Another story

While enjoying the Artisphere art fair last weekend I noticed this sign on a building on Main St. that I have passed many, many times over the years.  Maybe the light was just right, but I saw something that made me want to go back and take some photos.  Today was the first clear morning we've had, so I slipped down there on my way to work.   As I set up my tripod, the business/building owner came out and we chatted about photography - he is another semi-professional - and the evolution of downtown Greenville.  This little building sits on one of the most prime pieces of real estate downtown, and he's proud to own it and not going anywhere in a hurry.
He had the sign painted 40 years ago, and it's the age and patina that make it so unique.  The sign painter did a wonderful job and time and the elements have done the rest.
This view has been played with...but that's why we have photoshop, right?

I'll be sharing a few more I took within 6' of this spot soon.

When it goes right

Last Saturday we took part in our first real "ART" fair. The others have turned out to be crafty, other than just art and attracted people not much interested in buying photographs, so this was going to be our first real test.

The day broke totally fogged in, a little damp and a little chilly. We actually couldn't find the park in the fog though at one point we could see it down below us. Using our human GPS and as much common sense as we could, we finally arrived to set up. Right from the start we were impressed with the quality and creativity we could see in the booths going up around us, so despite the damp, our spirits were lifted.

By the time we got set up the fog was lifting, and by the time the fair officially opened, it had become a bright, gorgeous early fall day and stayed that way right to the end. The occasional stiff breeze kept the temperature comfortable and our well anchored canopy didn't budge.

So, attendance was reasonable, sales were pretty good and people were happy and having a good time. Many who didn't buy still stopped to chat, so we met a lot of interesting people/characters and left feeling very positive about the day.

These are photos of us in the booth. This is our "good weather" set up. Less favorable weather results in different configurations, but we have a very flexible and adaptable booth. We are hoping we get to use this set up in Wake Forest this coming weekend!

Finding our way

We took part in an "Art in the Park" event in a place called Hurricane Shoals County Park in north GA on Saturday. We had had rain on and off all week and the forecast for the weekend was pretty damp, but after much debate and checking the forecast, we decided to give it a try.

We managed to set up before the downpour, but that's about the only break we got. Finally we had to take down most of the framed art and cover the rest. Obviously almost nobody came to the event and at about 2:30 we decided it wasn't going to get better and packed up and headed home. We did not return on Sunday.

The event was billed as "art in the park" but there weren't more than 5 or 6 artists there. The rest were crafts, special interest groups, churches and food vendors. Therefore, the few people who did attend were not there to buy art.

The positive outcomes were that we learned to ask more questions before signing up for events in the future, and the chance to see a very nice and pretty heritage village in the park. It's worth a visit if you are in the Commerce, GA area.

This is a view from inside the little white church in the park looking out at the damp day. It is as yet untouched except to adjust the lighting a little. On a nice, sunny morning, this will be a beautiful place.