Final Show of the Season

Harvest of the Arts 2010

On October 2nd and 3rd, I went back to where I started -- the Harvest of the Arts in Lowville, NY. Two years ago, I set up for my first show at the Harvest. I had no idea what I was doing, what to sell, how to sell, what people buy, and would people buy my work.

Two years and a dozen or so shows later, I'm still unsure, but I've also learned a lot. I'm having fun and meeting a lot of nice people. The 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from people who walk into my booth are much-needed ego boosts, and surrounding myself with my own prints for two days is both exhilarating and horrifying.

While I've learned a lot about photography in just two years, there is also much, much more to know, of course. And, thankfully, I continue to enjoy learning about the processes that take photos from 'eh' to 'wow'. Having made a break from fifteen years in education -- as an aide, a counselor, a program coordinator, and a college professor -- it's comforting to find myself wholly and happily studying something new. For a while there, I felt I was drifting at sea.

Still, teaching remains a possibility. This weekend, I had a number of people ask if I taught classes. I have thought about it briefly, but hearing the interest this weekend has made me consider it even more.

Along with the how-to book I'm planning, and the courses I want to study myself....and the restorations I'm working on....and the commercial jobs that came up this weekend...teaching workshops would keep me pretty busy. And happy.

G

From the Kite Festival, which coincided with the Harvest this year.