geraldine newfry

help for haiti: it's my turn

a month has passed since the disastrous earthquake in haiti.  the pictures and stories may be beginning to fade from your mind.  but the devastation remains.

a lot of knitters have been donating a portion of their sales for patterns to haiti assistance.  i've been buying these up.  also some friends have been sharing their profits from etsy.  i've been shopping there too.  and finally i decided it was my turn to do more than shop.

from now until february 28, i will donate 50% of the sales from my etsy shop to doctors without borders for their continuing work in haiti.  there's still free shipping to the US and canada.

if you've been thinking about buying a book, now is the perfect time to treat yourself and help someone else in the process.  and what could be better than that?

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exhibits

i'm still not posting much because of some illness in our family.  i don't have a lot of energy to spare.  but i wanted to let you know that i would be included in the exhibit "the word" at the smartshop in kalamazoo, michigan.  the opening is friday.  i won't be able to go because i will be finishing my preparations for the rockwell crossing artwalk on saturday.  that is a small street fair that i will be participating in for the first time.  also i will be exhibiting in the palos heights library for october.  this week is illinois arts week, and they are beginning their celebration with my books...and then i get to stay for the rest of october.

so if you are in kalamazoo, michigan; palos heights, illinois or chicago this weekend come see my books!

my booth at 57th street

booth, originally uploaded by sweetmadness.

i was on such a roll with posting!  i'm going to try to make up for it with a lot of pictures today.  this is an image of my booth at 57th street.  i just got those shelves and i'm really happy with them.  i think they look nice.  i'm planning on sewing fitted table linens, which should make it all look more professional.  i might get two more medium sized tables and then make an L on the left.  i would sit a bit behind one leg of the L, and could hide my cooler and sundries.  i'll have to see how much those tables are at costco.

post fair

today was much better!  i made up my mind that it was going to be a great day, and it was  :)  i sold one of my favorite books, Desire, that i blogged about yesterday.  i spoke to a lot of great artists, and it was another beautiful day.  whew!  i'm pooped now, so i'll have to save the rest for tomorrow.

the fair

well let's just say i'm waiting for my collector(s) to come by.  s/he was probably distracted by the beautiful weather.

it's a beautiful fair.  the work there is outstanding.  marty whipple is there.  i believe he is related to john and lynn.  i think i saw him in milwaukee a few years ago and we had a conversation to that effect.  actually, i may have talked to his wife/partner.

it was a lovely day, weather wise.  my friend came and sat with me for a bit, which allowed me to escape to the washroom now and again.  there are two other book artists there, whose work i admire, but i didn't get to look around much.  there are no sales when you're not in your booth, even if your friend is there in your stead.

i bought some new display shelves and they look rather nice.  one of my tables is a bit wobbly, and i should probably replace it, but i need my collector(s) to come fund any booth improvements.  i would also like to finally sew fitted table coverings so that they are easy to put on the tables and so that they don't fly around and create a tripping hazard.

i got to drive by the robie house, so that was nice.  john and i tried to visit there last year, but it was under construction.  i also found the starbucks.  what more can you ask for??

last night i constructed a box for my artfest proposal.  i want to remake my audobon book without polymer clay because there is no polymer allowed at artfest. i've never made a box out of board before, and i was really pleased with how it came out!! here are a few pictures of the original piece, constructed with polymer clay.  it is sort of a combination cornell box/coptic book.  the pages, torn from a book about birds, are coptic bound between the top and bottom portions of the box.

my other proposals were also originally made in polymer and are being adapted to traditional materials.

well, i'm quite worn out and i have a full day tomorrow!  please come by if you can, i'm at booth 303, in the school parking lot with the other new artists.

57th street art fair (gee, no link to my website from theirs!)

hmmm. i was just typing

hmmm.  i was just typing and the words just went away.  puzzling.  good thing i hadn't typed more.

no pictures, but i'm done with my 20 things.  whew.  i can mail them tomorrow.  i wonder if i can do that on-line, or if i will have to go to the actual post office.  ick.  we do need stamps though.  isn't it odd that you have to pay for shipping if you order stamps on-line?? 

it's been terribly cold and rainy in chicago.  it's probably good because otherwise i would have wanted to work in the garden instead of make books.  sometimes i have a hard time beginning to work.  and sometimes i have a hard time stopping work.

i have a lot of covers to finish up and bind.  i want to have some more things to sell at creative inspirations.  i am also doing the 57th street art fair in chicago on june 3-4 and i need some more books for that.  these things just sort of rush up on me and i wonder what i've been doing with my time.  well, i have to

i struggled today about submitting to around the coyote, a local arts thing here in chicago.  i have submitted in the past and been told that books were not an accepted medium.  i was thinking of trying again, and having my books encased in shrines.....but really i haven't done that yet, and so there are no slides.  the deadline was today so i guess that is settled.  i'm trying not to feel bad about it.

sometimes i wonder if i'm traveling in the right direction to meet my goals.  i've been giving that a lot of thought lately.  and then i realize that there are a lot more things i could be doing to reach them.  there are things i already know would be good for me to focus on.  i should spend my energy doing those things instead of worrying about them.