Cottonwood Farmer's Market

My daughter and I set up shop at the Cottonwood Farmer's Market yesterday. It was fun but HOT. By the time I finished carrying everything and setting up the canopy and tables, I was pretty spent. My husband and oldest son stopped by a bit later (with chairs--so...I'm a little forgetful!). He said my face was bright red and began cooling me down.

It was fun but I am not a "hawker", meaning I don't reach out to folks to sell my wares. If they want to look they are welcome. I will smile and that's about it. My husband is very engaging. Folks stop by to meet him because he has such a handsome smiling face and he has one of those personalities that pulls folks in. I was laying on the grass relaxing and he and my daughter smiled and engaged folks toward the booth. A lot of compliments but not alot of buying. Then a friend stopped by. Dominic Standing Bear. He played his flute and is not shy about asking folks to take a look. He was saying, "C'mon! You look like a gal that needs a medicine bag!" "You have the spirit about you! Come take a look at these beautiful bags!" Etc., etc. He got even more people in.

He's a pretty special guy. He has been a Sundancer and Singer for, I believe, over 16 years. Look that up and you'll see it's a pretty intense ceremony by American Indians.

In the end, we sold only two medicine bags but both of them were by my daughter. She's a quiet gal but is learning to step outside her comfort zone a little and doing well at it when she does! I was not too discouraged because a lot of vendors there did poorly. It all depends on what band is playing. If they are not well known, and this one was not, there is a smaller turnout. I did get a REALLY neat opportunity though. One gal came buy, complimented the bags then asked if I ever sold in stores. I said, not really. I just started working on these about a month ago. She gave me her name AND her store front and said "call me". She said she'd be interested in carrying my medicine bags and her shop is in Sedona! Whoo hoo! If you don't know Sedona, it is a unique community based on tourism, etc. It would be wonderful if I could sell the bags in bulk once a month or so to this gal instead of trying to hit up shows, etc. I'll be contacting her next week to see how it goes. It would be terrific! We'll be doing it again next Thursday.

Medicine Bags to Braces

Featured Items:
Medicine Bags

Painting on deer and elk hide medicine bags.

Prices: Vary


On Thursday I took artwork by both my daughter and I to a show in Tempe. It was over 100 degrees on Thursday and very humid. I was in a quandry this morning because my car's A/C stopped working and car rental places are closed for the holiday weekend so I was trying to find a way to get back to Tempe to pick up the artwork this afternoon! Realizing that wasn't going to happen I did everything I could think of to get ahold of the director of the show at the hotel it was exhibiting at. The hotel folks did everything they could to not get out of their chairs and send someone to the exhibit room. I was so frustrated. I know they were busy but SURELY they could get someone from bell staff or something! Finally, my husband (smart guy that he is) got ahold of security there and asked that they get a message to the director to call me. He was on the phone to me in less than 5 minutes and said no problem, he would ship the artwork back to me in the next several weeks. Whew! The only down side is my daughter and I won't know what pieces did and didn't sell until they are returned. One of the fun parts of a show, coming back and seeing if anything interested folks enough to buy!

Above I have a photo of medicine bags, which are my most recent joy. The bags are sewn by a gentleman who enjoys the name "White Badger". He does a marvelous job. I buy the bags from him then add my art to them and am planning to sell them at the local Farmer's Market. My sweet daughter found out a few weeks ago she needs braces and was devastated. (Young teens are very insecure about their appearance!) So, to make her feel better, I told her I would get my braces at the same time. My teeth aren't horrible but they could definately use a little lining up. And she was thrilled. So, though my insurance covers a good deal of her dental costs, it doesn't cover a dime of mine. Hopefully, all the income from the medicine bags will be enough to cover the initial portion of my braces and I will have a daughter who is comforted by the fact her mother is going through the same thing! The things folks do for their children! Grin!

Featured Painting: Turtle Drum

Acrylic Paint on drum

SOLD

I participated in the 2nd Saturday Art Walk in Old Town Cottonwood on June 13th. It turned out to be a wonderful event. With all the different types of artists in attendance, singers, entertainers, painters, sculptors, drummers, there were no ego conflicts. That in itself, was pretty amazing. Better still, I sold one of my drums. I had it for a couple years. It was a drum that was near to my heart. The gentleman that bought it, one could tell, fell immediately in love with it. He held it close to his heart, almost hugging it after purchasing it. I was very flattered and am so glad it went to a good home!