Queue the Elves!

This is the time of year I would love to have my own family of Oompa-Loompas. I’d have a welding one, one on the sewing machine, an administrative one, a shipping & receiving team, a pricing and tagging pair and several other Oompa-Loompas who would cater specifically to my every need at any given moment. As art makers wouldn’t that make the holiday season grand?! I’m in the thick of it with making enough inventory for the Bad Girls of the North Show next Friday, November 5. My studio is a mix of metal finishing/drying area, pricing and tagging and even the sewing station. I don’t mind the crowded mix, I mind running out of room to safely hang all of the inventory because that’s when things can get scratched or damaged. I’ve got a small pile of black Ravens (on the ironing board) that need to be repainted because I tagged and wrapped them before they were completely dry…

This year I spent a bit more time planning my inventory for the show. My best guess is that with the economy and money being a bit tighter and gift giving needing more consideration I’ve made smaller, more affordable pieces to sell. Last year I noticed that the large $500 plus sculptures didn’t fly off of the grid wall display like they had the past 7 years –a spouse making a purchase wanted to

check with their partner before making any large purchases. I’ll still have larger works this year but just not as many. I’ll also have the popular Raven Garden Flags! Which I just remembered I need to print up more inserts and get some more clear bags…arrrgh. There have been lots of requests since the Spenard Farmers Market for the Flags. They will probably make a good gift that's unique, bright, fun and under $30. New for this season in addition to the bright Batik color mix, Jana at the Quilted Raven had holiday fabric screened with the Ravens on them! The Quilted Raven sells just the Raven panels in kit form and I will sell the set of 5 flags already sewn. The new fabric is lovely and I will bring some to Bad Girls. For now, the studio is filling up and has Wind Salmon hanging on the fabric racks, my large work table covered with ornaments in newsprint on top of steel sculptures waiting to get tagged and priced and a beautiful stack of Raven Garden Flags waiting for that Oompa Loompa seamstress.

Thought my “Wind Raven” sculpture looked great on Katie’s painting wall at the Gallery (below). She sold a large canvas painting and hung the sculpture to fill the space but we both liked the mix of color and texture and just may keep it there at least until (hopefully) it sells!