This past weekend I was lucky enough to get to exhibit at the New Art Festival in Ottawa. I've done this show numerous times in the past, with the last time being in 2016. It is a juried show and the quality of art there is always good. This is the first year that I've only had paper flowers and it was wonderful! I was blown away but all of the encouragement and support that I received.
Even though it was raining on Sunday, my flowers stood up well. It is an outdoor festival, which is a bit of a challenge. I had a tent, and my newly purchased grids (heavy, but very useful!) as well as a little table and chair. I brought as much work as I could, including some larger pieces, so I could show a range of things. My most popular item was my little vaccine vial jars. They are so cute and I think the fact that they are in vaccine vials (a friend saves them for me from the clinic), made for an especially memorable purchase for some people. I priced them at $20 and I could have brought twice as many; they were almost all gone by Saturday afternoon!
This is the second show I've done this year. The first was the Arts Carleton Place Spring Art Show at the end of April. It was indoors at the arena in Carleton Place. That show was so much easier to do because there was no tent to set up, and the grids were already in place. My space was much smaller, though, so the display was kind of crowded.
I think I will try to do another show in the fall. I love the opportunity to meet people face to face and talk to them about my work. I get so many great questions and suggestions that I always end up feeling inspired to make new things. My main comment this past weekend was one of disbelief that the flowers were not real! I guess this is a compliment, but it makes me think I should do something more obviously "paper" as well.
My first real show was the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibit. This is a very popular show in Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto. I was accepted as a student in 2003 and it was very exciting! I had a little booth made of pieces of wooden lattice that I could hook my pictures onto. It worked well and I was so proud!
Since then I've done dozens and dozens of shows, studio tours, exhibits, and fairs. Each time it's a bit of a risk. Will people come out? Will they like the work? Will the work sell? In the end it's worth the effort to have an opportunity to share my art with other people.
If you'd like to come out to one of my shows, stay tuned to my website where I'll post all the details at least a few weeks before hand. I'd love to see you there!