Smoky Hill River Festival Recap

by ruralpearl | Jun 17, 2010 | Art Fairs & Art Travels

Last weekend I ventured off to Salina, KS, about a three hour drive from my homebase, to be a vendor at the Smoky Hill River Festival. Such a beautiful drive to and fro through the flint hills of east central Kansas. I was surrounded by nasty weather almost the entire weekend, but it seemed to clear off during the festival hours and for my drive as well. Thank you weather system!

Here is a shot of my booth. I had to do a bit of rearranging because of the threat of rain, but I think this has been the best set up I’ve managed so far. I was especially excited about the new clear greeting card displays that I debuted! Really made a difference and I sold out of quite a few of my card designs.

Overall, the weekend was awesome! I had really great neighboring artists/ artisans, and I managed to consume three very large burritos. Two in one day, as a matter of fact. Even the food was juried to ensure the highest quality. Believe me, it was there. I tried a lot of it. I digress (I haven’t eaten lunch yet). A really great festival, wonderfully staffed and organized, and visited by the most awesome patrons. I left with the warmest feeling after so many wonderful compliments about my work. Thank you all for coming out! See you next year!

Mulvane Museum Art Fair Recap

by ruralpearl | Jun 7, 2010 | Art Fairs & Art Travels

Last weekend was the 2010 Mulvane Museum Mountain/ Plains Art Fair in Topeka, KS. Lots of fun. Met lots of strange connections, including my 63 year old uncle’s 9th grade English teacher, and my late grandparents’ late neighbors’ son.

The fair ran Saturday through Sunday. I have no pictures from Saturday because the temperature was hotter than boiling. And I did not have a sun shade on the back of my tent, where I spent the majority of my time. The back of my neck looks like well cooked bacon. Lesson learned. I went out and bought some supplies to improvise, and spent a much cooler Sunday in the shady confines of my draping rear veranda. If you could call it that. It really looked more like a suspended inverted parachute. But it worked. Here’s some pictures:

I started off Sunday the right way with a huge piece of spinach quiche and two cups of coffee from the Hanover Pancake House, supposedly a Topeka landmark and rightly so. It reminded me of breakfast with my grandparents back in the day when they knew all the waitresses at the local diner and spent hours in conversation with them and the other hearty patrons. I enjoyed eavesdropping on all the conversations going on around me.

This is a shot of my booth at the beginning of day 2. Everything stood up over night, and despite the heat on Saturday, the weather was nothing to complain about, really. No wind, no rain, no tornadoes… My fear always… Sales were great, had great neighbors, all who in some way or another lent a hand, a tool, or helpful words since I’m still a newbie at this. The crowd was awesome – saw quite a few of you there who I know from before (HI! Thanks for coming out!), and met lots of great folks.

Here’s a shot of the least fun part of the day – the take down.. By this time, everybody is exhausted and there’s nothing on the mind except a bed. It went smoothly though. I’ve got my little hand truck, and out of about 4 trips to and from the car, I only knocked all my stuff off it once on the way.

And here’s my little SUV-thingy, packed to the brim and ready to ride. Never have I appreciated an air conditioned car more than last weekend. With an hour drive ahead of me, I picked up a chocolate milkshake on my way outta town, and off I went on my pleasant ‘journey’ home, with squinty eyes and scraggly hair. Next weekend: Smoky Hill River Festival in Salina, KS. 3 long days of sun, or storms, hopefully the former.

MWAF Recap

by ruralpearl | Feb 16, 2010 | Art Fairs & Art Travels

Thanks to everybody who came out to the Mid-Winter Art Fair at Ward Parkway Center in Kansas City last weekend! I met a lot of great folks and had myself a really nice time.

I was honored and flattered to receive a Second Place ribbon for the mixed media category, especially being among lots of veteran Hallmark (as in the greeting card company) artists.

I enjoyed chatting with my booth neighbor Denny Dowdy – a talented watercolor artist who only began painting two years ago. One of his early originals is now hanging in my living room! Check out some of his work here: http://www.theparkplacegallery.com/artwork/fine-art/denny-dowdy.

I also enjoyed meeting Bob Pettes, somewhat of a legend in Americana art. You’d probably recognize his work – take a look here: http://www.ceaco.com/ceaco/index.php?artist=70.

There were so many great artists and photographers there and I was thrilled to be among them. Thanks again to everybody that stopped by! I’ll be back next year!

2009 Atchison Oktoberfest

by ruralpearl | Oct 5, 2009 | Art Fairs & Art Travels

Rural Pearl - Cut Paper Art booth at the 2009 Atchison Oktoberfest

I had such a great time at this year’s Oktoberfest. It was my first time doing this event, as well as my first time displaying my work in my hometown. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Congrats to the Atchison Junior Guild for their terrific production. Special thanks to all the live musicians – they added so much energy to the day and they also gave me a good reason to keep my feet moving as it was a tad bit on the chilly side that morning.

Busy couple weeks coming up! I’ve got to get ready for the Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin City which falls on Oct. 17 & 18. After that, I’ll be showing my work during the First Friday event for November at Crosstown Station in Kansas City. Which means, I’ll have lots of new things to show you!! More details to come…

Rockin’ the Red, White & Blue at Cider Fest Topeka

by ruralpearl | Sep 28, 2009 | Art Fairs & Art Travels

Rural Pearl - Cut Paper Art booth at Cider Days in Topeka

Rural Pearl - Cut Paper Art booth at Cider Days in Topeka

Rural Pearl - Cut Paper Art booth at Cider Days in Topeka

Rural Pearl - Cut Paper Art booth at Cider Days in Topeka

Pics from the Lawrence Art Fair

by ruralpearl | Sep 14, 2009 | Art Fairs & Art Travels

Rural Pearl booth at the 2009 Lawrence Fall Arts & Crafts Fair

Rural Pearl booth at the 2009 Lawrence Fall Arts & Crafts Fair