? $7!!! What a bargain. I hope you can see all the buds and blooms on this two-stemmed beauty. What I saved on this pays for my gas money for all the trips for the show!

This show is in a park near downtown. I was given nearly the same spot as last year which means I face a parking lot. This is good except that the afternoon sun shines mighty brightly--good for seeing the walls, not so great to set up in, which is what happened on Friday afternoon. Bruce took the day off (imagine that!), and we left the house around 2. We still had to take two vehicles because after packing there is room left for only one. I was super hot, Bruce was having an allergy attack, however we managed to get it done. We drove home meeting at our favorite little pizza place downtown to unwind before bedtime.

Leaving Bruce at home I took off a little after 7 to make the drive and complete the set up, wondering all the while if anyone would come. This show began with prayer. How can that be you ask? It is family run, celebrating their 44th year. It has been quite some time since I attended an event that began with prayer, but as she reminded us later in the day--this is a church town so folks won't be here tomorrow until after noon.

Not only is it a church town, it's a bit of a country town to me. Although Stetson University is located there, as is the Volusia County Courthouse, it still feels country. This is the first time I was paid by check more than once. Occasionally it happens, but this time I went to the bank with four. It is a cash town too. A lovely older woman bought my large peacock canvas on Saturday. It's a bit of a story, but I'll condense it to just this: after declaring her interest, she pulled a little bag on a string from around her neck, handing me $160 cash.

Families, older people, and grungy teens came to the show. Downtown I have loads of twenty and thirty somethings, but not here. As such my urban stuff remained largely untouched.

I forgot to mention that the judges chose two pieces for judging which was nice, but no prize was awarded. It was certainly nice to win money last year, but truth be told, I'd rather have people coming and going at my booth making the day go by quicker. Mostly prize winners spend most of the day by themselves. You know me--that would make me crazy.

Bruce was very anxious for me to arrive on Sunday morning to make sure our tent was safe. Fierce winds, and rain were in the forecast for Saturday night. One tent behind me lost their top, but mine was fine and dandy. I arrived before 9 only to have rain until 1 in the afternoon. A lot of those hours were spent chatting with other vendors. My neighbors on either side were just great. Linda, the fused glass woman was hilarious, and Jennifer, the eighteen year old with multi-colored hair and pierced eyebrow, was sweet. She works in pastels. On Saturday her mom sat with her throughout the day which was quite a feat as she is undergoing chemotherapy and is rail thin. They went home a bit early because she was so tired. Sunday Jennifer told me that the wig blew off he mom's head as they were walking to the car and she began crying. Daughter assured mother that everyone would know why she was wearing a wig and tried to soothe her with hugs. If you saw this Jennifer at the mall you wouldn't peg her as such a dear girl.

Finally the clouds parted, allowing beautiful, breezy, and cooler weather to come in. Pat and Ruth were kind enough to come by (aren't they awesome?)with Bruce arriving around 3:30 with Baxter in tow.

Oh, before I forget--two sisters in their thirties, whose family owns the building with the infamous graffiti on it, bought the baby canvas for their parents! Another young woman told me that the artist is really part of a group who are imitating this famous graffiti artist: Banksy
All very interesting. I was hoping whoever did it might show up, but an outdoor art festival is probably way too pedestrian for them.

Packed up and on our way home again to take a small breather before this weekend, the last show I'll be doing for the season. This one is in Windermere (where all the major sports celebrities live). Do you suppose Tiger Woods is free on Saturday and might stroll by?

I'm sure you're bored by now so I won't go on except to say that sales were good.

Finally, I don't get many opportunities to photograph cats; I got this one yesterday, and isn't he/she adorable?

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Listening to: Billie Holiday - Nice Work If You Can Get It (Rondo Brothers Remix)
via FoxyTunesse guys.