Slices of Time and Place

The annual American Craft Association show opens today (actually opened with a Preview Party last night). It runs through Sunday and DH and I will be attending. Chickie, Chickie-Mama and their friend Anne will also be there and I'm fairly sure we'll run into them. I always look forward to wandering the booths, looking at the new and different and getting inspired by the designs of other artists and jewelers. It's a lot of fun. 

I love leather handbags and computer bags. I'll be checking
out Richard Davis from Adirondack Designs. 

Of course, it also means I'm not going to be able to sleep in quite as long on Sunday morning, but we're not in any rush to get there, so we should be fine. We'll still be able to have breakfast and read a bit of the Sunday newspaper (comics for me) before heading out the door. 

Patrick Fitzpatrick from Chicago, Illinois, uses
industrial glass and brings it into a more
personal setting working with light and
electricity. 

I scanned through the list of artisans exhibiting this year, and there are a lot of artists I've seen before, several of whom I've purchased from in the past. I'm not very cash flush this time, so I'll be shopping with my eyes instead of with my pocketbook. That's OK though. I don't need to own something to appreciate its' beauty. 

Karin Jacobson is a local Minneapolis
jewelry artist with a very different twist. 

That's lucky, right? How many times have you looked at the sun hitting a valley just right, or the rainbow carried on the mists of a waterfall, or an ice cave on a lake, or the love in a child's eyes and been struck by the beauty of that moment and that scene? We can't own it - can't bring it home and stick it in a box. I think that's really lucky, because our mementos bureau of wonderful things and moments would become crowded all too soon. 

Ivy Woodrose from Oak Park, Michigan, does some
really stunning enamel. I'm looking forward to looking
closer at her work. 

Still, we all need to keep looking for those "Ah-Ha" and "OMG" and "So Love" moments to look back upon when things get tough. It's those small little moments, those slices of time and place that will never be visited again, that make the hard times between them worthwhile. Consider the good times to be balm to the soul. I'll get a chance to collect some band-aids for my creative soul when I wander the aisles of the American Craft Council Show this weekend. 

Lisa Valley is new this year, and she's local. I'm
always looking for new and different ceramic
items, maybe one of these cups will come
home with me. 

Have a great Friday - I certainly plan to. I'll be back here tomorrow, and who knows what will tickle me for a topic. I do bounce all over the place - LOL.