Adventures At Artfest: part 1

this was my very first ever art market! 

i had no idea how to set up my table. i'd shipped some prints and cards out to artfest the week before i arrived. and as i left my hotel room, i realized i had no way to display it all. 

so, i grabbed all of the bowls and cups from my hotel room, a sheet for the table, the dish drying rack and my easel. i filled a pint glass with stones and sticks from the parking lot as a locket display and used my shipping boxes to hold up prints.

i was really quite nervous at the start, but it was amazing to meet everyone and put a face to so many names i'd seen only online. and i was lucky to have the lovely kate daniel helping at my table. she made me know everything would be okay (a message i keep seeing everywhere these days).

i flew into seattle the day before the market, rented a car and drove into port townsend, washington. i so enjoyed having a day to myself, to wander around shops and galleries, head to the beach and skip stones, and sip freshly-made ginger, carrot, apple juice at the owl spirit cafe. 

i even picked up these fabulous beaded earrings at the pacific traditions gallery beneath my hotel. 

i have this tradition of finding native american beaded earrings at significant points in my life. and i have to say, my journey to artfest feels like a new world has just opened right up.

everywhere i turned, it seemed i'd ended up just where i needed to be... talking to whoever i needed to meet (more on those incredible inspirations soon). 

i love to travel because the journey gets me out of my comfort zone and into following my instincts. i become even more aware of following the signs... those times when someone says i have to meet this person and then i end up running right into them (literally). or a moment when i hear about the same book over and over again...so much so, that i simply can't not read that book. 

well, really that has been happening so much lately, on trips and in my every day. and i'm finally now taking that step back and realizing it can be a lot of fun to listen.

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ps. this was just the beginning...not only was my time at artfest my first ever art market, but it was my first time teaching at a big art retreat! i had such an amazing time teaching HOW TO PAINT IN OWL in-person. lots of photos and more stories...coming soon!   

have an amazing weekend!