Detroit Urban Craft Fair

This past weekend I got to visit Detroit for my first ever show in Michigan: The Detroit Urban Craft Fair! It was held for 2 days at the Masonic Temple, an amazing building and the largest masonic temple in the world, apparently.

Photo from handmadedetroit.com

The only show I've been to with it's own candy bar. Also the only show I've been to where one of the organizers got proposed to.

What I got when I arrived. They made all of the booth numbers out of rope licorice! 

Photo from michiganblogger.com

One thing I was really surprised about was the amount of Michigan crafts there were. People in Michigan are crazy about Michigan! We're not really like that in Indiana. I did get to trade with several other vendors, which is one of my favorite things about doing craft shows. All in all, DUCF was amazing and I definitely hope to be back!

DIY Trunk Show/Chicago Trip

Earlier this year I applied for a spot in the DIY Trunk Show in Chicago, and was accepted into my first show in The Windy City! My boyfriend, Mark, and I traveled up a day early so that we could do some exploring.

On the way to Chicago, there's a stretch of land with tons of wind turbines. It's really amazing to see. At night, they all blink a red light simultaneously.

It starts getting dark at 4:30 in Chicago.

Navy Pier at night from Lake Shore Drive.

A trip to the Shedd Aquarium was in order the next day, so we took the train, but first stopped at a nice place called Yolk for a hearty breakfast.

Across the street was a bunch of sculptures of legs in Grant Park. A little research led me to find out that it's called "Agora" and was designed by Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz. 

We decided to get the expensive passes at the aquarium so that we could see everything. Most of it was worth it. 

These fish were huge and didn't look real. I forget the name of them.

One of the main reasons we got the expensive passes was to see the beluga whales and dolphins perform. It actually wasn't very impressive because they're still training for their big holiday show. I still loved seeing belugas, though. 

Right now there's a special jellyfish exhibit. The moon jellies are my favorite. 

One of the things I really love the most about the Shedd Aquarium are all the little details in the architecture and design of the building.

We got up Saturday and I of course had my pre-show anxiety nausea. This is what happens when you're a worry wort.

But I had nothing to worry about! The show went wonderfully. Sold all of my shadow boxes, most within the first few hours. 

Thanks for having me, DIY Trunk Show! I hope to be back next year! 

I've been working working working. Or at least, it feels like it. Mainly I've been working on documenting everything from my last show and putting it online. I've yet to update my website, but you can view everything on my Flickr page. I've also applied to be in the Indieana Handicraft Exchange in Indianapolis. I'll be honest, I don't really expect to get in because its more geared toward functional art and crafts, as opposed to fine art. However, in preparation for the application, I made my first pendants and also drawings on ceramics. I plan to continue to make these, regardless of whether or not I get into the craft fair. I'm finding them to be a nice break from making paintings, and also a way to sell my work at a less expensive level.
Coming up: a poster for a night of plays in Bloomington, a commissioned piece of elephants in peril, and a group show at the Art Hospital, which will be March 27th.

If you live in Bloomington, please go see my show at Boxcar Books! Titled "The Winter Year," it features 15 new works of Arctic animals and giant beards. I was lucky to get some press for it, which you can read here. The work will be up until March 3rd.
The opening reception was great. So many people came out, and I even sold a few things. Making a show can be so stressful, but it always ends up being worth it.
Work from the show will be added to my website as well as Etsy within the next month. In the meantime, free calendars will be given out with every order or commission!

Hullo!

I decided to use blogger now instead of livejournal to update you on what's going on with my artwork. That being said, here's what's going on!
The most recent piece I've completed is the one below. Its based on a dream, or rather nightmare, that I had about being chased by wolves. This, among other things, are for sale in my Etsy shop. Alternately, if you want to buy something but don't want to sign up for Etsy, send me an email and we can arrange payment through mail or paypal.

I just got asked to participate in an art festival in Zurich! Its called Illustrative, and from what I've seen on their website, it looks pretty amazing. Its also amazing that I am a little-known artist in Bloomington, Indiana and somehow my work reached someone in Berlin (which is where the organizers live, I think) and my work will travel across the pond in October.

I'm going to be accepting commissions for the next couple of months, but after that I'm not so sure. I'll have a solo show at LaLa Gallery in Lafayette, Indiana, and will also probably be applying to grad schools, so if you want something commissioned, be sure to get it by the end of September!

Thats about it for now. Thank you for reading. The end.