Chapter 5, The Grove Park Conference...
It's been a week since we returned home from our annual trek to Asheville, NC for the Arts & Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn. Every day since returning, I've announced to Bob, "Today I'm going to download my photos and update my blog!"
But you know how it is when you return after being gone for a week. Piles of email, snail mail, clutter, laundry, and (in our case) offspring, as well as a couple of very needy cats, awaited us. And then we had a snow day. This is a rare thing here in the snowbelt of Western NY, road salt capital of the world. This was 10 inches of heavy stuff overnight, necessitating alot of shoveling, a snowy road mishap rescue mission, much hot chocolate brewing, and repeated trips to the laundry room, after the kids kept coming home from sledding completely soaked. Plus I cook from scratch almost every day. (Someday I'll write about my real passion, healthy cooking and eating.) So who has time to blog?
I'm still sporting a bit of leftover Grove Park Glow. This was my 12th or 13th year there, I think, and the conference has become like an annual reunion of dear friends. You develop friendships with your fellow exhibitors and repeat customers. You have drinks in the great hall with them. You have lavish dinners with them, hear their life story updates, see photos of their kids, and watch them get older with you. Over dinner, my friend Sandra Newman, of Fine Lines Framing, commented that we come from all different places, and yet we're all moving along together in this "A & C Revival" stream. It's a lovely, warm, friendly thing.
Here are photos of some of my Grove Park show friends, old and new. Many of them are big names in the A & C community. Maybe you've seen them at shows, purchased their wares, seen their ads and articles about them in the magazines. I'm in alot of these pictures with them, which feels silly, but it was as if to say, "See, I KNOW this brilliant person!"
This is Dard Hunter, a very nice guy, and the grandson of the famous A & C artist of the same name.
His booth is full of beautiful things...
Here is a fellow Roycroft Renaissance Metal Artisan Frank Glapa, and his wife, Anastasia.
Frank is brilliant with metal; Ann is with food. I'm about to try her famous Greek Moussaka recipe.
More Roycroft Renaissance artisans: Ron Van Ostrand, metal; Natalie Richards, "Paint by Threads,"
and James Miller, wood (of "Mission Guild"). Ron made our wedding bands. Natalie's embroidery paintings make me weep. James and his wife, Christie, make wonderful furniture and tiles, but more importantly, they're always buying rounds of drinks for everyone.
Dan Cooper, of "Cooper's Cottage Lace," has lace curtains including designs by Dard, Yoshiko, and me. He also writes about architecture and antiques. Well-mannered, yet has a black, depraved sense of humor.
John Brinkmann is the distinguished and charming publisher of American Bungalow magazine.
The American Bungalow "Seasons" print series was the result of a friendly collaboration.
Here's Donna, who introduced herself as the owner of a custom gift shop in SC called "Someday's Child." Donna had been following my blog, and got many of her shop visitors interested and asking for updates! To Donna, Becky the shop owner, Kathy the artist, Anna the business partner, and Willie the mechanic, I send warm greetings and humble thanks for your interest in my printmaking progress!
Katherine and Nathan Kerns, my best customers of the show, walked away with the two large pieces on either side of us, plus the one they're holding. Nathan said, "Both of us love your work...My wife and I rarely agree on any 'furnishings' except for your work."
And finally, here's the gorgeous booth of Yoshiko Yamamoto, my dear printmaking girlfriend. We always have dinner together at shows. Yoshiko, besides being a great artist, is very sweet and very funny. A veteran at using a press for block printing, she is generously offering me advice on inks to use, inks to avoid, etc.
I feel so lucky to be a part of this community of warm, interesting, talented people. And to have an excuse to drive South in the middle of winter, to a beautiful inn, in a charming town in the mountains.
During the long drive home, I set a goal to create enough new block prints this year to fill my booth at Grove Park 2011! "Start carving!" says Bob...
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