'Tis the Season

November is my big selling season. This year both of my big shows fell in November, and it's been a hectic month!

First came ORA's annual Celebration of Art. It's our 8th annual art show, and it continues to grow and evolve.  We held it again at Mittleman Jewish Community Center, in the beautiful Ballroom. The show is just beautiful, with about 25 artists showing and selling their artwork.

Everyone agrees that the room is beautiful, and the show is beautiful. But everyone also agrees that the attendance is a challenge, seemingly for a different reason each year. We continue to ponder that problem. But in the meantime, I had an enjoyable day, and my sales were good enough.

Two weeks later came Hadassah's Chanukah Gift Fair, which returned to MJCC this year after many years at Neveh Shalom.  I welcomed the change, because of the neutral location and the superior space and lighting in the MJCC ballroom. But to be frank, the sales were dismal.

I've done this show for 14 years now, and feel a great loyalty to it. But it has been suffering a downward spiral since the economic downturn. Less paying customers = less quality vendors, and less quality vendors = less paying customers. It's a terrible conundrum, and I personally have a difficult decision to make. My sales for the day were definitely not worth all the time and effort that goes into doing a show.

This month I also opened my Etsy store, with just a few items at first.  In December I hope to post more items for sale, and give this thing a go!  www.etsy.com/shop/EstherBeads

Selling any kind of art is a tricky business, and I continue to look for the right path for my business.

A Fight to the Finish!

My struggle with this beading project continues. First, the thread kept breaking and tangling. Then, one of the beads broke, which meant I had to re-do a whole section of the project. It was tempting to give up at that point. But I've come to realize that this is a challenge to my determination. And I am VERY determined: this project will be completed, and it will be exhibited. So I bit the bullet, and re-did that whole section.

Finally the beadwork was completed, and it was time to fit it over the glass candle holder. Guess what? It didn't fit! The beading was so tight (yes, that's what broke the bead), it actually broke the glass!! I'll tell you... the sight of all that broken glass in my hands was very powerful, since this is a Holocaust Yizkor candle!

So, what does one do at that point? How can it work as a Yizkor candle cover if it won't fit over the glass? Well, first I sulked for a few days. Then I sat down with a whole box of yizkor candle glasses, and tried every single one, till I found one that fits! It turns out that different brands are slightly different sizes, and the weird brand from Israel fits just fine. Heh-heh! Point for Esther.

But this thing doesn't give up! Next thing, it turned out that the glass I chose was cracked. Sigh, back to the box. I found another that would work, but the candle is very firmly melted into the glass, and I'm having a surprisingly hard time getting it out. Fear not, though, I will prevail. The candle will come out, the label will come off, and the candle will go back in properly. And this piece WILL be exhibited at our Art Show on October 12th.

It's a Holocaust piece, it's important, and it's been an amazing challenge. But I am determined to have my artistic voice be heard. After the show, I will post a picture of the finished piece. But I hope everyone will come and see it in person.

Celebration of Art
Sunday, October 12, 2008
10 am - 4 pm
at MJCC
6651 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland