Best of the Northwest

Big news yesterday -- I got word that I was accepted into ALL of the Best of the Northwest shows for this year! (wiggle, wiggle, butt shake) I think that's supposed to be an amazing thing. I mean, I never even tried to get into this series of shows. When I started out in the biz, that seemed to be the most high falutin', artsy fartsy show around. You needed professional slides, for gosh sakes. And there was glossy colored advertising and brochures and stuff. These were all real artists, folks who travelled in a different world from me, like high-end galleries and national exhibits. I was just a little newbie with no idea what I was doing.

So, I shied away from even trying that kind of thing. I figured I needed to get my feet wet with smaller shows and figure out how the whole thing worked. And then later, as I got sort of established, I still wasn't sure I really fit in. And I heard about the long waiting lists for the fall show. Maybe I was doubting myself a bit too, and I still never had professional slides ready. I had finally gotten the hang of a digital camera, but you've probably read here before, I'm not usually organized enough to remember to take really great booth or display photos when I'm set up somewhere. So when January rolled around and I was supposed to have my big impressive portfolio ready for their jury committee . . . the last couple of years I just caved and told myself "next year."

Well this year was next year. I just did it anyway. Even with the dumpy little photos I had. You can't win if you don't play, or whatever they say. And I got IN! Maybe the other soap people took a break. Who knows. Who cares. I've got a chance this year to do something brand new and special. It's three big shows that I otherwise wasn't really planning on, so I've got to get cracking if I want to have enough inventory ready for this giant month of May ahead. The dates are:

Seattle Spring Best of the Northwest
May 11, 12 & 13
Featuring a display garden for Mother's Day
Hangar 27 at Magnuson Park

Summer Art at Marymoor
August 17, 18 & 19
Marymoor Park, Redmond

Seattle Fall Best of the Northwest
November 16, 17 & 18
Hangar 27, Magnuson Park

So, um, I still haven't actually gotten the letter. It's supposed to come today, I think. But the guy on the phone yesterday seemed sure. Hoo. I hope I haven't jumped the gun and announced it too soon. Gah. What is my problem? Of course I'm in. See? After all this time, I still get panic attacks. So silly.