The Ann Arbor State Street Art Fair

I suppose that one of the things I have to put topmost on my list of “what I will do when I become more ‘popular’”, or even better “what I will do when I can do this full time” is be more prompt with my blog posts. But I am still in the mindset that I am lucky if someone other than my number one fan (that’s you mom! Love you!) reads this. 
 
I had a couple of weeks with no shows but that meant I had even busier weekends preparing and trying to paint and produce more little treasures.
 
The four-day Ann Arbor Art Festival was exceptional. The weather, so I am told, was a once in a century awesome. It was not too hot, it actually cooled down enough for one to wear a light sweater! I loved it. It was my first weekend since pretty much October where I did not have a cast, a knee scooter or a walking boot. Mind you, this does not mean that it wasn’t painful to walk or stand after a while, but the freedom afforded me was priceless!
 
Some unforgettable memories were also made. I had two dear friends come to surprise visit me. Matt and his wife Sam stopped by from Canada and seeing them even briefly was delightful.
 
A completely unexpected visit was from my friend and run child, Ashlie, her husband Adrian, and her brother Mark. I just melted with joy to see them come from hours away to say hello, to hug me and to support me. It’s little moments like these when you realize that friendship is demonstrated in many ways, and it may not be about daily calls and hang outs, but those surprise moments, smiles, hugs when you least expect them and most need them. They made my day! 
 
What also made this show incredible was another completely unexpected event. I won the best emergent artist award. It was so, so, SO nice and so encouraging! I was completely not even thinking or considering this could possibly happen, and it did! This was a huge fair, and there are so many creative, skilled, talented and experienced artists. I still feel like the little shrimp looking up at them with big eyes and saying “when I grow up I want to be just like you!”. Only I am all grown up… and eager for this second half of my life to be a more relaxed and fulfilling life. Comfortable with my creations and constantly learning and honing my “skills”.
 
As always, I meet a lot of people. So many nice fun people. I met an incredibly talented young man in his teens who stopped by to look at my octopus art and showed me his art. Beautiful stuff! Rich with colors and textures and the expressions of the animals he paints. Please, please check out this young artist on www.instagram.com/bgeorgiaart/ and don’t forget to support him, show him what you like by clicking on the heart (yes, many of you know how Instagram works, some may not). Every “like” counts. For me, as I am sure it is for many, a “like” is the incentive I need to keep creating. I met Zoë and her brother, their mother and her sister. So beautiful all of them and so fun. Meeting people who stop to look and talk and tell me what they like and what they would like to see is always fun. And I listen. I like to get ideas, if someone tells me they like bats, I paint a bat. If someone asks for flamingos, I start looking at flamingos. For me, painting is my combination of fantasy and naturalism. I like to watch documentaries and read up on whatever animal I am focused on. This way I learn (or often remember) not only what makes each creature unique but also exceptional at being what they are. 
 
 
 
I leave you with some photos of the show, my little ever-changing booth as I learn how to decorate it- and often have to rearrange things depending on rain and where the puddles are!
 

My State Street Art Fair booth after a cooling rain.

This is the cutest little girl I have ever seen. She was having a blast jumping on the puddles, so much so her undies were falling. She did not care, she just kept joyfully stomping water!