OKC FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS 2015 IS HISTORY

I had a record breaking art show at the OKC Festival of the Arts.  I had a wonderful location and great neighbors which made the week long experience fabulous.  I hit a professional milestone of sales I never knew I could reach.

I am still amazed at having followers and fans who stop by to visit and look at my work.  I really enjoy meeting people who read my blog and pin my work on Pinterest.  I am still not used to having some notoriety.  I wonder how Madonna does it...... 

Any outdoor show comes with weather challenges.  For the most part, our weather was cool and damp.  We had to close up the tent a little a few times but for every day was beautiful.  The OKC Arts Council, who sponsors this show, provides us with these giant tents which are waterproof and well weighted.  Four artists share each tent with a triangle display space.

One of the joys of this festival is all the school field trips that visit during the week.  Each morning we can count on swamps of elementary age children who usually have some sort of assignment to complete or a scavenger hunt to do while they visit the artists.  There are lots of yellow buses parked along the street every morning when we arrive to open our tents.

I always meet lots of great artists at festivals and aside from making sales, it is one of the highlights of being in art shows as an exhibitor.  One of my next door neighbors was a sculptor from Austin named Dakota Pratt.  Dakota covers wood sculptures with hundreds of flattened pop bottle caps.  He was a joy to share this space.  You can find his work on exhibit and in collections across the country.

Not only is the OKC Festival of the Arts a week long but it open until late at night.  I invested in new booth lights just for this event.  It is so pretty to see all the booths lit up at night.  I loved my retro, goose neck lamps.  I think they gave my display an extra, vintage feel.

Because this show happens during the school year, I have to take unpaid leave to participate.  I am so grateful that my sister, a retired school teacher, worked in my booth for a few days.  She is a great sales person and I love getting to spend some time with her.  My husband came down near the end of the week and helped me finish out the festival.

Thank you, OKC Arts Council for including me in this wonderful event.  I hope to see you again next year!