Art in the Park

I decided to show my Northside prints at Northside Art in the Park June 18. First time to do something like that, so lots of prep: getting the vendor's license to pay sales tax, figuring out a support to hang my work from, getting a 10'x10' canopy, matting and wrapping prints, etc. Yesterday started out rainy with a strong possibility of thunderstorms during the day. I was worried my work would get ruined in the rain, that it would be miserable, that no one would come, etc.

Since I had invested so much in getting ready, I decided to go ahead. I'm so glad I did. I think the weather kept attendance on the low side, but still, I met lots of great people, many who were intrigued by these prints of a street in their neighborhood. Early on, a woman came by, pointed to the print above and exclaimed, "That's my chair!" To which I replied, "Then that must be you!" Unknown to her, I had created this image of her volunteer efforts in the DAR pocket park. She was so absorbed in her work I'm sure she didn't see me taking the reference photos. She explained that she always brought a small chair along because her knees were bad, so she sat in it to garden. I also found out she took care of that public space for many, many years. What a joy to meet her and connect. And she bought a copy of the print.

Another man, who grew up in the area, bought two prints of the area around his old home. Another couple bought one that reminded them of the urban gardening they do. Plus many others stopped by just to look and chat. All in all, a very good day and none of my art got wet!