In a blue October sky...

Today I visited the Oconee County Fall Festival in beautiful Watkinsville, Georgia.  Here we celebrate community, family, fall  harvest (we are an agricultural county, after all); it's just a big slice of hometown Americana.  
Didn't have to look hard for a vision of small town livin'. There were two tractor pulled  hayrides bringing folk in from satellite parking, and all the kids seemed to love it.

I bypassed all the traffic by sneaking in the back way behind the courthouse on an old dirt road I know. There's only one house on the road, and it is a beautifully wooded path.  I take it every chance I get just for the scenery, but it works soo well in bypassing the traffic when Watkinsville holds some sort of Main Street event.   I zipped in right behind the bank and managed to get a space right up front.  Cost $5 but totally worth it. I only had to cross Main Street to get to the action. 

There's just something about a big blue October sky. I guess it is  the dryer air that doesn't hold water molecules and dust and smog etc.  It seems like the sky just glows blue and sometimes gold like pure sunshine. 

First I wandered around the front vendor area, happy to see that the festival favorite Kountry Kettle Korn tent was in its usual space, right up front.  And, as usual the line was a mile long.  This family  from south GA is an annual favorite and  honestly, probably one of the main reasons I got out and headed downtown today.  I'd have to come back and hit that line when I was ready to go. 

There's lots of craft booths, although very few of them seemed to have really handmade items. In fact a lot of the stuff looks like cheap china dollar store imports. I really think that the staff for this show needs to vet their applicants more thoroughly.  I always thought one of the criteria for this show was handmade only.  Apparently that is not the case.  

One vendor even had some terribly racist artifacts, under the guise of 'antiques'. Honestly, the "Whites Only" and "Colored to the Rear" signs did not look old; they looked like new merchandise. I'm going to google and find out if someone is really still making and selling these. I can't imagine why no one complains about it.  He (she? there was no one at the booth)  has been there every year I have gone. 

Next I found the Oconee County animal control booth.  I was hoping to buy a few discounted microchip vouchers from them; I need three more for my Morgan and the two pups.  The Animal Control people  have always offered discounted rabies shots and microchip vouchers at their booth. But, no such luck today. They had a few dogs for adoption, and people were petting them. The poor doggies got a lot of attention today, I hope some of them found a  home.

Rocket Field was filled with  food vendors, craft vendors, pony rides and stuff for the kids and even a petting zoo.  I was reminded how rural a county I live in when I spied a young teen girl, wearing blue jeans and obviously well worn cowboy boots (the kind of wear you get actually working, not paid for in a boutique) sitting in the hay in one of the cattle stalls.  She was playing on her phone, and had a calf lying beside her, its head on her lap. I thought of my own daughter and how she'd never, EVER be caught sitting in that dirty hay, with the flies buzzing all around those animals and I smiled.  These are real farm and cattle families, and sitting in the hay with big smelly animals is as normal to them as anything.  I don't know who that young lady was, but I am proud of her.  She and her family and those like them are the backbone of America. For true. 

I bought me a big ol' smoked turkey leg, a  hand dipped corn dog, and a homemade sweet potato pie from a couple of ladies. They assured me it was the best pie I'd ever eaten. I took the turkey leg wrapped to go but ate the corn dog right away.  Funny thing, I have always wanted to try one of those big turkey legs you see at so many festivals, and now that I have... bleah.  The meat is salty and has a weird texture.  I dont think I 'll be getting one of those again.  

They corn dog however, was absolutely delicious.  I know most think a corn dog, even a hand dipped fresh one, is not really the pinnacle of high dining, but I got to tell you, I haven't eaten many things that were  more tasty.  Sometimes something as simple as a wienie wrapped in corn batter, fried on a stick can be a little slice of heaven. 

I wandered around, looking at a few craft booths, animals, smiling families and laughing kids, until  I'd about had  my fill of all this small town celebratin'.   Time to  head home, got an e-book to finish tonight anyway. Shouldn't  have put off that task so long.  Time to go stand in line for kettle corn. This kettle corn is made right on site, in small batches, one kettle at a time. The line is always dreadfully long, but we still wait for it. Everyone in the county knows this for a fact, waiting in this line is 100% worth it.  Once you get a bite of this sweet and salty treat, you'll gladly wait in line year after year for the chance to buy some more.  I waited in line 50 minutes today, bought two large sacks and crunched happily on it all the way home.  

popcornmakin.MOV Watch on Posterous

Posted via email from The Art of Cynthia Pendley

Wish my Sketchbook would arrive.

Some of you guys are well aware that I draw frequently when I should be sleeping. I have been posting them on InstaGram, but thought maybe my blog was a good space for a snap of my ongoing sketchbook. This is my own book, not the one from The Sketchbook Project. It has not arrived yet. I hope it gets here before I leave for vacation. I chose my theme with some ideas relating to our travel itinerary. I've filled at least six sketchbooks now. Some of them are fair, some not so much. I do not draw every night, but almost every night now. It's one a.m., thinking I might need to turn in soon. Geez, where does the time go?

Any-hoo, here's a quick cell phone snap of one of tonight's pages. I am not sure what the hell is on her head.

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from The Art of Cynthia Pendley

But does it work??

It didn't last time.

Posted via email from The Art of Cynthia Pendley

Chihuahuas in the yard

They like laying in the sun.

Posted via email from The Art of Cynthia Pendley

Vacation's all we ever wanted...

Twenty days.

That's it. Only twenty days until we jet back to the lonesome cold of the high desert. I've missed it. I've felt drawn to it. I've been working this trip since springtime, shopping for deals and working out an itinerery I find myself dreamily anticipating being in the black black night in the desert, my breath billowing frost beneath a billion dancing stars. Only twenty more days.

Posted via email from The Art of Cynthia Pendley

Wandering West

Only about three weeks until my long planned trip out west begins. I am really looking forward to this vacation. It's been a while since I actually went anywhere away from Georgia or Tennessee. I've been planning this trip for months now, working out a ten day itinerary, making reservations and trying to plan a to-do list for each of our destinations. I hope it comes off ok.

Foo. It's getting too dark to draw outside. I've had a wonderful afternoon and evening on the screen porch, drawing as fast as i could. I got several pages in my sketchbook filled, and even better, I like most of them.

The sky is a dull slate blue, and I can see a thin wash of pink on the western horizon The moon is already high in the southeast. The moon sets early these days, sometimes even before I do. I got up extra early this morning for an early morning critique meeting at work. The sky was pitch black, clear and i could see a zillion stars it was breathtaking.

The sun is about gone now. Soon the stars will come blinking on, one by one. I won't be up at 6am tomorrow to see them.

A brush with greatness

Well not really I guess, but still it was a nice surprise to click around on the Gifts and Dec website and stumble upon a photo of a balloon that I designed, floating beside the governor of Ga as he proclaimed Sept to be Balloon Month in GA. Another piece for the 'press' page if I ever get it up.

Wow, it has been some time.

I think I need to take this blog more seriously. I haven't written since I went to AmericasMart back in January. I missed the summer show, so nothing to share there.

But, I have been keeping busy. The Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa show is accepting applications now. We are gearing up for the holiday market.

I've been doing a lot of sketching the past few months. All in pencil, filling several sketchbooks with figures, cartoons, and ideas. I post an iPhone snap on InstaGram now and then, but I think it's time to start posting here again. Since blogger now has an iPhone app, it's super easy to post anytime. I found another cool trick, too. I can pair my phone with a tiny Bluetooth keyboard and type so much more easily.

I think I'll start my nightly sketching; I've really come to enjoy drawing at bedtime almost every night. Maybe I'll InstaGram the result. ; )

America's Mart - 8 million square feet and I'll feel everyone of them...

So, tomorrow is the big day.   Back to America'sMart for our twice yearly walk-a-thon.  I look forward to this trip every time, it is very exciting to see all the new stuff everyone is bringing to  market.  Of course, I think I might like the July market a little better, walking around downtown Atlanta in 20 degree weather is not  my idea of fun.  Plus, now that I've learned how to get on the roof of one of the mart buildings, I like to hang out up there a bit and peruse the city from 20 stories. Believe me, it is cold and windy up there in January.

I'll be staying at the Hyatt Place again. It has turned into one of my favorite budget hotels in downtown Atlanta.  The rooms are clean and decent, and you cannot beat the staff anywhere. I've stayed in hotels the world over, costing many times the price of this one but never, ever met a friendlier, more helpful staff.  Literally, every time I go there I am impressed all over again.  They never let me down.

Last January when we went to the Mart, I saw a lady carrying a tote bag that I designed.  I was so excited, I tried to discreetly snap her pic but it didn't come out so good.  My camera phone kinda stinks anyway.

Anyway,  AmericasMart is the  largest show of its kind in the country.  It takes place twice a year, in January and again in July. Basically, it is a very large trade show, showcasing all the latest products in Gifts, Clothing, Rugs, Furniture, Paper Goods and more.  Thousands of retailers flock to this show to buy good for their stores. It is the premier show in the US to highlight the latest products, trends and the hottest things coming in retail.  What we see at the Mart for these two gift shows is what we will find at retail in the coming months.  How exciting is that?

AmericasMart is 8 million square feet of fantastic, spread out over three buildings, about 18-20 stories each.  Each floor houses dozens of showrooms, and these are broken down into the permanents and the temporaries.  The Permanent showrooms are open and staffed year round and their buyers can visit to shop any time. Of course, these showrooms are not open to the public, but anyone with a retail store, either a brick and  mortar or online market can register free to attend the markets.

There are also several floors of Temporary showrooms.   I really look forward to perusing the temporaries, I can usually find at least one brand spanking new, never before even heard (to me) of it item in the temps.  It is amazing to me to think about some of the items that caught my eye years ago that have developed into big brands today.  Take Lolita glassware for an example. I first noticed her painted wine glasses because she painted sexy girls on them. (wonder why THAT caught my eye - LOL).  I've paid attention to this brand over the last several years, and what started as a side line in the Santa Barbara Ceramics showrooms (best I remember) has blossomed into a huge brand, offered by any number of showrooms now.  No longer just painting cute ladies on a wine glass, Lolita has expanded her brand into a household name (to those in retail).

Then again, we've seen things that we just knew were going to be phenomenal in the giftware market, only to watch them spiral into nothing. Remember the Red Hat Ladies that exploded into the market mid decade?  Suddenly they were everywhere, closely followed by hundreds of red hat or red and purple products - both officially licensed items and simple red and purple items offered with the hopes of banking on the huge popularity of this club.  What happened?
We bombed with it.  With so many licensed and knockoff products flooding the market, it was hard to make your mark in this line.  Then, just as quickly as they skyrocketed into the national consciousness, the Red Hatters shuffled back to obscurity, taking their dreams of licensing millions with them.   Shame, really. Lots and lots of companies poured out thousands of Red Hat products, only to sell them off at pennies on the dollar.    Just shows, you never know. Some things that look  smokin' hot, well they just spark then fizzle.

  This business is hard. Hard to know what people will want. Hard to guess what they will buy.  Hard to know what the american consciousness will pay attention to in 12-18 months, the average time it takes to get a product from the initial sketches to actually showing it at market.

Anyway, I'll be in Atlanta this weekend, walking AmericasMart, looking for the next big thing.  If you wanna hang out, you can find me on the roof of the merchandise mart.