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June 8 - 28, 2008
June 28, 2008
Well, I tried the restaurant thing but it didn't work out. She saw my
brochure and the types of things I do, but when I brought actual
paintings she said they are too "funky" for the layout of her
monochrome restaurant. She is right. She asked if I would go back
and do some paintings in particular colors, particular traits. I
temporarily agreed, and set up another meeting. I have since
decided that my purpose is to paint what I am feeling, and I don't
think this is the right approach for me. I am trying to sell my art, not
decorate restaurants. So, no big deal. I have lots of other places to
try. I am taking some replacements to the TAAS Gallery in Old Fort
today. Some things will work, and some won't. No big deal. I was a
little frustrated at the process (a boring story I won't go into) re: the
restaurant, but that's o.k. I tried. All I can do is the footwork. And
there's always plenty more of that to do!
I am getting ready for the Arts & Crafts Show at Rumbling Bald
Resort on the 4th of July. I will be taking my older stuff, primarily
painted on wood, to try to unload for cheap. Those works were
cheaper to make, because wood is a lot less expensive than canvas,
but they don't look as professional. I am not sure what type of
crowd this will be, but it's worth a shot. No entry fee. I am done with
wood. It absorbs too much paint and doesn't look as polished as
canvas. But it was fun to experiment with. I've also found lately that
I am not in the groove to do more than about 3 colors at once. Not
sure why. Not sure if that's good or bad. I will just go with the flow.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Miss you all.
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June 25, 2008
Just a quick update. I sold a painting yesterday, which was great,
and I "walked the beat" and went to a couple of places to see if I
could display my art there. One was a restaurant where a friend
works, who said that recently an employee who left had removed all
of her husband's artwork so there were empty walls. I talked to the
owner, and she said yes and told me what space I have to work with
and what type of thing she wanted. So, I have 5 paintings to do. My
inventory of my newer work is low. I want to get them to the
restaurant quickly, so I will paint obsessively until I have what I need
plus alternate choices. It keeps me out of trouble.
Have a great day!
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June 21, 2008
I sold a couple of paintings yesterday. It seems that the most
popular are 16 x 20. Probably because they are very affordable.
Maybe I should crank out some of those and hold off on the larger
stuff for now.
I am having a "show" at a boutique/salon in town in November.
They are a pretty busy place, so it should give me some good
exposure. That was their first opening. I am going to hit the beat
next week with my brochures. Gotta keep trying!
We are having a low key weekend. No commitments other than
church. I should be able to get some cleaning and painting done.
Have a great weekend!
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June 19, 2008
Sold a couple of paintings this week! I am going to be putting some
in another area Mountain Java tomorrow. The Mountain Java from
Candler asked me to bring in another 36 x 36 for another wall. So I
will have a total of 7 there. I think that given the economy - no, more
accurately, gas prices - people can't afford to shell out too much for
art. People are even taking "stay-cations" and just staying home
when they would usually go to the beach, etc. Sometimes I get
angry at the "Powers that Be." They could do something about this,
but they aren't. It's always about money. O.k., enough ranting. My
original point was that I think I need to focus on the small to
mid-range pieces for a while.
Hope all is well in your world!
__________________________________________________
June 17, 2008
We went to Woolworth Walk yesterday. They accepted my
application (very cool), but there is currently a 6 month to 1 year
waiting list (not as cool). You never know, though, people could
decide to leave in a bunch. The summer months are not ones that
people give up easily, of course, since that's when the gallery gets
the most traffic. I am really happy about it; I will be excited when the
time comes that I have my art on display there.
Today we went to The Appalachian Artisan Gallery in Old Fort.
That's FORT. It's about 40 minutes from Candler. Everything is
about 40 minutes from Candler! They accepted my paintings, and I
was able to leave 10 pieces. They even threw in some extra space,
which was really nice because it enabled me to leave 3 more than I
would have been able to leave. I feel pretty grateful that I have the
opportunity. Keep your fingers crossed! Click here to go to my
page on the TAAS site.
_________________________________________________
June 15, 2008
We saw Jonas Gerard (my favorite artist) do a performance painting
yesterday as part of the River Arts District Studio Stroll held twice a
year. He will be performing again tomorrow and raffling off a
painting. We're going. Click here to go to my page of pictures from
the performance painting.
Got this picture on our morning walk:
God's sky!
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June 14, 2008
Howdy. Just wanted to report two things.
One, I have an interview at Woolworth Walk on Monday (local art
gallery - it's historic) - wish me luck!
Second, I now have a MySpace account for the artwork:
www.myspace.com/cjhabstracts
Have a great day!
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June 13, 2008
Mornin', ya'll. Asking for some prayers for a friend going through
some tough things - just refer to her as J.S.
On a lighter note, Delores and I went on a LONG sunrise walk around
Big Cove this morning. Got some pics:
And don't laugh, but I have four paintings at...Urban Burrito. There is
one in town that has a manager who likes to help out local artists
and have things to put on their walls. You never know. We printed
out some brochures that I am going to take to some area coffee
shops to see if they might want to do the same. The brochures have
14 of my paintings, but I am going to put together a portfolio at some
point.
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June 11, 2008
Mornin'. Had a good day yesterday. It started with dropping Seven
off for a much-needed grooming. Then we went to Bible Study. We
are currently examining the Sermon on the Mount. Today, we
specifically were talking about Jesus' teachings about "murder" and
how having any hatred in our hearts is detrimental to us. It was a
good discussion. We reviewed the concept of being on "the brink of
hellfire"; meaning that if you carry around anger and resentment you
are closer to moving towards the Devil than you are moving towards
God. You can't be "a little on fire."
I dropped off 8 paintings at a store called "Silent Poetry" in
Burnsville, NC - about an hour away from us. It's on consignment,
but right now they are just sitting at home, so why not try. She
accepted all but two, so that felt good. One has a lot of sticks on it
and she was afraid kids coming into the store would pull on it. The
other one got messed up in the heat - I need to fix it.
Monday was great. We had our first meeting of The Artist's Way
group. Well, it's just three of us, but that will work just fine. Our third
member, Carol, is very intelligent and fascinating! I think God
brought us all together to learn from and grow with each other. We
talked about being led by our creative force and we have
assignments to do each week. Some of them are fun, some are
daunting. One pain in the arse thing is that as one of our Week 1
tasks, we have to write 3 stream-of-consciousness pages a day - by
hand. That's the part I don't like. My typing can keep up with my
brain much more quickly than my hand can. That's not the point, I
know, writing by hand is more intimate, yadda, yadda...I am looking
forward to the group next Monday.
__________________________________________________
June 8, 2008
I haven't written in a while so I thought I'd update you on what's
been going on.
First, I tried to make turkey burgers on the grill. Why am I telling you
this? Look at this picture:
Apparently, as Delores very kindly informed me, I had put the grill on
upside down. Pretty pathetic! I think Rachael Ray is safe for now.
Second, my fiction writing class ended. It was a great class, and I
learned a lot. I have committed to having the first draft of my book,
called Tethered Rose, by next Fall. I have Chapter 1 done, but that's
it.
Third, in follow up, we are participating in a group called the
Asheville Writing Enthusiasts. They meet on the first and third
Saturdays of the month; the first Saturday is a guest speaker (all
published authors) and the third Saturday is a critique session. The
group is facilitated by the instructor from our fiction class, David
Pereda, also an accomplished writer.
Fourth, starting tomorrow, I am going to be in a work group going
through the book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. If you are not
familiar with it, its premise is that we are all creative beings and it
offers exercises and study intended to get rid of our "creative
blockage" and/or invigorate our existing creativity. It's a 12-week
course. I am really looking forward to it.
Fifth, my application was accepted for the Lexington Avenue Arts
and Fun Festival. It is being held in downtown Asheville September
7th. It should be a great venue for my art. I was thrilled because they
only accept a limited number of vendors per medium.
Sixth, I am participating as a vendor in an event in Lake Lure, NC on
July 4th. Wish me luck in selling my paintings! I need to unload
them!
Finally, I am going to a job fair on June 21st at a specific company in
Asheville. I sold my old bike via craigslist and the guy who picked it
up asked me if I needed a job. He even spoke to HR about me. I am
not sure if I am ready to go back to work yet, but the manner in which
this opportunity presented itself leads me to believe that I need to do
the footwork and see what happens.
Please let me know what has been going on with YOU! Hope you are
having a great weekend!
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