A Roseburg, by any other name
Jul. 4th, 2024 07:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrWas actually pretty sweet!
UVA Summer Arts Festival is something of a crapshoot, weather-wise. One year it rained so hard they had to buy big bags of peat moss to fill up the mud puddles. Most years, it's hot, one so hot they closed the show Saturday night. This year was perfect. Sunny, highs in the 70s to low 80s, enough morning clouds to keep the heat down, nice breezes. They rejiggered the map after I picked my booth, so instead of having my right side open, I had a neighbor there, which... wasn't bad? Meant I got a little shade on the east side in the morning.
I've currently got about 80 names on my postcard mailing list, probably about 20 or 30 on email, so Friday was busy with returning customers: the woman who'd been buying a place setting a year (who finished that project with a bulk buy, post-pandemic) still stopped in to pick up a few pieces, as did the one who'd been face-timing with her son in Texas last year. Vlad and Frank stopped in to show me pictures of the sourdough they'd baked in a covered casserole, bought another, larger one. The young woman who'd proclaimed, "This is my favorite store!" as an eight-year-old is now grown up, finishing a degree certificate in criminal law at Umpqua Community College after graduating from police academy. And the young couple who work at the fine woodworking booth came in for more work to add to their collection. And later were joined by five or six of their co-workers--all in matching woodworking t-shirts.
Four young women in Wildlife Safari khakis stopped in, looking at all the animal patterns. I'd made a mini-grouping of African-themed tall mugs--lion, elephant, giraffe--and pointed them out. Sold them, as well, one saying they'd be perfect for a coffee-themed basket in their next fundraising auction. Must have only donated two, though, as her boyfriend came in Saturday saying she'd given him the lion mug, and bought the other giraffe mug (I brought two) for her.
Had some nice neighbors this year, a young painter and her daughter doing bright, hip-hop-inspired paintings and prints on my left, a wildlife photographer on my right. Across the way, a pine-cone jewelry artist requested, and got, permission to move to a shadier spot, as the light and heat was messing with light-sensitive components in her work, so on Sunday, Kay set up a card table and easel in the empty space and daughter Leah spent much of the day painting, and repainting a large canvas of a cat. She kinda reminded me of a classmate in college, who kept adding layers to his paintings, and never really finished one, just quit, usually one or two layers beyond the best one. There were several moments when I thought, That's it! Stop now! but she kept going. The finished piece wasn't my favorite iteration, but she was happy with it. Watching her, so excited that she had to stop and dance or spin periodically, was definitely the high point of my Sunday.
The festival decided to feature long-time participants in their social media this year--apparently, there were two who'd been there the whole 50 years! We haven't been coming down that long, but have been as far back as my records go, so over 20. Jaden took this adorable picture of us in the booth.
Sales were surprisingly consistent, Friday good, Saturday a little better, Sunday almost as good as Friday. We averaged a thousand a day, give-or-take, so though it's down from last year's total, it was still a very solid showing.
UVA Summer Arts Festival is something of a crapshoot, weather-wise. One year it rained so hard they had to buy big bags of peat moss to fill up the mud puddles. Most years, it's hot, one so hot they closed the show Saturday night. This year was perfect. Sunny, highs in the 70s to low 80s, enough morning clouds to keep the heat down, nice breezes. They rejiggered the map after I picked my booth, so instead of having my right side open, I had a neighbor there, which... wasn't bad? Meant I got a little shade on the east side in the morning.
I've currently got about 80 names on my postcard mailing list, probably about 20 or 30 on email, so Friday was busy with returning customers: the woman who'd been buying a place setting a year (who finished that project with a bulk buy, post-pandemic) still stopped in to pick up a few pieces, as did the one who'd been face-timing with her son in Texas last year. Vlad and Frank stopped in to show me pictures of the sourdough they'd baked in a covered casserole, bought another, larger one. The young woman who'd proclaimed, "This is my favorite store!" as an eight-year-old is now grown up, finishing a degree certificate in criminal law at Umpqua Community College after graduating from police academy. And the young couple who work at the fine woodworking booth came in for more work to add to their collection. And later were joined by five or six of their co-workers--all in matching woodworking t-shirts.
Four young women in Wildlife Safari khakis stopped in, looking at all the animal patterns. I'd made a mini-grouping of African-themed tall mugs--lion, elephant, giraffe--and pointed them out. Sold them, as well, one saying they'd be perfect for a coffee-themed basket in their next fundraising auction. Must have only donated two, though, as her boyfriend came in Saturday saying she'd given him the lion mug, and bought the other giraffe mug (I brought two) for her.
Had some nice neighbors this year, a young painter and her daughter doing bright, hip-hop-inspired paintings and prints on my left, a wildlife photographer on my right. Across the way, a pine-cone jewelry artist requested, and got, permission to move to a shadier spot, as the light and heat was messing with light-sensitive components in her work, so on Sunday, Kay set up a card table and easel in the empty space and daughter Leah spent much of the day painting, and repainting a large canvas of a cat. She kinda reminded me of a classmate in college, who kept adding layers to his paintings, and never really finished one, just quit, usually one or two layers beyond the best one. There were several moments when I thought, That's it! Stop now! but she kept going. The finished piece wasn't my favorite iteration, but she was happy with it. Watching her, so excited that she had to stop and dance or spin periodically, was definitely the high point of my Sunday.
The festival decided to feature long-time participants in their social media this year--apparently, there were two who'd been there the whole 50 years! We haven't been coming down that long, but have been as far back as my records go, so over 20. Jaden took this adorable picture of us in the booth.
Sales were surprisingly consistent, Friday good, Saturday a little better, Sunday almost as good as Friday. We averaged a thousand a day, give-or-take, so though it's down from last year's total, it was still a very solid showing.