Fulton Street ARTisan Market

Only two weeks left and another Fulton Street Artisan Market season will come to an end. Be sure and stop down this Sunday and see what I have been up to this week. Some small and fun water color paintings, framed and un-framed. Some pressed botanical's in clay wall hanging plaques. Halloween greeting cards designed by yours truly and of course, witches, pumpkin people, potpourri, pumpkin paintings and so much more.

Stop by and say hello I'll be there from 11am to 3pm this Sunday and next.

Labor Day Weekend

This weekend you can find the Rare Hare at the Fulton Street Artisan Market on Sunday the 5th from 11 am to 3 pm and on Monday the 6th you can find the Rare Hare at the Labor Fest at Ah-Nab-Awen Park in downtown Grand Rapids. Stop by and say hello, I promise new items added to the mix of crazy and holiday items already down the Rabbit Hole.

My muse..................

It's been a week and I have just not felt anything creative, it was hard to try and make the bird and the insects, but I tried to stay focused. It was not easy. Yesterday while setting up my booth for the Fulton Street Artisan Market I took a look at it and thought, damn Bradley you really do need to focus, what is it I want to do? What kind of artist do I want to be? I had Halloween, Christmas, Alice in Wonderland, Fairies, bugs, birds, and watercolor paintings. What a mess. I cant decide what i want to do for the Grimm's ADO challenge, I have hardly started to sketch in my Sketchbook Project, and the Carnival has fallen to the way side. What am I doing?

Well as the day went on yesterday and I sold, bugs, birds, fairies, and watercolors I decided maybe I can have an eclectic mix of things, and then I brainstormed about the Grimm challenge with my friends Heather and Heidi and i now know what I'm doing for that. I have created four new faces and hands today and I'm ready to continue tomorrow after work. I'm not sure where you went my Muse or when you came back but boy am I glad to see you again. I've missed you.

Happy 4th of July

Yesterday I spent the morning and part of the afternoon at the Fulton Street Artisan Market, it was the first day that I have been able to participate and join my FSAM friends. What a great day, it was a little warmer then I would have liked, but the sun was out, the market was 3/4 full with vendors and the attendees were in good spirits.

At first I was a little concerned that my "art" is too crafty. I'm of course my worst critic and just was not feeling like i belonged there. My booth was not set up at all the way I like it to be, I usually like there to be a general theme that runs through the display and yesterday there was none. I had patriotic items next to Santa's, next to Halloween, next to watercolors, next to Alice and Wonderland, with a few fairies flying over head, but there most have been something about it that drew people in because I had a very good day, I was not disappointed at all. People commented on my pieces, were interested in some of the process it takes to create many of the items, and I may have even found a holiday event this fall to show my Kringle's (Santa's) at. Over all it was a very good day.

I need to thank my friend Adam for helping me out and finishing up the day for me when i had to go to work and for packing and taking down my booth for me. I would also like to thank LaShelle of Designs by LaShelle, we all need a person to be in our corner, I'm lucky I have a great family and friends, but I met LaShelle last year at the FSAM and ever since then she has been a great source of encouragement for me. She is always there with a smile on her face telling me how much she enjoys my work, someday its just nice to hear an encouraging word.

Fulton Street ARTisian Market

Well I'm finally going to make it to the FSAM this week. Tomorrow on July 4th I'll be at the market from 11am to 3pm. Of course I didn't get EVERYTHING done that I had hoped to, but I have a decent eclectic mix of things to show. Santa's, Fairies, patriotic items, and an assortment of Alice in Wonderland items. In the coming weeks I will be adding more holiday items and my favorite, Halloween. Hope to see you at the market and Happy Fourth of July!!!

Do you believe in fairies?

Pretty fairies, bright and gay
Come and play with me this day
A gilly flower, a fairy's bower
A mouse's bone, an elfin home
I call you to me, and I pray
To see you always if I may.

Lady Cottington's fairy Album,Brian Froud,Harry N. Abrams, Inc.2002

Normally you would have to repeat this poem at midnight when the moon is full,on a warm summers night, but I have caught the quickest of glimpse of some brand new fairies. They are so new, being just born yesterday that their colorful skin has not even developed, hair has not yet grown and they don't even know what clothes are. They seem to enjoy living in my garden and I promise to take more pictures as I can.

Frustrated..............

This has been an on going problem for me. My photos of my work are amateurish and poor. I have been trying to learn little tricks to take better photos and it just is not working. My biggest problem seems to be with the flash. Everything seems to get washed out and the details lost in the photo. Anything white or light in colors just glows because the flash is so bright. I try and turn the flash off and then the items are to dark. Well I'll try again tomorrow in daylight and take the fairies I'm working on outside where they will be happier anyways. Have a good night Blogland.