This is probably the toughest part of the year in an artist's life. The spring and summer shows set their deadlines for applications between Nov. and Mar. So we hurry up and complete applications, take pictures, resize pictures for each application's requirements, write checks for jury and booth fees, and put them in the mail. Then we sit and wait. And wait. And wait. Some of the shows provide a "notification by" date, but then they don't adhere to that date. It is totally exasperating not being able to plan our time and (hopefully) income.
We did learn that we will once again be at Silver Dollar City, this year in October, with the Best of Missouri Hands. That was really a fun gig. I had to create every day, out in the open in front of people. At first it was a bit intimidating. But people are so open and asked wonderful questions and we had a great time with the interaction. We're looking forward to October!
Little Izzy misrepresented herself. At first she was all snuggly and cuddly. Now that she's familiar with her new home, she's acting more like a cat - independent and rather haughty. She and Ozzie are becoming friends and playmates, so I guess she just doesn't need her humans as much as she did when she first arrived.
We're just about ready to head west. We've got tons of garden art packed and I'm still working on creating new pieces. Looking forward to seeing my son's home in Ventura and visiting Terrie's mom. I think Terrie's son might be a bit upset. Grandson #3 will be born (via c-section) while we are gone. It can't be helped though. As I stated before, we have to submit applications to shows and then sit and wait to see if we get in or not. We happened to get accepted to three shows on three consecutive weekends that happen to be in March. Terrie is a "hands off" mom/in-law/and grandparent though. She doesn't believe she should intrude in their lives and if they need something, they will let her know. I think her son is secretly glad that his mom is busy with this new art life - because if she was bored, she could be a real pain. She's disappointed she has to wait to meet grandson #3, but she's also excited about this trip we're taking.
We're "teaching" a community education class on hummingbirds next week at the local high school. That should be a fun evening!
Hummingbird fact for today: The hummingbird has the largest brain, relative to size, of all birds, at 4.2 percent of total body weight.
