Storytelling

I love stories, always have, and I suspect I always will. I was that girl who had her nose in a book, oftentimes throughout the night. I can still remember finishing Jane Eyre that way--say, around 4 in the morning. I don't have the same stamina I had as a youth, however, on occasion, particularly if Mr. Bruce is out of town, if I get involved with a good story, I stay up way past my normal early bedtime.

Today, while doing an analysis of the show, I thought about all the stories I heard over the weekend. My grandma loved....., I've been married three years now and this will mean something to my husband......, our sister broke her foot and we are so glad you had something whimsical we could cheer her up with (Olivia)....., I am a quilter......, this reminds me of New Orleans, my home town.....I'm a retired sewing teacher.....my friend is getting married today--can you write congratulations on the back?....and they went on and on, with me loving every minute of it.

As it turns out, the quilter and retired sewing teacher were vying for the same print of Bruce's Grandma Loveland's sewing box. Both had a place for it. The teacher told me later that she kept hanging around hoping the young woman would put it back in the basket. Her consolation prize was the heart cloud and because the print went to the young woman, I'll be sending another one in the mail as soon as I get it from Mr. Roger. I did almost nothing to the box, leaving the tatting, spools of near empty threads, and even a note in Bruce's Mom's handwriting just as I found it. My talent (if you can call it that) is knowing that simple is good.

I came across this today from the Saatchi Gallery page on facebook:

"An art which is not based on feelings is not an art at all....feeling is the principle, the beginning and the end; craft, objective, technique--all are in the middle."

Well, we all know I'm no whiz with the technicalities of photography, however, I sincerely believe all those years spent reading stories have infused my photography with feelings. In other words, people seem to be able to relate to what I have to say. Furthermore, with prices like mine, who couldn't afford my prints? That's okay by me.

I so wish Anne Tyler would write a new novel. She's my muse. Every time I take a photograph that I think might be good I think of her, simple, strait forward and profound at the same time. Her stories of ordinary people and their ordinary lives are always captivating which is what I aspire to do. Lots of times I miss, but that doesn't stop me from trying. And just like Anne Tyler, I stay pretty close to home. Many of my shots taken right around the house have done very well for which I'm thankful.

Almost as soon as I finished typing my last post, it began raining. The weekend rain waited until Monday thank goodness. Bouts of heavy rain throughout the day were most welcome as it has been inordinately dry. Today, the rain has stayed away but the clouds remained. In fact, there was just the tiniest hint of sunshine about 30 minutes ago and that was that. Despite the gloomy skies, Baxter deserved some attention so I took him you know where. Yes, you are right--Cypress Grove Park. I swear he gets so excited it's unimaginable. The minute we pull up he begins whining to get out of the car and today he even made the leap to the ground, which for him is saying a lot. We roamed around, with him walking nothing like he does in the neighborhood. There's a pond that is covered with algae that I found particularly surreal today under the grey skies.

That green is mighty close to my new paint!! The roses were blooming like mad.

For some reason, the climbing roses in the background reminded me of my Mom who has been dead for eight years now. I wondered what she would have thought about how my life is going these days. I'm certain, she, like I, could not imagine it. There's goes that reminder stuff....

After lunch I went on a few errands, stopping first at Lowes for some weed and ant killer. Sounds mean doesn't it? Before I got there I made a quick run through the peacock neighborhood. Seriously, it is just too good to pass up. When last I went with Jonathan and Alissa, there were loads of peacocks, mostly female, and the males did not have their tails, having shed them I presume. Today there were loads and this time they had their spots going on. This is an interesting article about how some researches think the number of spots on the male's train improves his chances at attracting peahens. Obviously, this guy was having no luck at all, despite what seems like a lot of spots to me!

There were three peacocks with their feathers displayed. I found the back of the feathers nearly as fascinating,

That white fluffy stuff was pretty darn cool. He strutted and shimmied hoping the ladies would pay him some mind. The iridescent green on these peahens was really striking. (continuing our green theme)

Driving home, after stopping at the library and choosing some books I hope will keep me up at night, I came across some beautiful flowering trees. I adore flowering trees.

I've no clue what these will become but, darn, aren't they beautiful? The world is so full of beauty it boggles the mind and most of it is right under our nose if we dare look.

Once I was home, folding the laundry, the chirping began. This afternoon it was the ladies turn. Ladies? Why, yes, the ladies. It turns out we have two females that hang around and I can prove that. I took this one having an early dinner poised on the Nuttery,

while another female was dining at the side yard feeder. Because I can only take photographs through the blinds I thought I might try my talking trick outside. She was not nearly as cooperative as the male the other day, climbing higher and higher in the tree as I circled it, trying to get through the branches.

I was seriously hoping I could discern a difference, however, with the lack of light, I was lucky to get this. I sure hope you like cardinals as much as I do because undoubtedly if you keep reading you'll be seeing more of them! Speaking of stories, I haven't updated anything about the Nuttery lately. It seems as if the squirrels have decided it is too much trouble for just a dab of bird seed and are eating elsewhere these days. That's some welcome news.

Can you stand one more cardinal picture today? I just loved the little whiteness on her side,

This one is taken through the sunroom windows after she's had a little snack at the feeder Bruce hung from the eaves.

The analysis showed me a few things. 18 canvases were sold, about half of them what I call baby canvases. That's a record. I sold more what I call "funk" than anything else. As well, I sold more than I thought I did according to my Square payments. I did my best to keep up with the sales but apparently not as good as I thought which is a GREAT problem to have. Flowers and animals came in second which surprised me a little. That said, for the show I had Mr. Roger print some baby peacocks, a giraffe, an elephant and her baby, a white tiger and a sleeping cougar which all sold. Normally I don't carry that many animals but perhaps I should.  I took no photographs of my booth but my friend Sue did. As well, she took a pretty decent picture of me by which I mean I'm very hard to photograph well. Not the photographer's fault, I am just better behind the camera rather than in front. Furthermore she took photos of the whole show which she wrote about here. I was happy she took photographs of the show because I never knew what was going on outside of my booth! The crowds were pretty big.
This photograph from the Orlando Sentinel is pretty darn impressive.

So now I have another story. I did a huge art festival and made it. What a way to start the year!

Perfect

Before I sat down to write this post I kept thinking about the title. Perhaps it should be "Full Circle", or "121", or "Am I Ever Tired!", or "Weekend in Mount Dora." Any and all of those would be appropriate, however, I think the title sums it all up nicely.

As you know I worked for many days preparing for the show, all the while wondering if my efforts would be in vain. I'm happy to report they were not. Although silly me, I did forget to order one of my most popular canvases!

On Thursday, my only play day of last week, the groomer came while I was playing bridge to clean our little Baxter up, giving him a much improved look. She always puts a little holiday kerchief on him and this time was no exception. It's kind of funny how he matches the print somewhat.

The print visible in the twirly thing was the last print sold of the show, or at least nearly the last. Some of the activity tends to run together after 14 hours of selling!

You may recall late last year the wonderful woman named Nancy at the Mount Dora Center for the Arts who contacted me about the festival image. As you know I did not win that competition, however as it turns out, not without a fight from Nancy. I learned from some board members I met in the parking lot that she really fought for me, proclaiming that my story was enough to pick me. How nice is that? Furthermore, she was kind enough to respond to an email Friday morning about my booth number and set up time. The directions were somewhat confusing for a first timer so I thought I'd ask and she took time out of her busy day to answer, for which we were grateful.

Bruce worked from home on Friday, not only his Darden work, but putting wires on 10 baby canvases. As well, we redid the framed price sheet and bio, wanting everything to look top notch. I don't know if it helped, but it sure didn't hurt.

With Nancy's answer in mind, we decided to leave the house at 4 in the afternoon, hoping to make the 33 mile drive, arriving in Mount Dora with enough time to get a bite to eat before our 6:15 set up time. Unfortunately the traffic getting out of Orlando on a Friday night worked against our little two vehicle caravan, turning what should be about a 45 minute drive into well over an hour. Nonetheless, we did arrive, picked up our information packet and found just a little time to get something at this place:

By this time all the downtown streets were closed off to traffic and shortly thereafter Bruce got our vehicle, waiting in a long line to make his way to our spot. And what a spot it was--absolutely perfect in every way. Not only was it a corner space with great visibility, it was on the main street AND it did not face the sun. I have NEVER had a space so great. I have a feeling Nancy had something to do with my good fortune.

Then the fun began. Setting up is always hard, even more so in the half darkness. But set up we did and finally closed the tent up after 9PM. There were still lots of folks working as we made our way back to Orlando. I've called the post "Perfect", however, there is one tiny part that was not so much. Bruce has a favorite singer-songwriter, James McMurtry, the son of Larry McMurtry of Lonesome Dove fame, who was playing at a downtown club Friday night. We worked hard to make it so he could at least catch some of the gig but sadly it did not pan out. Despite driving as fast as we legally could, Bruce hopped off the interstate, made his way to Orange Avenue, only to be dissuaded by the lack of parking. By now it was after 10 and he was concerned that by the time he arrived the show would be over. With disappointment, he came on home. So, that wasn't great, but he promises he's not holding it against me!

Five years ago, six weeks after getting my camera, we strolled the Mount Dora Art Festival to get ideas for a booth set up. That day it rained. It was totally in the back of my mind all the while I prepared. During that visit I took this very same shot:

This time, however, it was just down the alleyway from my booth AND the excellent parking spot we had for the Element. Because this is the 37th year for the show, the folks in Mount Dora know what they are doing! They make everything as easy as possible and the town looks marvelous. The park just down the way from our booth was lit with thousands of lights at night, making for a sparkling spectacular.

Mount Dora relies a lot on tourists from near and far. There are lots of antique stores in the area as well as empty spaces downtown. Unlike the downtown empty stores in downtown Orlando, the folks in Mount Dora spruce theirs up, giving them an inviting, albeit somewhat surreal look after dark.

The festival is not only important to artists but equally so for the area merchants. There were folks from all over enjoying the art AND the PERFECT weather. Despite predictions ranging from 30-50% chance of rain, the weather could not have been better. Cool in the morning, warmer in the afternoon, with a smattering of clouds in the blue, blue sky. No humidity either. It can't be overstated how important a component the weather is to a show. Ah yes, you know that if you've been reading for very long. No real need to drag up the monsoon weekend now is there?

I left the house around 6:30 Saturday morning to finish setting things up. I'll tell you what--the new weatherproof sides Bruce bought are NOT easy to roll up, taking me nearly a half hour just for that. Most importantly though, if we do have a monsoon again, my pieces will stay dry.

Although the show did not open until 10, people began arriving much earlier. In fact, one family was there at 7:30 in the morning! My first sale came around 9:30. Baby, it was SHOWTIME! The sales kept coming, some big, some small. The people were terrific with no haggling whatsoever on Saturday for which I was very grateful. You know how much I hate it when people want to make a deal. Before that first sale I discovered that my watch battery was kaput. Bummer. But not so fast--it turns out there was a clock store just behind me. Knowing how much it would bug me all day, I popped in and had a new one in minutes. Perfect.

This shot of Fifth Avenue was taken in the early morning. Sadly it isn't very good, but it does give you a notion about the set up. Isn't that sign for a gun store weird in the midst of an art show? Unlike the artist sitting beside his booth on the right, my chair sat empty all day long with scads and scads of folks throughout the day. Early on I sold two of my largest canvases which obviously pleased me to no end. More followed, including a canvas of an image that sat dormant in my photo library for nearly three years. A few weeks ago I went back into my library to see exactly how many times it took me to get the decanter shot. Once, twice, twenty shots? I had no recall. (two). When I did so, I came across the original glass I was using to hold corks that prompted me to dump them in said decanter. Although I've sold the decanter about 50 times, I never once put out the glass. I'm glad I did because not only did it sell but I'm proud of it. Duh! This will lead me on a treasure hunt through my library looking for other overlooked gems.

Bruce showed up in the middle of the afternoon looking so handsome. What a pleasant surprise to turn around and find him there. After a brief tutorial on Square usage, he took over some of the transactions. It worked like a charm for most of the time, however, I know I'm not the only one using it, prompting an overload to the network. Taking it outside the tent, and--get this--holding it aloft, seemed to do the trick. People were amazed with the ease.

You know how when you go to a drug or discount store and you buy a bunch of things that don't cost very much, only to be surprised by the high total? That's about how things went. I sold loads and loads of $10 prints. But you know what? They add up over time.The upbeat economic news Friday was welcome, however, people are still watching their dollars as well they should. I am always glad to have the big sales, but small ones are good too. After all, we started this business with the notion of selling prints for small spaces and it still holds true to an extent. Most of the crazy things I shoot are better suited to small in my opinion; I think that's one reason I struggle so with choosing things to make large. In any case, we couldn't have been happier with how things turned out Saturday.

As I drove home I talked to Roger who wanted to know if I needed anything more. After some hemming and hawing, I decided on the glass one again, as well as Lazy Daisy which is the one I meant to show and forgot to order. Don't ask me how he got the canvases to dry, but dry they were when I picked them up from their front porch at 7:30 Sunday morning. Not as busy as Saturday, after all it was Super Bowl Sunday, crowds still came out in abundance, including two of my bridge buddies, Bev and Allison. What a lovely surprise for both them and me. I dare say they liked what they saw.

Sunday afternoon Bruce arrived with a hand cart, planning to tote things to the car after we took down. I wasn't thrilled with that idea, but because he's the project manager of our team, that's what we did. Actually I did very little toting, instead, stayed with the open vehicle. Thank God he is a strong man!

And that was that. We drove our little two car caravan home in the dark, arriving just after 7. He unloaded, I fixed dinner, we ate and watched a little football, including the highly entertaining Madonna halftime show, and finally, during the fourth quarter, gave into our fatigue. We went to bed oh so happy that the show went well.

You would think Bruce is perfect from my descriptions and he pretty much is. Make of it what you will, but he does like to be right. As we went to sleep he said, "I told you I was right when I said five years ago that you might be able to do something with your photographs." By golly, he seems to have been.

In With the New

Sound's pretty easy doesn't it? Well, my body will tell you differently. Seriously, it was like moving half our home! The good news is that both Bruce and I are ecstatic with the new carpet. Let's go back a few days and see how things unfolded shall we?

The closet painting proceeded without mishap. Have you bought any paint lately? Seriously, it is expensive these days. That said, the Super Paint from Sherwin Williams is indeed super. No spatters to speak of, drips almost non-existent, and goes on the wall like a dream. The same cannot be said for the cheap paint I bought for the closets. More like white wash. I got messier painting the closets than I did the whole room!

Fortunately it was not terribly dirty. Do not ask me why I put a cloth down when the carpet was coming out the next day. So that's our finished closet. Notice the trim in the middle of the wall? Before we had the house re-plumbed we had some serious leak issues. Bruce got to them by taking the wall down in the closet, once only a few days before we were hosting a huge party. Those were the days.....

The office closet looked like this during the process:

All those little hookie things are for the shelving system that had to come down. Again, the silly cloth.

Waking up at 6 on Friday morning I immediately went to work, removing everything that I could from the rooms. Where to put it? Why, the shower and bathtub of course!

Lamps, under the bed stuff, and linens from our bedroom. The counter held clocks, fan and photographs. The office next got the stripping action. Moving my computer to the kitchen table, I put most of the rest of the stuff in the hallway bathroom.

Baxter wondering what the heck was going on! I emptied my desk because I thought they would turn it on it's side which they did not. Oh well, this forced me to re-organize and trash things I no longer need. The Goodwill pile was growing...

Three fellows arrived around 8:30 amidst a slow drizzle. Thankfully, the rain never amounted to much because had it, the job would have had to be put off. This, of course, would not have made me happy. Laying a giant tarp in the driveway they roughly cut the pieces and stored them in the kitchen. They began in the smallest bedroom, moving to the office and finally our bedroom. All the while Baxter was roaming around puzzled.

This is JP doing his thing; making the seam which is done with a special tape and iron. Because of the wetness outside, not to mention the recent massive leaf drop, the house was getting messier by the minute. I swept multiple times trying to keep things manageable. Finally, at 2:30 they were done. While they were working on my office I began moving things back into the guest bedroom and so on. Good plan because as it was, I worked like nobodies business until 8:30 Friday night setting things aright. Bruce's flight finally arrived around then and once it did I called him to bring FOOD!

Earlier in the evening Angela came over to check it out. My tiredness was apparent, however, she dismissed it. My response? Keep in mind you are 13 years younger than I and let me tell you that makes a difference. Not that I want it to, but one must face facts. Although I'm still a pretty good worker, I AM NOT the same as I was nearing 45 years old. While I was putting stuff back in our bedroom I decided to shake things up a bit and rearrange the room. Not that I started the day thinking that way, but what the heck? When Bruce came home he was pleased. I'm still a little sketchy on placing the bed in front of the window. Here's a shot taken on Saturday afternoon after returning from what turned out to be an excellent day at the Winter Garden market.

What do you think? Here's the guest bedroom,

And finally my darling new office,

Perhaps darling isn't the word? I'm thrilled with it I'll tell you that much. The carpet is just wonderful; not only does it look good, but it feels fantastic on our feet. I couldn't be more pleased with the job Discount Carpet & Tile did. And to think I found them online.

Friday evening I was so beat I had to quit. Thus, Saturday morning Bruce finished moving the clothes into the closets and putting the doors back on. By the time I left for the WG market, things were looking decidedly better. Returning in the afternoon, I finished up the closet in the office. The public rooms are once again neat and tidy.

Speaking of the WG market, while driving there I was thinking all the while I didn't want to go. Listening to Scott Simon on Weekend Edition, I heard him interview Martin Mull and Fred Willard who partnered in the 70's for a show called Fernwood Tonight. I was running late, otherwise I would never have heard Fred Willard saying that a performer, and in my case an art vendor, should never turn down anything no matter how small because one never knows what it may lead to. Good advice Fred because I had my second best day on Saturday. So glad I went. The day was chilly to start but turned out lovely. We've got a new fresh flower vendor who had gorgeous flowers.

The citrus is in the peak season right now, looking and tasting amazing.

Strawberry season as well. The ones pictured were picked on Friday.

I rustled up some dinner but before I did I saw this beautiful sunset out the window necessitating a quick trip down to the lake.

Winter sunsets are the best!

Chilly Sunday morning temperatures turned into mild ones later on. This January has been the most beautiful in years. Starting slowly, I built momentum throughout the day with 24 sales before the day was over. Between the last two weekends I've sold 50 items. I must remind myself of this during the slow summer months! That said, defying reason, last August was my best month of 2011. Go figure. No art shows + little traffic=Big sales? Further proof that the longer I do this gig, the more the notion that "you never know" holds true. Yesterday the place was packed, prompting Jeff and Connie to ask when they showed up at my booth, "Is it always like this?" Why no, it is not, but when it is, we are happy! They came to my very first day at the market, bringing friends as well. I forgot to ask them while we shared dinner at 310 Park after the market, if they ever thought I'd make it five years. I'm sure I didn't!

Which brings us to this weekend's show. Visiting the show for ideas five years ago I never dreamed I would be amongst the artists one day. The competition for sales should prove tough as there are 299 others to choose from. Putting that thought aside, I am preparing for the best case scenario. More prints to pick up from Mr. Roger, and even more to order. I am thrilled to say I sold two canvases this weekend! As well I have an order for at least one more. Things are looking pretty good right now. May I appreciate it while it lasts!

Humbly yours,
Gail

Oh My Gosh!!!

I am so excited right about now, I can hardly stand it! Wouldn't you know it? When I received the email containing the news which has me so thrilled, no one was home to call. Isn't that always the way?

After bridge and a stop at the Audubon Bird of Prey Center in Maitland, I came home and checked my email. Well, before we get to that, let's look at a few birds, shall we?

The center is home to injured birds of prey. I've been there before and posted pictures, but I just felt like going again today as it is only a mile or so from where we meet for bridge. In case you are wondering, I'm improving at bridge, having played a 3 No Trump hand today successfully. So, the owls are in a gigantic aviary with wires keeping them safely inside. I used the manual focus to get behind the wires. These owls were way, way up high on a perch. Frankly, I'm surprised this one turned out fairly decently.

It appears that the one on the right must have a broken wing and maybe missing an eye? Poor thing. At least it's not left to fend for itself out in the wild.

There is an open garden where there are hawks, eagles, and owls tethered to stands. Just moments after I arrived, it got windy and rainy--evidence of Irene passing by the state. So, so glad "she" decided to stay out in the Atlantic! I'm not sure what type of hawk this is:

Notice those yellow eyes? We've talked before about how fascinating the color of birds eyes are. This hawk appears to have light blue eyes which is very unusual, or at least my observation of birds makes me think so.

Aren't those markings remarkable? There are three eagles in the garden area and I believe two in a separate aviary. I wish I could tell you I remember this one's name, but I don't.

Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let's get to the email.

In a quest to improve my organizational skills, I have been applying to shows for next year already, including ones I don't think I'll get into. One such show, Mount Dora Art Festival isn't until February. A little background here--when Bruce made the suggestion that we try and sell my photography, we went to this show to scope out the displays. At the time, I still couldn't imagine doing a show myself, however, Bruce was convinced we could make it work. It was icky weather, but he got some ideas. If you don't want to bother clicking on the link, I'll tell you it is a REALLY big show, as in hundreds of thousands of people attend.

A few weeks ago I sent in my online application with no expectations attached. In case you're wondering, you submit three images along with a shot of your booth. I'm such a scatter brain sometimes I pick three and hope for the best, usually forgetting what I've submitted soon thereafter. Today, much to my surprise and delight, I received an email from one of the directors of the art center in Mount Dora asking ME if I would consider entering one of the three I submitted for the poster!!! Now, if you've not been to many shows, this may not seem like such a big deal, however, believe me, IT IS! They print t-shirts and posters, advertise the heck out of you and the like. Before you get too excited, apparently there are others in the running. They will let me know by next Friday and to be frank with you, I'm sure I have no chance of winning. But if I did.........WooHoo!!!

So, now you know why I'm euphoric at the moment. I know, only too well, that you win some and you lose some. This year none of my submitted images won for the city calendar. Ironically, on the same day I got a thanks, but no thanks letter from the Historical Board, I got an invitation for a celebration at City Hall for the revived fountain. TWO years ago, when I had two images chosen, I donated the money back to help with the cost of fixing our iconic fountain at Lake Eola. I'm not all that happy with the results to be honest. The colors are weird. You be the judge:

It's about time it was fixed! I declined the invitation--it was yesterday afternoon, but an email today says they have some memento for me if I'd like to pick it up!

The food truck craze has struck Orlando. I, for one, am over crazes.

I mean what is Korean BBQ Taco Box anyway? The colors are nice though.

Talk about something crazy--I could not get over this guy's phone at the market Sunday:

How funny is this?

I'm writing this waiting for Mr. Bruce to return. He was not only about 150 miles from the earthquake this week, he's now flying home while a hurricane is nearby. Good grief! 

I'm heading to bed now with a really good book, In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larsen, the author of "Devil in the White City", another amazing book. This guy makes history so fascinating you don't want to put it down. That said, last night I had nightmares about the Nazis. Very unpleasant.

Finally, if you are a fashionista, you may want to check out  Fall Fashion from the New York Times.