Ornament, Ornament, Ornament

As you can see, I am continuing to work on my winter hoilday ornament inventory. It never seems to be enough, especialy if one is contemplating doing extra shows or events. More on that later, as the time comes closer.

This week let me introduce:

• Ornament Transit, a donkey toting baskets of ornaments
• Musk Elf, a musk oxen elf
• Festive, a flamingo with a tinsel scarf
• Jolabokaflod, a bear with cocoa and a book, named for Icelandic tradition of giving books on Christmas eve, and reading them while enjoying chocolate
• White Stag, a magical white deer
• Aurora Reflection, a wool “painting” on a dryer ball base

These ornaments along with the others you have seen will be available once the holiday season begins. I will tell you where and when.

Why Ornery?

I have been working on some other items the past few weeks, but they were custom orders, so I will not be sharing them here. These items were all, created after informing the inquiring customer that “I really no longer do commission work.” For some reason, this is never satisfactory, I’m then regaled with why this request is special, small, different, please, please, please…. Ugh, sigh. Not wanting to be rude, I end up relenting, and saying ok. And, then wouldn’t you know it? They all end up reminding me of some of the reasons why I don’t do commissions any longer. I will spare you the annoying details, the artists out there know what I’m talking about.

Instead, I thought I’d might pass along a bit of public service. We are entering the season when with lots of festivals, markets, and open studios where art and hand-crafted items are sold. These hard working artist will be sharing a bit of themselves with you. It is always a good idea to know how the game is best played. I perused some attending an art fair dos and don’ts.

Some of the advice was common sense:

• Don’t bring food or drink into the tents
• Ask for permission before photographing anything
• Haggling is not encouraged
• Keep an eye on bags, umbrellas and children’s hands
• Try not to congregate in tent entrance
• If you pick something up, place back in same location, or hand to the booth attendant

I also found a graphic credited to the California Arts Council that provides some things to help you be a thoughtful art fair consumer.

Instead, tell the artist what you do like about their work. Ask them about their process. This is a little different from, “how is this made?”, unfortunately many artists do have their original designs stolen and copied. Do inquire if they do custom work, or commissions, and be prepared to pay part up front for an order.

For a little practice, one of my Hillsborough Gallery or Arts co-owners hosts a wonderful show at her farm each year. It is this Saturday, and the weather report looks good. Here’s a link to Art at Lady Bug Farm. If you’re local take a drive out, it will be worth the trip!