The end times

 Three hours left of Holiday Market today; six more tomorrow. So far, I've run out of:

1. Cat painted mugs
2. Elephant stew mugs
3. Frog soup bowls

Fingers crossed...

ETA: …and done! Nothing else ran out. Last sale of the Market was an Octopus pasta bowl at 15 minutes 'til closing.

First time

Smol bear's first visit to Market.

The Great Crash of 2017

I've never successfully photographed the first pitch of the annual Pottery Smash. But this time, I got close.

The 2017 Pot Smash and Benefit Auction for Saturday Market's Kareng Fund was this morning, and, as usual, was a smashing success. About a dozen potters, along with a jeweler, the Albacore lady and a maker of glass "bubble pipes" contributed seconds, over-stock, and frankly, just breakables to the event. We changed the start time this year, going a half hour earlier. Didn't change the amount of time the event took, about an hour, but it gave us an extra half hour to sweep up the shards and get ready for the public opening of Market at 10.

This is a members-only event--food and craft vendors, Market staff, security and alumni, the occasional fairgrounds employee. Partly to give each other first crack at bargains, partly to not undercut ourselves with our paying public. I, for one, hate selling seconds in the same marketplace where I try to sell firsts.

That said, it's a worthy cause. The Kareng Fund is Market's Artist's Emergency Fund, recently incorporated as a non-profit serving artists throughout Oregon. They've given over $45,000 in small grants over the past decade, and a big part of their funding comes from this auction and associated raffle.

We had a very successful auction--roughly $3400 raised. Alex and Jon and I were kept busy making up auction lots and calling bids, with help from Claire in Vanna-ing the work. We closed up at 9:30, swept the few unsold small bits into a box for Art Bingo prizes and January, and swept the shards up into boxes for prospective mosaic art.


As usual, all my photos are from before or after the sale. Too busy to remember to shoot the crowd while the bidding is happening.  Maybe next year...