We are 50% done with our insane May-June schedule.

The first two legs of the four legged odyssey are over: a rain drenched family reunion on the 17th and a dry (but equaly miserable) Westport Handcrafted show.  The last two committments to go are a gallery show this coming weekend at Moonrise Bay Vineyard and Winery in NC and a First Friday Gallery show June 5th at City Folk in Lancaster, PA.

The family reunion we held here on the farm for Tricia’s family was great fun, but was also damp from torrential rainfall.  The crowd this year was smaller, as we expected, but whether it was due to the Biblical rainfall totals or the current economic slowdown I can’t say.  But even with the hardship from the rain it was an enjoyable day, and it was great to catch up with family members we haven’t seen – in some cases – since last year’s reunion.

The next event was the Handcrafted Show in Westport CT this past Memorial Day weekend.  That was not as enjoyable as we’d hoped.  The show looked great, and the customer sentiment was almost wholly positive, but sales were disappointing.  In a lot of ways its understandable, since the general area around the show has been hit hard by the double body blow of Wall St. layoffs and declining property values.  The customers just weren’t in a buying mood.  Luckily we only lost the time we invested in the show, but there were other artists who were not as fortunate.  In this current climate of uncertainty it is completely understandable for customers to cut back.  But just remember, a lot of us in the art/design world exist to create, and if there is no market for what we create then it only makes sense to stop, and the world becomes a less interesting place.  Sorry for the mini-sermon.  If you follow us and this site you know it’s not our usual.

So now on to some fun stuff!  This Saturday we’ll be at the Moonrise Bay Vineyard and Winery on Knotts Island, NC.  If you will be in Virginia Beach or northeastern North Carolina come by between 12 and 5pm for a great time.  They’ll be music, wine tasting and of course – Art!  Admission is $25 and well worth the trip.

Then the following Friday (June 5th, for those of you keeping score) we will be in Lancaster PA for a first Friday show titled ‘Jac Johnson -  Summer House Collection’ featuring all new nautical and summer work.  The show will start at 5pm and end at 9, and admission is free.

And now, Pictures!

We were commissioned in late winter to create a custom carved Mermaid Newel Post for a waterfront home on lake Winnebago.  The customer was very specific in what she wanted to see in the piece – and kindly provided plenty of source material for the project.  As an added bonus the client was a designer, so the sometimes difficult task of communicating a design through words was easier on this project.  But since this was for a home under construction, there were hard contractor’s deadlines that we had to respect, along with code issues that we needed to comply with.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

The project went well, and all parties survived several revisions with no problems.  As you can see from the slide show, we carved the figure from a single 8 x 8 inch 48″ long block of white cedar.  We refined the facial features and softened the folk art look to get a more pleasing appearance, and did so over several iterations of revisions.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Patricia handled the painting chores, and mixed several different techniques (including layering of paint and dry brushing) to acheive the customer’s desired look.  Here is the final product, including- as her proud new owners named her – ‘Winnie’s’ new home.

Finally, one more thing for this update before I call it quits.  For those of you out there that have been loyal customers of ours in southern Connecticut I want to let you know that we have committed to return to the Wilton Historical Society’s November show this year, in spite of the turnover at the highest level of managment of the show.  We had a good working relationship with Marilyn Gould, and we look forward to working with her at future shows.  I had the pleasure of speaking to the incoming Chairman of the Wilton show while we were in Westport this past weekend and I feel confident that he and the other members of the Historical Society are committed to continuing the show with the same high standards that made it one of the best traditional handcrafted shows in the country.

I’ll be back in this space sometime next week, unless I can clone myself or find a couple of dozen artists who want to work long hours for little or no money.  If so then it might be sooner.

Jac

This will be a quick update, since the title of the post should tell you all you need to know.

For starters, Tricia’s family will be visiting us this Sunday.  All of them.  That’s right, it’s family reunion time!  We’re expecting between 85 and 110 people – but it’s hard to tell ahead of time.  Weather and the economy may be factors this year, but we plan like it will be everyone.

So, if that wasn’t enough, we will be in Westport Ct. the following weekend for the Westport Handcrafted Show, details to follow.  Then, we’ll be back home for a gallery/wine show at Moonrise Bay Winery here in the NC/VA area, then we’ll be at City Folk for a first Friday show the first weekend if June.  Whew.  I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

But never fear!  I still have dozens of images and updates to roll out, just no time right now to do it.  So I quit procrastinating – I can always do that later – and finally put up our Artist Statement and Bio information.  Look for it on the sidebar above the ‘News Blog‘ page.  It’s a little more up-to-date than our last bio on the old site, and the artist statement was a real challenge.

When we are creating a piece or design we don’t really dwell on the more esoteric reasons or emotions that go into it.  It just flows naturally.  Coming up with a verbal explanation of what we do and why took more time than I’m willing to admit.  But the results are all that matter.  So read it and see what you think!

Next update will coincide with our May Newsletter – and will be chock full of updates about our April show and the insane schedule we’re attempting the next four weeks.

Jac

Here at last – images from our April Gallery show, April 25th and 26th.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Of course it would not have been possible without the contributions of Around the Bend Willow furniture and Debbie and Donnie Rogers. We missed seeing Bryce Ritter Furniture at the show, a last minute health issue kept Bryce from being able to join us, but luckily we had plenty of his furniture in our own collection to be able to exhibit for him. The weather was great – it was the first real Spring weekend we’ve had so far this year – and the turnout was good. We’d still like to see more of you, faithful reader and customer, but we certainly can’t complain about the buyers that did stop by. Sales were great!

Debbie and Donnie Rogers in particular had a great show. So much so that when we were shooting images of the gallery we missed some of their work that sold early. It was great to see them again, and we added another of their pieces to our collection.

Around the Bend really brought their ‘A’ game to the show this time, and the pictures reflect that. The daybed they set up in the middle of the show has to be seen to be believed. And as usual, the pillows and lampshades really added an extra dimension to the set up. If you haven’t visited their website or seen them in person I highly suggest it. It is well worth the time.

The next update will be later this weekend. Since the weather has gotten better it’s time to do some much needed farm work. That is, if I can get our old Ford 2000 tractor started. It’s about 10 years older than I am but I think it runs better. But like me, it takes a while to get it going sometimes.

Thanks to all who came out to the show!