A Good Time to Say Thanks!

Having just finished my last show of 2008, and with Thanksgiving tomorrow, this feels like a good time to just say  – thanks! Thank you to everyone who came out to shows this year and supported me with a new purchase or a kind remark. Thank you to everyone who has commented on this blog or through email and given me helpful feedback or words of encouragement. Thank you to family and friends for their support and for just being there. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make the shows of 2008 as good as they could be. I’ll look back on 2008 fondly because of you all!

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Another Set-up and Another Birthday

This evening I will be celebrating another birthday by dining, er that is, setting-up at North Penn High School for tomorrow’s Holiday Craft Market. It’s not the first time I’ve worked a show or had a show set-up on my birthday, or my wife’s birthday, or my daughter’s either, or my wedding anniversary for that matter. It goes with the territory. It’s all alright too. I’ll be surrounded by a bunch of creative people, some friends, and a lot of really cool fine craft. Come by the show tomorrow and help me celebrate.

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Lehigh Valley Guild of Craftsmen 2009

The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen elected the 2009 slate of officers last night. After serving as Vice President for 2 years, I will assume the responsibilities of President for 2009. The Lehigh Valley Chapter is one of the larger chapters within the state guild and has been active since 1944. It is a chapter with members of great skill and creativity. I’m looking forward to working with a great group in this new role.

My last show of the year is this weekend at North Penn High School. The Holiday Craft Market will be a must-see event with some of the finest handmade and designed crafts and artwork on the east coast. Be prepared to spend some time exploring and selecting great works of many different mediums and styles.

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Wall Space

The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen put together a really fine show this past weekend. Cafe 29 in Emmaus, PA provided patrons and crafters great choices for lunch and dessert. The crab bisque was definitely up to previous years and I tried the chocolate cake with peanut butter icing (great). Of course that’s not why we were there (well maybe a little). This little gem of a show is not known as well as it should be. We’ll work on that. The show committee did an outstanding job of making everything work smoothly and making the show a great shopping experience.

I was pleased to have my work selected as holiday gifts, wedding gifts, and for personal art collections or decorating needs. I saw some familiar faces and added some new names to my list of patrons. Thanks to all. It was nice to see Mike and Rachel again, third show in a row. Your frames are on order. I also was able to speak with a couple student exhibitors who were very impressive.

One thing that I continue to hear from people who like the work they see but who are hesitant, is that they have no wall space. This is a problem for some and it’s a shame. Imagine having no more bookshelf space or room for music on your ipod! Do you not buy another book or another song? There needs to be a new thought process or methodology that allows people who want to add to an art collection to do so without thinking that space is the problem. Everyone has wall space as long as they have a wall. The question is how to use it. Maybe the real issue is whether art can be enjoyed without hanging it at all? Maybe a new paradigm is needed? Maybe the enjoyment of owning art and supporting the arts doesn’t require that every piece is hung, or maybe a new hanging system needs to be invented. I just don’t think that buying art in any form should be seen solely as a way of wallpapering a home. I’ll admit I have a stake in the issue, but I also live by the philosophy that if I am moved by a piece of art, how I will enjoy it is not the question I ask myself, but rather how much.

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Getting Ready……Again

Another weekend , another show. That’s good. This time it’s The Holiday Marketplace produced by the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen. It’s a fine show, not too big. It’s a great show for relaxed shopping without a huge crowd and multiple rooms to traverse. It’s also catered by a wonderful local outfit that makes amazing soups as part of a very good lunch menu.

On a recent outing to Hawk Mountain here in PA, I came across this rustling little chippy seemingly getting ready for something as well. He had a mouth full of leaves and was very patient with me as I inched my way closer to make it’s portrait.

Getting Ready - (c) Paul Grecian 2008

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There Was Cheering

The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen’s Fine Craft Show in Lancaster, PA this past weekend went off without a hitch. This is gift-giving time and I know that many of the pieces purchased were going to be gifts. A couple ladies purchased selections for each other at the same time in my booth. I wasn’t quite sure who to hand bags to, the giver or the givee. It’s always rewarding to have my work selected whether it’s a gift for oneself or another. I appreciate that people see something in my images that makes them think of people they care about. Oh, but the cheers I got this past weekend had nothing to do with my photography. It was a simple thing really.

A green football had been thrown over the fence of an elementary school yard. I drove right over it and then stopped and walked back about 30 feet to get it. The 12 or so kids were yelling at me – “please” and “sorry it go into the street”. I threw the ball back to the girl standing furthest from the fence to great cheers and thank yous. And yea, I put a good spiral on the toss. They cheered the whole time I jogged back to my car. I’m thinking about having a small green football in my booth at my next show.

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PA Guild State Show – Lancaster, PA 2008

The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen will be holding our annual holiday Fine Craft Show at Manheim Township High School in Lancaster, PA this weekend (Nov. 8-9). I am looking forward to this show, it is the Guild’s main event of the year and it’s at a great new location.

The hard part about this November for me is not getting out to create new works. I have scheduled four shows in four weeks. By the end of the month I will be eager to get out. And after four straight weekends of not eating so well, Thanksgiving is sounding really, really good!

Maple Path - (c) Paul Grecian

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Back Road

The route I traveled to the Penn State Campus – Berks County for this past weekend’s show is full of great rural character. Several times I wanted to pull over and work the scenery. The only time I actually did pull over was for coffee. The show however was well attended by an engaged public that took pleasure in seeing and buying an array of fine craft and artwork. I visited with several clients who have purchased my work at other shows and came to this show to add another piece or two.

My first sale of the weekend was a fun one. A mother and daughter came to the show and spent some time with me. They both seemed to enjoy the work they saw in my booth. After some time they each selected a piece to take home, the same piece. Fortunately, I had brought a few with me. The image they both selected was Back Road, an image that also represented the ride I made Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on some back roads in PA.

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