Art Shows, Painting, and Butterfly Pee

This summer's art shows have been a major let down after the smorgasbord that was Broad Ripple. Will anything live up to the sales I had there? I sure hope so! Not only have the show sales been dismal, my internet sales are in the toilet too. I blame the election and the economy. Hopefully it will pick up in the fall and this Christmas sales season will make up for it. I'm putting positive thoughts out there!

On a happier note I have finally embraced my true love. Painting! Getting the big fat No Thank You from Hyde Park three years ago with my paintings burst my bubble. Then I got so busy with clocks I eventually gave up on ever selling my paintings. But after spending some time at art shows I realized there is no reason I can't make a go at selling my paintings. Just because one show said no doesn't mean everyone will. That same show said no to my clocks last year and it propelled me into larger shows. Instead of searching for that new product, or that new hobby, I'm finally realizing that painting is what I'm good at and what I love. So expect some fun painting updates in the future!

Painting leads us to butterfly pee. What? Yeah. I like to paint butterflies and I was looking through some butterfly books for color reference and I saw a picture of a butterfly peeing. I never knew butterflies peed. I mean, it makes sense, what goes in must come out right? It's just that they are so beautiful and pure looking, it's like a beautiful woman, they don't fart or belch right? Of course they do. So anyways, I give you a butterfly peeing. Your welcome:

The day after seeing that in the book I found myself watching butterflies on my butterfly bush just waiting for evidence that this really does happen. I didn't see it. I guess my local butterflies are more modest and do it when they aren't being watched.

Melting Clock Soundtrack

When I have lots to do and I have to stay up late working I don't think I could make it without listening to music. I tend to get stuck on certain songs or artist. It was Lady Gaga for about a year or two with some Tool, Deftones, and Buckethead mixed in here and there. Right now I'm stuck on Parov Stelar thanks to this Bacardi commercial:



While looking on Youtube for a video of this song that I could share with you I found this next video, it really get's started after the heart fade at :39. I don't think I can accurately describe the joy and wonder I feel while watching this video. It makes me wonder what I've been missing out on on Youtube. You're welcome:




That's what I do while I wait for paint to dry. Really.

I'm afraid the next two may not be as exciting without the awesome dancing but they are good listening.





So if that doesn't make you feel like dancing and painting clocks.....................good! That's my job.

Broad Ripple

The first picture is what the booth looked like at the beginning of day one. The picture below is what it looked like at the beginning of day two. I wish I would have taken a picture at the end of day two of what I had left. I also had extra clocks in the back but went through those quickly.

Broad Ripple was almost a month ago and I haven't given the post show update. Boo.

Basically it went great! So great I almost sold out of clocks. Which is good. But I think I lost out on at least ten or more sales because my selection was so limited the second day. I can't blame people, if you only see six clocks on the wall, you realize you're not getting to pick exactly what you may want. So lesson learned, I'm taking a butt load of clocks to future shows. That translates to a lot of work, but it will be worth it. I try not to think too much about the end of September and into October when I will have three, possibly four shows in a row. That means I'll need about four to five hundred clocks ready to go before that first show because I won't have time to work on clocks en-between the shoes. Okay, no more thinking about that right now.

Broad Ripple was so refreshing. Especially since it was my first show after gloomy Winterfair last year. Everyone was so nice and friendly. The painter next to us on one side was cheerful, and the lady selling unique handmade clothing on the other side of us was super friendly as well. The staff and volunteers at the show were helpful and nice. All the patrons was nice. It was one big nicefest! I will definitely be applying to that show again next year. The fantastic sales were nice too. Zero complaints from me. Even the weather was nice. Hot, but nice. It waited to rain on us until we were packing up the car after the show. I'll take that over rain during the show.

My new display looked and worked great. It felt like people were able to easily walk into the booth and look things over. Not a single molded clock hit the ground. It worked out great having them on shelves on the side of the booth. No one bumped into them. The best part was the booth layout enabled me to relax in my awesome new director's chair in the booth, but out of the way. Wonderful. Plus, I got a nice new booth shot for applications and have been accepted into a show with that new booth shot. So it's good to know that at least one show found it acceptable to warrant an invitation to their show.

My fascination with the other booths is gone. I used to see all kinds of stuff I wanted to trade for or buy. But I'm over it I think. Which is kind of funny, because I was walking around the show looking at the other booths thinking that exact thought when I saw something I thought I had to have. It was a weird wall sculpture. Very industrial looking of a woman's face, a baby doll looking face, and weird metal tubes and gears. It made me think of Geiger. But it was $250. I sent Nick over to look at it and the artist told Nick he would sell it to me for $200. I really really liked it, but the goal of Broad Ripple was to stock up on supplies, pay booth fees, and save some money, so I just couldn't justify the expense. Maybe I'll run into that artist again at another show sometime. I'm becoming so responsible!

Tik Tok

Making melting clocks is a business full of waiting. Right now I'm waiting for wood filler to dry so I can sand and paint it then be finished with several molded clocks. I'm waiting for resin to cure enough so I can pour the final coat on three last minute wall clocks that I really want to take to the show. I'm waiting for lacquer to cure so I can move those six clocks and spray the final coat on six more. I'm waiting for paint to dry on the back of 12 wall clocks so I can put the movements in and hang them up. I'm waiting on my almond milk to finish heating in the microwave so I can have my instant coffee "mocha" to keep me awake for the next few hours. I'm waiting on sunlight so I can finish my display. And of course, as always I waited until the last second and am now running on caffeine fumes for the last two days (and the next one as well) to get everything finished up for my show.

No more I say! I will be prepared for all future shows ahead of time. No more last minute spraying, painting, pouring, or cutting. Except for July I have a show every month and three in a row at the end of September into October. I can't dilly dally like I did this time (and the last three before this time. oops.)

Hold on my almond milk is done.

I had a mini breakdown yesterday when I put together the shelves I built. They looked like crap. Really, I just keep thinking over and over, you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig. That's what I had. You can paint cheap wood, but it's still cheap wood. So my Dad offered to help me out with shelves. We figured out a great way to use the extra wall panel I had and attach shelves to that. Now I just have to figure out how to attach the fourth panel to the other three at a right angle. Hmm. My Dad helped me figure it out most of the way but then left the logistics and actual assembly up to me, like he thinks I can build stuff or something. My stats at constructing things that don't look like crap come in at about a 50% success rate.

So checklist for tomorrow. Build base for table and finish. Spray table top. Put table together. Finish display. Pack everything up and put in car. Oh, and drive to boo foo, or more accurately from boo foo and then across the city, to get lacquer and other last minute junk. I will be stopping at Starbucks.

As you can tell my self inflicted ban on caffeine is at a temporary stand still.

I decided to see if my wall panels will fit in my car today, you would think I would have planned for that, but they don't fit. So I will have to wrap all four panels together in a tarp and tie it to the roof of my car. Yep, that will be interesting and I foresee some tears and some swearing, but in the words of Tim Gunn, I will Make it Work!

I haven't had a drink in over a year and I was considering it earlier.

Okay, I need to go see if my lacquer, wood filler, or paint is dry. 

It's Been Awhile

I've been a blogging slacker. It's been three months since my last post. Geez.

So what's been going on in Hilary world? Not too much. Clock sales have not been nearly as good as last year, which is a bummer. I have my first show of the year in two weeks, so I'm looking forward to seeing how that goes. It's The Broad Ripple Art Fair in Indianapolis, IN. This particular show posts the judging scores on-line. I scored the second highest in my category. Pretty cool.

My second show of the year is in June at the Easton Art Affair in Columbus, Ohio. From what I understand Easton is a nice area of the city with a upscale shopping center so I'm curious to see how that one turns out. It's nice to actually have some shows lined up!

I'm on the wait list for The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in July. That would be wonderful if I get the call. I'm planning on being prepared just in case, even if they only give me a week or a few days notice.

I spent most of today working on new displays for my booth. My old walls were so heavy I couldn't really move them or assemble them myself. They were made up of 8 wall pieces and 6 boards plus a Tupperware container full of hardware. The new walls are only three wall panels that are very light and easy to move and 6 much lighter boards/legs plus just a small handful of hardware holds it all together. I set up my tent in the driveway to see how it fits and make sure it will work. What a difference! If I need to do a show by myself now (if Nick has to work) I know I will be able to set up and tear down myself.

Other than being turned down by almost every show I've applied to and clock sales being in the dump things are good! :) I have gotten into running and find it very enjoyable. The kiddos are doing well. Eli only has a few weeks of school left and then he is on summer vacation. He and Karina get along quite well so I think they will keep each other busy this summer.

We had a pair of red finches nest on or front porch and got to watch the babies grow up. We've also kept the bird feeder in the backyard stocked so the kids and I have enjoyed watching the steady stream of bird visitors in the back. 

I'll stop with that because the excitement might get too overwhelming for all of you! I'll post some pics from the Broad Ripple show in a couple of weeks.

New Melting Clock Coffee Table!

I finished my second molded melting clock coffee table this week. It was a custom order and the really cool part was the customer gave me artistic freedom. He gave me an idea of what shape and size he wanted and picked the color. I got to take it from there. It is always so much fun when you get to use your artistic creativity to create something. This table lifted me out of my clock burnout leftover from Christmas and I'm finally looking forward to starting to work on my inventory again. Now if only I can get accepted into a show..............

 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 

My Clocks Are World Travelers

 
My husband bought me a large map of the world for Christmas. I've been wanting one for awhile to keep track of all the countries I've shipped my clocks to. I finally finished putting the stickers on it tonight. 35 foreign countries and 49 states, all but North Dakota.

 Europe likes me:

 Not much action in South America, two so far:

 Australia loves my clocks:

Not much in the east. Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea:

Come on North Dakota, you can't hold out forever! To be fair, I only went through my invoice books for the last three years, that leaves out the first two years of clocks sales.

Stop and Appreciate the Beans

I have been a total blogger slacker. The last half of 2011 was so busy I think I finally burnt out. I have some orders, some big orders, but no shows lined up as of yet, so the motivation to bust out some inventory is very low. I think I needed a break from clocks.

I have gotten three no's so far from shows I have applied to. All in Florida. I guess the sunshine state does not like me. I'll try again next year. I have to admit the rejection is getting to me a bit. What if I don't get into ANY shows this year. That would be a bummer.

I have some past order photos to share. The man I made the Camp Crystal Lake sign for emailed me some pictures of it hanging from a beam he built for it. I think it looks great!

Yesterday I was cooking beans. First I cooked up some delicious chickpeas. I love chickpeas. I have finally figured out how to cook them from dry perfectly.

So after the chickpeas were done I cooked up some black beans. As I was rinsing them off after their overnight soak the sunlight streaming through the kitchen window hit on the beans. Amazing! Who knew that black beans were such beautiful shades of purple? I was instantly inspired and took some photos for the sole purpose of blogging about the amazing beans. When was the last time you stopped and appreciated something so simple as the sunlight shining on the lovely surface of wet soaked black beans? It's worth taking the time to notice the little things sometimes.
Check out the bean towards the bottom right. I couldn't get a crystal clear photo, but notice it's amazing multi-colored texture.
Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat the more you...........................

Karina Cottage Pics

Pictures of my latest non clock project. This cozy animal abode features three floors, large neatly trimmed picturesque windows, stylish crackle finish floors, brightly painted walls, and a lovely pink facade complete with climbing ivy.

Two Days to Go

I am ready for Christmas! The dollhouse is finished and ready for wrapping. All of the other presents are wrapped and under the tree. All of Santa's presents are wrapped and in hiding. All clocks are shipped and all presents to relatives are shipped. Now if only it would stop raining.........
Australia has 270 sunny days a year. I want that without the deadly land and water creatures.

I was going to post pictures of Karina's Cottage tonight but I am out of batteries. I just bought a 100 pack before Winterfair! So I'll post pictures of it tomorrow.

Don't Pet Your Goldfish

The kids and I are going to buy a couple of goldfish for their fishtank today. I was looking up water temperature for goldfish when I found this useful tidbit in the wiki article: "Like all fish, goldfish do not like to be petted." Thank god they cleared that up for me.

I just realized that most of our pets are hands off. The turtle always stays in the tank and I'm sure she is happy about that. The fire belly toads never come out. We do occasionally play with the fish. I guess that will have to stop, darn, they are such fun in the bath tub.

Where oh where have my Christmas sales gone? The holiday sales rush has most definitely peaked. I will be shipping out the last of my custom orders tomorrow and then I will have no clocks to work on. That will feel a little odd. It will give me time to finish up the critter house. Check out the progress:


Nick and I are done with our Christmas shopping. Woo-hoo! I don't think we've ever been this on top of things. And not only are we done shopping, everything is wrapped. This may be the least stressful week before Christmas ever.

Hurry Up Christmas!

I am so very excited for Christmas this year! I have so many fun things I can't wait to give people! Thanks to the internet we are 90% done with our Christmas shopping. I signed up for the free 30 day trial of Amazon Prime (free two day shipping) and got my money's worth (ha ha) and more. I'm cancelling it today, though. It was really nice, but $79 a year is a bit steep.

The bunny cottage is coming along. I didn't realize how tedious it was going to be. I cut 48 Popsicle sticks for the inside window frames last night and glued them all in place. Once it is assembled I'll have to do it again for the outside windows. The inside walls are all painted and so are the floors. I had thought of doing wallpaper, but was worried about how it would all stick together when we glued the wall and floors together. Plus I'm in budget mode and I already had paint on hand. I'm hoping to have it assembled in the next day or two so I can started painting the outside. Here is a picture or the fantastic model my dad put together last week.

It has been clock madness around here. Yesterday I literally stayed in the basement all day painting. It was worth it because I have clocks completed that aren't due to ship until the end of the week.

We got a Christmas tree this weekend. It is huge, but it looks nice. Now if only we can keep the kid's hands off of it and keep the giant dog from hitting it with his tail. He launched two ornaments across the room this morning. We may need to move ornaments higher up the tree.

Isn't the garbage bag under the tree a nice touch. I'll add buy a tree skirt to my to do list today.

Dear Mother Nature,

This is Ohio, not Quibdo, Colombia. You have made your point, whatever that may be, and we don't get it. Turn off the faucet already. This has been the wettest year on record and we have all had enough. There is NO reason why Cincinnati needs twice the average annual precipitation. No reason AT ALL. If I wanted enough water in my back yard for water fowl I would dig a pond. Stop it already.

Thank you

I don't think Mother Nature gives a pooh what I think, or reads this blog, but it's worth a shot.

My son turned seven today. Holy ^&*^%, how did that happen? That means I am getting old. Before I know it he is going to be driving and not wanting to have anything to do with me. Karina and I went to the school and had lunch with him. We also brought along cupcakes for his class. Am I a bad mother that I ran out of time to make cupcakes and bought discounted Christmas cupcakes instead? It's the thought that counts, right? Besides they tasted good. Who cares if there were little Christmas tree sprinkles on them instead of regular sprinkles. He got his dream birthday cake on Saturday at his party. Today's cupcakes were bonus. I need to have better time management next year.

I did some Christmas shopping this weekend. I am so friggin excited. I bought some Calico Critters for my daughter. What is a Calico Critter, you ask. Feast your eyes on this overload of cuteness:

It all started when I was flipping through the Toys R Us ad and saw the critter cottage on sale. I have been eying the critter dolls for awhile and it finally hit me, I will make her a Critter dollhouse! My dad made me an awesome barn for my Breyer horses when I was growing up (along with a Brenda Breyer house and outhouse) and before that he made me the best My Little Pony castle ever. So now I get to build cute stuff for my kids. I have enlisted my Dad's help so it should turn out better than a previously blogged about kitty condo. My daughter has a super active imagination and she loves to role play with her My Little Ponies so I think these critters are going to be perfect. I can't wait to play with them, I mean with her and them, right.

On the clock front business is booming. Thank you Christmas. I'm excited because I've been getting lots of inquiries and orders from people that saw me at the shows I did this fall, that is very encouraging.

Since I'm planning on really revving up my Art Show activity next year I am thinking about forming an LLC for tax purposes. It's a bit daunting, though, because I know nothing about it.

Planning on trying for 15 plus shows next year is daunting as well, but I'm confident I'll pull it off. If I'm accepted to them, that is. I've learned to jump in with both feet and even if I don't know how I'm going to make it work I know I will somehow.