Hello world and especially hello to all my wonderful blog friends. You all have encouraged my heart so much with your well-wishes while I was away. Life has settled down a little now… let me see… where shall I begin?

Since I have been gone, I have participated in not one, but three art shows. They were spaced out just enough for me to recover then get ready for the next one. I have also been working on some commissioned pieces in between. And finally, I now have a high school graduate for whom we are trying to get “all our ducks in a row” with college plans. This has been a full and blessed spring and summer. I have enjoyed the break from blogging, but I have missed you all terribly.

A brief report on the art shows… the first one (the one I posted the link to in the previous post) was my first show ever. It had ups and downs, but all in all was a great learning experience for me. I didn’t make much money, but I felt that the education was worth the time and expense I put into it. I gave away tons of brochures and cards and had some wonderful comments about the artwork.

The second show was a total disaster from start to finish… from the setup at 6 am where I was assigned the space next to a fresh stump of a giant oak that smelled like soured sweat socks…. to the wind blowing sand all over my artwork and eventually blowing over my painting with the most expensive frame so that it slammed into the sidewalk… to the judging that totally seemed “political” (and me a “newbie”)… to the unseasonable 98 degree temps… to the fact that it was held in a locale that had a number of softball fields and plenty of parking — only the parking was all taken up by softball moms and dads and grandparents — leaving no spaces for those who would be attending an art show… and I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, I ended up in tears and will NOT be participating in this particular show again. (I am sure that the Lord had something He wanted me to learn, but so far the only thing I know for sure I learned is that I will definitely not be doing that show again!) 🙂

The third show was a beautiful show at Aldridge Gardens, which I did a drawing of last year. The weather was perfect, all the artist’s booth spaces were in shaded places, and the crowd was there for only one thing: to see the artwork. It was a huge blessing, and on top of all those things I actually made enough to recover my costs for the show.

I have learned so much during these events and feel all the wiser about what it takes to be an “art show artist.” I am not sure whether it is something I will continue to do. It is certainly not for the faint of heart, but I wanted to really put myself out there and let the Lord lead. I am trusting Him for the fruit of the work and money I invested in doing the shows. And for now, I am glad they are over. Summer has given me some time to experiment with new things, but also to work on some commissioned pieces.

I have a LOT of catching up to do in my blog reading, so please bear with me as I catch up. It has been a while, so it may take a while. 🙂 I hope to be posting some of the new artwork I have done in future posts. I love you all!