craftstravaganza 2011

Last Saturday, I visited one of my favorite urban/modern craft sales, Craftstravaganza. It's hosted in the Fine Arts building at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul and seems to always draw a crowd. And the weather always seems to be semi-miserable. It was cloudy, rainy and under 50 degrees for most of the day. I arrived around 3pm and watched the clouds part and sun start shining. I took that as a sign for me to have fun, fun, fun at the sale.

I've decided to start practicing creative tithing (link routes to an article by Scoutie Girl - highly recommend reading it if you're interested in this topic) - supporting other creatives by purchasing their art on a consistent basis - something I've done for a while actually, but lacked a great way to think about this practice until hearing about if from my friend Caiti. Here's how I tithed at the sale (and, just to note, I tithed a bit more than I expected too!):

Necklaces by Larissa. Loved her display (sorry, no pictures) and actually it's probably what drew me into her booth. I make much of my own jewelry so I usually pass right by the jewelry booths. She works with a lot of metals, which is something I don't do much of, so that's what first attracted me to hr space. Then I saw her lovely assortment of vintage/reproduction vintage lockets and necklace pendants and knew I would be picking something up. I left with two necklaces - the teal/ivory owl cameo (saving it for fall) and the golden yellow floral cabochon, which I'm wearing now.

Map cutout of Minnesota. I love maps. Have for a long, long time. I can read atlases for hours. So when I saw Stephanie's sleek and colorful display, dotted with map images, I walked right on over. I flipped through her Minnesota paper cuts and told her I'd be back after looking around some more because I was caught between two of her framed pieces. Obviously I did swing back later and decided to go with the Minnesota cut that features the area of northern Minnesota where I vacationed with my family from toddlerhood through college (what were the chances that Blackduck, Minnesota would make it in to one of her pieces - meant to be, right?). The other option was of the Twin Cities (and included my fav city of Northfield), but after a conversation with Stephanie's dad, I decided to go with Blackduck. Happy I did. Stephanie came all the way from Michigan for this sale, and indie crafting is her full-time gig. I was happy to meet her.

Peacock screenprint. I've really been into decorating and crafting with bird images for over a year. Peacocks (and owls) are new birds for me. I found this piece at Amy Jo's booth and I wasn't sure at first, but I'm happy I brought this home. I think it might be just right for this small spot above my kitchen sink that has stumped me art-wise for almost six years.

Not pictured:
Mother's Day card from Michelle. I always visit Michelle's booth. I have quite a few of her screenprinted creations and two photos. I love her floral/nature inspired prints. I believe she lives in North Dakota.

Six greeting cards from Keli. I chose to restock my greeting card collection from Keli, rather than Hallmark. We had a great chat, that among my typical crafty questions, included a conversation about how nice it would be to have a husband who would be all about doing the things we're not too keen on. For Keli that meant helping to haul in her displays for shows. For me that would mean cleaning up the kitchen after making a meal and spackling walls, among others. We had a good laugh together and I found myself with some super great cards.

I love this show! Both for the visual beauty and the beauty of connecting with the artists. And it's a sure sign the seasons are moving right along to spring and summer :)