Artfest Trades

The first time at I attended Artfest was because a friend cajoled me into it, even though I was sure that my puny art skills would be the subject of more than a few chuckles. I am glad she pushed me to go. It was all pretty overwhelming the first time with choosing classes when I had no idea what I was getting myself into, planning travel, accommodations, etc. But finally, I had everything in place.

Then, I learned about TRADES. Participants are encouraged (totally by choice) to bring small art trinkets to exchange---little handmade art charms, ATCs, small baggies of art supplies for collage, etc. It can be just about anything. I was scared spitless to make trade items, mostly because I was sure that no one would want to trade with my rinky dink attempts. On the advice of a good friend, I joined the yahoo chat site for Artfest, and that is where I met Joan from N. Idaho. She patiently emailed me with ideas, gentle suggestions, and descriptions of what she'd seen at Artfest in the past. On a trip to see my grandkids, Joan met up with me so that I could see some items from previous years. AND...when I got to Artfest, she not only looked me up, but she gave me a chain to attach traded charms. That's the kind of wonderful, caring people that willingly exchanged trades with me at Artfest, and were kind enough to wait to chuckle until later. {grin}

Artfest

For the past two years I have had the opportunity to go to Artfest at Ft. Worden, Port Townsend, WA. For those of you who do not know about it, I'll try to explain. Artfest is a gathering of artists from around the world for a 3 1/2 day event planned and organized by Tracy and Teesha Moore, where classes are offered by a wide variety of professional artists. Sign-ups are in advance so that students can bring supplies for each day of classes.
Last year, one of the classes I signed up for was with Sunny Carvahlo. It was a painting class, totally different than any other class I've had at Artfest. We used heat-set oil paints and Sunny was a fantastic teacher--very patient and helpful. I was happy with the results and gave the painting to my baby granddaughter to hang in her room. This year I have classes with Carla Sonheim, Julie Haymaker Thompson, and Susan Kazmer. I can't wait!!