I noticed the other day that John Strong had mentioned he was going to be displaying his Aspens in Autumn tiles at the Larkspur Art Show. After reading about it I decided to make the trip down, meet him and check out his booth. So, Saturday morning I awoke to 34 degrees and our first frost of Fall 2014. This may be a cold day for the show but after checking the weather I grabbed my backpack and headed down. It’s only about a two hour drive to Larkspur and turned into a nice drive. Some traffic in Denver on the way back but it was worth it. John has a nice setup and he’s done a good job printing and mounting his images.
Like many of us in the blogging world, John and I had never met. I found his booth right away and introduced myself. It took him a few seconds to register who I was since he was not expecting me. I any conversation would be interrupted as customers came in and out, and I was correct. Since I had my camera I wandered around and let John greet his prospective customers. Working shows like this requires the interaction and a positive part of doing it. I like the idea of handcrafted items since so many things we purchase are mass produced in some factory. Yes, that includes the material we make our crafts out of. 🙂 And, there was some nice handcrafted merchandise for sale. Some were working on their craft while at their booths so you got to watch them. Plenty of food was available. There was booth with these jars of apple/maple syrup for toast or pancakes and offering samples. I could just eat it right out the jar. They had a slide setup for the kids with several of us adults attempting to sneak on. Sorry, John we did not get as much talk time as would have liked but we do have the opportunity to setup a meeting. I think you have good work and liked how your booth looked. Hope the day went well for you.
12 Comments
Cedric Canard
Thanks for sharing this Monte. I thought John had stopped blogging and then saw that the RSS feed for his blog has changed (I was still looking at Visual Notebook). So I’m especially glad you made the trip 🙂 Now I just wish visiting your side of the world was just a two hour trip for me too.
Monte Stevens
Cedric, I so wish that we’re true. But, over time the opportunity to meet fellow bloggers may happen. I would drive over there but my car does not do well under water. 🙂
John
After all the wonderful images you’ve put on your blog over the years, you had to go and drag it down with these! What a great thing to have happen. Thanks for dropping by Monte!
Monte Stevens
I live on the edge and take risks, John.
Earl
Very cool you and John Strong got to meet each other. Kudo’s Monte for taking the initiative and making this happen!
Monte Stevens
Thanks, Earl.
Tom Dills
Monte, I think it’s great that you took the time to go see John and his exhibit. Just like when Earl and I made the effort to see Paul Maxim a few months ago, it’s great to put a real person with their blog. I’ve never considered the art show circuit to be something I’d like to try, but it looks like John has a very nice setup there.
Speaking of which, Kathy and I are formulating our plans for next year’s travel, and Colorado keeps ending up on the list. So stay tuned. 😉
Monte Stevens
And, that was it, putting a faced to the phot6.
Paul
You blogger folks sure do get around. I’ve not met a new blogger in a while … I’d better get after it! I’m glad that you two got to meet.
Monte Stevens
Best get on it, Paul. With new job that travel you’ve been doing will probably change.
oneowner
I miss John’s blogging presence but I still enjoy going over his portfolio at his gallery site. This guy has talent and I admire him for pursuing his art at these shows. It can’t be easy but I’m sure it’s very rewarding.
Monte Stevens
John is still blogging. He’s changed the name. Go check it out