Arts and Craft Festivals

I am getting ready for some shows that are happening in the summer, starting in June.
There are wonderful tips on line for setting up a booth so it is enticing to lookers and buyers. Some I knew already and have used, but a lot of them I had never thought of.
So I am working on display distribution. I get a piece of paper and plan out different settings for tables, grids, shelves etc.
Also there is a place in the front of my new tent for a banner across the top. It will say something like:
ART OF THE OCEANS and below over to the right KIDS BOOKS.  Whimsical art will surround the lettering and I haven't decided on the background color for the banner.

Some people can't imagine where to place a piece of art in their home, so they need a little help. I set up an ocean art piece in my new bathroom and another one in the kitchen to show that art is wonderful in a kitchen.
When it gets warmer, I am going to clean out the studio and set up a children's corner with another painting.

This has been a big bad winter in upstate New York. Lots of snow and ice, but not as bad as New York city.
I have been staying inside most of the time because I hate the cold, but on the other hand it has allowed me to do some more writing. I have also composed some music.
I dragged out some stories that I started years ago and am redoing them.
Also I sent in some short stories last week to a company who does cover, query letters, editing etc. for the writer. I'm scared of query letters, so I went ahead and hired them. We'll see if they are any good or not.
I'm setting up some book signings for the spring and summer. Also I'm going to try the farmer's markets. Maybe I can sell some art there too.
I took a picture of the lilac bush the other night when we had a short snow storm.

erbstories-eleanor.blogspot: Frank's ebook

erbstories-eleanor.blogspot: Frank's ebook

concert, gallery

Yesterday, I played portions of the Messiah at Corning Community College. The college has grown tremendously since I was last there and it is a beautiful campus far up on a hill outside of Corning.
There were a lot of good musicians, both classical and jazz besides the good choral group that performed.
I really enjoyed it.
After the concert, I stopped at the West End Gallery downtown in Corning to pick up some of my fish art. It really wasn't the right venue for it, but they  liked it and displayed it.
Finding a parking place was a pain. I had to park about 3 blocks away and the icy wind was whipping down through the valley. Good exercise though.
Everyone who visits the Southern Tier of New York should visit Corning. It is very hip and of course it's where the Glass Museum is located.

Pud & Beaky

Pud and Beaky are now on the website. There will be more of them shortly. Hope you like them.

Logan Festival

The Logan Festival was nice. Not a great amount of people, but they were buyers.
I sold quite a few books, but no art. I had made some small, less expensive art work but it just wasn't the right venue for them. People were mostly interested in the children's books.

The White Cat book sold out, which was surprising to me. I have to get more printed. People do love cats and it is a cute story.

The two little guys in the pictures helped me a lot. I gave them free coloring sheets and 50c for their assistance in bringing stuff in from the car and they wanted to bring me lunch from the choice of menu that was being provided by the ladies in the kitchen. I chose macaroni and cheese. There were many, many baked goods for sale. I chose a homemade lemon scone.

I unfortunately had to visit the outdoor bathroom facility. Awful!!  I even had to wait in line in the snow to get in.  If I win the lottery, I'll put in a septic system for them. But every one seemed to have a laugh about the situation. There were some remarks about it that I won't print.

That was the last event that I will be doing before spring. I am looking into other places to attend. I have found that people who come through where I've been before, have already purchased some of the books, and will not even stop, so I need to travel out of this area.

Have a great holiday, everyone!

Bazaar at the Methodist church

The gig at the Methodist church was fun. I was especially interested in the high school boy in back of my booth. He was a terrific artist and I took his picture looking over the art in my clown books. I know he has a wonderful future ahead of him - he has a great personality to go with his talent.

My wonderful talented violin student passed by and stopped to look at my books. She also has a great future ahead of her. 

I sold quite a few books and a couple of art pieces. I have decided to draw small fish pieces since the large ones are a bit too expensive.

Tomorrow I'm attending the Logan bazaar. It takes place in an old church that is gradually being restored. The only thing I don't like about it is that it has an outdoor toilet. It is really cold on the bum. They get very defensive when I mention that I don't like their bathroom facilities.