Artomatic Here I Come

Believe it or not I signed up for Artomatic (DC's Largest Unjuried Artist Showcase) because I needed a place to store my furniture! I needed to be able to move my mother's houseful of furniture and boxes out of the back of my studio. She moved in with me a year ago and I've been storing all of her belongings till she was ready to move into a retirement community. The problem was that there was no longer any access to all her stuff and I had nowhere to move my stuff to get out of the way. I saw that I could rent a large space for a small amount of money for 2 months and hey, maybe I'd sell something.

Honestly! Even after 10 years of building my artistic portfolio it did not occur to me to actually participate in an ART SHOW as an ARTIST! I mean I've been calling myself an artist for years but I had not yet made the synaptic leap to showcasing my work in an installation vs. a dreaded craft fair.

I'm not hating on craft fairs here. I am just hating on all the work that is required and how painfully hard it is to often packup everything that you unpacked and painstakenly arranged 10 hours prior.

It was not until a lot of nasty comments about me painting circles on MY OWN ARMOIRE that a fire was lit in me.

Not only was I gonna show up as an artist, (not just store my shit), I had something to say!

We all have the right to create beauty in our surroundings. If we find it, or buy it, or inherit it we do not owe ANYONE ANYTHING.

Those of us who love color have been at the mercy of "GOOD TASTE" for way to long. Who decided that wood grain and shiplap are the only acceptable decorating choices? Why do we have to revere dated brown stained furniture just because it is old?

If you adore it, buy it. There is plenty of it. Even on the side of the road. Go grab you some :)

So that is why I am NOW participating as the furniture felon that I am. I want to inspire anyone iof the 100k expected visitors that furniture is a canvas and that you get to decide on any design that makes you heart sing.