So there I was sitting quietly at my booth at Artigras on Monday and who walks up to me--Webbie. You all may remember him before he disappeared into the ether of last November's storms (think puff, puff).
He was wild-eyed and excited, there was icing smeared on part of his aloha shirt, his beard was filled with crumbs. He goes,"Nelsie oh boy, wait til you hear what I saw at the Grove show." I bit. I was open to anything but the deaf sounds of no sales at Artigras. "So Webbie what's shaking?""Nelsie baby, what I am about to tell you takes the cake. The Grove has stretched the boundaries of modern art to new heights never previously envisioned. They let a guy into the show who makes cakes. They put him in the sculpture category. He even took one of his creations in for judging--I didn't know they had an award for Edible Art?"
I chewed on this info for about a minute, slowly digesting the future possibilities that lie in front of us. "Webbie, you know what this means? We can know bring naked women to the show and paint on their bodies, I think I will enter under acrylics." Webbie went me one better. "Nelsie I got an even better idea. I can bring my tattoo gun and work on my body--in drawing--it will take the term "body of work" to new dimensions (Webbie is quite large, especially across)." Then we both smiled and said at the same time, "Jewelry." We can enter as a team. Think jelly-bean studded cupcakes attached to an edible string. The folks will eat this up."
I flagged down a boothsitter and we both took off to Rooneys Tavern by the show for a well-deserved lunch break. We both are in serious "Tequila-Swilling Training" to upend our nemises the Cubby Margarita Killer from Coldwater. Also, I just can't wait to be able to apply to the Grove in 2012. We are going to make a killing there.
Comments
Michelle, remember that when the peasants cried that they didn't have bread, Marie Antoinette said "Let them eat cake." I still say "Let them eat cake." But, lets not lose our heads over this.
More telling is that the only "review" of the show was done by someone not at the show. Someone should step up to the plate. After all, Spring Training has started. I am directing all my comments to a certain member of AFI that is on the CGAF committee. I will say that if you had the right items, you made a killing. I talked to a painter that sold 15 decent sized pieces. There were others that did very, very well. I, for one, have stepped back and am going to have pieces next year that I know will do well in this market. I've visited some galleries in south FL and surprise, surprise saw similar surface treatments that I haven't used for over 20 years. I'd been thinking about revisiting those glazes, with the added knowledge of 20 years experience, anyways. I'll have my new pieces starting in May.
It was great meeting some others from AFI.