Three Thoughts from Another Open Studio Weekend

        I was too busy this weekend, which is, of course, the sign of a good sale.  Saturday was particularly busy, so I was feverishly restocking late into the night, with more work early on Sunday morning.  Sunday was slower, but still good, giving me the chance to think about something beside the economy.  Here are three of those thoughts…

• One of the things that particularly struck me this weekend is how pieces sometimes seem to sell in inexplicable waves.  The buyers aren't all there at the same time, so it isn't that they influence each other, and yet somehow there seems to be a vibe in the air.  On Saturday I sold out my entire stock of animal alphabet posters.  On Sunday D (with P and T in tow) heroically got more printed up and delivered them to me at my location… and yet I sold only a couple that day.  The overwhelming interest in animal alphabet posters disappeared as quickly as it came.  Calendars were the hot commodity three weeks ago… but again, only on the Saturday.  The block prints

are occasionally the same, although a real run on any particular piece is limited by the fact that I never have more than one framed and one matted impression with me at the same time.  Still, this weekend I ended up with several orders for "Tree Palace," having sold none at the previous show.  Is there something in the air?  Does some sort of disembodied memory linger at the site of particular enthusiasm?  It's quite amusing - and very mysterious - to watch such patterns take shape.

        • Often my favorite sales are the purchase of the very first of one of my pieces, and the purchase of the last of one of my pieces.  This weekend I had a couple of each sort of sale: the last "Happy Place" cats and the last camels, and the first for several of my newest prints.  *Great satisfaction.*  Selling out means no more matting up another copy, no more hauling one around to every sale, no more space devoted to it on the web site…  And of course making a first sale means proof that someone else loves my baby!

        • Finally, I got some good carving done.  Most of my time - the time during which I wasn't talking with people, that is - was spent on the "New-fallen Snow" scene.  When I finished that as well as I could, I also carved a tiny seahorse.  (Too bad our scanner gave up the ghost two weeks ago, so there will be no decent scans until it can be replaced.  In the meantime, plain photos in poor light will have to do.)  All the little twigs were really a lot of fun to carve and I'm quite delighted with how they came out.  The printing this morning wasn't so delightful - for some reason the ink kept seeming too sticky - but on the whole I'm quite pleased with this one… and I'm certainly pleased with a very successful weekend.

(Many thanks to all who came!)

[Pictures: Seahorse, rubber block print by AEGN, 2010 (sold out);

my display at Roslindale Open Studios;

New-fallen Snow, rubber block print by AEGN, 2010;

drying New-fallen Snow prints.]