...be in shape for the games next year.

This past weekend was the Cambridge Pottery Festival and US Pottery Games. What is not to love about being at a show with a bunch of clay people? And even better to be at a show with only clay people! In the twelve years that we have been doing art shows for living there are a few truths that I have come to know.
One of them is this:
Clay people are most often really fun people to be with. You want to hang with clay people.
This past weekend turned out to be a really joyous time. Honestly we didn't make much money but the 'fun' factor made up for it. On Saturday morning as I was setting up our cash box a potter walked by with a pie. She stopped and said to me, "Oh you're new. You don't know about this." She told me all about the church ladies who make pies and sell them at the show. She told me I had better hurry and get down there before all the pies were gone because they go quick. You bet I sorted that change as fast as I could and I hauled it down to the pie booth.
Pies, Pies, Pies. There were so many to choose from:

Apple pies, peach pies, rhubarb pies, oatmeal pies (that was one I had never heard of before), pear & cheddar pies, pecan pies....you name it, they had it! I was gushing. I was so excited. These poor ladies must have thought I was a kook. On Lopez Island where we used to live full time one of my favorite events is 'Bingo For Pies'. What is not to love about pie? I looked, I giggled, I was beside myself with joy. I bought a rhubarb pie because I LOVE RHUBARB. I am nuts about rhubarb. I almost bought the pear & cheddar as well but who needs to be greedy? I bought a beautiful looking rhubarb pie. Like a dope I didn't take a picture of my pie. With the love affair I was having with it all day you'd think that I'd have a photo album of my pie. But alas, all I did was make Michael stop at the Piggly Wiggly on  the way back to the hotel that night so that we could get some ice cream to go with my new love interest. I wonder how it feels to be upstaged by pie? That pie was as tasty as it looked. Michael took a picture of me having a piece. He loves to post embarrassing pictures of me so it must be up on his facebook page by now. Click here to go to his facebook page and see if you can find it.
We had pie for two nights in a row and I even managed to save a piece for Xan. I am amazing! It was a feat of sheer will power.
Okay other than the amazing pie and the pie ladies (Which were all sold out by noon on Saturday. Just like I was told they were going to be.) there was the US Potter Games. What a hoot! A bunch of potters competing in wheel throwing contests.

They even have a competition for high school students.

I'm not going to go into any more detail about the games because when I went over to take pictures for this blog I was struck with (what I think is) a very funny idea. On the spot I decided that I wanted to film the games and make my own narrated mock-umentary ala Christopher Guest-ish. I started filming and they let me go up on the stage and film away. Everyone was so gracious and good natured about the whole thing. Clay people! I tell ya. So in the next couple of weeks I will get my video together and post it up on our youtube channel. Keep an eye out for it.
Saturday night the promoter's hosted a Mexican dinner for all of us complete with lots of local micro-brewed beer. It was great to sit and chat with everyone. Michael got to do his clay related techno-babble with other potters. I think he enjoyed himself immensely.
The show was in a park near a really big lake. It was a beautiful setting and other than all the bugs that showed up on our tent...

we were really happy to be outside. Cleaning off the tent on Sunday night was a bit yucky.
All in all another great weekend to add to our collection of great weekends. Even though we drove home with our pockets not quite as full as we would like, we did come home with lots of great clay items that we bartered for and with our hearts warmed by camaraderie. We look forward to going back. I'm putting Michael on a high carb diet so that he'll be in shape for the games next year.

I'm sure on that.

Sometimes when we are driving home from a show (usually on a Monday) it's just the same ol', same ol'. We listen to a book on tape, we chat, we take turns driving and I always end up falling asleep at some point (in the passenger seat, of course). Sometimes we stray from the norm and end up doing something extraordinary. Our drive home from the Edina Art Fair aired on the edge of the 'something extraordinary' kind of drive.
Our friend, Martha, told us about this funky antique/really cool stuff place that is right outside of Minneapolis. On the way up to show we had passed this place that had old cars and stuff that Michael could see from the road. If you're thinking that at this point in the drive that I was fast asleep in the passenger seat...You're right. I must have been in a deep snooze because I don't remember seeing anything like that.

Sometime during the weekend Michael was talking to Martha and her boyfriend about all the stuff he saw from the road and they told him that we just had to stop and take a look. That's how we ended up at Hot Sam's in Lakeville, MN.

This is what we saw as we were driving up the long driveway.....

And yes! In the top picture that is an airplane stuck in the ground. We knew right away that this was out kind of place!

This is what awaited us at the top of the drive...

This is the antique store and some of the out-buildings...

Every out-building is jam packed with stuff to purchase. Michael bought 4 wooden antique folding chairs for us to use at home. 

We spent at least an hour walking around and chatting with the owner's girlfriend. Apparently the owner travels around and collects all the outside treasures and his late mother was the antique dealer.

So the next time you are in the Minneapolis vicinity, particularly if you are in Lakeville, MN find Hot Sam's Antiques and Furniture. You won't be disappointed. I'm sure on that.

...the joy of seeing friends, sharing meals, and visiting new places.

We've had a crazy, busy past 4 weeks here at Terra Cottage. Michael is the co-director of the LowerTown Arts and Music Festival that happens in our neighborhood. This year we had a booth on the street. I walked around and took lots of video footage and forgot to take pictures. Actually my time was really limited because Michael's co-directorship is very demanding and I barely had time to leave our booth. So watch out for the video that I'm going to put together.
The LowerTown show was the first in a run of 4-in-a-row for us. I don't recommend it. We did it. We got through it but lots of bits of our life got left in the breakdown lane. Just like that lone shoe or chair that you see as you're driving on your way to some fun vacation. That was a piece of our life that you saw there sitting lonely and forlorn.
The next show was Cuneo Gardens and that was in Vernon Hills, IL. Great location and potentially a good show but Michael (who was flying solo) got rained out. That show was rained upon, hailed upon, lighteninged upon, and the thunder was so close it shook the tents. I'll blog about that as soon as I get Michael's pictures downloaded onto my computer.
So that brings us to the Edina Art Fair in Edina, MN. Long haul for us (13 hours of driving) but last year it was our best show so we figured we'd better suck it up and go. All in all it was a terrifically fun weekend full of staying and visiting with our good 'clay' friend Martha Enzler:

This is the type of ceramic artwork that Martha does:

She draws a picture, then carves it, then makes a mold of it and then she casts tiles. She does really lovely work!
These are some pictures that I took around Martha's house. When I think of Martha's home I think 'Zen'. When I think of our home I think 'Chaos'. Her place is so tranquil and serene.

This last picture is of these white sort of coconut looking things that she made. She was thinking about Buddhism and being all alike yet one-of-a-kind and unique. I love them! I think of Martha and I think of altars in honor of nature and life.

Martha and her boyfriend Erik (he shoots these amazing pictures of dancers) were both in the art show as well. You can see one of Erik's photographs in one of the pictures above. His is the one on the table that is leaning against the wall. And "NO" it's not the hula girls. It's the one with the dancer with (what looks like) smoke behind him. Click here to see Erik's work. Martha unfortunately doesn't have a website. She only displays and sells her work at shows.
We all had an okay show. Not great, not horrible either. We decided that we were all going to go out for dinner at a place near Martha's house.

We walked over to the Holy Land to have the buffet and to our delight we discovered that because it was the end of the day they only charged us $5 each. Michael and I ate there two nights in a row. We love those fabulous 'cheap eats'! Holy Land is a Middle Eastern grocery as well and Michael & I went shopping. We bought olives and halvah. Yummy, yum, yum! All day long at the art show I get to tell people that I was going to the Holy Land. It was just so much fun to say.

We do so many art shows throughout the year that we've learned that one does not make tons of money at every single art show that you participate in. For us it all works because this is what we do for a living and with all the shows added up it all works. So when we don't do terribly well at show we know to relax and not fret because there is always another show to be had. We live for the good moments and the joy of seeing friends, sharing meals, and visiting new places. 

...full of lots of cherished visiting.

Silver Spring, MD is quite a hike for us. This was a very special trip for us because we got to stay with very dear family friends in Bethesda, MD. When we were based out of Saratoga Springs, NY we would see our friends, Suzi & Barry Hoffman, often but since our move to Paducah we don't get to see them as much.

We needed a Hoffman fix so I booked whatever show in that area that would work into our show schedule. (Yes, sometimes that is all the motivation you need to find a show.) That's how we ended up at the Downtown Silver Spring Fine Arts Festival.
This trip we added on some extra time so that we could do things like enjoying Barry's matzoh brie.

It was so 'Oh my god' yummy!!
The show was fun. We had two surprises.
One was from Alonzo Davis who owns a studio here in LowerTown but lives near Silver Spring. He came by our booth and said hello. That was sweet.

And the other surprise was when someone came into our booth and told us that they just met the other artist from Paducah that was up the street. "What other artist?" I thought. So I trekked up the road and to our mutual surprise it was another artist from Paducah...

It was Kevin Myers. We've met Kevin many times and it was so much fun to see him at a show! Kevin does some amazing fresco work. He had just done a show in VA the weekend before and so he picked up this show to do before heading back home. (We art show folk will do that a lot. We'll try to find shows in the same general area and spend a week or two out there and then head home.) We had dinner together after breaking down on Sunday evening. Here are some pictures of his frescoes that were in his booth.

I really like his work. You can check out his website by clicking here.
There's one more thing about our weekend that I need to share with you. It's this bug:

He was hanging out on our extension cord one day. He was so amazing looking that I had to take his picture. Don't know what he was but I found him fascinating.
Oh (okay just one 'one more' thing) and this was our first road trip that we took with our dog, Nestle. She did great in the car! She didn't even complain when we stopped in Lexington on the way home and loaded up the car with 1000 lbs. of clay that she had to sit on for the rest of the trip. Oh what a fantastic dog we have!
It was a great weekend full of lots of cherished visiting.

...I'm too honest for that.

Oops it's been a while. Michael and I both got Spring colds and with all the rain, rain, rain, and more rain around here we've had our hands full. I'm happy to report that we are both feeling much better these days and our neighborhood survived all the flooding.
Since our last blog we have done a few shows....
4 Bridges in Chattanooga, TN:
We got to stay with some wonderful friends and Michael flew out that weekend to NYC to go to a Memorial for an Uncle of his that had passed away the previous summer. It was a hectic and complicated weekend with Michael not being able to fly out Sunday morning as planned. He arrived with the van just in time to load it with all our stuff on Sunday evening. Thus no pics for the weekend. I was too busy manning the booth.
OMB Magic City in Birmingham, AL:
Michael went down and did that one solo because it was Quilt Week here in Paducah and we had our apartment rented out. That show was the weekend after the big tornado and we had mixed feelings about going down to a city that was in the middle of crisis. But we had already paid for the booth and the hotel and the show was still on. So off he went with some boxes of clothes and shoes that we gathered to take down to the emergency shelters. Go figure...it was our best show so far this year! We were stunned. Michael had a great weekend. We guess that folks needed a good distraction and they got it. Michael's work was met with great enthusiasm. Thank you Birmingham!!
My next post will be all about the next show we did in Silver Spring, MD.
Sorry for the lapse. I wish I could promise you that it won't happen again but I'm too honest for that.

Just Another Breakdown

Here it is! The latest video brought to you by Terra Cottage. This is a 'behind the scenes' peek into what it's like to breakdown after a weekend art show. Let us know what you think.

...full of many kinds of abundance.

Our last show was The Outdoor Art Show in Fairhope, AL.
We made some money. Good!
We got to walk on the beach. Even Better! (CLICK HERE for pictures of us on the beach.)
We had a terrific neighbor. Fantastic!
We got to visit with our friend Daryl. Super!
And the weather was warm, hot even. The bestest of all!!!
If you read my previous post. You did, didn't you? If not then stop reading this one right now and start reading the one below.
Okay, now that you are back.
Our show in Fairhope was sweet, to say the least. We got to be surprised by castles down the street. (See? Now that you read the blog below you know all about what I'm talkin' about.) And we had the most fun with our neighbor and wood artist, Peg Martinez.

Having a delightful neighbor is a joy. And boy did we have a joyous weekend! We laughed. We joshed each other. We told each other stories. Not only is Peg a very talented wood artist she is also a marathon runner. She set a goal for herself to run a marathon in every state. She only has 9 states left to go. "Whew" I say while wiping my brow. Debbie, Peg's partner, had me engaged in the most intense story about their experiences after Hurricane Katrina. Peg & Debbie live in New Orleans (obviously). We would be sitting on our chairs outside our booths with our heads together, Debbie telling me about men with guns and animals having to be left behind. Then someone would come into one of our booths and we would have to go and take care of business. Then it was back to our chairs so I could find out what happened next. Peg must have said, "Are you still telling her that story?!" about half a dozen times throughout the day. Yes, Yes, Yes she was telling me that story. I ate it up like a bar of good chocolate. Ah what great neighbors!
CLICK HERE to see Peg's website.
These are some of the boxes that Peg makes:

And she won a prize to boot!

Peg is new to the show circuit. Way to go Peg!!! 
Other than the beach and our great neighbors we got to see our friend Daryl. We adore Daryl and it's always a treat to meet up with her at a show. Daryl is from New England, like me, and she now lives in Louisiana with her boyfriend Kevin. She is one of these artists that divides up shows with their partner/collaborator. So Kevin was off at another show in somewhere, USA. We all went out to dinner; Daryl, great neighbors, another friend of Daryl's and us. Look at my pictures on my facebook page. You can see the sunset over Mobile Bay and the picture that I took of the Super Moon. I sent a picture of all of us at the table to Kevin assuring him that we were having no fun without him. I lied.
Daryl was in another show that butted right up against the show that we were in. Together they make one HUGE show and you really couldn't tell where one started and the other began. I walked up several blocks in the sun (the glorious sun!) so that I could take some pictures of Daryl's work for you.
This is Daryl. Here's a tid-bit about Daryl....She's an amazing dancer! One of these days I'm going to stay at her house in LA and we're going to do nothing but dance to Zydeco music. She'll have to teach clumsy ole me. It'll be fun.

This is Daryl's lovely work.

Yeah, she's another clay person. We like clay people. CLICK HERE to see Daryl's facebook page.
It was a great weekend full of many kinds of abundance.