Charlotte, NC: My new favorite city

'Just back from this weekend's show, Art and Soul of South End, in Charlotte. Wow, what a great time. The weather was absolutely perfect (sunny, high seventies to low eighties both days, with a bit of wind) our new set up worked well in the outdoors, and the show was great. The people we met in Charlotte were friendly, genuinely interested in my work, whether they wanted to purchase or just look and learn about it, and I made very good sales. The new clock size and designs were a big hit. In fact, both of the clocks done in the design in Thursday's post were bought by people who loved them! It seems that my clocks are "the thing," this year so far. A couple of years ago, it was my boxes--only sold one box this time--go figure. For me, the best indicator of how well I'm doing at a show is whether I sell any of my highest priced products; my Ancestress Series shadow boxes. I sold two this weekend, and had serious inquiries about another, which could result in a sale down the road. Now these Ancestresses will be appreciated by two other women, to whom they "spoke," which encouraged them to make the purchases. I love this part of what I do; the idea of creating something which "speaks" to me during the creative process, which then does the same to someone else once it's finished, so much so that they want to make it their own, is very exciting and gratifying. The names of the two Ancestresses with new homes are Ghanima, which means 'good fortune', and Aje, which means 'prosperity'. Coincidence? Maybe. I prefer to think of them as harbingers of the show season ahead. In Charlotte, we felt appreciated and honored as artists and participants in this 2-day event, and our sincere thanks go to the organizers, who did an outstanding job. When's the last time you were at a show, and had to continually turn down offers of help from volunteers (which we did, since there were two of us, and we wanted others who were alone to be able to take advantage of the help)? Or, where you were asked, at least once every two hours if you wanted free bottled water and/or snacks? I'm planning to send a thank-you email today, highlighting these and other positives during the show--I hope other artists will do the same; it's always good to let people know when things go well. As a show organizer myself, I know I always hear when things don't go well. 'Don't often hear when it's the opposite.

So, I hope I'll make someone's day a little brighter--a good thing for a Monday, don't you think?