itinerary.

Oh boy.

We usually dread this time of year: It's like you're applying for a job but you pay them to take a look at you. And you pay a lot.

You may or may not get the job, and the really sucky thing about it here is, you don't usually get a chance to apply for another, because by the time you find out you didn't get the 1st job, the deadlines have all passed for your 2nd & 3rd choice jobs.

Let me reiterate: We DREAD this time of year.

But, there's also something really exciting about a fresh new year of events to show your work at - New faces, hopefully new work from you - So it's not too horrible :)

Below is our dream list of art/craft fairs/festivals. If you're reading this and you've come to some of our shows in the past, you'll see that we have, yet again, trimmed the fat (so to speak) - There are a few events we'll be taking a break from this year, a few we believe we've exhausted (hey, it happens - It's like eating too much of your favorite ice cream), and a couple of new ones. We've already submitted our images & app for jury to 57th Street Art Fair in Hyde Park, and it (the application deadlines) snowballs from there.

Wish us luck!

[dream list below]


april

cc spring open studio
dates tba

june

6+7 = 57th street art fair
13+14 = wells street
27+28 = fountain square

july

11+12 = art fair on the square

august

1+2 = market days
or
1+2 = evanston lakeshore art festival
8+9 = morning glory craft fair
29+30 = bucktown artsfest

september

12+13 = renegade craft fair
13 = starving artists' show
26+27 = lakeview east festival of the arts

-n.

heads up!

Today on "All Things Considered" on NPR, we heard some stories from listeners about how hard times are, and one stood out from a jeweler, Carol Savage out of DC, who shows at art/craft festivals - Had to put it out there because as I was writing out the space saver post, we heard this, and it made us laugh :)

[audio]
Signs of the Recession

n.

the friendly space saver_on winchester @ cullom, chicago

the friendly space saver_on winchester @ cullom, chicago
Originally uploaded by circaceramics

Where DOES the time go?

I figured I'd better put these up now, since I'm procrastinating printing out shipping labels and the like - I even popped in on Facebook to befriend high school people I haven't thought of or seen in years - Luckily our high school was bulldozed for condos so I have no dreaded reunion obligations to deal with :)

Don't get me wrong, high school was, for me, not such a bad experience - Just really awkward :) I hung out with geeky boys from the boys school, played video games, and ate 2 Big Macs after school. See? Awkward :)

These here are 3 space savers we've seen around the neighborhood that actually have some thought put into them - I hesitate to say artistic merit - But they are a part of our urban landscape; site installations would be almost right :)

- The Friendly Space Saver seen at Cullom & Winchester:

- The Monochromatic Space Saver at Damen & Montrose:

- The Tank Trap Space Saver at Damen & Cullom:

And here's an image of what we call The Average Joe Space Saver, down the road a piece from the Tank Trap:

And now that the Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow, I'm sure we'll see a few choice Space Savers over the next few weeks :P

-Nancy