ArtFest 2010 - My Artful Trades

I am off to ArtFest 2010 at Ft. Worden, Washington (near Port Townsend) this coming Tuesday... I can hardly wait!  It's just a hop, skip and a jump (well ferry ride) from Victoria to Port Angeles and then on to Port Townsend just down the road (well sorta... )

I have two classes with some great teachers lined up... one with Michael DeMeng and one with Nina Bagley.

I've known about Nina Bagley since I lived in North Carolina.  Nina lives up in mountains (Asheville) and I have always admired her jewelry work.  She does wonderful wire work and that's what I really want to learn and get better at.  She is into narrative jewelry which, being a storyteller, is right up my alley!

Michael DeMeng is another artist whose work I find interesting in a strange sort of way.  I'm not into Cinco de Mayo but  I have heard so many wonderful reports from friends and acquantances who have attended his classes, I just have to find out for myself what the buzz is all about. LOL

I 've wanted to go to ArtFest for about four years now and it seemed something always came in between.  This year, I was determined to go and NOTHING was going to get in the way. It always amazes me (and it shouldn't by now...LOL) that when you set your mind to something and keep focused on it, it happens.  Energy Flows Where Attention Goes... a Hawaiian shaman principle that I continually need to remind myself of...

Being a festival VIRGIN (haven't been one of those for a very long time... chuckle, chuckle), I wasn't sure what to expect.  Fortunately, there is a Yahoo group that one can join to get the "lowdown" on what is happening and what not to forget to bring (like your pillow!).  Being a coffee lover, I went out and bought a little French press yesterday to take with me. I got that great idea from the people posting to the yahoo group. I do love my java in the morning...and someone said they were bringing a kettle to boil water.  YAY!

Early on, after joining the Yahoo Group, I heard about the wild frenzy that occurs when "trading" begins on Wednesday night.  Well I didn't have a clue at first what this was all about but I soon found out. Everyone who wants to participate makes up about 100 pieces of "art" to trade with other attendees.  The first thought that went through my head was :  "Oh dear, I hate doing production line stuff." and the second thought was "Well, you don't have to."  That let me off the hook to decide what I would make for my trades.

I put my thinking cap on.  Here's what I came up with....

I really had fun making the poker chips for my "claying" weekend a while back.  When I put a photo of them here on my blog, they received a lot of wonderful comments.  I decided that Poker Chips would be trade #1.

My second trade came from some digital Moo cards and bookmarks I designed a few months ago.  When I showed them to friends and family, one of them turned out to be a favourite.  I was particularly proud of this one because I  digitally designed the rusty alphabet myself which I used in the Moo card and bookmark. That would be trade #2.

My third trade idea came from my business cards.  I get a lot of wonderful remarks from folks when they see my business card.  It's different.  It's fun.  People keep it.  It amazes me how it gets shown around and I have people coming up to me to ask me for one of those "cute" business cards  When that started happening, I knew I had a hit on my hands.  Chuckle.

There is a little story behind my business card.... A few years back I wanted something different than the regular, run of the mill business card.  Something that reflected who I was and what I did.  Well, as anyone who knows me could tell you, I love to have fun, I love to surprise, I love to laugh, I love doing digital work and I can be a "cheeky" little devil at times.  I am also into vintage *stuff*. So I designed a card that I felt reflected who I am. What about making that trade #3?  "Why not?" I thought.  It is "arty"!

Below is a sample photo of all my trades,  Got them all finished last night.  They are ready to go... I've got lots (probably more than I will ever trade but what the heck huh?) so it should be fun to see how many "trades" I can negotiate next week.  I made an empty chain necklace to take with me to "string" trades I receive.  I think I am going to have one very, very wonderful "artful"  necklace by the time ArtFest is over.  I've been looking at some of the trades other attendees are making and they are just fantastic.  This is going to be a bowl full of frenzied fun...

I'll be back home next Sunday and once I have had a few day to recover (grin), I'll share my experience with you.

Have an "artful" week everyone and see you again soon.

Cheers,
Sharon