ACC Craft Fair This Weekend in St. Paul

The American Craft Show in St. Paul will feature more than 240 craft artists. I will be booth 807. My work is featured in a new category called GREEN CRAFT. Artists who use eco-friendly materials or recycled materials are included in this new category. The show expects to draw a crowd of 10,000 visitors. I will be Booth #807 - pretty much in the center of the fair.

LOCATION
St. Paul RiverCentre
175 West Kellogg Blvd.

DATES AND SHOW HOURS
Friday, April 18 (10 am - 6 pm)
Saturday, April 19 (10 am - 6 pm)
Sunday, April 20 (10 am - 5 pm)

Preparing for my first major craft show with this line of work is a major undertaking. I think I am starting to feel ready, although there are many little details left and much packing to do. I have been given a "buddy" to help me prepare for the show. Mainly I have been able to ask questions about lighting. Other friends have lead me to resources for walls and carpets. A circle of friends is so important.

Vertebrae (above) will be featured in my booth along with a new large vessel. I will have many other new smaller and medium sized works.

2008 Exhibition Schedule:

Writing the promotional material for the Ruth Chenven exhibit was an opportunity to make a list of all of my upcoming exhibits. I feel a bit daunted at the moment. But I have been working toward the goal of a gallery exhibit and other sales opportunities. Sometimes you must watch what you ask for.

2008 Exhibition Schedule:

April 18-20

The American Craft Show - ACC
St. Paul, Minnesota
http://www.craftcouncil.org

May 9-June 7

• Translations Gallery
• Two person exhibit with Cassandra Tondo
• 773 Santa Fe Drive, Denver CO, 80204, 303-629-0713
• http://translationsgallery.com

July 25-August 23

Textile Center
Mentor Program Exhibit
3000 University Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414, 612-436-0464
http://www.textilecentermn.org/mentor.asp

September 12-October 4

The Space, a centre for creativity
Solo Exhibit
156 High Street, New Richmond, Wisconsin 54017
http://www.thespaceforcreativity.com/index.html

Zapp

Undercover. Clay, fibers, wax. 39"x9"x9"

Yesterday I decided to apply to one upscale craft show, the ACC St. Paul Show for April 18-20, 2008. The deadline was midnight. After teaching in the morning, I set out to conquer the Zapplication online application process. I was met with a huge hurdle. They require all images to be 1920 x 1920 pixels with the extra space black (at the top and bottom if horizontal or the sides if vertical). None of my image management programs could produce this black background. The local library did not have Photoshop on their computers. Finally, I found that I could download a 30 day trial of Photoshop. After much fussing with the download, I was off and running. I met the deadline by two hours Central Time. One hour to spare if they were counting Eastern DST. Many of the artists who exhibit at the Grand Hand had booths at this year’s St. Paul show. They all displayed colorful Grand Hand signs. I can have a good show together by April if accepted.

New Work for Grand Hand Gallery

I will be delivering work to the Grand Hand Gallery in the Summit Hill area of Saint Paul. They are moving to a new space on the corner of Grand and Dale. They will re-open on Tuesday, May 8 with shows in both the old (a few doors east on Grand) and the new locations. They have a wonderful selection of craft objects in fiber, wood, clay, metal, and other materials. I am excited about beginning my relationship with Ann Pifer and the gallery.

I took some photos outside yesterday, enjoying our wonderful spring weather. The indirect light on my porch did not give many shadows. So these are not the best photos possible. But I think they give a good idea of the vessels I have been making with the Grand Hand in mind. The first one is a folded construction. In making this piece, I worked much like working with a clay slab. The second piece is from my "Forked Branch" series. I am making more pieces using forks of willow branches as the skeleton.

Another Opening

The opening for Mary Bergs collaborative installation with Monica Reede is Thursday night in The Third Floor Gallery on the St. Paul Campus of the Metropolitan State University. Mary is a fellow mentor in the Textile Center Mentorship Program. Mary likes to explore visual language systems by juxtaposing found objects in new relationships. Chris Atkins described her work as sensuous with the absence of cliché and didactics. I like to hear Mary talk about her work. The Poetry of Everyday Life is a great title for a show of her work. I hope I get to the Cities soon to see what she created with Monica Reede who sounds as contemplative and attentive as Mary.