Handworks

On November 21, I visited the Handworks show at the Trade Center in Jackson, MS.  Nearly all of the booths were crafts, with the best ones being clothes items and woodwork items.  There were two or three booths with some paintings.  There was a good variety of crafts in the show.  The crowd was large and active and enthusiastic.  I do not think that paintings were totally suitable for this show.  I enjoyed the visit. 

Petal Fall Arts-Crafts Show

This event was Oct. 25, 2014.  The town of Petal is a suburb of Hattiesburg, MS.  I graduated from U. of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, so I thought I would try the Petal show with my paintings.  Well, it did not go as I thought.  The town was difficult to get to, with winding roads.  The people were all nice and complimented my art.  They did not buy.  There were about 50 booths in the show, and the main attraction was bounce-houses for kids and food booths.  I and one other person had paintings to sell, and neither of us did well.  I would not recommend this show for crafts, either, as most of the booths sold factory items.  Too bad, I had hoped for something better. 

Fondren After Five

I attended this event as a guest on August 7th.  It is a monthly event, and often has large crowds.  It did this time, mostly college students.  It is located in Jackson around the Fondren area, where art galleries, stores, and some other businesses provide entertainment by bands and singers and some buffets.  Also some arts and crafts booths set up.  It is a lot of walking but an enjoyable event. 

Lena Day

I entered the July 4, 2014 Lena Day arts and crafts show.  This town is about an hour's drive north of my house in Ridgeland, MS.  The best part of the day for me was that I sold my 100th painting!  In seventeen years, I have now sold 100 paintings.  It was a watercolor of a cat.  The girl who bought it, took a photo of us and posted it online somewhere.  That was a very uplifting feeling. 

The show itself was lacking in handcrafted art.  Most of the booths had factory items.  That was not a positive development as far as I was feeling.  However, this is the second time that I have entered that show, and both times I managed to sell something.  I can't look down on it. 

Ridgeland Renaissance Spring Arts

Hello all,  This weekend I visited the arts and crafts event outdoors at the Ridgeland Renaissance mall.  It was in white tents outside.  Dozens of artists from all over the U.S. were exhibiting.  I did buy a pin for my blouse from one of them.  It is difficult to get out and around between weather blasts until summer or late spring, so I was glad to get to this one.  Perhaps I will visit some more before really hot weather appears.  The paintings were marvellous at this one, with many large abstracts especially, and plenty of expressionist and experimental work.  I admired them all. 

Mistletoe Marketplace

November 7-9, 2013 was the annual Mistletoe Marketplace in Jackson, MS.  I had two paintings in it, two watercolors.  This show does not sell paintings well, as it has many more booths for crafts and food items.  Many of the booths are from other states.  Nevertheless I enjoyed the experience.