Day 30: I had one child in the front pack, one in the backpack, and one holding my hand? I started thinking, "Where's the circulation in my arms?"

365 Days Of My Life As A Studio Artist: Day 30

Day 29 Donations:

Donations Running Total: $29.59957

Today's Growth Idea: Getting ready for my show, which I have been talking about a lot, because right now it is my focus. Although I got 3 free 10'x10' spaces out of the deal, it is still very costly in terms of booth rental, renting a truck, and paying for the time for people helping me. On top of making glass, we are painting walls, getting paperwork ready, etc. So, although I have done shows before, have a checklist for them, and feel fairly confident about this one, many of the shows I have been to have not been as successful as I would have liked. There is a lot of information on properly working a show and today we will be looking for and utilizing some of the information I have collected in the past along with looking for other helpful tips.

My History: Let me back up a bit... somewhere along the line before moving to my new space I had another beautiful child, my son Casey. I think he was born during my time at the Tecumseh studio which would have been 1992. Having a third child made things very different for me. I could no longer have a child in each hand when I went places - what was I going to do with the third? I was always determined to be able to do whatever I had to do ... that just meant figuring out how I was going to get it done. One time I remember going somewhere and I thought to myself, no problem. I will just put Casey in the front pack, Travis in the backpack, and I will hold Matthews hand. It didn't take long to realize I was getting no circulation to my arms and had to look for another solution. And that is kind of how I did things.

Today's Business: Along with the trade show info I will be looking for, today is the day for lamps. They have been my goal and we haven't gotten that far yet. Most of my unfinished pieces are done and just need polishing and packing. I will have the help of several people and will take advantage of every minute they are there. Making the pattern, cutting the glass, trying out my new 90 degree angle came, and putting them together! Can't wait to get started. I am going to have to cancel tonight's bead class and reschedule for another day. Next time I will give people more notice.

Today's Photo: Taking good photos of my booth is hard for me. This one was taken at an outdoor show at the Clinton Fall Festival before I got my latest display. It was interesting to experiment with the set up of my booth. By putting the log table in the center, it gave people a pathway to come in and walk around. Not having it there, meant most people just looked in but didn't walk inside. Little things can make such a difference.

Pat Deere