The applications for my city's semi-new fall craft festival, Strange Folk (indie arts and crafts) Festival, are due at the end of the month. I'm a little nervous about entering myself in a juried show. I've never put myself "out there" as an artist before; I've never had the self-confidence. I still don't believe in myself very highly, but I've finally reached a point in life where I can at least attempt things without negating myself and my work.
The fact that O'Fallon's pretty small (less than 30,000 people) coupled with the knowledge that Strange Folk is only in its second year originally gave me a little more hope that I would stand a chance of being able to secure a table. That is... until I received the official email applicaiton stating that they were limited to 100 spots and that our online only applications (along with three jpeg pictures or links to our websites or flickr pages) would be due June 30th! I received the email on June 4th, so that gave me just over three weeks to get crackin' on some artsiness.
As it stands, I have a small collection of creations that I've completed since moving out here, but I can count that collection on one hand. I also have a few pieces that I brought with me earlier this year when I moved back here from Seattle. Along with the pieces I made today, this might make a good start. Nevertheless, I still need at least five more projects before I feel secure in submitting the application. And after that, IF I get selected, I'll need to fling myself into high gear so that I can have a wide variety of stuff at various price ranges. I need to figure out, too, some small things to make for art that anyone can afford. Hmmm...
Between last night and this afternoon, I made a little progress. I found these pagodas at a yard sale a couple weeks ago and knew that they would be one of the first things I wanted to alter. Remember the closet-full of stuff I brought across the country with me to alter? Well, that stuff gets to wait. These were too cute to stick in a box and needed to be re-created before anything else.
I prepped them with some gesso and then sealed it. The bases originally were a dingy color of off-white, so the gesso gave it more of an aged look. I removed the foam from the insides and took off the brown moss. Then... I went to town. I think they turned out rather cute.
My favorite part of each one is the flowers - new scrapbooking paper cut-outs on old springs with a few sparkling gems in the centers of some of the blooms. The springs came from the insides of worn-out pens and the gems from my father-in-law's spring cleaning.
The details are the best part, so be sure to click on the pictures to see these larger. Or visit my flickr account. The moss inside really adds a nice touch.
The little princesses came from a vintage deck of playing cards that my boyfriend found for me last year. I wasn't extremely keen on their green and pink faces and hands, but I think they're starting to grow on me. I'm in the process of designing my logo... and it's embelished with the whistle-playing princess re-created as a fairy.
So, what's next? Gimme a day or two, and I'll be back.
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