_{June 12, 2010}

 Granville, Ohio. About 45 minutes outside Columbus, it's an affluent community with roots almost as old as the Colonial  eastern seaboard. Very very cute town. This could have been and should have been an excellent show. I think we barely made expenses, if I remember correctly. I think we did better than most though. The show was on "The Great Lawn" of the Bryn Du Mansion. And it WAS a great lawn! It was so large the art show only took up 1/4 of it and there was a polo match on the other side of the lawn on Sunday! I couldn't tell you how many acres it was.

Another stormy weekend, it poured the day before we got there. This always gives Kotah great pause. He has been stuck in the mud before. Now we have this dual axle box truck and we carry heavier pieces than he's ever made before. Driving onto the lawn to unload was a little scary- but it was the Great Lawn and we didn't sink! We had to set up quickly so we pulled it together and got out of there just before dark. Then it stormed again all night and stopped just in time to open. Again - amateurs were in the mix and people's tents were mangled messes!! It was terrible! I'm sure lots of people lost art to the rain. Glad Kotah works in metal and people like a little rust! There was a wine festival on Saturday which brought in quite a few people but the wine tent was physically too far from the art tents. The lawn was immaculately coiffed but it was still difficult to walk on because the grass was a good 3-4 inches high. If they had given it a trim like the green of a golf course - just for the weekend - it would have been so much better! One can see in the pictures there were truly few patrons. Sunday was a total bust. Kotah got caught up on his sleep while I played with some puppies and took pictures of posers. 

June 5, 2010

Hyde Park Community Art Fair, Chicago IL. It was basically a continuation of the 57th Street Art Fair, which has been in existence for decades.  There was an art guild backing the show so we applied and were accepted. It was a glorious stormy weekend and people came out in the rain to buy art! Some of the participants were amateurs to the ways of outdoor art shows, needing sturdy tents, weights, a sturdy display table... And they learned their lessons, I hope! As for the rest of us, we enjoyed good crowds, good sales, old friends, extraordinary food, and some sight seeing. The absolute best part about Chicago is the diversity of people. Kotah's art is very tribal and worldly at the same time.Those who "get" the energy can find something in his booth they can relate to. It's just so much fun to watch people's faces relax when they let themselves feel it. Again, the kids just love his stuff. The bells are always fun and the fantasy and whimsical figures on the drum lids are eye catchers too. Doug Dymacek and his lovely wife Amy came to see us! I've been friends with Doug since 7th grade! Planning on getting a dinner with them before the end of the summer. Kotah took the time to show me a little part of Chicago I hadn't seen before. Ernest Hemingway had spent some of his formative years in Chicago and there was a museum, hotel and restaurant (too swankie for me) dedicated to him. Since the restaurant was a little too much, he took he to Papaspiros for the most outstanding Greek dinner I've had to date. On the way to the restaurant, I saw a banner on a bridge commemorating 9/11. Coming from NJ originally, the events of 9/11 hit me a little harder, I think, than the average Midwesterner. I was very gratified to see the memory of that day being honored in such a way in Chicago. Thank you to them! And to wrap up an almost perfect weekend, we got a flat tire on the way home! Luckily we were in the town of Kentland and were able to pull over instead of in the middle of a cornfield! Kotah had just purchased a back-up battery doo-hickey that can fill up your tire with air! He patched the hole, filled us up enough to get to the next Pilot and we made it home in one piece. Kotah's the BEST!!!! He can fix anything!

May 29, 2010

Graduation weekend for our Timmy! Hope he does well in the future. He sailed through high school, I'm afraid he's in for a surprise!

It's been many Moons since I sat to write a few words about our adventures. I'm sorry. I was in the midst of finding a new job to further my own career as a nurse and fighting with the State government to win my unemployment benefits. That's all behind me now and I have a wonderful position as a Clinical Manager for a growing home health agency right here in Evansville. My commute is only 10 minutes and we're done for the day @ 4:30. Can't beat that!

Back in May we stayed fairly close to home with the exception of a Georgia show. The weekend of the 22nd we spent in Paducah, Ky. What a great show! We were in a section of town called Lowertown. It's just north of the downtown area and full of relocated artists who have renovated older homes that needed a little love. http://www.paducahalliance.org/   http://www.lowertownartdistrict.com/index.php  An old friend of Kotah's, Michael Terra was one of the directors this year which made it special for Kotah. Unfortunately (or really, fortunately) we were so busy we didn't have time for socializing. We went back about a month later to try to drop in on Mike and his wife but they had already bugged out to Washington State where they spend the hot summers in the cool Northwest. Can't say I blame them! This is Michael's place: Strange...

Here are some pictures from that weekend. Kotah got interviewed for a movie the city is doing about Paducah, there were some gorgeous animals, we could see church bells through a sliver between houses, I went western only because my scalp was sunburned and I didn't want to add to that, and the Paducah Police kept us all safe from the shifty pirates!

May 19, 2010

Update on kittens! The kittens are getting much bigger and should be ready for homes by the end of the month. One is short haired, light gray with white paws, tummy and a streak up the nose. Timmy named this one Aries God of War because he (she?) tends to be very frisky. The other 3 are going to be long haired and darker gray. They all have blue eyes. One of the long haired kittens has 4 white feet. Caroline named him (her?) Mittens. The runt has been renamed several times. He (she?) is all gray. My niece has named it Kiwi and I think that's going to stick. Kiwi, Mittens and Aries... all like to be held and will readily fall asleep on you. The last kitten is Bruno. He (she?) has a small patch of white on it's belly. Bruno is hilarious. He (she?) is the only one that tries to act like their mother.  You get Socks (the mother) cornered in the garage  - which is where we relocated the kittens - and she'll hiss at you. On the front porch - where her food is - she'll let you love on her. Bruno will awaken from a dead sleep when you enter the garage, leap out of the box, hide behind whatever's handy and hiss at you. It's the cutest thing ever! sss-sss-sss-sss! He forgets to run away so after he's done hissing, you can pick him up and cuddle with him too. Who needs a kitten?

May 10, 2010

We have returned triumphant from Duluth, Georgia! A suburb of Atlanta, this mighty little town's art guild puts on one heck of a show! Artists got all kinds of special treatment including beer and food and soda and cold water and separate bathrooms with toilets that flushed! The local police were our security, not Joe Bloe's Security Shop. There were over 100 very good artists and no rides! Though kids did make up the majority of visitors, I think. Ringing the big bell, Dr. Suess hair and face painting were the biggest hits of the weekend. The children are nearly all I took pictures of! Kotah won Best In Show and I was SO thrilled for him! He had been pouting because the judges didn't take a 3rd tour through our booth so he thought he had been crossed off the list. It was because they had made up their minds! Thank you very much to judges Linda Ray Lindeborg and Vanessa Boggs for thinking outside the box and recognizing the beauty that can be made with recycled materials. Thanks also to Mayor Nancy for giving us the "Official Seal of Approval!" Looking forward to returning next year.

April 26, 2010                                                                   

Well, we have 4 kittens. They are so cute! Socks is a surprisingly good mommy for being so young. 

We have had several shows since my last entry. I've also been spending most of my time trying to gain fruitful employment that I can balance with my life here. Wish me luck, it's proving to be difficult. 

This has been the month of Tennessee. The weekend of the 10th we were in Nashville for Fusion 10. It is a mixed art celebration and fundraiser for the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation.  It benefits cancer patients directly - like providing a social worker to coordinate benefits and resources. It was a very fun time. We sold a few items but more importantly got good exposure for the first time in Nashville. People had not seen anything like Kotah's work and we received many good comments and pictures were taken for newspapers and websites.

They had a film festival, a fashion show and live music as well as the visual arts. In the past, several of Minnie Pearl's contemporaries had attended the fundraiser. I didn't see any of them this year and that was disappointing.

The weekend of the 17th we were in Clarksville for the Rivers and Spires Festival. We won't do that again. It has become evident that when we attend a festival where art is not the main event, we do poorly. Art was not the main event.

This past weekend we were in Knoxville at the Rossini Festival. The Rossini fest was good to us last year. It was GREAT this year! Focusing on the Operas by Rossini, this festival attracts a different crowd. These are art lovers. We took a big chance because the weather was very stormy. (Two states over there were deadly tornadoes.)Through the rain we had scores of customers and several repeat buyers from last year. We sold all the big pieces Kotah had produced since the Hanson Show, lots of drum lids and even Emergency Call (the big blue praise lady) was sold! Unbelievable. Thank you Knoxville! Kotah will be very busy this week getting ready for the New Harmony show. Come see us Saturday and Sunday on the Main Street in New Harmony.

April 4, 2010

Happy Easter to all our patrons and friends! Christ is risen indeed! I count my blessings every day, believe me, i do. My kids are generally happy and healthy, my parents are independent and generally healthy, my husband is a wonderful man with a huge heart and generous soul. We'll be gathering this evening at my Mom's for dinner. We'll miss absent family members and friends. We'll eat too much. We'll feel the blessings God has bestowed on us. I'd like everyone to count their blessings and remember those who might be alone or who are sick or homebound. Those who are freshly divorced or widowed, those who are battling cancer, new and overwhelmed mothers, those who are estranged from their children; all who need extra support and caring and love. The Easter message is more for them than it is for those who are comfortable. Those who are comfortable need to become uncomfortable. We need to open our hearts and doors to those who are hurting, whatever the reason, and share the love and caring that was demonstrated by God through Jesus. What's the Great Commission? Something about making disciples of all nations and baptizing all in the name of the Father? Not all of us can afford to be world traveling missionaries, but we all know someone who needs a hand. Reach out.

March 22, 2010

I've waited a couple days to blog about the weekend because I didn't want to sound too nasty. We were in Erin, Tennessee; a small rural community southwest of Clarksville and at the base of the Tennessee Ridge. When we accepted the invitation to the annual Irish Festival, we thought it was close enough to Clarksville to attract a more cosmopolitan population and we were assured that this was one of the largest festivals in the area.  "We had 15,000 people last year!" Well, there were plenty of people. It seemed like we saw the same 2 or 3 thousand people all day long. There was one man who looked like a leprechaun. He circled around the festival maybe 6 or 7 times. (That's not really him. That's a statue in the park) When we looked more closely, we saw everyone   going round and round again and again. Very few people stopped at our tent. I don't think most people "got" us. Listening to the country twang all day long made me wish for home. Even Evansville isn't as twangy as these folk.  Listening to what people were saying to each other made me want to weep. The conversations were so basic and the choice of verbage was so simple and the grammar was awful. We were in probably one of the poorest parts of Tennessee and this was the biggest event of the year. We set up our tent with extra color, hoping to catch the eye. We went so far as to cleanse the tent with burnt sage. It was like pulling teeth to sell anything. Once in a while someone would appreciate the art but our lowest price on anything is $20. That's more than most wanted to spend on a non-consumable. I bet they would've spent $20 on a funnel cake or ferris wheel ride or a green   wig or a balloon hat.                                                                           

Fort Campbell (101st Airborne Assault) is nearby. They were there with their own booth trying to recruit young men and women. I don't know... Somehow I just don't think this guy's agile enough to be a good soldier. Would this make you want to fight for America? Makes me want to go to Disneyland! Or Universal. Or at least the Rose Bowl Parade.

There was one family that came through who lost everything but each other in a house fire last year. They "got" the art and purchased a Tree of Life and a stainless steel Goddess with Moon hanging. I gave them a discount. I have family members who have been through the same thing. It was terrible.                                                                                      

Oh, I forgot to mention the trash. If you looked carefully, you got a preview in the picture of the balloon hat. This had to be the dirtiest festival I have ever attended. I won't even tell you about the port-a-potties. YUCK!

 Needless to say, we got out of there as fast as we could. On our way through Clarksville, we stopped for supper. We tried to go to Jersey Mike's Subs (again, hoping for the real deal in vain) but they were closed. So it was the old reliable Mexican! We stopped @ Pancho Villa near Gate 4 in Clarksville. It looked like a hole, but when we                                    walked in, it was Margaritas for $1.99 night and there was entertainment! A nice end to an otherwise wasted trip.  (I needed that Margarita. I really did!)

March 17, 2010

 I love St. Patrick's Day. I love going to the local Irish Pub and raising a little hell. I love Harp's lager and traditional Irish food. I love Irish punk. Forget U2. Give me Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphy's! This year my oldest son was home and we treated him to a nice meal and a Guinness. Mom came with us too. Saw a couple friends. It was VERY loud. Not Kotah's scene at all but he was a good sport and put up with me. On the way out, the Shriner's pipe and drum core came to entertain us. They sounded terrific! Love me some Ri Ra's!!!!!!!!

March 15, 2010

We were at a psychic/ natural healing convention this past weekend in Columbus, Ohio. I am a total skeptic when it comes to alternative medicine – having practiced traditional medicine the last 25 years. I take antiinflammatories every day religiously for arthritis I have all over my body. Been doing so for over 10 years. About 5 years ago my achilles tendons decided to become severely inflamed. I have been living with swollen painful achilles tendons – the left worse than the right – for a very long time. I’ve shown my physician several times and he shrugs and says, “I don’t know.” I have shown friends who are physical therapists and they recommended stretching exercises – which I did for a little while, but stopped because it was ineffective.
Back to this past weekend: the couple across from our booth had an aromatherapy booth and they also offered Ionic Detox foot baths. [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPBkRDv1jPQ&feature=related and www.naturaloptions.us ]They were getting lots of customers and I watched all day Saturday as people would sit for 30 minutes and the water bath would turn any color from tan to black. I thought it was a bunch of hooey. My husband arranged for me to get a detox, trading some of his art work for it. I sat and was surprised that the process actually tickled my feet. I got up after my 30 minutes and didn’t really think anything of it. My water had turned dark like everyone else. Much later in the day, after walking around on the concrete floor in crappy shoes, I reached down to rub my achilles tendon out of habit. It didn’t hurt. I examined the area and the swelling was gone. Both achilles tendons were very close to normal size and pain free. I was totally freaked out.
Now I’m researching ionic detox and other alternative medicine methods that I saw to be effective this weekend. All I know is something changed and healed my ankles. The only thing it could have been was the ionic detox bath. I’m still freaking out about it. We weren't sure how Kotah's art would go over at the psychic fair but it was an all around very good weekend. We made many important contacts, enough money to pay some outstanding bills, and Kotah was actually reunited with an old friend. Thanks Columbus!

March 2, 2010

Time to catch up. Last week was unbelievably busy. On Wednesday we went up to Indianapolis for my 2-day consult with a neuropsychologist as ordered by my Worker's Comp. It was an interesting process including a verbal interview, questionnaires, and a myriad of tests administered by a psychometrist. I had never heard of that specialty before. She had about 6 different diplomas on her wall. I was impressed and I hope she gets compensated well. She spent almost the entire second day quizzing me on all kinds of subjects from verbal to mathematical skills. There were some puzzles and drawings and word problems and memory games. It was getting brutal by the end of the day but I have been declared mentally fit for work! If this is all she does - I think she also interprets the data she gathers - she deserves a medal. I'm sure she has to sit with some unpleasant characters. blech. We did take advantage of the better restaurants that are available on the north end of Indy and ate @ McAlister's Deli one day - very similar to Panera Bread. Yummy soup and sandwich. The next day we ate @ Kona Jack's. Evansville NEEDS one of these down on the riverfront - in "The District". We have some good sushi places here (thank you Toyota) but none of them that I've been to offer a decent alternative that still includes seafood if you don't like sushi. Kona Jack's does. I got 2 rolls and Kotah got a very nice pasta dish that included big shrimp and scallops and I think some crab.  They were both yummy. Wouldn't that be terrific downtown? 

Thursday night we had our first show of the season @ the Geist Toast the Arts Event in the Lawrence area of Indianapolis. http://www.atgeist.net/profile/PartnershipForLawrence  There was a fundraiser for the Fall Creek Food Bank, Kotah was the featured artist, there was wine and beer and awesome food from Chef Suzanne. There was dancing and singing and an actual Toast to the Arts.   The members were very generous with their resources and we had an excellent show. Very special thanks go to Judy Byron, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Britt and the Sterrett family. There were several people there I wouldn't mind partying with again! You know who you are! The highlight of the evening for us was a 9 year old patron of the arts. She had been saving her Christmas money for something very special and when she saw Kotah's sculpture she knew that was it. Her grandpa took her home to get her money and she came back and bought one of Kotah's wolves. She was very proud.  Tom arranged for us to stay at the Cambrius Suites. Very very nice. Wish we weren't so EXHAUSTED after all the work that's involved with putting up and tearing down the booth and displays. We also had to leave earlier than we normally would because I had to get back to Evansville for therapy. I hope we can go back again. These are good people.

Friday was spent getting ready for the next show which was close to home. There was an arts and crafts fair on Saturday @ Castle High School in Newburgh. From 9am to 4 pm we were in the cafeteria - where I guess the thermostat is broken 'cause we were all sweating like the proverbial pigs! We had a smaller than normal space so that was a real challenge. We usually set up our tent in a 10 x 10 space. This time it was an 8 x 10 space so we left the tent home and improvised. Behind us a craft person put up a bright green cloth which we used to our advantage as it became the background for Kotah's drum lids. We did put out all 5 tables and put out everything we could fit. It was an overall disappointing show. We did make back our booth fee and driving expenses and maybe another $100 but that was about it. Did meet some nice people and other local artists. Also had many people take our business card for future commission work (fingers crossed!). But being off work since December, I was really hoping for some financial relief. My friend Vanessa did "take one for the team" and purchased an altered satellite dish and a gecko made from a Carrier furnace. She has a new house and needed some porch decorations. I hope she enjoys them.

   Monday I tried to go to work. I was very disappointed when Corporate wouldn't let me stay because of my physical restrictions. I can certainly help file and answer phones! So here I am at home for another month, beefing up the blog and my Facebook. See ya next time! Suzy*

February 21, 2010

Just got back from a short trip to Indianapolis with Kotah.  He's a fan of "World Music" especially if it sounds tribal in any way. He's also a fan of Bela Fleck, the renowned banjo maestro. Bela Fleck is currently touring with an African contingency from both east and west Africa. We saw the show at Clowes Hall at Butler University. The instruments the Africans used were so primitive! Did you know the banjo comes from west Africa? There was a band with 4 members playing the "African banjo" made from either a gourd or thin wood, animal skin and raggedy horse hair for string. Could've been camel, I don't know. There were 4 different sizes to get the full range. The album is called: Throw Down Your Heart, Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Africa Sessions, and just won a handful of Grammy awards for his efforts. The music was lively and heavily influenced by Arab culture - especially the west African sounds. The east African sounded more like the stuff Paul Simon released back in the 80's only without the Paul Simon influence (Duh). My favorite parts were when Bela fused the African music with Bluegrass. There are a lot more pictures and a short video on my Facebook page. Even if you don't love this kind of thing, it was very educational and just all around a lovely experience.  www.belafleck.com

The next day we went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA). I wanted to run home feeling guilty about the kids and being off work and all that but Kotah talked me into staying and enjoying the art. It was really nice. And free!!!! We didn't get to see the whole thing because it closed at 5. www.imamuseum.org I'm hoping I get to see the rest of it next week when I'm up there for testing. Then we stopped @ the Canal Bistro in Broad Ripple before coming home. The atmosphere was better than the food. The wine and service was superb.

February 16, 2010

Wanna put up a couple of shout outs for some local restaurants. 

Kotah took me to Fujiyama on Valentine's Day. He had never had Japanese food before. I love sushi and sashimi.  Haven't had any since I met Kotah because he was adverse to the idea. He decided to try it and off we went! I think they have the best rolls in the area. They fly their fish in fresh from the west coast every Friday so if you go on the weekend and ask the wait staff "what's fresh" they either know or can find out in a hurry. The salmon sashimi was mouth watering! They also have a salad that's not on the menu - called Treasure Salad. It's spicy crab and seaweed and tempura crunchies and fish on the bottom. The combination of flavors in this dish is superb. I think it was Kotah's favorite thing. He tried the Thai roll and the East roll. The East roll consisted of all cooked materials and surprisingly, he didn't care for it. He ate the entire Thai roll. I had the eel roll (yummy!) and the Jimmy roll (Super yummy!).Best of all they serve green tea - not Lipton orange pekoe! They are located in North Park next to Pie Pan.

Today we went to Los Toribio on the 41 strip in Henderson for lunch on the way to therapy. OMG. Every thing was super tasty! It's a bright happy setting, a cute bar, quick accurate service and yummy food. I got the lunch special which was a choice of either shrimp or chicken soup. I chose the shrimp.  There were 10 medium sized shrimp in my bowl! That was a nice surprise. Spicy broth, lots of scallions and sweet red bell peppers, brown rice, etc. With the complimentary chips and salsa (2 cups - one hot, one mild), it was a perfect lunch. Kotah got the taco salad with chicken. He was very pleased with his selection as the chicken was fajita style and not just shredded and seasoned. It was a simple salad with tomato and cheese and sour cream on it and the different flavors were layered. By the time the sour cream melted with the fajita seasoning and juices, it made a wonderful slurry for the salad. The bowl for the salad was hand made and crispy and fresh. This might be a plus for some: the soda products are from the Royal Crown line. I'm a Coke girl myself, but RC's a damn sight better than Pepsi!

Heading to Bone Fish tonight to commemorate 365 days of knowing each other. One year ago today we met at this same restaurant.  He drove all the way from Arizona to meet me.

Thursday February 11, 2010.

Today we were supposed to get the kitten spayed. Her name is Socks. She came to us this winter. Don't know from where, Caroline named her. All 4 feet are white. Socks was having nothing to do with the cat carrier. She is ferrel and went in and out of the carrier a dozen times last night but would run from it this morning. Our local Humane Society has a spay and neuter clinic and since I'm off work, I thought I'd take advantage of the lower prices there over our vet. I feel bad when I don't keep appointments. I also have a compulsive thing about being on time. She's the most fickle thing and the males are starting to pile up outside. I guess we'll try again next week.

Being off work is starting to get me down. Thank goodness the art shows will be starting soon.  We got Kotah a kerosene blaster furnace for the unheated garage and the sun is out today. I think he's going to the garage and start work again. He takes off during the winter months for the most part, and besides, he's been healing from his shoulder surgery. It'll be good for both of us. When the shows start there will be more activity; loading and unloading the truck, hauling pieces around. I feel like a sloth, despite having phyiscal therapy 5 times a week.

Please check the Upcoming Shows page and try to make it out to see us. Our first 3 shows are coming up next week. We are concentrating more around the Evansville area and south this year. I think we'll go north a few times but Kotah wants to try a different strategy. Looking forward to seeing everyone this year. And I'll keep you updated on Socks. Bad kitty!