The Fairfax Art Walk was Friday night. I had no idea what to expect and was nervous while setting up my table in front of SOON, but then so many people showed up that there was no time for nerves. The town became a big, happy party, and I talked to people for four hours straight.
Because it was my first time showing my work at an event, my primary goal was simply to be there — to allow my work to be seen and to practice introducing it. That was a challenge until I found some comfortable ways to begin a conversation, usually by talking about pigeon rescue or the 30-day project that led me to draw so many birds on post-it notes.
I intentionally kept my goals for sales low. If I’d sold one or two things, I would have considered the event a success. As it turned out, many people expressed interest in the work, and quite a few pieces found new homes. One of the kraft paper pigeons will be a surprise gift for a man who commented, “I like that pigeon’s attitude,” as he and his wife strolled by. She snuck back later and bought it for him. One of the post-it pigeons will travel home to Norway with his new person. The round, pink robin I made specifically for the event was a big hit. A good friend quickly claimed him, leaving a few others audibly disappointed when they saw that he was sold.
I suspect there will be more small, round friends in the future.
All in all, about a half-dozen post-it birds (and one post-it squirrel) found new homes, but I want to tell you about Roy. I drew Roy in June when I started working on In Your Hands, my series of feral pigeons on distressed post-it notes. I struggled with the drawing. When I finished, I was unhappy. This is what I wrote to Carrie, who’s my art mentor and one of my drawing teachers:
I drew a distressed post-it portrait that I’m going to set aside. His face isn’t right. The eye on the left is way too low, and I‘ve lost his cute sort of sideways look. And this one doesn’t have enough contrast because of how the gray body fills most of the frame. I chalk my misperceptions up to being so tired. I’m bummed to “waste” effort, but it’s not the end of the world to set Roy aside. Maybe I’ll use him in a future collage. And it was still drawing practice.
When Carrie responded, she said Roy was way better than I thought. She gently took my harsh inner critic to task and said the piece was good even if the eyes were slightly off. She wanted me to mount him on a panel instead of setting him aside.
We went back and forth about Roy a few times, and I continued, stubbornly, to leave him out. Eventually, when preparing for the Art Walk and looking for additional work to bring along, I decided to give Roy a chance.
When I set up my table, I didn’t display Roy with the other post-its but kept him close to me. Then, shortly after the event began, a woman interested in the post-it pigeons approached the table. She looked at them for a long time and finally said, “I would like to have this one.” She reached over and picked up little Roy!
I laughed, but when I told Carrie, I think she laughed even harder.
The drawing of Roy found a home and was my first sale on a night that was rewarding and instructive in so many ways. I’ll be able to donate some funds to Palomacy — and a little bit to Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue for the baby squirrel. And I learned yet another lesson about being softer with myself and my work.
What’s Next?
I’m unpacking from the Art Walk and going on a three-day silent retreat. Yay! Meanwhile, Palomacy’s Feathers and Fashion Auction opened today and continues through October 23. I have two items up for bidding. Lizzie is there, all dressed up and ready for Palomacy’s upcoming party. And I’ve made a nice fine-art print of 16 of the post-it pigeons. Many other COO-L items are on offer!
