The traveling museum

I think I've mentioned that I go to Madonna University where I'm studying Graphics. Well, my homework this week really was time consuming, in fact, although I've spent about 8 hours in the last three days on it, I'm still hours away from completing the assignments by Wednesday.

So, that means I let 5 days go by without posting in my blog, and for this I apologize. I feel bad when I see my visitors who return each day, and there's nothing new to read.

I did do a craft show on Saturday and the news wasn't good. I seriously think now, that craft shows are the biggest waste of my time. I set up my display and sat and smiled at people who wandered by. One person commented that she didn't bring any money with her. I heard comment after comment about how cute my things are (as usual, the dog might eat them, the kid might choke...who's in charge in those households???)

Sometimes I feel like I'm a traveling museum. I set up my art/craft, people file by and ohh, and ahhh. They touch and smile. They tell me how patient I am, how talented I am, how cute my things are, and then they move on to the next booth, where they repeat themselves. From 9 a.m. till 4 p.m. I did have about 9 or 10 people actually reach into their pockets and pull out some cash. Thank you!

Can you tell that I'm still a bit crabby from Saturday? I just can't figure people out anymore. I must have heard 100 times that my prices were great and my clay babies were adorable, but...no purchase.

I was supposed to sign up for two more shows in the next two weeks, but I am declining. My next show is November 15th. Until then I'll just rely on etsy and ebay for sales.

I think I'm going to concentrate on snowmen and penguin families. Personalized things seem to sell the best.


I have some other clay things that I've been working on. I made a bunch of embellishments and some buttons. If I can't sell them, I'll put them in collages. They are pretty interesting looking.



This is a scroll that has chinese letting on it. I made several scrolls, layered them on top of each other and glued them to a painted canvas.

Finally, I'm going to take a leap of faith and start painting on a regular basis. I'm going to set up a table that will hold my easel, paints, and brushes. That way I will be more inclined to paint if there is an area that's always available. I love to paint and find that it's one of the most relaxing activities I do. Here is a painting I did today. It's a 8 by 10 canvas with my favorite color combination, green and pink.
It can never be said that I didn't pursue my love of art. I just hope one day it will start to pay off. Even though some of the set backs irritate me a little, I'll try harder to enjoy the journey!

Although today's topic is a little "off topic" I think everyone can relate to it.

Today I've been working on pumpkins, ginger breads and stressed out girls. Instead of listening to my radio, I have Music Choice on the Alternative station. My choice in music is usually retro alternative (80s The Cure, XTC, New Order, etc). My next choice would be music from the 90s and now, like Stone Temple Pilots, Collective Sole, Smashing pumpkins, NIN, Coldplay, etc. When I'm feeling spiritual I'll listen to gospel and Christian. When I'm really in a good mood and feeling energetic, I'll put on Funky music like The Gap and Earth, Wind and Fire or old school. When I really want to feel reflected and relaxed I listen to new age.

While I was working, "Talk" by Coldplay came on. Immediately, I was reminded of three things. Firstly, "talk" was the first song I put on my myspace page. Secondly, the song reminds me of my boyfriend, Jeff. Thirdly, I thought about my daughter's old friend. The friend isn't in my daughter's life anymore due to personal reasons, but the song still reminds me of her. My daughter Amber was in labor, while her friend and I sat in the birthing room talking about Coldplay and how much we liked them. It's a simple memory, but it does make me a little sad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0uqLM1uj_k

I know I'm not alone when I say that music transports me back to a memory, a time or a place. When I hear certain songs, I can remember details like where I was sitting, who I was with, what I was wearing and what the weather was like.

One of the first memories I have related to a song is "Go away little Girl" by Steve Lawrence. I was dreaming that no one wanted me around, and that where ever I went, people would say, "Go away little girl." As I slowly awakened from the dream, I could hear the song playing on the radio. I heard my dad packing his lunch for work and he was whistling along with the music. That memory goes back to 1962.


In 1967 there was a song by The Boxtops called "The Letter". Whenever I hear that song, I can remember walking on a hot sandy road with my cousin Nancy. I was 12 years old at the time and she was two years older. I thought she was so cool and I wanted to be like her. We were walking with our transistor radios and the song came on. She remarked that she loved that song. I loved it too and I felt like it ranked me a little higher in the "cool" category.

My cousin died several years ago but when I hear that song I remember that hot summer day we spent together.

1972 introduced me to a lot of great songs and my first hard crush. My friend Debbie and I both double dated two guys for a few months and, although both of those "relationships" ended
with broken hearts, the songs from that era remind me of the fun, excitement and sadness I experienced then. I remember roller skating to "Round-about" by Yes, making out to "Doctor my eyes" by Jackson Brown, and fighting to "American Pie" by Don McClean.
When I hear "Precious and Few" by Climax, I remember the heartbreak my friend felt when her guy dumped her. My heartache followed with sad songs, like "Alone Again" by Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Without you" by Nilsson, and finally, Bread's "Diary" song.

I remember going to a pool party in 1973 and as I pulled up in front of the house, "Hooked on a Feeling" came on by Blue Swede. I sat in the car and listened to it. A friend of mine screamed out my name from the pool deck, but I waited till the song was over before I got out of the car.



I was married in 1976 and remembered traveling to Pennsylvania for the honeymoon. "Let Your Love Flow" by Bellamy Brothers was all over the radio, and I thought it was fitting that it would be "our song." (Originally, "our song" was "I shot the sheriff" by Bob Marley..kind of fitting now that we've been divorced for so long..)

I've only covered the first two decades of my life and I'm falling behind on making clay.
So, I think I'll cover the next two decades tomorrow. Enjoy the videos!

Don't quit your day job...

I made a decision a few months ago that I was going to try to support myself through my art and clay. I worked as a Site Director in a before and after school Child enrichment program, and it was starting to stress me. When school was dismissed in June, I decided to take the summer off. I had a great summer, and my cake topper orders kept me in cash all summer. I had saved some money to live off of and having all of that freedom gave me the push I needed to tell my boss that I wasn't coming back in the fall.

I listened to motivational tapes that kept me inspired and I worked daily on my business. I was sure that I could support myself with my clay, but the need for a new car and a drop in orders forced me to rethink that decision. At about the same time that the financial crisis in America was hitting, my own crisis was starting to show itself. I was beginning to think that I might not be able to make it as a self employed artist.

Two weeks ago my former boss asked if I would like a small site to direct. "7 kids!" she said, dangling this opportunity over my head. I did not hesitate and accepted the job. It was with a happy heart that I started last Friday.

My first day on the job (which is only 3.5 hours per day) I bonded with the children and met most of the parents. It was a great start and I was glad to be back working with kids.

It's funny though, how a few rude parents can totally change a person's perspective. Yesterday, I had to inform a parent that she was a few weeks behind in her tuition. She started to argue that she didn't owe it, she wasn't going to pay it, and she's going to be mad if she has to. I finally told her my boss would handle it. She told me she understood it wasn't my fault, but she still wasn't going to pay it. I just can pass her off to my boss, who said she would handle it. I still may have to listen to this parent complain, in fact, I'm sure she will.

Today, a father came in to get his son. I hadn't met him yet and asked to see his ID. I knew it was going to be a hassle because when the dad came in, he didn't look at me or speak to me. I came up to him, introduced myself to him, and asked to see his ID. His attitude was immediatly condesending. He asked me, "how old is my son?" "How old?" he repeated. Before I could answer, he said, "He's ten years old and he ought to know I'm his dad."

I replied, "yes, but I don't know you." He repeated his rude comment.

I replied, "My concern is just for the safety of your child."

The father walked to the door, stopped and looked at his son. "Are you old enough to know I'm your dad?" he asked.

"Do you have your ID?" I continued.

Finally, he opened up his wallet, mumbling under his breath as he flipped it open, and just as I leaned forward to see, he snapped it shut and walked out of the door.

I was dumbfounded. If I were a parent with a child in daycare, I would be glad to show my ID.
I stood in the middle of the room and, sure enough, felt my eyes tear up as a lump formed in my throat. It took me about 15 minutes to get the thought of him out of my head without crying, and now, 6 hours later, I'm writing about it. I hate the fact that I'm so sensitive. It really bothers me. What I would really like to have said was, "Well, sir, I guess you won't mind if I let your son go home with anyone. Hopefully, no child molester will stop by to get him."
But, because I'm too polite for my own good, I just stood there like a door mat.




It's moments like this that I wish I could be more successful with my clay and that I could make more than enough money to support myself. I must admit, as soon as I got home, I worked on my website, made a few items, did my homework for my graphic class and worked on promoting my sites. It's jerks like the above dad who will inspire and motivate me to one day be successful enough to be self employed. I should have thanked him. For now though, I'll bite my tongue, do my job, and work like mad on my own business.

My Youtube video

Many of you have already seen this video, but for those of you who haven't, here it is.

It's a bit long but I hope you enjoy it.

Design "firsts"

For years I've been making a polymer clay "bashful" santa ornament. I think the first time I made him was in 1985 or 86.

I was doing a craft show and a friend told me about a tee shirt she saw with a naked santa holding his hat over his "package". She had seen this shirt at another show and kind of scribbled the design down for me to look at.

I loved this idea and at the next craft show I had several bashful santa ornaments ready to sell.

This was not my original idea, but I had never seen anyone do them in clay. For awhile, I was the only one that I knew of who was making them in the Detroit area. Then slowly, I began to see them in other clay artist's booths. Did they copy from me? Did the tee shirt guy copy from them, and I from him? I don't know.

By the 1990s I started to see them at Claires, the jewelry store. They were little earrings made in China. I wondered where they got the idea from.

When I joined ebay in 2001, I started to sell the naked santa in my auctions. It was a good seller and naked santa had a good run.

One day I was in a forum and noticed someone was upset about her naked santa design being copied on ebay. I began to read the thread and found out that I was the offender! The irritated ebayer ranted on and on about me. I posted a reply, explaining that I had been making the naked santa for years and that I didn't even come up with the idea. She finally calmed down and even to this day, we periodically send each other emails. She lives only a few miles from me, maybe she saw my naked santa at a show and was inspired. I'll never know.



Over the years I've seen lots of different versions of this naughty santa.

I've often wondered though, who came up with this idea first?

Benjamin Franklin said, "“Originality is the art of concealing your sources” Isn't that the truth!

Tales from the Pumpkin Fest

November 2004: I did a craft show where I broke even...

December 2004: I vowed to never do craft shows again.....

October 2008: I do another craft show....

South Lyon Pumpkin Fest

I had high hopes for this show. The booth cost me $150.00 for two days. It was with a lot of trepidation that I signed the check and contract.But I really thought it would be worth it. I had done this show in the past and did pretty well, the citizens of South Lyon really support their community events, and my quality of my clay had improved a lot since the last time I'd been there.

So it was with a lot of excitement and hope that I and Mary Ann headed off to South Lyon on Friday night to set up for the Sat. and Sun. show.

Beginning to set up the booth...


I found these fireplace screens on sale for $2.50 at Kmart last year. I bought 4 of them and they fit perfectly on my tables.


We hung pins and ornaments on the screens.

We left the booth at 8:30 Friday night looking like this. The next day the rest of the gym was full of crafters.

I brought a lot of Halloween ghosts and pumpkins.
Saturday

The show started at 11 am on Saturday. I arrived at 10:00 and had to park my car about 1/2 mile away from the school. There was shuttle bus service for us, which was great, because my legs wouldn't have made it, my knees hurt so bad.

During the day, people meandered through the show, making comments about the crafts as they ate popcorn and cotton candy. I had a few too many sticky fingers touching my clay babies as parents don't seem to think it's rude to have their children touch everything in sight. Within the first hour I heard enough comments to last me the rest of the season. "Remember when these were popular?" "I can do this" "Why should I buy this when I can make it" and, my favorite,"These break"

If it weren't for the many positive comments I heard, I might have been in a bad mood. But for every negative, there are about 100 positives. People smiled at my clay, remarked on how cute it was and loved the prices. My favorite moment was when a Down Syndrome child kept saying, "ahhh" "Ohhh" as she looked at the fatty fairies with their glistening wings.




I had a lot of pre-teen girls bought little ghosts and pigs. I gave them all a $1.00 off the prices and they were thrilled. I thought it was interesting that three teen boys were fascinated with how I made my dragons and bears. They were into pottery and asked me a lot of questions.

I interacted with a lot of different characters during the show. One woman pointed to my clay pigs and told me it brought back bad memories for her to see a pig since someone called her that 20 years ago!?! Another woman started talking about her boyfriend then suddenly asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I was polite and said yes. She whipped open her purse and proudly show me her "kid Rock" lookalike boyfriend.

At the end of the day, I had made my money back from the cost of the booth. This was so discouraging as the point is to make money, not break even. But, I had hope for Sunday.


Sunday

They say

hope is tomorrow's veneer over today's disappointment.

I was full of hope.

However, Sunday was horrible. No one came shopping. The aisles were void of shoppers. Crafters stood around talking, comparing notes. Thank goodness Mary Ann came with me because I had someone to talk to. The show ran from 11:00 to 5:00 and I barely made $50.00.

At 4:30, we started to slowly take things apart. Mary Ann watched the booth while I went to catch the shuttle bus. A few of us waited for about 15 minutes before he arrived. No one complained though, because he was such a nice guy. I headed back in my car to the school. I had to maneuver my car past a petting zoo, a giant lemon and crafters who were running back and forth to their cars. Mary Ann had already started to bring the boxes out to the parking lot and I loaded up the car. The show ended at 5:00 and by 5:23 we were on our way home.

There are many good points to doing a craft show. I now have a lot of stock. I got to network with other crafters. I passed out a lot of business cards. I received a lot of great feedback from the public.

Hopefully, at my next show, I'll actually make some money!

Craft Show Countdown

This Saturday and Sunday I'll be doing the South Lyon Pumpkin Fest. I've been so busy getting ready for the show that I haven't had time to post. I am planning on taking my camera so that I can show what my set up looks like. It's the first show I've done in a few years, so I'm a bit nervous.

Wish me luck and I'll be posting lots of information and pictures on Monday, October 6.

See you then!

Antiqued Clay and Michael's Sale

To give my clay creations a primitive or folk art look, I like to antique finished pieces.

I use Studio by Sculpey Antiquing medium, Chocolate brown, some old soft rags and a dry brush.

(I used to mix brown acrylic paint with hand lotion and it worked just as well...I just happened to receive the Studio by Sculpey medium, so I'm using it now. In a pinch though, remember the paint and hand lotion idea)..

Here's how to antique your clay.


Cover your clay piece with the antique medium. I cover mine completely.







Get the brown into every crevice.




After the piece is completely covered, begin to wipe it off as quickly as possible. If the phone rings, ignore it, as you don't want this medium to dry. The point is to wipe it on, wipe it off.

I use soft paper towels or old white tee shirts.

Doesn't the
antiqued girl look
better than the plain girl?

I added a little quilt, eyes and a button and she's finished!

99 cent Sale at Michael's

Michael's has sculpey III on sale this week till Saturday. That's a great price!