We head out for the Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show in the morning...it’s exciting, scary, overwhelming and hopeful. I can’t say we are great at doing outdoor art shows yet, I think we are about five years in...I still feel like a beginner, but we are becoming ever so slightly better at it. And part of the getting ready, beyond the trying to remember every little detail...sales tax, sqaure reader, tent, panels, art, and on and on, and getting it all to fit into the van, which is much smaller than what the “real” artists use, but there’s also the vulnerability of bringing hope along. Yes, hope.

Hope for everything to go smoothly, hope for good weather, hope that setup is uneventful, and hope that I sell some art. When doing this as my full time job, the income part matters, I’m not going to lie, and it’s tricky when your income is completely tied to your creative spirit. It feels very vulnerable.

Selling art is taking a chance on love. Taking a chance on doing what I love every day, and taking a chance that someone else will love it, too. And putting your heart out into the world and hoping that special someone comes along, walks into my booth and falls madly in love. That’s the magic, and let me tell you, I’ve seen it happen. And that’s what makes doing it all worthwhile. And, I often make a new friend out of it, and that’s the icing on the cake!

Of course there are also the people who walk into my booth, look at a price, and roll their eyes to a friend and say who would actually pay that for a piece of art. I assume they don’t realize I’m sitting there with hope by my side, watching them. I just send them good vibes because I know that my art isn’t for them.

I also collect art from other artists and those pieces make me happy every day. They make my life more beautiful and meaningful. And even though my home is full of my own art, too, I will never say I have no room on my walls for new art...that’s like saying I have no room in my closet for a new dress so I will never want a new one. That’s just silly. No one ever says that. There’s always room for something new that makes you happy.

So please wish me luck and stop by to see me this weekend if you can. You don’t need to buy anything, you just need to come and enjoy it. And if I’m lucky, and bring hope along with me, just maybe someone will fall in love with a painting and find room in their hearts to take it home and make their world just a bit more beautiful every single day....

Don’t forget to pack your hope.