Cate Anevski

Chesterfield Arts

The opening last night was really wonderful! I got so much positive feedback on my work, which is always inspiring. I owe a big thank you to the women who put the show together at Chesterfield Arts (and to any men who were behind the scenes that I did not meet).

I'm sick today, so even though I'm supposed to be meeting the newest (and only) baby in my family, I'm stuck at home with a sore throat and no voice. Hopefully, that will force me to get some work done and I'll have another post for you today, but I may just veg out watching The Last Unicorn for the 100th time.

Apply! Apply! Apply!

Cranky Yellow just released the call for artists for their Crammed Organisms show. It'll be the biggest plush show in the world! (But only if you follow the directions in the title of this post.) I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

Girls! Girls! Girls!

The Girls! Girls! Girls! show is up and running at Cranky Yellow. David did an amazing job making the space look spectacular, so everyone should go and have a look. The show will be up until November 30th, so you have a bit of time left to see it. Don't forget to check out the rest of the shop while you're there!

200th Post!

Yep, that's right. I've posted 200 times on this blog. What have I said? I really couldn't tell you. I guess you'll just have to check the archives.

I'm blogging from out of town again, which just tickles me for some reason. (Yeah, that's right, I said tickle. You wanna fight about it?) Handmade Chicago was a great success. I covered all my costs (which means I just got a free trip to see Bridget), and I had a good time. There were a bunch of great sellers there, including Recycled Rings, Craft Leftovers, Prix Prix, Les Vieux Jours, and Lindsey Wisz (who is an amazing illustrator and promised to email me as soon as she gets a Web site going). Meeting online sellers in real life is another thing that tickles me, so today was an all-around good day.

I also got the pencil parts of two drawings done today. They're just little fun things, and I can't wait to finish them. There are also a couple of big-hatted drawings in the works, so be on the lookout.

Strange Folk Photos

Thanks to David's generosity, I now have a couple of photos to share from Strange Folk.

This is my side of the tent, which David and I split. There is one thing that I neglected to mention in my last post: I virtually never sell any artwork. It seems to sell just fine on Etsy, but come craft fair time, no one wants it. Everybody loves it and tells me how wonderful it is, but no one ever buys it. I matted 90 prints for this fair and only sold one. I even tried putting it on greeting cards and ACEOs, since I thought the problem might be that I only had one price point, but still no luck.

I really don't mean to complain; I just wonder why that is. If any other artists (or anyone, really) can shed some light on the situation or provide some suggestions, I'd be eternally grateful.

This is the whole tent. I really loved the contrast between my side of the tent and Cranky Yellow's. Also, you can see how floppy the tent was, and this was after quite a bit of inventive fixing. Back to the store it goes, and I'd appreciate suggestions on a good tent brand, as well. Anyone have a tent they just love? I really want one with a white top and walls, but that seems to be a tricky thing to find.

Life, the Universe, & Everything

Since I haven't had many pictures on here lately, I decided to treat you all to a really big one.

I really haven't been up to much real artwork lately, due to an overabundance of intrusions by the real world (and, of course, Harry Potter). That's why I've been so absent lately, but David has encouraged (well, ordered) me to make a post about what I've been up to, so here it is.

The above image will be a bookmark. This is the first real drawing I've done in a while, but there's a fair amount of work to be done before it's complete, not least of which is finding a new home for all the stuff piled up on my sewing machine cabinet.

I've added a link in my sidebar for upcoming events. Currently, we have the Strange Folk Festival, on September 22, and Crafta Nostra, on August 17. Click on those links, check them out, and be sure to stop by and say hi if you decide to come along. Both of these should be pretty fun, and after that, I'm on a mission to start traveling the country in search of more craft fairs. First up will be the No Coast Craft-O-Rama in Minneapolis. I'm on the lookout for more that are close-ish to St. Louis, and suggestions are very welcome.

Also related to the Strange Folk festival, I'm very excited and honored because I was asked to design the cover for the zine that will be available at the festival. Be on the lookout for either a bunch of strange elfin folk or some unfamiliar constellations. I haven't decided which of my two final sketches to use.

I've also received a bit of press lately, which I'm always happy to show off. First is at the Sampler, where Jennifer has written a few wonderful things about my work. Second is an interview over at Cranky Yellow. Go take a look and see if you learn a thing or two about me, partcularly that I always sound rather awkward in interviews.

Last, but of course not least, I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has expressed interest in my work and has helped make my Etsy shop a success in the past couple of months. It's really very heartwarming to know that folks out there in the blogosphere are enjoying my art.

I think that's about it, folks. I hope to have some more fun stuff to show off soon, if I can just wade through the rest of these tax forms and bills.

How Could I Forget!

The most exciting part of the evening was making a trade for these awesome paintings. This guy had set himself up by the bathroom, and he stopped me on my way there. (A very smart place to set up shop, if you ask me.) He was making birthday cards featuring unusual birthday "cakes." I couldn't resist the cheese or the dog, so I swapped him a journal for two cards. He started to hand me the envelopes to go with them, and I just said, "Oh, I'm not sending these to anyone. They're going on my wall!" (See how generous I am?)

He signed these, but I can't make out his last name. He said he'd send me an email about an upcoming show and potentially getting together to paint, or something like that, so I'll get his name then. He did snag a business card, though, so maybe he'll look at my site, check my blog, see that I'm looking for his name, and leave a comment with the desired information. (Hint, hint, nudge, nudge.)

Boy, Am I Tired...

That's right, I just got home from the Big Art Show, ate some screams (ice cream, for those of you not in the know of my food obsessions), watched an episode of Monk, and here I am blogging.

Since this was an art fair, I brought every bit of sellable artwork I could find, and I'm glad I did. I didn't sell much, but I had fun setting it all up. I tried a few different things, and I think I'm finding a better style for my setup. I'm afraid that my Bee's Knees Industries branding is a little dry and sterile, which I don't think matches my style or my tastes very much at all. I'm trying to come up with something a bit different to better represent me and my work.

You may be able to see in the first picture that there really wasn't a place to sit by my artwork, so I hung out at the Cranky Yellow booth nearby. People had a hard time finding me, so I took Kieran's brilliant advice and made a sign with a "self-portrait" that says, "If you need me, I'm sitting on the bench behind you." Apparently, distinctive hairstyles can be beneficial, as can a penchant for drawing them. (Of course, I forgot my glasses. I guess I wasn't too observant this evening, since I just noticed that I also forgot to cross the T on the "Hand-Painted Prints" sign. Maybe I should make some new ones more than five minutes before my next show.)

I also have another accomplishment for the day: I sat around, waiting like a vulture, to get another treasury. This one's entitled Baby Mouse Pink!, and it includes a new painting by David. Please go and check out everything. Be sure to get a closer look at all the great work on there. I've included some really great artists on this one.

Venus Envy

There they are, up on the wall. The show went really well. I sold three pieces and met some incredible artists. I can't wait to do it again next year. There was a lot of positive response to my work, which always feels good, but my favorite part was that the first person to comment on my work to me was a twelve-year-old girl who introduced herself as an artist and said that she love my pieces.

To Anyone Who's Interested:

The craft fair I've been working on is at 8125 Groby Rd. in University City.