my Art festival tent + Prep
Well hello!
Happening now.
I have been busy! It’s all about preparing for my first art festival. I’m painting as much as I can but I’m also deep into all the business details, from credit card readers, to tent and booth set up, to hangers and tags and displays.
Since my last newsletter, I grabbed my husband and drove to Austin to buy a used Trimline tent. Since the tent is provided for the April festival, I was only on the hunt for some mesh panels to use to display my paintings. But when I came across the used tent for this great price, I had to go for it. The Trimline tents are top of the line. By making this investment I feel like I have officially stepped up into the next level of my artistic path. Regardless of the outcome of this particular art festival, this is such a significant moment for me. I am believing and investing in myself for this new season.
We practiced putting up the tent and that was quite the adventure. All those years helping the boys assemble their Legos paid off. As a practice run, It felt really good to hang some art inside and start to plan the layout for the April Fair. I didn’t have my new pieces wired so I couldn’t use those to demo just yet. Taking it down was much easier, even with the layer of pollen courtesy the nearby pine trees and early spring weather.
So, if you're local, please save the date and come see my booth at Sugar Land Arts Fest 2023 (SLAF2K23), April 1-2! You can purchase tickets at SugarLandArtsFest.com or at the gate. Be sure to follow my IG account to watch me prepare as well as @sugarlandartsfest for info and updates.
Nourishing me.
Since I have another month of getting ready for the festival and then the actual event itself, I am practicing as much self care as I can on a daily basis. I don’t want to come to the end of my first art fair and only have memories of being a grouchy, miserable, stressed out person to myself and to my family. I’d never want to do it again. For me self care looks like: lots of cups of decaf mint green tea or Mexican hot chocolate, accepting that I will not finish all the paintings that I want to include, being okay with not having a spotlessly clean house, going to bed at a decent hour so that I have good energy for the next day, and trusting that the universe is conspiring for my good. I’d encourage you to find the little things that you can choose to do for yourself as well. You are so worth it.
Keeping them fed.
Ok. So I would prefer to be in my studio painting over most things but my people have to eat. So this is definitely the season of quick dinner meals. I found a beef stir fry recipe that actually works for me! No wok required. I think it’s the baking soda that tenderizes the meat. It’s a good base that you can customize with the veggies that you like in yours. Here’s the link: zenaskitchen.com/teriyaki-beef-vegetable-stir-fry/. To keep things easy, I use my rice cooker that will even make brown rice taste amazing.
Well...that's it. I’m going to go make myself some Mexican hot chocolate.
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