I had the most amazing time at Art in the Park in Redlands over the week-end! Not only did I have good sales, I had a chance to catch up with some old friends and make some new ones. The guy at the booth next to mine was incredible. He and his sons make beautiful birdhouses (no URL because he doesn’t have a website). The best thing about being next to Roger was listening to him deal with the people who stopped in his booth. He was warm and friendly, but not pushy. He engaged them in conversation and answered their questions. He clearly loves what he does and it shows! Just being around him was really good for me. For one thing, passion and enthusiasm are contagious! But also, he was a good role model. As outgoing as I can be sometimes, I’m still very shy around potential customers. I’m never sure how much to talk to them (especially if they aren’t chattering back). Roger modeled great customer interaction. I’ll have to run some of his interactions through my mind to see what I might learn from him.
I had a new product on display at this festival. They are Simple Sayings Motivation Cards — small pieces of art with a motivational quote on them. They were very well received. I’ll be demo’ing the process of creating these little treasures at the Fontana Arts Festival in July. I love to do demonstrations at my booth. Not only does it draw people in, but it’s fun!
The absolute best thing that happened at Art in the Park was selling this mixed media piece, #4. As you might suspect, this piece is part of a series. I did this piece in an online class taught by Julie Prichard and Chris Cozen (Mixed Media Melange). I made other sales, but this one is particularly meaningful because the new owner of this piece is a 10-year old girl! Her mother told me later that Anna had been to every booth, looking at every painting — I was so touched and humbled that the one she wanted was mine! And she did want it. She did not want to leave my booth without it! I overheard a bit of conversation between Anna and her father; it was obvious that she would be paying them back for this purchase. She was willing to spend her own money on my piece of art. And can you imagine a 10-year old caring about original art? I’m still floored by her! She was shy and unassuming, but she knew what she wanted.
In addition to being humbling, this was so inspiring! I just want to hang out in my studio, playing with paper and paint, color and texture!
