So, I'm doing a craft show . . .

Growing up, my mom was a crafter, not a hobbiest.  A legit craftsman who made a living selling her handmade goodies.  She was in on the "handmade" movement before it was cool.  She would set up at craft fairs and sell her handmade candles online in the mid-1990s.   My mom started making candles when I was 10 years old.  At first, it was carved candles.  After lots of trial and error, my mom and older sisters started traveling around carving and selling candles.  For a brief period of time, we even had a retail store in our town.  She eventually moved to scented candles.  They sold better (more repeat customers) and they were a lot easier to take to festivals because traveling with giant vats of wax for carving demonstrations was hard.  She added on to our house and turned our basement into a candle shop. My whole house smelled like a scented candle.  Lots of my high school friends probably remember making wax hands in my basements.  Before shows and the holidays, friends and family would often come and help my mom in the shop.  As a kid, I didn't think a lot about it but looking back I realize it was really awesome and kind of off beat for your mom to have a candle shop in your basement.

My mom and aunt at a craft show (my mom is on the right)

Then, there was the craft shows.  This is the oddest part of having a professional crafter parent. My family traveled around the southern United States doing craft shows. There was a whole community of folks who traveled around doing extended festivals. It was kind of like modern day gypsies.  We would roll into town.  Set up our travel trailer and play house for a couple of weeks while my mom sold her handmade candles.  Then we'd pack up and leave. She started doing shows when I was 10.  At first they were awesome.  I loved them so much.  I got to roam around and meet new people.  She did a couple of actual fairs, the George Mountain Fair was the main one that she did. Fairs were my favorite because they had carnival rides and shows.  We had to setup at this show for a good ten years straight.  I loved this event.  It was held in the summer, so I always got to attend at least part of it. We set up our RV in a pretty campground on the event campus with lots of areas for us to bike and swim.  I really want to take the kids up there to camp and see if it is as awesome as I remember it. But, as cool as it was as kid as I grew all the travel was a little more lame.  More and more, I'd have to stay at home.  By mid-highschool it felt like my mom was gone more than she was home.  I had my brother-in-law next door, but I spent a lot of time at home alone in high school. My mother was so lucky that I was a good kid because in hind sight I could have gotten into SOOO much trouble.  I had way more independence than a 16 year old should.  I remember thinking, I never want to be a crafter when I grow up.  It was tons of work.  You traveled all the time and the pay was inconsistent.  If the weather wasn't good, your sales numbers for a show could be way off.  I know there was more than one event that my mom lost money on.  So, I decided that I had no interest in selling handmade goods. Which is funny considering where this post is going . . . . 

My sister Sherry craving an candle while my Aunt Barbra watched

I am getting ready to do my first arts festival   I, Jaime Barks (Franke's Zimmerman daughter) is doing the very thing I said I had no interest in. And, I'm excited!  Granted, I am doing a small one day local show.  These were super hard for my mom to do.  Candles are heavy.  Setting up for a one day event was a pain.  Art, shouldn't be that hard to set up.  The one thing I haven't mentioned was how much my mom loved doing these shows.  She would come alive.  She loved the socialization and she loved interacting with people who enjoyed her product.   I guess it is the outgoing part of my personality that is excited.  The insecure artist in me is terrified.   Painting is really personal and the thought of putting it out in the world is scary.  Actually, the whole event is going to be a big deal.  It will be the present colliding with the past.  Reconciling the good things and the bad things about having a self employed artisan for a parent.  

Scented candles on display (I think this was the Georgia Mountain Fair)

So where am I setting up?  I am going to be doing The Little Owl Festival in Chattanooga.  You can follow them on Facebook to get more info.  Below is a flyer. It is a cozy little event that feels like it might be a good fit for my work.  I've been thinking about doing something like this for months.  I feel like it is the next step for me.  I have no idea what to expect.  I've been painting and getting my prints ready, which might deserve it's own post.   If you are local, please plan on stopping.  I would love to see some familiar faces and I think that it is going to be a really fun day.  Lots of music, food and animals . . .  it is $7 a person or $15 per car.

I think if my mom were alive she would be proud. Or at least laughing at me a little bit.  Life brings us all full circle at times and this is one of those times.  I wonder what she would think of my work or my attempts to work as an artist   She was a bit pragmatic.  I often laugh because I imagine her saying things like "Painting Jaime?  Of all the things you could do you went with the most impractical."  And, truthfully that is a conversation that I have with myself too. But it feels right and I am going  for it.  I guess we will just have to wait and see where it takes me.  Regardless I am enjoying this chance to reflect on my odd childhood and remember one of my mom's passions.

Now, I just need to get all my ducks in a row.  Guys, there are lot of little ducks that need to be organized before going to an event.  But first . . . . .  PAINTING!  Lots of new stuff in the works, I'm excited.