Grimsby Festival of Arts

Sucked this year! I came prepared, with plenty of ammunition, but there just weren't any takers. I had the right attitude too. I didn't expect too much, just wanted to cover my costs, and then maybe double that so that I had a nice little sum to take home and take my friend to dinner, but no. This year, the GFA was filled with Lolly Gaggers! Not just that, but once again, I was faced with the fact that at least a quarter of the exhibitors were of the B&S variety: Buy and Sell. These numb skulls will buy some fifth-rate piece of crap, made by some poor beggar working for pennies a day in China or India, and then pass it off as their own at shows. Trust that a person like myself, who's been working at this craft for nearly 3 decades, can certainly tell the difference between an artisan/artist created piece, and a pennies piece. Trust... Besides, no artist worth her salt in the 'Americas' would even consider selling something that certainly took hours to make for a mere $5. (Not that the pieces are worth much more when you take the quality of the materials and the shoddy workmanship into account). But I gotta tell ya: It burns my ASS that I work so hard to offer quality pieces that just aren't recognized as such. In this day and age of Mass Consumption, the good folks have been tricked into thinking that quantity has become more important.

Just finished setting up. Still on cup of coffee #1.

However, the day was beautiful, and I got to spend it with my BFF M. No kids, and no moms. Just the two of us, hanging out, eating, and people watching. I think M might have the makings of a sales person. She was the best helper I ever had at one of these shows! Sadly, I don't think she'll be doing any more, since the results of this one were so disappointing. We certainly expected a bit more. But we had fun together, and that's what matters.

This last shot should get a chuckle out of you, certainly got one out of me:

Guess that's one way for Peepaw to make some extra cash, eh? ;)