Oh the Joys of Summer Colds

Well.... here it is. Sunday afternoon. 2nd day of September.

Its been a bit tough getting back into the swing of things again. As you all know, my "BIG EVENTS OF THE SUMMER!!!" turned out to be a whole lotta disappointing. It hit me pretty hard, and I was really depressed there for a bit after that. I just didn't want to work on anything. But after a few days of letting it stew and feeling frustrated and unhappy, it worked its way out of my system. Just in time for my Aunty Chris and cousin Tabetha to come up for a visit, and for an awesome case of con-cooties to set in! Woo!

Nothing says AWESOME like getting a cold.
This one, fortunately, wasn't that bad... especially since I had this great nasal spray that kept my sinuses clear. Afrin is great stuff.

No, the bad part was when the cough set in. Tried to go to the shop and get some work done, but being around all that dust and fumes and crap just killed me. Spent most of that evening trying to hack up a lung, which is always a ton of fun, as I'm sure you know.

So here it is... September 2nd... and I haven't really made much headway into my work. Between being sick, work, and depressed, these last couple weeks have just not been super productive.

It was fun seeing my aunt and cousin though. They never come up for visits so this was a nice surprise. And it gave me a chance to go over some of the commission detail with my aunt about her dragons. That's going to be an interesting project this winter.

I also have some better details on that shield I'm going to be making. Already I can picture what I'm going to be doing with it, and it's going to be pretty freakin cool.

And I've been racking my brains for designs with that ostrich. I have it partially built, but I really want it to look nice and detailed. So we'll see what I can throw together with what I have.

Now this weekend has been a bit more productive.


I had a chance to run up to the Midway Swiss Days yesterday (Saturday) to check that out!

This was another show I had applied for but didn't get into. And I nearly missed seeing it this year, because I just completely spaced the date. I thought it was later in September, so it wasn't until I heard someone else talking about it that I realized it was this weekend!

I had heard from other people that some vendors will go up during the festival and set up shop on the side of the road to do some sales. So, after throwing a bunch of stuff into my truck, I cruised up there to check it out and see if I could make some money,

Well... turns out it's not that easy.

Apparently, street side vendors have to make prior arrangements with the property owners surrounding the festival. Most property owners also charge rent on the spaces, and many artists end up paying as much to set up as they would've in the festival.

Maybe I was just on the wrong street... but it didn't seem that setting up a little stand was going to work out at all. But, I did get a chance to wander around the festival itself. And that was fun and enlightening.

There were absolutely TONS of people! This was the kind of festival I'd been hoping for!

I'm going to have to do some serious overhauling on my show registration content. Get me into some of these big shows next year!

I checked out the various booths. Chatted with a few acquaintances. Eventually ended up in the booth of an artist who also crafts steel sculptures.

I think I must've easily spent 20min just wandering the booth looking at everything.

Some people can completely engross themselves in photography. Others in paintings. Or poems. For me, it's sculpture. And their work is so fun and whimsical... I find it inspiring. If I'd had the money, I would've happily splurged $300+ on that booth alone.

I ended up purchasing a small hanging Opossum, a Flat Cat, and a Flying Cat. I REALLY wanted to purchase the Peacock, Armadillo, Rooster, and large Fat Cat.

Now, I know what you're thinking.... why buy metal sculptures when I could just craft it?

This is a trap I find myself falling into. Not wanting to purchase work from an artist because I could just make it myself. But I remind myself that those artists were once just like me. Struggling to make a living out of their work. Trying to figure out where they fit in, how to sell, how to price, how to advertise, how to run a business, etc...

It's not easy. There's no instruction manual. And it's so hard with art because each artist is unique.
Each artists will have different needs, different expenses, different styles, and thus different methods of running their studio.

As an artist trying to make it in this world, I've come to realize how important it is that we fellow artists help each other out. So I like to buy a few things whenever I go to a show now. Even if they're small things... I'm still helping to support my fellow arters and crafters.

Plus... they're pretty dang cute. I love the style. And they're really great for inspiration. Helps me find new ways of looking at designs.

Now I just need to find somewhere on my wall where I can hang my Flat Cat.