The Hardest Part is the Waiting.

I have been busy: not in the studio, but on the computer. Over the last few days I have been filling out applications for art or craft shows that I really, really want to be in. All of the applications have been confusing, time consuming, and frustrating. And each time I pressed ‘send’ I got this funny little tummy flip. “What if I forgot to complete a section of the application? What if I misspelled my name? What if… What if… What if… What if they don’t like my work?"

Harumph! Seriously, all the shows I have submitted to are juried, meaning that they judge your work to see if it is different enough, unique enough…… good enough. Two are shows that I really wanted to be a part of last year, but was too new and too late to throw something together. The first one is Urban Craft Uprising.

“Urban Craft Uprising was started in 2004 to showcase the work of independent crafters, artists and designers - to provide a unique, high quality, hand-crafted alternative to 'big box' stores and mass produced goods.”

It’s totally hip and ridiculously crowded with ultra cool artists and tattooed people at every turn. Awesome!

The second is The EtsyRAIN Spring Art & Craft Show. Etsyrain is a ‘club’ of Etsy sellers from the Seattle area. “EtsyRAIN members like to help the community as much as they like to help each other. For each show, they choose a charity to support. The featured charity for this year’s spring event is Lifelong Aids Alliance.”

There is a third show that I applied to just yesterday, it was a last minute idea that I think will be a wildly fantastic time. I will preface this with a frustration. I have been running into many stop signs when presenting my ‘Femme’ line to stores that already carry my work. They all say that they love the pieces but are concerned that the theme may ‘offend’ some customers. Harumph!

Soooooooo (giggle), I started looking outside the lines and have been having such a great time (all in the name of research, my friends). I think I found my niche for ‘Femme’. I submitted my naughty ‘Femme’ line to the Seattle Erotic Art Festival.

"The Festival is a vibrant and colorful event showcasing world-class art and creative expression of many forms that will delight your senses. Whether you join us to stroll through the visual art exhibition, delight in performances and interactive installations, indulge in erotic literary art, peruse our expansive Festival Store, or dance with us after hours, we promise that you will be glad you came out to play with us."

Woo Hoo! Having this venue would enable me to really open up and create some work that has been secreted for so long.

I’m sitting on pins and needles in anticipation of acceptance or denial letters. I should be finding out soon if my work is……..good enough!