June 11, 2025

As I write this, I am in the middle of creating this website. This includes re-creating a blog which my husband wrote, and as I re-read his first post (July 20, 2007) I realized that it referred to the first blog I wrote, about my experiences embarking on a career change as a jewelry artist and first-time exhibitor at a major art show.

Although my original blog is long gone, I found a document where I had saved my posts, and after entering the black-hole-time-warp-space-vortex of memory by starting to re-read it, I thought “hey, this is worth publishing on my new website.” At least, I think so.

My articles regarding jewelry design and fabrication, gemology, and being a jewelry artist are in my Jewelry Arts blog on this site.

Back in 2007…. 

Sunday, May 6, 2007: The Short Story

The short story: I wanted to do something different. For now, we’ll skip the boring angst-ridden, black-hole-in-the-soul path that led me here. “Here” is my first summer exhibiting in the Laguna Beach Sawdust Art Festival. Sawdust was founded in 1966 to provide a venue for local artists to show and sell their work, and it has evolved into a major force in the Laguna Beach community. 

Sawdust runs 12 hours a day, 7 days a week during the PTM (Peak Tourist Months) of July and August. An estimated 200,000 people pass through its gates during that time. Opening date is June 29th and I have a terrifyingly long list of things that need to be done before that. 

I decided to document the experience primarily because it has been, and will be, such a whirlwind that if I don’t write it down, I won’t be able to remember what happened. Once upon a time, I would have simply taken a pen and a spiral-bound notebook, scribbled down my thoughts, and tossed the notebook in the drawer. But that is just sooooooo last century. Now, I can take my laptop, tap out my thoughts, and publish them for the world to see. Ha, ha. 

My medium is jewelry. For a woman who refuses to dye her rapidly graying hair and only occasionally remembers to put on make-up, I find it a little odd that I have such a love for jewelry as personal adornment, but there you go. I mainly do fabrication, meaning I start with flat sheet metal, wire, and gemstones and create my designs from there. I get to play with fire (soldering the pieces together) and hammer on things (to add texture and form), so what’s not to love?

Monday, May 7, 2007: What’s Happened So Far

Places in the Sawdust are determined by a lottery. Once your application is accepted and you’ve proved you meet the entry requirements, your name goes into a big box. On Lottery Day (this was back at the beginning of February), the order in which the names are drawn determines the order in which artists will get to choose their location on Booth Pick Day (which happened this past week, 3 months after the lottery). 

My lottery number was high enough that I wasn’t guaranteed a spot, but low enough that everyone said to me “Oh, you’re in!” Artists drop out, or decide to share booth spaces, and so those of us who were initially beyond the cut-off point get to move up the list.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007: Booth Pick Day

There were over 200 applicants this year, and there are 186 spots available - my lottery draw was 189. By today I was certain I would get a spot. I was equally certain that it would be one of the least desirable booths on the grounds, since I would be among the very last artists to get to choose a place.

The Sawdust grounds are, literally, covered with sawdust. The show was originally held on an empty lot on Coast Highway, and sawdust was used to keep the dust down. The name, and tradition, have continued although the festival now has a permanent home on a shady, gently sloping hillside in Laguna Canyon. The grounds are outdoors and every year participating artists have to design and build their own booth. And every year those booths must be completely torn down and removed at the end of the season. 

I turned up at the appointed time and soon saw a familiar face, Emma. A Sawdust veteran, she has been gently encouraging since she found out I was thinking of becoming a fellow artist.

“I’ve got someone who I think might be a good person to share a booth with,” she said, knowing how increasingly panicked I’d become over creating enough inventory for such a huge show and managing a booth on my own.

She introduced me to Patricia, and after a very short conversation, I decided that sharing a booth was the answer to “How the hell am I going to get through this?” Patricia’s number was 137, and that meant a much better chance at a good spot. Also, we’d be sharing the cost of building the booth, and the responsibility for managing the space during the 12-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week marathon. It was a leap of faith, but it felt like the right thing to do.

As I wandered around the (for now) barren grounds, looking at the chalked outlines of booth boundaries and trying to imagine which would be a good location, I was asked to sign a petition protesting an action that the Board of Directors had recently taken. I haven’t even had a chance to pick a booth yet, and already I’m asked to get involved in the organization’s politics! But that’s pretty much the way everything in our little town goes. 

Our number came up and we picked our space - we got a nice square one, on even ground, and easy to divide between 2 artists. Some of the spots have huge trees right in the middle of them (and the spots are not all that big to begin with). That decided, we set to work on our first, and very big, hurdle: getting the booth built. Thanks to the eruption of real estate values in Orange County, and the consequent building boom, contractors have become so spoiled that they generally consider even $100,000 remodels to be hardly worth their time. So how we were going to find someone to build a little thing like our booth, I couldn’t imagine.

We tracked down a long-time Sawdust exhibitor and asked his advice. “Well, ‘B’ is really good,” he said. “Really good. But he’s probably booked up.”

We tracked down “B.” His dance card was, as expected, full. “Can you recommend someone ?” we begged. He pointed to “M” who was, conveniently, standing right there. We dragged him off to our spot to get his opinion and an estimate, and 2 minutes later we’d hired him. 

Quite a day: new booth partner, booth picked, dude hired to build booth. I needed a large drink.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007: Technical Difficulties

Of course things could not continue as well as they had gone yesterday. Oh, no. The new, very expensive (to my mind) camera which I had purchased so that my husband (the photography buff in the family) could photograph my work, decided it didn’t like its lens. It wouldn’t say why, it just made it perfectly clear that it was no longer going to have anything to do with this particular lens (by virtue of some useless error message it broadcast on its mean little screen every time the camera was turned on).

Now, it’s really kind of important to have photographs of your work, so that you can promote your work, so that you can sell your work, wouldn’t you agree? So, after an exchange of emails with tech support, the thing has to get mailed back for servicing. At least it’s still under warranty.

Thursday, May 10, 2007: Booth Design

Finally worked out a layout I like for the booth space. Patricia and I both want functional space in the back of the booth, so we can work while we’re down there, and of course we each have to have the right display for our work. Fortunately, her displays will be wall-mounted, while I need cabinets with display cases on top of them.

So that brought me to the next hurdle: I have to get display cases. Yes, I should have started looking for these a long time ago. No, I didn’t. I just figured there were companies out there that specialized in this kind of thing. And there are, but a little bit of research showed me that while the cases looked mass-manufactured and cheap, they weren’t. They were quite expensive. So, the worst of both worlds: looks cheap, costs a lot. Besides, I wanted something different. 

Several phone calls later I’d found someone who said he can build them for me. We discussed the basic design and a ballpark price. He’s a friend’s brother-in-law, and is in the business of building things, so I was relieved to have this task taken care of.

Friday, May 11, 2007: “This is a Problem”

The morning was spent running around doing errands, and the afternoon was spent in my workshop, finally getting a chance to work on making things. Amidst all this “to do” stuff I’ve been writing about, you might have been wondering when I actually get my jewelry made! The answer is, this week has not been a good week for production.

Still, I worked out a problem I was having with the design of a pendant. It’s still a couple of tricky soldering steps away from being completed, but at least I know what I want to do with it.

I was having a soak in the bath, happily up to my chin in hot water and bubbles, when Pete (my sweet and very supportive husband) came home and opened the mail which I had dumped on his desk. He came into the bathroom holding a letter in his hand. “This is a problem,” he said. 

A rather large check I had deposited in my business account to cover the final Sawdust booth fee, booth building, and assorted other expenses, and been bounced. The relaxed Friday evening I had been looking forward to was gone, gone, gone. And since it was Friday evening, there was no one around at any of the financial institutions involved, so no chance of solving the problem. I cursed the bureaucratic blank wall of incompetence long and hard, and poor Pete had to endure my black mood for the rest of the night. 

Saturday, May 12, 2007: Bank

Well, guess who had her nose pressed up against the glass door when the bank opened this morning? I juggled funds around to solve yesterday’s disaster (at least part of it). Fortunately none of the checks I had written had bounced. That would have made a great impression with the folks who run the Sawdust, wouldn’t it?

Monday, May 14, 2007: How to Become a Starving Artist

So I spent an HOUR on the phone this morning, and was transferred to 5 different people, trying to resolve the problem with the bouncing bank deposit. And in the end, the answer was that I need to do the whole transaction over again. 

The deposit was to cover all the upfront expenses I have before Sawdust actually gets started and I (hopefully) start selling jewelry so that I have money coming in, rather than just going out. And believe me, money has been going out. There’s the equipment to set up my studio, the cost of materials, the booth fee for Sawdust, the booth construction costs, advertising... the list goes on.

This is all related to the very important question, “How does a starving artist get started?” Well, the starving part is obviously easy. But I like to eat (I like to cook, too — it supports my eating habit). I wouldn’t be jumping off this particular cliff if I didn’t have help. In my case, I have some savings, and since I’m self-employed (I’ve been running my own graphic design business for the past 12 years), I also have a lot of flexibility in my work schedule. But most importantly, I have the aforementioned sweet & supportive husband, Pete. The savings, plus cashing out a poor investment I made many years ago, give me enough to just about cover my expenses. And Pete slogs off to the corporate world every day to bring home a paycheck that covers our living expenses. So that’s how I’m doing it. 

But it’s hard, very hard, for me to be in a position where I’m spending a lot more than I’m earning. I know it’s the way things work when starting a new business, but I hate it.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007: Newbie Orientation

Monday was the official booth building start date, and yesterday was the Sawdust Art Festival’s New Exhibitor Orientation. When I arrived at the grounds, I was astonished at the amount of construction that had been done in 24 hours. A few booths were nearly complete - the floor, walls, and roof were done, and in a few of them, display shelving was up as well. Our booth neighbors on either side of our space had started framing. As I looked at our empty little spot, my anxiety level was rising rapidly as a horrible little voice in the back of my mind was screaming “you’re behind schedule, you won’t get done in time.”

Our booth building dude, “M,” was on the grounds, working on other booths. He was rather vague about when he’d be starting on ours, but assured us that we were 4th or 5th in line. June 20th is the drop-dead deadline for completing construction. The booths have to pass a city inspection. My booth partner, Patricia, was in the show last year, and she has some materials that we hope to be able to re-use. 

The newcomer’s orientation consisted of Sawdust staff and a couple of board members introducing themselves and reviewing some of the rules and policies, then a Q&A session. There were about 20 new artists who turned up to listen. They were friendly and assured us that they were there to help, but at the end, there were even more items I had to add to my Terrifyingly Long List of things to do.

I had thought I would miraculously accomplish several tasks on The List this evening. But no, I opted for drinking a couple of glasses of wine while watching “The Return of the King.” 

Thursday, May 17, 2007: To Swipe or Not to Swipe

I haven’t yet told anyone, other than Pete, that I’m writing this blog. It’s easier to think of complete strangers reading it than to think of friends & family reading it, but of course complete strangers aren’t going to randomly type in “sawdustartist.typepad.com” and find it. This, of course, is why I have 2.67 average views per day!

Yesterday’s Sawdust-related tasks from The Terrifyingly Long List included trying to track down information about credit-card processing, and more discussions with Patricia about booth design. One of the bits of information discussed at Tuesday’s orientation session was the artists’ options for accepting payment. If you don’t have your own machine to swipe a credit card, then you can send your customer to the Sales Booth to pay. The Sales Booth will add on a percentage for its service, process the payment, and distribute the funds back to the artist. This is obviously a big help to artists who, for whatever reason, don’t have a way to accept credit cards. It also means that a determined customer can buy something from you even if you’re not in your booth (and don’t have a booth sitter there) by getting the Sales Booth to handle the transaction.

However, I think the reality is that customers would be put-off by not being able to pay by credit card at my booth - otherwise, they have to take their receipt, schlep to the Sales Booth, get payment confirmation, schlep back to my booth, and collect their purchase. Not a customer-friendly way to operate.

Patricia already has a card-swipe machine, and she thinks that I can just get my own access code and account and use her machine, so if that works out, it will be great. I left a message for the guy who handles her account. In the meantime, I also have a stack of direct-mail solicitations from credit-card processing companies. They flooded my mailbox as soon as I filed my Fictitious Business Name (FBN), and I saved them, knowing I would need the service later on. 

Saturday, May 19, 2007: Desperately Seeking Carpenter

The task which is now #1 on The Terrifyingly Long List is finding display cases for the jewelry. I did actually start this task a couple of weeks ago - and yes, I know I should have started even earlier than that. But frankly, I had no idea it would be this hard. Internet searches so far have turned up mostly cases which look cheap, but in fact cost quite a lot. The worst of both worlds.

What I want are portable counter-top cases, about 36” wide, 18” deep, 12” high, with sliding doors 

(which can be locked) at the back for access. It’s a pretty standard thing, or so I thought. I mean, you see them in jewelry stores everywhere. Unlike everything else in our booth, which would be torn down and stored (or dumped) at the end of the festival, these would be something I would keep and use for other shows. The display case essentially provides a frame for the jewelry, so it’s important to me that it complements my work - like a picture frame does for a painting.

After my initial searches, I decided the thing to do was to hire someone to build them for me. I found someone - a guy who is a finishing carpenter who I know indirectly. We talked, he said “sure, we can do this for you” and I said “Great, I’m so glad!” I felt euphoric, I was so happy to have this taken care of.

And then he didn’t return my phone calls for the next 3 days. When he did, it was to say he’d taken on a couple of big new projects, and so he didn’t have time to do my little job after all. So basically, he dumped me because he got a better offer. I wasn’t asking him to do this for free, I was a paying customer, but just not important enough.

I am not ashamed to admit that I begged. I didn’t resort to tears, but it was a near thing (I certainly felt like crying). And he relented and said, again “OK, you’re a friend of X, and it’s not a big job, so I guess I can do it.” He said he would call in a couple of days with an update. He didn’t. And now we’re back to him not returning my calls, so I don’t know what to think. 

Actually, what I’m thinking is that all this is telling me I need to find someone else. I have continued looking and asking around, but so far without success. Time is running, running, running out.

Sunday, May 20, 2007: Busy, Busy, Busy

Still no return phone call from the guy supposedly building my display cases. I’m hunting around for other options, reaching out to a widening network of friends and aquaintances to find someone who can build them for me. 

I managed to fit in about 6 hours in my studio yesterday, actually making jewelry. I have really struggled to find the time to actually make the work. Every day I think I’ll get certain non-jewelry-making jobs out of the way, so I can get to work in my studio with a clear mind, able to focus on the work at hand. The days rarely works out the way I plan.

What I’m juggling is this...

1. I’m self-employed as a graphic designer. Since I decided to try the Sawdust Artist lifestyle, I have stopped taking on new clients, but I still have ongoing commitments to existing clients. The workload for this varies dramatically, and I have no control over it at all - sometimes I get no work from a client for months, other times I am flooded with projects for them.

2. I have, of course, had a whole new set of skills to learn, so I’ve gone back to school. I’ve learned most of what I know about jewelry fabrication from classes I’ve taken at Saddleback College, and the rest I’ve picked up from magazines, the occasional seminar, tips from fellow students, and lots of trial and error. The Saddleback class took up the better part of one day a week for the past semester - the final was last Wednesday.

3. I am fascinated by gemstones - all kinds - and I figured if I was going to use them in my jewelry, I wanted to be an informed buyer, so I started studying to become a Certified Gemologist at Rancho Santiago Canyon College. Final exams for the class I’m currently taking will occurs over the next 2 weeks. This has taken up 2 nights a week for the past semester.

4. Setting up the jewelry business, which has involved more administrative (for want of a better word) time than I ever could have imagined. I have spent more hours than I want to think about pouring over catalogs and searching the internet to get set up with all the bits and pieces, large and small, which I need to actually make the work. 

5. Life. The usual crush of maintaining a house, paying bills, worrying about retirement savings, keeping in touch with family and friends.

6. Making Jewelry. Can’t sell it if I don’t get it made.

And, oh yeah, I added writing a blog to that list!

Monday, May 21, 2007: A Day Off

Yesterday was the annual Laguna Beach Charm House Tour, which is organized by Village Laguna. Participants get to wander through 5 homes around town, and the styles generally range from cottage charmer to uber-modern. It’s become a tradition that Pete and I do this along with a couple of friends who live just down the coast.

I love going through other people’s homes, but hate the thought of hordes of people trooping through mine, so I’m always amazed that the owners are willing to participate in this event. I’m sure that being house-proud is a factor, and the event is a fund-raiser for Village Laguna, so the owners are doing a lot to help support the organization. There have been times when obvious self-promotion is a factor - one year it seemed that most of the homes on the tour were for sale, so it felt like one long real-estate sales pitch. 

But it’s always eclectic, and always fun. The last home we visited yesterday was a fantastic restoration of a small 1950’s cottage, perched on a cliff at the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The place was a wreck when the owner purchased it, and he had planned to tear it down and build a new home, then decided to restore the original. The home itself is not large, which leaves room for beautiful terraced gardens overlooking the ocean. You’d be surprised how rarely that happens in homes being built around town today. Laguna Beach is a place with tremendous natural beauty and a very mild climate year-round, and yet people build homes which have little or no outdoor space to enjoy the environment. They just want to maximize their square footage. So I personally want to thank the owner of this home for choosing NOT to build a McMansion.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007: Curse the Carpenter

By the end of yesterday I had finally accepted that the carpenter I’d hired to build my display cases was never going to return my phone calls and was never going to get the job done. All I can say (at least all that’s fit to publish) is that I hope what goes around, comes around. 

I spent about 3 hours on the phone and internet trying to come up with an alternate source for the cases, with no particular luck. And those were 3 hours that I really needed to spend doing other things on the Terrifyingly Long List.

I did move a step closer to finalizing the arrangements for my credit card processing account: I copied all the documents required for the application and sent them off to the guy handling my application.

In the evening, it was off to Santiago Canyon College for the lab final in my Advanced Colored Stones class. We get 20 gemstones which we have to identify - 20 little mysteries to solve. Contrary to what a lot of people think, you can rarely just look at a stone and say with certainty what it is. To be certain, you need gemological testing instruments, and the ones we have to work with in class include a microscope, polariscope, refractometer, UV light, and dichroscope. We also have to distinguish between natural and synthetic stones, which can be difficult. By definition, a synthetic gemstone has the same physical, chemical, and optical properties as the natural one does. The primary way of distinguishing the natural from the synthetic is using the microscope to detect differences in the types of inclusions the stone has. For example, if you see gas bubbles in the stone using the microscope, that indicates a synthetic. But tiny little bubbles grouped in what’s called a “fingerprint” pattern indicate it’s natural. Tricky. It takes looking at lots of examples to get good at telling the difference. Next week we have the written final exam, and then I’m done with classes for this semester.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007: Tool Junkie?

Yesterday morning I increased my negative cash flow by spending more money on tools and equipment. I take ages going over endless lists of thing I need (or just want), in the mistaken belief that if I’m thorough, this will the the LAST lot of stuff I have to buy. But it never is.

I also take ages going over my orders because I have a little mental debate over each item, with one side of my brain arguing that I have to have that item, it’s necessary to produce my jewelry (or at least it will make my workflow more efficient), and the other side of my brain running intervention, telling me that I’m just a tool junkie. I have a particular fondness for hammers - Pete likes to tell people I’m trying to become the Imelda Marcos of hammers, which is just silly. I only have a dozen.

However, yesterday’s order did not include any hammers. The main purchase was a vibratory tumbler (and I can tell you that when you Google “vibratory tumbler,” the first sites that come up have nothing to do jewelry fabrication). This is a machine that has pumpkin-like bowl on 4 springy legs, and you put polishing media (in my case, it’s various size bits of stainless steel) in it, along with a burnishing liquid and your jewelry (after you’ve finished fabricating the piece and before you set any gemstones), and it does a very rapid shake, rattle & roll for an hour or so and your jewelry comes out all bright & shiny.

I’d been making use of the machine at Saddleback College, where I’ve been taking jewelry fabrication classes, so I could put off purchasing one of my own. But those classes finished last week. Until now, my Wednesday’s typically consisted of working a few hours in the morning on graphic design projects for clients, driving down to Saddleback College for class there from Noon until 5:30 pm or so, then driving up to Santiago Canyon College for my gemology class from 7 - 10 pm, and getting home between 10:30 and 11 pm. This is the first Wednesday since Christmas that I don’t have to go driving all over Orange County - yeah!

As far as Sawdust preparation goes, still no progress on the jewelry display case problem. I did visit my booth-mate Patricia’s place yesterday, so I could see what lighting and materials she has from her booth last year. I may need to buy additional lighting, but I can’t be sure until I actually see how the booth comes together.

Thursday, May 24, 2007: Just Truckin’ Along

When I wrote yesterday about my latest tool junkie shopping list, I lied about not buying any more hammers. I didn’t do it intentionally, I just forgot that I’d slipped in a welder’s chipping hammer ($3.99 at Harbor Freight). It’s lightweight and has about a 3/4” sharp, chiseled edge - I use it for texturing metal.

On my Problems Lists (a subset of the Terrifyingly Long List), we still don’t have the camera back from the repair shop. We did at least get acknowledgement from Nikon that it was a warranty repair and that it was in the queue. So, unable to make any progress photographing my work. I know I need to work on my web site, www.studio44jewelry.com. But it’s like the cobbler’s children going barefoot. I have no trouble getting websites done for my clients (in my other job as a graphic designer), but can never make myself sit down and work on my own.

The other problem, the jewelry display cases, is still unresolved, although I did find a place online that does glass cube systems which might work. It’s quite different from what I initially had in mind, but you have to be able to adapt to your circumstances, don’t you? I’m also going to be meeting ‘M’ later today to talk about the booth, and I’ll ask if he thinks he can build the cases, in addition to the rest of the work on the booth. I hadn’t wanted to ask him to do it at first, because I know he has several booths to build and I figured he was probably a little overloaded himself right about now.

Yesterday was a good day for getting jewelry made. I got into my studio after lunch and and worked on a ring and a pendant. They’re both ready for tumbling (when I get my order for the magical vibratory tumbler and necessary parts), and then stone setting.

Friday, May 25, 2007: Still Truckin’ Along

Went down to the Sawdust grounds yesterday to meet with ‘M’ and discuss the details of our booth plan. He’s starting to show signs of stress - he had a pack of cigarettes, but said to us “I don’t usually smoke.” We worked out the plans for the layout of our work and display areas in the booth, and he gave us an estimate for how much more that would cost, beyond the basic structure. I also talked to him about the display cabinet problem, and he’s going to think about that and let me know if he thinks he can do it, and what it would cost. 

Booth building was in full swing all over the place: many of booths were framed out already, some looked finished and others just need a coat of paint. Our little spot is still bare, but ‘M’ said he’d be starting in the next 3 - 8 days. Seems like a wide spread to me, given that the overall window for construction is only 5 weeks, but that still puts in pretty good shape for finishing without going into full-on panic mode.

Other progress on The Terrifyingly Long List included getting a copy of my Reseller Permit and City of Laguna Beach Business License to the Sawdust office. They have to have these on file. I also need to submit an artist bio and an 8x10 photo of my work - the office puts together a comprehensive Artist Portfolio binder. Actually, that’s a new thing for The List - writing an updated resume. So last night found me working late on the computer, trying to draft a resume. I also worked on a layout for a postcard to promote myself. Having spent the last 13 years working as a graphic designer is a big advantage when it comes to self-promotion. It’s hard to do this for myself - as I said before, I’m like the cobbler’s barefoot child - but I know what to do and how to do it.

On the good news front, the camera unexpectedly arrived on our doorstep, back from the repair shop. Pete had checked only that morning with Nikon on the status, and supposedly it was still in the “final paperwork and review” stage. This means I can put Pete to work this weekend on some much-needed photography! I also received delivery of another of my tool orders, which also arrived faster than expected.

Saturday, May 26, 2007: Peak Tourist Months Begins

Pete and I have a Friday morning tradition: we get coffee and croissants from Jean-Paul’s Goodies (the best I’ve had outside Paris) in north Laguna and then go to Heisler Park, where we have a favorite bench to sit and watch the ocean. Heisler Park is a narrow strip of land along the cliff-top running from Main Beach in the downtown area to Diver’s Cove, about a mile north. A few years back we realized that we were so busy being busy that we never took time to really enjoy where we live, so we started this little ritual of at least once a week taking time to just appreciate where we are. We often see dolphins swimming by, and there are a few friends we regularly see as they walk or jog by on their own morning rituals. 

Yesterday being the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, it was officially the start of PTM (Peak Tourist Months). I met with a client for lunch, and as I easily navigated through through town and found a parking spot, I thought to myself “What’s wrong with this picture?” An hour later, it was a different story - the crowds had started arriving. It was astonishing what a difference that hour had made - traffic on Coast Highway was backed-up as far as I could see.

As far as The Terrifyingly Long List is concerned, I ordered another item I’ll be needing for the booth. Then I was finally able to get into my workshop and continue making jewelry. I got the tumbler set-up and ran the pieces I’d recently worked on through it. I’d been feeling that I hadn’t been making any progress because I haven’t been able to actually finish the stuff I’ve been working on. I had a small collection of almost-finished jewelry, but none of it was actually DONE since I didn’t have the tumbler to polish it before setting any stones. 

Before calling it quits for the day, I had time to set stones (pietersite) in a pair of earring and a pendant (labradorite). I always have to remind myself to go slowly and be careful at this stage. I have a tendency to get a little impatient right at the end of a project, and that is exactly the WRONG thing to do. It is far, far too easy to let the tool slip when you’re pressing the metal around the stone, and if you scratched the stone, then you’ve just fucked-up your piece and probably ruined all your work.

Monday, May 28, 2007: No Rest for Sawdust Folk

On Saturday I was able to get in some production time in my workshop. And, I got a callback from one of the people I’d left messages for about the display case problem - I think I might have someone who can do that for me! He was just packing up to go on a short holiday, but I told him what my deadline was, and he said he thought he could do it. We’ll see.

Sunday morning I spent studying for my Gemology written final, which will be this coming Wednesday. It’s just memorization, but when I first started the program I’d been a bit worried that I’d killed too many brain cells over the years to start doing this school stuff again. It’s been a long time since college. I’ve had to learn things like “Play of color is the phenomenon seen in opal and is caused by a diffraction grading of uniformly sized and stacked spheres.” 

My plans for the afternoon changed when I got a phone call from friend who said they had some left over lumber I could scavenge for my Sawdust booth. Pete and I went over and loaded up the car, then drove down to the Sawdust to drop it off in our space. 

Work on the booths is going on 7 days a week, from 8 am to 8 pm. Except when a wedding is going on next door. A few years back a new multi-purpose art and event center, 7° Degrees, was built next door. There are flyers posted all over the grounds announcing that the Sawdust is a good neighbor, so on certain days at certain times, all noisy construction has to stop, in order to allow the bride and groom next door to exchange vows without shouting over the sound of hammers and power saws.

It wasn’t a busy as during the week, but there was still plenty of activity down there. I got to meet one of my next-door booth neighbors, and saw a few other familiar faces. Pete took some photos, which I will post when I figure out how.

It was around 5 when we got home again, and then Pete put in a few hours photographing my work, and suddenly it was 9 pm before we even thought about fixing dinner.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007: Memorial Day

The Memorial Day tradition in Laguna Beach is Firefighters Flipping Flapjacks. They set up at Heisler Park, and for a very small fee, you can have pancakes served up to you by our local firefighters. The money goes to charity. We didn’t go down for it, just thought I’d mention it for a touch of local color.

Me, I spent the morning in my workshop. Pete had to head out early to other Memorial Day events, because he sings with the Saddleback Master Chorale, and they had gigs at 2 different comemorations.

And that was about it - not much to report regarding the The Terrifyingly Long List.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007: Credit Card Speak

Yesterday I got a lesson in credit-card speak. The contract for my Merchant Account has been sitting on my desk, waiting for me to sign in many places and fax back. But every now and then I get stubborn about signing legal documents that require I swear I have read and understood all terms, when in fact I haven’t. Admit it, we’ve all clicked on those “I agree” buttons after scrolling straight to the bottom of 10 screens worth of fine print without reading it all, let alone understanding it. 

So I called up my soon-to-be account manager and made him go through his “Credit Card Merchant Accounts for Dummies” routine. There are Application Fees, Statement Fees, Minimum Monthly Discount Fees, Reprogramming Fees, Retrieval Fees, Chargeback Fees, Voice AVS Fees, Batch/ACH Fees, and Per Item Transaction Fees. And, of course, every type of card you might accept has a different Discount Rate, which is the percentage taken out of the transaction (the “discount” seems to refer to the fact that you, the starving artist, will actually get less than the full amount of the transaction in your bank account when a customer pays with a credit card - a rather deceptive phrase, I feel). I know, I know, it’s all part of the cost of doing business.

Then I asked him about the part where it says “A copy of the Card Services Terms and Conditions, revision number 05/6-ccs-1, has been provided to you. Please sign below to signify that you have received a copy of the Card Services Terms & Conditions and that you agree to all terms and conditions contained therein,” I have not actually received a copy of this agreement, but by then I was ready to cave. My soon-to-be account manager assured me that it was 40 or 50 pages of very boring reading (I have no doubt) and that I’d get a copy of it when we met later for him to program the terminal and give me the training session.

Moving on to other things on The Terrifyingly Long List: I finished up the draft of my resumé and took that to the Sawdust office, along with my application to become a voting member of the Sawdust Festival Corporation, and I made a few updates to a self-promotional postcard I’ve been working on and sent that out for printing.

One Month Before Opening

Thursday, May 31, 2007: One Less Hat

‘M’ said he’d be starting our booth today - yeah! 

Me, I spent most of the morning being a graphic designer, most of the afternoon being a jeweler, and the evening being a gemologist. I had the written final for Advanced Colored Stones, and now I’m done being a student for the summer. I still have to juggle the graphic designer and Sawdust artist roles, but I’m glad not to be spending 2 nights a weeks in class.

Sunday, June 3, 2007: San Diego Getaway

We’ve just had a lovely long weekend in San Diego. It’s either a great time for me to be taking a few days vacation, or a terrible time for me to be taking a few days vacation. I’m not sure which. Actually, I am - it’s a great time for me to be taking a few days vacation. I’m rather obsessed with The Terrifyingly Long List, and it has been good for me to take a little break.

Not a complete break, though. The place where we were staying - a lovely old building with marble floors, brass fixtures, and Australian gumwood paneling lining the halls - used to be a commercial center for the jewelry trade in town. The current center for the jewelry trade in town was, literally, around the corner, so of course I had to go have a look around. And the quest for display cases is always with me. I checked out several potential sources as we toured about. One woman I spoke with, a jeweler in the Spanish Village Arts & Crafts center in Balboa Park, even told me that she had some cases she didn’t use anymore and I could borrow them for the summer if I didn’t find anything else. Are there really people out there who are that nice?

Patricia called me while I was away to update me on progress with the booth, which is now rapidly coming together. And that’s it for the Sawdust report.

As for the vacation report, if you find yourself in San Diego I can recommend:

-Fillippi’s Pizza Grotto in Little Italy: a small Italian grocery up front, crammed floor to ceiling with goodies, and a surprisingly large restaurant in back, with dark paneling and straw-wrapped chianti bottles dangling from the ceiling (each one written on, commemorating some occasion celebrated there).

-the Chula Vista Nature Center: a low-key attraction with a surprisingly diverse collection of animals, far from the maddening crowds you would get at Sea World or the Zoo - and easy to get to on public transportation (Blue Line tram to Bayfront/E Street, then a free tram to the Center).

-the Stuart Collection at UC San Diego: 16 outdoor art installations, spread across the campus -you’ll need the visitor map to find them all. No matter what you think of the art, it’s a nice campus, and it made a fun day just wandering around looking for the next item in the collection.

- Balboa Park: it’s just a great place.

Monday, June 4, 2007: Progress

After returning from San Diego yesterday, we stopped by the Sawdust to see the progress. We have a floor, framing, and most of a roof - very exciting!

Tuesday, June 5, 2007: Hardware Store Ping Pong

I went down to the Sawdust this morning to drop off a fixture for the booth, then went to the hardware store to buy a mounting bracket for the fixture, then went back to the Sawdust to drop that off, then went back to the hardware store because ‘M’ said I needed a different type of mounting bracket, plus we needed more drywall and another extension cord, then went back to the Sawdust with the new mounting bracket... and this was, of course, on top of the trips that ‘M’ and Patricia made over the past weekend. In my experience, this kind of running around seems inevitable and endless during any construction project - our house was a charming Laguna Beach fixer-upper when we bought it, and we’ve undertaken just about every kind of repair job you can do to a house since then.

When I returned from my second trip to the store, ‘M’ was talking to a nearby booth neighbor, who was stalking around her nearly-complete booth, looking very unhappy. According to ‘M’, there was something wrong with the way her builder constructed the booth, and it had been red-tagged. A red-tag is a bad thing. It means something isn’t up to code with the work and you have to stop building until you fix it. Construction at the Sawdust is creative and flexible, but the booths still have to pass a city inspection for basic safety. In order to try and make sure that everyone’s booth passes at the end of construction, the Sawdust grounds manager, Kurt, keeps a careful eye on what’s going on, and tries to flag problems as he sees them. I don’t know who did my neighbor’s booth, but ‘M’ said he was going to go to her rescue. I just hope the fact that she’s younger and cuter than me doesn’t influence his priorities! 

Wednesday, June 6, 2007: Booth Build Almost Done

Can you believe I still haven’t made a decision about my merchant account? I was almost ready to sign up with the first company I talked to and just be done with it, but then I just had to go and get some comparison quotes so that I had even more fine print to wade through. Why just go with the flow when you can make a whole project out of the task?

‘M’ called to say he’d be finishing our booth today and it would be ready for painting (Patricia and I are going to paint it ourselves). But what he really means is that Phase One is finished - floor, walls, roof, electrical wiring. That’s the part that has to pass city inspection on June 20th. Phase Two, the details of the booth such as shelving and countertops, he says he will come back and do once he’s finished Phase One on all his other booths. And then we’ll have to go back and paint those bits once they’re installed. So, I can see why he wants to work that way, I just didn’t understand before today that we might not get our detail work built until after June 20th (I thought it all had to be done by then). The major, immovable deadlines are:

• June 20th: Inspection Day

• June 26th: Preview Party

• June 29th: Sawdust Art Festival Opening

THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2007: My Hero

I finally made a decision about my display cabinets, and they shipped today! I eventually decided that I should wait to have custom cases built - I’d been running around with this vision in my head of the cases I wanted, and a bit of common sense finally broke through and told me that it was foolish to rush to spend a lot of money on custom cases when this is my first year. I still plan on having them built later on, and probably using the guy I spoke to just before Memorial Day. 

For this year, though, I ordered from American Fixture, and I cannot say enough good things about John, the rep who helped me with my order. It turned out that the shipping was going to be quite expensive because some of the pieces were too big to ship using FedEx ground, so they were going to have to use a freight carrier, which would cost a ridiculous amount. John spent a huge amount of time investigating shipping options and figuring out how to package the order to save me money. He called me regularly to give me updates, and I am still amazed at the customer service he put into what was a relatively small order.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, a couple of photos of what’s going on at Sawdust.

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007: Meet and Greet

Last night there was a “Meet the Artists” reception at 7 Degrees - it seems that a big part of the Sawdust marketing this year is personalizing the event and focusing on the artists as well as the art. A local photographer, Kathleen Clark, had done a series of photographs of Sawdust artists with their work, and the results were on exhibit at the gallery, along with a selection of short videos of artists at work. As I wandered around looking at the photographs and reading the statements that the artists had written for the exhibit, I had a sudden, completely unexpected, “through the looking glass” moment when I realized that I was no longer just an observer, I was now part of the Sawdust community.

Touching moments of self-revelation aside, it was the sort of event where I felt I ought to go, but didn’t want to. Some people are energized by crowds and happily chat away doing the meet and greet - I am not one of those people. Pete, in the end, talked me into going (did I mention I went by myself, since he had another commitment?). I said hello to a few people I recognized, and met some new ones, and in the end was glad that I made the effort.

Yesterday was also First Thursdays Art Walk. And not just a regular First Thursdays Artwalk, but the first one during Peak Tourist Months, so that meant that when I tried to stop in town to get my mail at the Post Office on my way home, I couldn’t find a parking spot.

SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 2007: Painting Day

Yesterday was booth painting day. I have a huge disconnect between the reality that exists in my head and the reality that exists in the world around me. In this particular instance, the reality in my head planned that booth painting would take a couple of hours and we’d be done by lunchtime. Then I would get some time in my studio and actually make some jewelry (because there hasn’t been a lot of that going on with all the other work that I’ve needed to do), and in the evening I would work on some of the other administrative tasks on the Terrifyingly Long List (like cataloging the pieces I do have, so I have a record of them, or maybe working on my own web site, which is in a rather pathetic state right now).

But, in the reality that exists in the world around me, Patricia and I met up around 11 am (I had a few errands to do first, including a visit to my chiropractor) and the job took over 6 hours. ‘M’ was at the booth, finishing off a bit of sanding, and what with one thing and another it was an hour before we actually got started. We both worked steadily, and took only a very short lunch break. And we didn’t finish until 5:30. I should have saved the chiropractor visit until AFTER the painting. 

I was exhausted at the end of the day, and came home to have a glass of wine, a long bath, and watch a movie I rented.

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2007: What is Work?

I finally got back into my studio to make jewelry on Saturday. I tend to think that only when I’m actually making jewelry am I “working” - as if all the other stuff doesn’t count as work. Which is not true. All this other stuff - setting up accounting, getting a merchant account, planning the booth details, shopping for materials, tools & fixtures, marketing - it’s got to be done. It’s just not fun. And even though logic tells me it IS actually contributing to productivity, it doesn’t feel like it.

So on Sunday I had to spend some time on that other stuff. But it was also the Saddleback Master Chorale’s end-of-season concert, so of course I went to hear Pete sing in that. They were doing the John Rutter “Requiem,” and they did it very nicely.

TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2007: Undeliverable

I finally signed and returned the contract for my merchant account. In the end I decided on a different company from the first one I spoke with - mainly because they included the terminal with their offer, and the other company didn’t (I would have been sharing the one Patricia already has, and at the end of the summer would have needed to purchase my own if I wanted to continue making sales).

In the saga of the display cases, they were supposed to be delivered yesterday. I had to use the Sawdust Festival address for the delivery, because the package weighs over 100 pounds, and FedEx ground won’t deliver packages over 100 pounds to a residential address. So I called the Sawdust office and asked if I could have it sent there and they said OK. However, the driver didn’t turn up until after 5 pm, by which time there was no one in office to sign for the package, so he took it away again. When I called FedEx to request that they re-deliver tomorrow BEFORE 5 pm, they were extremely unhelpful (now there’s a surprise). Get this: they said they have no control over their drivers’ routes! Let me see if I understand this correctly: 

1. FedEx’s business is delivering packages,

2. this particular package has to be delivered to a commercial address,

3. this particular commercial address closes it’s office at 5 pm (not unusual or unreasonable),

4. FedEx cannot commit to delivering said package to said commercial address during regular business hours. 

AAAARRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2007: Finally

I did, finally, get my cases delivered yesterday. The short story is that it required me sitting at the entrance to the Sawdust grounds from 4 to 6 pm, plus reverting to what I call my “barracuda mode” during a phone call to FedEx to try and get some kind of meaningful information out of them.

Prior to the FedEx problem, I’d spent the day struggling with some technical issues for a graphic design client. After I got home with the cases, and Pete and I had dinner, I spent the evening struggling to put one of them together. It’s really very simple, in principle. However, the way I configured the components made the job more complicated. In fact, too complicated for me to deal with last night. I stayed up until 11 trying to fit the damn thing together, and finally (wisely) gave up and went to bed before I completely lost it and threw something fragile across the room.

THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2007: A Couple of Steps Forward

Yesterday morning I tackled the case again, and got it put together in a mostly acceptable way. Then I 

went back to worrying about lighting and trying to figure out if I really needed to spend another $200 to get additional lighting to fit inside the case (if you want relatively unobtrusive lighting for a situation like this, it’s going to cost you). It’s an issue that’s been in my mind all along, but of course until I knew what kind of cases I would have, I couldn’t really decide on lighting. We have plenty of overhead spotlights in the booth, but I’m thinking that to really show off the jewelry, some additional lighting will be needed.

My credit card processing terminal arrived - now I have to figure out how to use it (and hope that when the show opens, it will get plenty of use!).

And, I worked through the technical problems on the website I’m working on for a client. So after a day of trials on Tuesday, I had some triumphs on Wednesday.

Here’s a couple of update photos. On the left is our booth, after painting. It’s not really as small as it looks from this angle (but it will be very cosy when both Patricia and I are in the booth working together!). The other image is one of our booth neighbors, just to show you how creative booth building needs to be sometimes (and there are booths spots with much bigger trees in them).

FRIDAY, JUNE 15, 2007: Errands, Errands, Errands

Yesterday I managed to get a few hours in my studio. I have this desperate feeling that I don’t have nearly enough made for a show as big as the Sawdust (12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 2 months - estimated attendance: 200,000. I repeat: 200,000 - according to the Sawdust marketing director). I swing schizophrenically between thinking I’m going to sell out in a week and have nothing left (in my wildest dreams) and fearing that I’ll hardly sell anything and all my hard work will still be sitting there come the end of August. 

In the meantime, I’m just trying to work my way through the Terrifyingly Long List. This includes many, many errands, and I decided to tackle some of them yesterday evening. I’m trying to avoid errand running during the day, because the daylight hours are when I’m focused and productive. By the end of the day, I’m tired and I just want to unwind a bit and go to bed. 

So I left home around 5:30 pm, and in 4 hours of high-speed errand running I...

-went to Office Depot for a cash box and assorted other office supplies,

-went to Target to look for a small crockpot (I need it for working in the booth - it’s used to heat an acidic solution called “pickle” which helps clean firescale off a piece after you’ve soldered something),

-went to Home Depot to check out lighting (which I also looked at in the other places). OK, I bought another hammer, too. 

-went to Ikea to look at lighting, to find a small chair or stool to use in the booth, and to get some decorative things for the booth. I think that half of what I bought will have to be returned, but that’s another 

day.

SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 2007: More Errands

Yesterday was Friday, which meant the Friday morning ritual (coffee and an almond croissant from Jean-Paul’s, then sitting at Diver’s Cove to have breakfast, then my walk). 

I then went back to the hardware store to do ANOTHER ERRAND (because after ‘M’ told me to buy drywall and leave it for him at the Will Call, he didn’t use it, so I had to go get a refund). After that, I met Patricia at the booth to set-up our lighting. The fixtures are wired, but they don’t have any bulbs in them. However, we quickly realized that the bulbs Patricia had from last year weren’t going to be enough, so another trip to the hardware store would be necessary. Oh, joy.

I got back into my studio in the afternoon. I had an alarming stack of paperwork to do, but I just felt that making something would be better for me than doing paperwork. Before that, though, I did attempt to finish another couple of things from the Terrifyingly Long List. I was not successful...

Here’s why I was so blown away by the customer service and attention to detail that John at American Fixture showed me.

1. After my credit-card processing terminal arrived a few days ago, I sent an email to my “Account Manager” asking “What’s next, how do I get trained?” To make a long story short, once I signed the contract, he considered his job done. He has nothing else to do with me. So “Account Manager” is not an accurate description of what he does, to say the least. He didn’t respond to emails, didn’t return phone calls. Yesterday I talked to his manager, and tried (no doubt unsuccessfully) to persuade him that the very simple response of “you call technical support and they’ll tell you what to do” would have been the minimally acceptable way to handle the situation.

2. I tried to order a countertop mirror - these are surprisingly hard to find. The ones I’ve come across are for applying makeup, and they’re magnified and have lights around them (and are generally ugly). You can find plenty of decorative mirrors for hanging on a wall, but not freestanding on a countertop. So, I was shopping from places which specialize in supply store fixtures. The company I was attempting to order from had sent me a catalog, but it did not have either the dimensions or the prices of the mirrors. I called them up, and they made quite a production out of getting me the answers to these basic questions. Then, when I asked about shipping, they said I would have to sign a liability release. Yes, what they were telling me was that the only way they would ship the mirror to me would be if I first agreed to pay for it EVEN IF IT WAS BROKEN WHEN IT ARRIVED. 

MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2007: More Marketing Work

I spent the weekend working on my website. Not quite ready to post to the world yet, but almost.

I also started putting together my educational display. The Sawdust Festival purpose statement says that it is “designed to both entertain and educate,” and towards that end artists are required to have an educational display in their booth demonstrating some aspect of how they create their work. I decided to do a panel on how to make a bezel-set stone, so Pete put on his photography hat again and we did a photo shoot of me making a simple pendant with a bezel-set pyrite cabochon (this is a gem which is rounded rather than faceted). The photos came out great - here’s an example:

TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2007: More Lighting Problems

I posted the new version of my website yesterday: www.studio44jewelry.com. Friends have asked me why I call my business “Studio 44.” It’s because I was 44 years old when I decided to try this adventure—although sometime this summer (I won’t say when), I will no longer be 44. 

The website, of course, is a work in progress. I still don’t have photographs of all my work, and Pete and I are still working on getting better versions of some of the existing images. I also (almost) finished another task on the Terrifyingly Long List: my educational display for the booth. The layout is done and it’s ready to be printed and mounted.

In the evening, Patricia and I went back to the booth to work on the lighting. It was another mostly unproductive session. The first problem is that ‘M’ attached the fixtures to the sides of the roof beams, not the bottom. Which severely limits the directional range, so we just couldn’t get the lights pointed where we wanted them. It’s a pretty simple job to move the fixture - unscrew 2 screws and re-attach on the bottom of the joist - but I didn’t have the right tools to get it done last night. The other problem was the new bulbs I bought still aren’t right for the job. They say they’re floodlights, but they act more like spotlights, creating small, bright circle of light surrounded by shadow. We need bulbs which cast a more even, diffuse light.

And speaking of ‘M,’ he keeps changing the date when he’s going to finish our booth. First he said he’d do it at the beginning of this week (which would be now). Then he said he’d start on the 21st, after he got his other booths done for inspection on the 20th. Last night he said he had a big DJ gig (apparently that’s one of his other jobs) on the 22nd and he had to get ready for it, so he’d finish our booth after that. And of course, every time he pushes the date back he denies whatever it was he told us previously. I was more than a little annoyed. 

THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2007: Stress

The past two days have been trudging along, nose-to-the-grindstone. I’m working furiously to wrap up a couple of important projects for one of my graphic design clients — they started a long time ago and I had a commitment to do them (I certainly haven’t been able to take on any new work in the last few months).

I also got a very brief training session on using my merchant account, via a call to technical support. Seems pretty straightforward. I have to make separate calls to verify that the terminal will process Discover and Amex cards correctly. Which just reminds me, I never received the information Amex said they would send me, so that’s another thing to chase down.

And I’ve been trying to document the inventory that I do have, and finalize pricing (which I find hard to do, especially since this is my first major show).

And I had to do MORE ERRANDS last night — buy different light bulbs for the booth, return things that didn’t work, buy more lighting for my display cases, and buy additional odds and ends for the booth. BUY, BUY, BUY. Everyone warned me how much all the bits and pieces for a booth add up, and they were right.

The booth... I woke up at 2:30 in the morning worrying about whether or not ‘M’ was ever going to finish our booth. According to his latest plan, he’ll finish on Saturday. But he’s jerked us around so much that I no longer have much confidence in him sticking to his word. He’s also hinting that his fees may be more than we originally agreed (from what I hear, this is not unusual - other artists talk about booth builders who keep hustling for more work without finishing the jobs they currently have, same with the attempt to charge escalating fees). The Preview Party is Tuesday, that’s now 6 DAYS AWAY. After ‘M’ finishes the booth, we’ll have to do more painting and install the other fixtures that we’ve bought and hang Patricia’s artwork. 

Just in case you’re wondering, my typical workday is roughly from 7:30 am to 10:30 or 11:00 pm, with breaks to eat and, occasionally, exercise (which helps keep me from going completely insane).

SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2007: 4 Days to Preview

The phone line to our booth is still not working (this is necessary to ring up credit card sales), but we’re not the only ones having a problem. Kurt, the grounds manager, said to me “Don’t worry. We’ll get it fixed, I promise, so please don’t worry.” I felt almost reassured.

Yesterday being Friday, I started the day with the Friday morning ritual. Only this week, I was alone. Pete had an important work deadline on Friday, and he wound up staying up until nearly 4 am Thursday to meet it. Oddly enough, he didn’t want to get up at 6:30 am to go with me for breakfast. So there has not been much fun in our house this week.

Later in the morning I went back to the booth and spent an hour re-positioning the light fixtures from the sides of the beams to the bottom, so that they could actually be used in a sensible way. Then I had to do some touch-up painting. I also got my sign installed - I’d arranged to have vinyl lettering with my name put directly on the wall.

Believe it or not, I did manage to get some time in my jewelry workshop on Thursday and Friday after

noon. Not a lot, but every bit helps. I’m still putting the final touches on some pieces that are almost finished, and making some simpler pieces so that I have a wider range of prices for my offerings.

Sunday, June 24, 2007: Tension Alert: Code Red

‘M’ promised he would finish the booth on Saturday, but he didn’t. I’ve made another trip to the hardware store and several trips to the booth over the past 2 days. The rest of the time was spent trying to get photographs of my work, document my inventory, and set pricing.

Things are pretty tense all around - and that’s about all I should say right now.

Preview Party

Monday, June 25, 2007: The Day Before

‘M’ finally finished our booth. And then, before I’d even had a chance to see it, he called demanding his money and threatening to tear it out again if he wasn’t paid TODAY. He also charged me additional fees for “changes” when in fact the “changes” were to eliminated some of the work I originally asked him to do. However, at this point I really felt that the best course of action was to simply pay him so he would shut up and go away.

But enough about ‘M’ - I’d like to mention Pat Wilson, with SignWrite, who did my signage on the booth. Her service was prompt, friendly (even when I had to call her 3 times to re-schedule because of the way ‘M’ was jerking us around on when he’d get his work done), and fairly priced.

It was late in the afternoon before I could get down to the booth to finish the painting and start the final prep for tomorrow. Pete came by after work and helped, and by just after 7 pm we had done as much as we could and left.

The collective mood on the grounds has undergone quite a dramatic change in the last 24 hours. Although there was still some construction going on (it seems we weren’t actually the last booth to get finished), most of the booths were simply getting their final touches and the artists were all there installing their work. And everyone is trying to score last-minute tickets to the Preview Party tomorrow night - a complete stranger came by our asking for them! A sense of excitement is building, and for me personally, I can finally say that I’m looking forward to tomorrow evening rather dreading the deadline it represents.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007: Preview Party

Wow. There are approximately 200 artists in the Sawdust, and we each had 20 invitations to hand out for the Preview Party. Each invitation was good for 2 people, so let’s see... 200 x 20 x 2 = 8,000 potential guests. And I think most of them came. The place was packed solid, and to my friends who pushed and elbowed their way to our booth - THANK YOU!

Believe it or not, I was actually trying to finish up a few pairs of earrings in the morning. At the start of the day yesterday, I was feeling that I was pretty well prepared, so I spent a couple of hours in my workshop, and then we took a load of stuff down to the booth - boxes and bags for packaging sales, display forms to hang the jewelry from, the credit card processing machine, etc. Pete had taken the day off work to help, thank goodness. We came home for lunch and I was going to put those last few pairs of earring in the tumbler when we had a power failure. Oh well.

We headed back to the booth around 3 pm, after oh-so-carefully loading the display cases. We had the car packed when Pete said “What about the jewelry?” Ha, Ha. I nearly forgot to include the most important thing.

It seemed like 3 hours would be enough to set-up the cases and work on my final display, but it wasn’t. Between Pete having to make ANOTHER trip to the hardware store for an extension cord and fiddling with the lighting that attaches to the display cases and setting the display up from the back side of the case, then running around to the front to see what it looked like, then running to the back to change it, I still wasn’t quite ready when the doors opened at 6 pm. But at that point, you just say “this is as good as it’s going to get for now.”

By 10 pm, when the security staff started herding people out, I was dead on my feet. We now have a couple of days to re-group, and on Friday morning at 10 am, the Sawdust officially opens to the world!

June 28, 2007: The Calm Before

The phrase running through my mind is “the calm before the storm,” but really, after the push to get ready for Tuesday’s Preview Party, the official opening tomorrow morning feels a bit anti-climactic.

The past 2 days have been the first ones since the beginning of June when I haven’t set the alarm for 6:30 am. There were still things on the Terrifyingly Long List to do, but the pressing sense of urgency was gone. On Wednesday I had to go BACK to Ikea to return things that I didn’t use in the booth, plus I needed to stock up on acetylene tanks (because one is not enough). I’m planning on working in the booth, so I need a second soldering set-up for down there. Yes, believe it or not, in the middle of this outdoors, woodsy environment, with the ground inches deep in sawdust and wood-framed structures everywhere, I’m allowed to use a soldering torch in my booth (provided I have a fire extinguisher handy)!

Today I took a load of my tools to the booth, and spent some time there finishing up things which I hadn’t managed to get done for the Preview Party. Patricia turned up while I was there - she’s also finishing up some detail work on her side of the booth. We were both moving fairly slowly.

June 30, 2007: Opening Day

Yesterday may have been opening day, but it was also Friday, which meant the Friday morning ritual (this is sacred to me). So we started off as usual with coffee and croissants from Jean-Paul’s, admiring the ocean from our bench overlooking Divers Cove. Then I went for my walk, and we headed to the Sawdust with (hopefully) the final load of stuff for the booth.

Pete, my sweet and supportive husband, had taken the day off work to help with the final details, and to hang out and keep me company the first day.

There was an opening ceremony that involved the artists pushing the gates open to greet the first guests, but I missed that by a few minutes since I was still setting up for the day. The crowds were nothing compared to Tuesday evening’s Preview Party, but there were actually people waiting at the gates for the opening.

It was a moderately slow day - I had time to arrange my work area, and walk around and talk to some of the other artists. At this point we all know it’s the beginning on an intense few months and we’re just settling into our routines. I was able to get some jewelry fabrication done, and even sold a pair of earring that I made that day. I’m so pleased that I can work in my booth - I cannot imagine doing this if I had to just sit and wait for customers all day long.

10 pm rolled around and we packed up as quickly as possible, turned off the lights, and came home. I had a soak in the bath and went to bed. Got to get up and do it all over again tomorrow!

July 1, 2007: 12 Hours a Day

As I write this, I’m perched in my booth at the end of Day Three. There’s been a fairly steady stream of people today, and it’s been a good one for me, sales-wise. And let me tell you, making a sale changes your perspective on life. You swing from that hideous wallflower feeling (you know, those high school dances that you spent huddled against the wall in misery - or was that just me?) to being absolutely on top of the world.

It’s fairly quiet now, only a few visitors wandering by. I can hear live music from the entertainment deck nearby, and the night is pleasantly cool. I’m dead tired, and not sure how I’ll cope with 12 hour days, day after day, but right now, I feel happy. 

Pete has been taking good care of me - doing all the household chores, and bringing me dinner yesterday and today. It’s not so much the being at the booth 10 am to 10 pm that’s a problem for me, because between talking to people and working on jewelry, the time goes by faster than I expected it to, but it’s the lack of time to do all the other things life generally demands. Ah, well, it’s only 2 months.

9:30 pm - almost closing time...

July 2, 2007: Day 4

It’s only Day 4 and I’m already completely losing track of what day it is. After some consideration, I can say I’m pretty sure it’s Monday.

Actually, I’m sure it’s Monday because I taught my first “Fun and Whimsical Jewelry from Found Objects” class tonight, and I know that happens on Mondays. As I’ve mentioned before, part of the Sawdust Festival mission statement is to educate as well as entertain, so they ask the artists to participate by teaching classes. I got the idea for the class from my last visit with my 2 nephews, who were 7 and 9 at the time. They were fascinated by the jewelry I’d made, and so I got some pliers and wire they had a blast making free-form wire jewelry.

It’s been a fairly quiet day on the grounds, so I wasn’t sure I’d have any takers for my class, but I had 6 enthusiastic students. I’d brought in an eclectic collection of things to make into jewelry: eucalyptus nuts, colored hairbands, pebbles, buttons... but when I brought out the beach glass, that was it. Everyone went wild over making jewelry from beach glass, and I have to say that some of the results were very nice.

So, if you’re coming to the Sawdust on a Monday evening, I’ll be doing this class every week at 7 pm!

July 3, 2007: A Night Off

I left the booth in Patricia’s care last night and took an evening off. I went to yoga, and then collapsed on the sofa for a while, and was in bed by 9:30.

In order to preserve health & sanity, Patricia and I are starting to work out a schedule for who gets which times off. I think that I’ll be off on Monday mornings and Tuesday evenings, and she’ll be off on Thursdays.

July 4th, 2007: Early Closing, Hallelujah

The Sawdust closed at 6 pm (instead of 10 pm) for the 4th of July holiday. But the free tram that shuttles people between the Act V parking lot further up the canyon (where artists and visitors park) and the art festivals stopped running at 5 pm. Go figure. So of course, when they announced “Attention Sawdust visitors and exhibitors, the last tram to the Act V parking lot is leaving in 10 minutes,” the place cleared out. For the last hour it was deserted. Pete had come down to keep me company (and to pick me up, since he acts as my chauffeur most days), so I said to Patricia “take off, there’s no point both of us staying here.”

We’d been invited to a friend’s house for dinner and to watch fireworks. I had been torn between having someone else fix dinner for me or just curling up on the sofa for my evening off, but the “having someone else cook dinner” option won, and we had a nice evening with a small group of friends.

July 7, 2007: Day 7

Yesterday was Patricia’s day off, so for the first time I spent all 12+ hours in the booth by myself. Really, between doing work and talking with customers, the day goes fairly quickly. Plus I’m slowly getting to 

know the other artists in our neighborhood.

However, it is much more physically tiring than I had expected. You may think “duh, what were you thinking it would be like?”, but I’m a generally fit and active person so I really hadn’t expected to feel so bone-tired at the end of the day. 

But my beloved bathtub helps with that. It was the last of our remodeling projects on our little fixer-upper, and it is the bathtub of my dreams. It’s a 5-foot long, cast-iron ball-foot tub, and I love it. A soak in that cures a lot of aches and pains.

July 7, 2007: One Week Down

So the first week is over. Yesterday was Friday, so you know that means the Friday morning ritual. After breakfast overlooking the ocean and my walk along Heisler Park, I had some errands to do, and then I came home to take care of assorted other things, one of which was hiring a booth sitter. She’s the 15-year old daughter of a friend and my plan is to have her take care of the booth a couple of mornings a week. It’s not that I’ll be getting time off, you understand. There are certain parts of the jewelry making that I can’t do at the booth, so I need time in my studio. And starting on Monday, my “vacation” from my graphic design business is over, and I’ll need time to work on certain projects for those clients.

I got to the booth just after lunchtime - Patricia had set-up for me and was watching over things. The crowds seem to be getting thicker, and the other artists say that attendance continues to grow over the summer.

One of the other artists, Reem, came around in the afternoon to invite us to share in a fish taco feast she’d prepared - she said a friend had had a good catch of albacore, She’d cooked it up and brought in tortillas and salsa and set up a little table to share with everyone. What a nice thing to do - and the fish was fantastic. No comparison to the sad offerings we get from the grocery store. It was a like a little Sawdust neighborhood block party.

JULY 8, 2007: Need a Nap

It seems that several of the Sawdust artists are going through difficult personal times right now, so Tracey, a painter here, organized a little get-together before opening time for us to show support for one-another. It reminded me of my first encounter with the Sawdust board & staff, back in January when we had Presentation Day (that’s when applicants show their proof of residency and their artwork) - I got this strange and unfamiliar feeling. It took me a while before I realized that it came from the fact that everyone in the room wanted to see us all succeed.

I had some work I needed to do in my studio, and since I came in early for the gathering, I didn’t get a chance to get it done in the morning. So Pete came down to booth-sit in the afternoon while I went back to my studio. How I resisted the urge to just ignore the work and take a nap instead, I don’t know. But I did, so after a quick hammering session (I needed the heavy-duty bench vise in my workshop, the wimpy little one I bought to use in my booth wasn’t going to get the job done) I came back down to stay until closing. The crowds certainly seem to be bigger than the previous weekend.

JULY 9: Ya Gotta Laugh

I’ve realized I better be on good behavior around Patricia, because she’s a wicked caricaturist. There was a particularly - well, let’s just say odd - character hanging around the neighborhood yesterday, tormenting the artists, and in no time flat Patricia drew up a sketch which had us screaming with laughter.

I finally managed to finish a bracelet I’d been working on for over a week - it’s a combination of blister pearls (the pearl grows attached to the inside of the oyster shell) and freshwater pearls. Making the bezel settings for the pearls turned out to be quite a time-consuming job. In spite of all the hours I’m spending down there, it’s hard to get much jewelry making done because I’m constantly talking to prospective customers and showing pieces. Which, of course, is the way you want it to be. Actually, the way you want it to be is that they buy the piece they’re looking at.

As expected, the crowd thinned out dramatically after dinner, so I turned up the music in my booth and did some noisy hammering. Pete, who had brought me dinner, was watching the last glass blowing demo of the day, as were the dozen or so visitors who were left on the grounds after 9 pm.

JULY 10, 2007: Still Figuring Some Things Out

I’m learning the hard way that if I don’t do a better job of managing my Monday evening jewelry class at the “Sawdust Studio”, it will just turn into a baby-sitting service. The first week I had 5 adults and one child (whose mother, fortunately, joined in the class as well). But I did realize that I needed to specify on the announcement that children under 10 must be accompanied by a parent. However, this week I wasn’t sharp enough to enforce that, and before I knew it one man had left 4 children to take the class (he disappeared with a glass of wine in hand), and 2 others materialized from I-don’t-know-where. I also had 2 teenagers and 4 adults, for a total of 12. To add to the chaos, the lady who would normally leave the materials and tools out for me had a family emergency, so everything was still locked up when I arrived at the Sawdust Studio. I was able to reach her by cell phone, though, so I got instructions on getting the keys and where to find things and was able to soldier on.

It’s now Tuesday evening, and I’m feeling practically giddy because it’s my night off. I left the Sawdust just before 4 and went to my weekly yoga class, and now Pete and I are going to toss a big fat steak on the gas grill, drink some nice wine, and then I’ll probably fall asleep on the sofa. 

JULY 12, 2007: Grotesque

During the months of preparation, when I was working alone in my workshop and worrying about this huge commitment I’d taken on, trying to become a Sawdust artist barely a year after my first jewelry-making experience, there were many bleak times when I doubted whether or not anyone would buy my stuff and thought “what the hell am I doing?” 

But now, I’m so glad I’ve done this. For the most part, the response to my jewelry has been truly gratifying. I may be getting a lopsided view of things, of course, since people who aren’t interested in it will just keep walking after a quick glance. So it’s only those who find it interesting who stop for a longer look - and then they will almost always compliment the work, even if they don’t by anything. 

Except for one old guy, who stopped by the other day. I was busy tapping a bezel around a setting for a blister pearl, very focused on what I was doing, when I gradually realized someone was behind me, watching. I stopped to talk to him, and he seemed fascinated. I showed him the work in process, and explained that a blister pearl occurs when the pearl grows attached to the inside of the oyster’s shell, rather than in the mantle.

“I think they’re wonderful,” I said.

“More like grotesque, I’d say,” he replied.

His response was so unexpected, given his apparent interest in what I was doing, that I nearly burst out laughing. Thankfully, my ego has had a nice little boost with the good things people have been saying to me, so this didn’t bother me in the slightest, and Patricia and I had a good laugh about it afterwards. There’s all kinds of folk out there, I certainly don’t aim to please everyone!

JULY 13, 2007: Voting

Last week all the artists got ballots for voting on the best artist in each category (jewelry, painting on canvas, sculpture, diverse media, etc.), plus the Best Booth and Best New Artist. To hear the way “M” complained about how hard it was to build our booth, one might think that it was the most complicated, elaborate one there. But it’s really quite ordinary, whereas some of them works of art in and of themselves, so we’re certainly not in the running for that award. But I confess I did vote for myself for “Best New Artist.” 

Ballots are due today, and so far I haven’t had time to look around much - I’m well familiar with the booths on my regular path to the bathroom, the coffee stand, and the bar, but other than that, I haven’t seen much of the other artists’ work or their booths. Yesterday was Patricia’s day off, so I had to wait until Pete came to help me out in the evening to go around and do my voting. The idea was that he would booth-sit for me so I could get some things done at home, but it was still close to 9 pm before I managed to leave.

JULY 15, 2007: The Third Weekend

On Friday I took the morning off to run errands and pick up a friend from the airport so we could have lunch and I could show him the Sawdust before he was whisked away for the weekend workshop he came in to teach. He’s Michael Sturlin, a wonderful jeweler and educator.

I also picked up the “Sawdust Summer” CD which was released recently - a compilation of original music from groups who have performed here in the past. And, since I was browsing in the Sawdust Shop, I picked up a copy of “The Sawdust Festival: The Early Years, 1965- 1979.” Stay tuned for whatever interested tidbits of history I can get out of it.

One of my errands had been to pick up a sunshade for the booth, because for about an hour in the afternoon, the sun blinds any customer attempting to look in my cases. Pete and I came down early Saturday to put it up - it should have been a 15 minute job, but we quickly discovered that the positioning of it was going to be a lot harder than we thought (due to the way the fascia was put up), and we needed different tools.

The Saturday crowd seemed to me to be our busiest day yet - it was certainly was for me. Pete brought down dinner, and more tools, so after closing we had another attempt at putting up the sunshade. An hour later, after much swearing, the job was done.

Now that the sunshade is up, Sunday has been the coolest, cloudiest day we’ve had so far. The combination of the overcast weather, which I generally like, and the particularly exhausting day I had yesterday has meant that today has been a struggle in terms of motivation and energy. 

JULY 17, 2007: Christopher

So, enough about me (at least for today). My Sawdust neighbor, Christopher Jeffries, is a rising star in the glass-blowing world. On Sunday the “Sawdust Awards” were announced, and he was voted #1 in the blown glass category. The neighborhood is very proud of him. And then yesterday, the owner of a soon-to-be-opened decorative arts store in Reno came through and wanted Christopher’s work in his shop, so he made a significant buy.

A client like that is, for the artist (or perhaps any small business), cause for joyous celebration and pure panic. That kind of connection can be a huge step up, but then you think “omigod, how am I going to get all this stuff made?” 

Christopher, like so many of us, still works another job to make ends meet as an artist. His job, though is blowing glass, so he at least gets to work on his craft even though it’s for someone else. So he wasn’t actually in the booth when the deal was made. The connection was made through a friend who brought the client to his booth, and they set up a speaker phone so they could conduct negotiations via conference call. Christopher’s parents, who were booth-sitting for him, anxiously paced around the outside of the booth, not wanting to intrude on negotiations yet bursting with excitement.

JULY 18, 2007: Hammers, Part 1

Dedicated readers know that I have a particular fondness for hammers. So, on Monday, when I placed an order for more supplies, I just couldn’t resist adding another one. This time it was a rawhide mallet, which is used when you want to flatten or shape metal without marking it. It’s been a bit tricky, having my hammer collection divided between my studio and the Sawdust, because inevitably I’ll wind up in one location and the hammer I want to use is in the other. 

For the record, the hammers I now have in my studio are:

-Deadblow: used to flatten pieces of metal

-4 oz Ball Pein,polished: a lightweight hammer used to give (duh) a hammered texture to metal. As originally purchased, the ball pein surface was a bit rough and had a pointed edges to it, so I spent some time filing and sanding down the surface to get a mirror finish on it.

-8 oz Ball Pein, unpolished: having spent several hours polishing off my first 8 oz ball pein hammer, I realized that I also liked the sharper texture that the unpolished version gave, so I went and bought another one to use as-is.

-Chasing: a lightweight hammer which has one flat face and one rounded one - good for hitting the bezel-pusher when I’m setting stones. 

-Planishing: this has 2 mirror-finish surfaces, one flat and one slightly rounded. It’s used when you want to hammer on metal to stretch it out.

-Claw: just an ordinary household hammer. Some of the textures I use are created by hammering metal against another surface, such as concrete, and I use this kind of hammer.

-Mini Rubber Mallet: I picked this one up at the Festival of Books, which Pete and I love to attend. It was being sold in a kiosk as something a writer might use to fasten the brads on their manuscript/screenplay before sending it off. I just wanted it (Pete laughed his socks off when he found out that even at the Festival of Books I’d managed to buy another hammer). I’ve actually used it - when I want to shape a relatively delicate piece of metal without marring the surface.

So, those are the ones I have in front of me. The others I’ve taken to the Sawdust booth, and I’ll tell you about them later. 

JULY 19: More Help Arrives

Pete, as I’ve said before, has been wonderfully sweet and supportive about this whole process, but it still 

feels like we’re slowing sinking when it comes to all non-Sawdust related aspects of our lives.

However, reinforcements arrived yesterday in the form of my very energetic Mother. She’s flown out from Houston for a week to help booth sit. I did give her the option of either working on our completely neglected yard — this is a woman who gardens enthusiastically even in Houston’s miserable climate — or booth-sitting. She opted for booth-sitting, so we put her to work right away. It’s really necessary, especially with jewelry, to have someone in the booth to make the sale. I’m just not trusting enough to leave it out with a note to “Please take your purchase to the Sales Booth.”

It was also “Walkabout Wednesday”, the Sawdust Docent program (I think it’s new this year), whereby certain artists promise to be in their booths at certain times so the Docent can guide groups to places where the artist is there to talk very briefly about what they do. I signed up for the program (I’m here almost all the time anyway). Yesterday we had a couple of special groups, one of whom were visitors - weavers and a musician - from Malaysia. They were guests of Olivia Batchelder, an artist who does hand-painted silk, and she had a little reception for them in her booth so they could share a bit about their art with us.

JULY 20: Hammers, Part 2

Except for David, I’m sure that my other 3 dedicated readers will find this quite boring, but here’s the rest of my hammer collection (the ones I have in my Sawdust booth)...

-Riveting: a small, lightweight hammer used for tapping the heads of rivets (a way of cold connecting metal, rather than soldering), or for spreading the ends of the inner tube/wire when I make a hinged connection

-Plastic Mallet; used for hammering metal without marking it (such as forming a ring around a mandrel).

-Pear-shaped Plastic Mallet: used when I want to hammer a curve in the silver without marking the surface.

-Brass Mallet: used when hitting another tool, such as my “.925” hallmark stamp, or my dapping punches. It’s heavy, and the brass is softer than the steel used to make the tools, so you can apply force with less wear & tear on your tool

-Miniature Planishing Hammers (I have 2 of these, different shapes): these are used to stretch and bend metal, and in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing, you can take a small flat piece of metal and wind up with something shaped like a vase or a bowl. Me, I just use them when I want my silver to have small curves.

-8 oz Ball Pein, polished: This one I filed, sanded and polished until it has a mirror finish. It gives a wide, soft hammered texture.

It’s not just me, you know. Here’s a description of the miniature planishing hammers (of which I have 2) from one vendor’s website: “We recently introduced the new Fretz stainless steel hammers at the MJSA show in Tucson. The response was overwhelming, as these extremely well made hammers were immediately coveted by every metalsmith that picked them up. The hardened stainless steel heads are polished to perfection, and the rosewood handles have a special finish that feels downright sensual. No kidding, the rosewood handles and finished so well that they just plain feel good in you hand. The balance is perfect, and the polished stainless steel surface is exceptional.”

JULY 21: Verbsap Blog

It was Pete who really pushed me to write this blog, and so I had to return the favor. I knew he’d been thinking about it for a long time, and just needed a bit of motivation (e.g. nagging) to get started. So I, er, motivated, and he’s started writing: Verbsap (now preserved for posterity on my website).

JULY 22: Mom

I haven’t hesitated to put Mom to work. She was at the Sawdust with me all day Thursday, because even if I’m in the booth, it’s helpful to have someone else (although it’s quite a squeeze to have 2 people behind the counter) who can talk to potential customers when I have my head down working on a new piece of jewelry. Then Pete took over for the last couple of hours and Mom took me out to dinner. Eating like a grown-up, rather than balancing a meal on my knees while perched on a stool in the booth, was a real treat! Then she spent most of Friday manning the booth (after joining me in the Friday morning ritual) while I got through an assortment of other tasks - meeting with a graphics client, accounting, discovering that my credit card number had been stolen....

Yesterday was Saturday, normally a good business day for me, but it was overcast all day and the energy level of the crowd seemed low (or maybe it was just my energy level, which was certainly flagging). In the evening, though, a couple stopped by the booth and were interested in having me make matching wedding rings for them, so if that pans out it will make-up for the otherwise slow commerce.

JULY 23: Sunday Morning

We had Sunday Morning yesterday. The kind of Sunday Morning that generally exists in some other reality than the one I live in. The kind of Sunday Morning where you go out for a leisurely breakfast at a charmingly beautiful place and are served gorgeous meals loaded with ALL the wrong things.

For our Sunday Morning, we went to the Beachcomber restaurant, which is in a restored beach cottage at the Crystal Cove Historical District. Mom’s brother-in-law and his wife live nearby, and this was our only chance to get together with them since I have her working my Sawdust Booth as much as possible while she’s here. I had beignets, eggs, bacon, and lots of coffee and watched sea lions cruise by in the calm water. It was wonderful. It made it very hard to go back to the 12-hour-plus day ahead of me.

And then, it was back to the Sawdust. I went with Mom to set-up, then left her to manage the booth while I came home to do other chores in my studio and office. We swapped places mid-afternoon - she got to go home for a break and I stayed to see to customers and try to get some more jewelry work done - I’m finishing up a pendant that was commissioned by a customer last week. Pete and Mom came back with dinner later in the evening.

The daytime had plenty of people wandering around, but not too many were interested in my work. By nighttime, it was dead quiet and, as usual, the few people left of the grounds (including artists) were gathered around the glass-blowing demo booth, being entertained by our neighborhood’s own Christopher Jeffries. 

JULY 25: Flown Away

Just took Mom to the airport, so I’m down one booth sitter. During my time “off” while she was here I got to take care of such thrilling things as filing my quarterly State Board of Equalization (sales) taxes and getting my registration done for my fall Gemology classes (assuming I complete them, I’ll be done with the program and can officially call myself a Certified Gemologist). Plus I needed to do some work for graphics clients and deal with the follow-up issues related to my credit card number being stolen. And so on....

My Monday evening jewelry making class went pretty well, I’m getting the hang of managing it. But my Mom was left manning the booth - my side as well as Patricia’s - on her own, and when she tried to ring up a sale for Patricia, the credit card transaction wouldn’t go through. Fortunately, the customer was understanding, and eventually paid by check (actually, she didn’t have a checkbook with her, so her friend paid by check). When I got back to the booth and did some investigating, I discovered we had no dial tone on our phone line (which is what the credit card machines use to process transactions). I eventually tracked the problem down to the fact that a rodent had chewed completely through our phone line. It was by now 8:30 pm, and the Sawdust grounds staff were all off duty, so nothing could be done to fix the problem until the next day. For once I was glad it was a slow night, and I didn’t have to worry about explaining to customers that I couldn’t, for the moment, accept credit cards.

Tuesday night is my regular night off, so after going to yoga (which really helps preserve my body and mind, especially during stressful times), Pete and Mom and I went out to dinner AND a movie. I love going to the movies, but it hasn’t been a part of my life lately, so it really felt like a treat. I chose something silly and fun, “Ratatouille”.

JULY 27: What The Sawdust Teaches You

A couple walked by the booth today and I overheard the woman say to the man she was with, “Being in the Sawdust sure does teach you about marketing.”

Now, I normally don’t butt-in on people’s conversation as they walk by, but before I even thought about it, I said to them, “Being in the Sawdust teaches you about many things.”

“Like what?” she challenged me. “Name 2 things the Sawdust teaches you.” Now, I’m one of those people who can always think of the perfect thing to say - usually about 24 hours after the relevant conversation. But having put myself on the spot, I was actually able to come up with an answer.

“Community,” I replied immediately. That one was easy, given that it’s something I’ve mentioned several times in this blog.

“Hmm, that’s good,” the woman said. “What’s another thing?” (her tone was not exactly friendly curiosity, I think maybe she moonlights as the nun in “Late Night Catechism”).

I looked at her, “...and it teaches you to deal with all kinds of people.” She seemed satisfied with my answer, and they moved on. 

As for conversations I’ve had where I didn’t just intrude on random passers-by, it’s been a good couple of days for friendly faces. On Thursday evening my friend Mark stopped by (he’s also part of the Friday morning ritual, in that he’s one of the walkers we wave to as we sit having coffee and croissants). Not only did he stop by, he helped close a sale! And this afternoon my friends Stuart and Jeff came through with Stuart’s niece, Molly. Then Jean and her friend Nancy came by late in the evening. 

July 29: You Never Can Tell

The days are really starting to blur. This coming week will mark the half-way point, and I’m guessing that the time will really start to fly once we cross that boundary. Several of the artists in the neighborhood have been complaining about a slump in sales (myself included), and we’re all hoping that there’s truth in the rumor that there’s always a slump at the end of July, and things will pick up again in August. Not everyone has had this experience, mind you. I personally believe that you can theorize all you want about the day of the week, the weather, and the phase of the moon, but the bottom line is: you never can tell. You never can tell when you’re going to have a great day or a terrible one. You never can tell when that dream customer is going to come along and fall in love with your most expensive piece and throw down their credit card.

Saturday was a modest day for sales, but I worked diligently all day and did most of the fabrication work for a new bracelet, so I was happy with what was accomplished.

Music in the Park

A summer tradition here in Laguna is “Music in the Park.” It generally involves elaborate picnics, a band, and drinking and dancing. Pete and I love going, and it’s something we usually do with our friends Pete and Pam. I’d figured that missing Music in the Park was just going to be one of the sacrifices I would have to make to be a Sawdust artist this summer. But today the band was one of my favorites from years past - they are a Credence Clearwater Tribute band, and the music is just great for dancing. So I did a deal with Patricia to get the afternoon off, and we had a great time. Then it was back to the Sawdust for another couple of hours and closing out.

July 31: Brain Dead

Monday morning was one of my half-days “off.” I had planned on getting some work done for one of my graphics clients, but instead spent SIX HOURS trying to reconcile my checking account. This is a task that normally takes me 5 minutes. But due to the monumentally stupid and incomprehensible way that my credit card processing company records transactions, it was more like doing a sudoku puzzle than a simple accounting task. So I was in a pretty foul mood when I left the house. But then I got down to the Sawdust and had a couple of good sales, so I was happy again.

Today, Tuesday, was a quiet day (at least, up until the point when I left for yoga and my night off). 

I’m feeling a bit brain-dead. To give you a “for example,” I was rushing around this morning getting ready to head down to the Sawdust. And the rushing around included getting my lunch and some snacks to take with me. I cut a slice of banana bread (which I’d had time to make when Mom was booth-sitting last week), wrapped it up, and put it in my bag. Or so I thought. When I got to the Sawdust and wanted my mid-morning break - some tea and my banana bread - I couldn’t find it. So I swore a bit, and assumed it was left on the kitchen counter. When I got home - no banana bread. So somewhere between my kitchen and my Sawdust booth, there is a piece of banana bread mouldering away. I have no idea where.

August 2: Emily

I’ve heard stories about some petty, nasty feuds between artists here at the Sawdust, but I’ve been fortunate to find myself amidst a terrific group of Sawdust neighbors, some of whom I’ve already written about. Today I want to tell you about Emily, the other jeweler in the neighborhood - her booth is two down from me (she also does mixed media collages and accessories). One Friday evening, when the grounds were nearly empty, she and her friend, Laura, wandered down to my booth. Laura fell in love with one of my rings, and after looking longingly at it she said, “I just need to think about it for half an hour.”

To which Emily said, “Do you love the ring?”

“Well, yes,” said Laura.

“Then what are you waiting for? Go get your credit card!” Emily ordered.

Birthdays

Yesterday was my birthday. It was also my regular half-day off, so Pete brought me breakfast in bed. I worked at home in the morning, but we went out to Madison Square for lunch, which is one of my favorite places in town. I was at the Sawdust by 2 pm, and word got out because Patricia overheard me telling a customer. I’m really not the sort to go around announcing such things, but the customer was buying a bracelet from me, and he mentioned that it was his birthday, so I said “Mine, too!” So I guess Patricia told Emily,and Emily told everyone else.

It turned out that it was also another artist’s birthday - her 50th no less - and she had done what I thought of doing but didn’t get organized, which is to have a little party in her booth. She is just around the corner, so I was taken over and included in the celebration. Emily let each of us pick one of her leather cuff bracelets as a present, which I thought was amazingly generous. Mine has beige and cream earth tones, with pyrite beads, and it’s backed with soft suede, so it feel wonderful against my skin.

And then, I’m happy to report, Emily made a great sale - her two largest mixed media canvases, so she was bubbling around the neighborhood spreading good cheer (actually, she pretty much does that anyway) for the rest of the night. Patricia also had a good sale - one of her original watercolors. So there was clearly a lot of good karma floating around the neighborhood today.

Christopher put in a brief appearance later in the evening (he works another job during the weekdays), and of course Emily told him it was my birthday, so he gave me a present, too! I got to pick one of his hand-blown Christmas ornaments.

August 3: Bad Friday

I’m hiding out in Greg Thorne’s booth as I write this. Greg has gone for the day, and his booth has the advantage of being dark and quite and having a very comfortable chair (which I have permission to use at need). It has not been what I would call a good day. 

First, the audience today has been pretty thin. And of the people who were here, almost none were even 

remotely interested in my work. OK, fine, I thought - at least I’m getting some new jewelry pieces made. Then, I decided to work some more on a pendant I finished yesterday. I wasn’t satisfied with the bezel setting around the stone - I thought I should do a bit more work on it. The stone was securely in place, but there was a tiny gap between the edge of the bezel wire and the stone, and I wanted it to be a tighter fit. So I secured the whole piece in this magic stuff called Jet-Set (which holds the setting in place so you can work on it), and tapped on the edge of the bezel some more. And cracked the stone. It’s still secure in it’s setting, but the crack is there and visible, and I can’t sell it (although I would wear it myself, and will). So, today’s balance isn’t just zero, it’s negative. I did sell some stuff for Christopher, who is busy in the glass studio in Santa Ana where he works, so perhaps I earned some good karma points.

And as a final insult to the day, I happened to be looking at the official Sawdust website (I was actually looking for contact information for another artist) and discovered that they’ve “re-designed” it and the link for my entry point to the Tikki King. 

I need a soak in my beloved bathtub and then to go to bed. 

August 4: Greg

I have the good fortune to have Greg Thorne in my Sawdust neighborhood. Greg is a long-time Sawdust artist. I’m not sure if he’s part of the original 1967 crew, but he’s certainly been around for a long time. There’s a photo of him from 1978 in the “Sawdust Festival: The Early Years” book.

Greg is also a jeweler - his specialty is Navajo-style silver and turquoise jewelry. He says he learned his techniques during a time he spent living among Indians, doing a bit of trading. He also loves history and will frequently dress-up in a kilt or full redcoat regalia just to create an opportunity to talk about lessons we can learn from the past.

His booth, where I was hiding out the other night, seems to be a haven for all. I’d no doubt be tempted to spend more time camped out in his comfy chair, except that every time I glance over it’s occupied by one or more of the “Sawdust Kids” who consider him Papa Greg, or his girlfriend Rachel, or occasionally Greg himself.

In his display he has a picture of his daughter, Cody, who was killed by a drunk driver when she was 18. Alongside the picture is the essay “Promise Yourself” by Christian Larson, which includes the line “Promise Yourself...To be enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.” And from what I can tell, Greg really is.

August 6: Benevolence Fund

Sunday afternoon (yesterday) was the Artist’s Benevolence Fund Auction. We’re all asked to donate a piece of our art, and it’s auctioned off (generally for significantly less than the stated value) and the money goes into a fund to help artists who are in need. I don’t know anything about who decides how the funds are doled out, but others in the neighborhood told me it was a worthwhile cause, so I contributed a pair of pearl earrings.

Monday

Monday morning is my usual half-day “off.” Unlike last week, this Monday at home was very productive. I ripped through a long list of odd jobs before heading down to the Sawdust. Monday evening means time for my “Fun and Whimsical Jewelry From Found Objects” class. This week the group was small and easy to manage.

August 7: Tuesday

I spent the morning and afternoon working in the booth, trying to make some progress on a few rings that I’ve been commissioned to do. The neighborhood was pretty quiet - not only was the crowd thin, but half the booths didn’t have any artists or booth=sitters in them.

Patricia gets Tuesday mornings off - she comes in just before 4 - and then I leave to go to yoga. And I really needed it this week. Not only is jewelry making hard on the neck and shoulders, but in the booth I don’t have a comfortable chair - just a stool - so all the long hours in uncomfortable circumstances are really taking their toll, physically.

And now, I’m at home writing this while listening to Pete and my friend Maggie play guitar. Maggie’s come to stay for a couple of days and help me out. The two of them make a good musical pairing. Maggie has a warm, expressive voice, so she sings while she strums. Pete won’t sing while he’s playing, but he has a remarkable talent for playing by ear, so he can improvise as lead guitar.

August 9: Home Away From Home

Oh, by the way, I found the piece of banana bread I lost last week. It was on the floor on the passenger side of my car (and yes, it was moldy). I guess it fell out of my bag - I go back and forth between the Sawdust and home loaded down like a pack mule. If I’ve just finished a piece, I need to take it back to be photographed. Or maybe there’s a piece I’m working on and the tools I need aren’t in the booth. Some days I take my laptop down, so I can write this blog, or perhaps I have a graphic design project to work on. I’ve been carrying my application for the Winter Sawdust Festival back and forth for about a week now. And then there’s my lunch, or snacks (provided I don’t lose them along the way). I have carry a little notebook in which I write down EVERYTHING I have to remember to bring back and forth, because these days I can barely remember my own name.

People ask me how I put in these long, long hours day after day. And my answer is you just have to think of the Sawdust as your home away from home. I do, however, wish that my little home away from home had a comfortable chair in it, like Greg’s!

On Thursdays, the neighborhood around me at my home-away-from-home has started having communal dinners. Much nicer than balancing food on top of a stack of tool boxes in the booth. Emily and Cherril are the main organizers - last week it was pizza, and tonight we had Thai food. Pete did his bit by being the delivery service. 

Maggie

I’ve been happy to have my friend Maggie’s help the past couple of days. She leaves tomorrow morning, but for the past two days she’s helped me out with an assortment of jobs ranging from sorting out problems with my cell phone bill to hammering on some jewelry, and it’s been much appreciated.

She’s been here with me at the Sawdust all day, chatting to potential customers, which allowed me to work in the background on a newsletter project for one of my graphics clients.

August 10: Ah, Friday - Coffee and Croissants 

I don’t necessarily mention it every week, but in spite of the Sawdust grind, the Friday Morning Ritual has continued. Maggie joined us this morning for coffee and croissants at Divers Cove. However, SOMEONE ELSE WAS USING OUR BENCH! But we are civilized people, so we calmly took the next bench over. After breakfast Maggie headed out. I was grateful to have her help for a couple of days.

I had to cut my regular Friday walk short, though, because I had a chiropractor’s appointment, and then I zoomed around the Costa Mesa Gem Faire, which is at the Orange County Fairgrounds this weekend. It’s mainly a bead event - meaning the stones are all drilled for bead-stringing - but there were a few things I needed. The Sawdust has an odd set of rules governing the jewelers in the show. One of the rules is that bead-stringing is not allowed - unless you hang a hand-made pendant from the beads. For example, I’m allowed to string pearls and sell them along with a pendant that I’ve fabricated, but I can’t sell just a strand of pearls. So I bought several more strands of pearls. I also use the pearls in several of my earring designs. The same kind of Sawdust rule applies to using commercially-made chains - I can sell them as long as the focal point and main value of the piece is something that I’ve made, but I can’t just re-sell the chains.

AUGUST 12: 3 Weeks To Go

It’s been a good weekend for me. There was a fun band playing on Saturday, and that always elevates everyone’s energy level - artists and customers alike. The day certainly had it’s ups and downs, but for me, far more ups. It didn’t start off too well, since a customer came by to pick up a ring and it didn’t fit. It was the size it was supposed to be, but clearly I hadn’t checked carefully enough when I first took her ring measurement, and this one was too loose. So I have to make another one. The customer was very understanding about it all, and I know I can eventually sell the ring I just made, so it’s no real loss. Just annoying. But then two ladies came and bought a $45 pair of earrings, and they were so excited and thrilled by this simple purchase that you couldn’t help but feel good. They were having a girls weekend out and were clearly going to have FUN.

Later in the morning I met a client who I had previously only spoken to on the phone. She had stopped by a couple of weeks ago, when my Mom was booth-sitting for me, and wanted two of my bracelets, plus she wanted me to design a pendant for her. She hadn’t bought the bracelets at the time because she didn’t have her purse with her, but we talked on the phone afterwards and came to an agreement. On Saturday she came down to pick up her bracelets and to talk about the pendant. Well, by the time she was done I had a custom order for a large pendant, with earrings to match, and another gemstone to add to the bracelet she had originally liked. She is the client artist’s dream of!

Later in the evening I booth-sat for Emily. She wanted to attend a friend’s birthday dinner, and since I could have Pete sit in my booth while I sat in Emily’s, it was easy to help her out. More than easy, actually. She has a whole booth to herself (most artists do, of course, there’s only a handful who share as Patricia and I are doing), and it’s well-designed with a comfy chair, so it was fun to be there for a couple of hours. Mind you, there were those who regularly hang out in Emily’s booth, socializing, who were disappointed to discover me sitting there, diligently working on my laptop, instead of Emily.

Today, Sunday, marks the 3-week countdown to the close of the show. I’m sure these last few weeks will fly by. As tiring as the Sawdust has been, I know I will really miss it when it’s over.

August 14: August Something

I had to think hard about what the date is - my first instinct was to just write “August Something.” So I did.

Not surprisingly, after a great weekend for sales, the past couple of days have been dead quiet. This morning I actually glanced at the massive pile of newspapers accumulated on my dining room table and realized that Monday was the official birthday celebration for the 75th year of the Festival of the Arts, which is the art show across the road. So that no doubt had a negative affect on the Sawdust attendance.

These days I’m only barely aware of a world outside of the Sawdust, and although I feel somewhat ashamed of my ignorance, I find it quite peaceful (I normally try to be an informed citizen, aware of all the horrible things going on around our planet, and which explains my generally pessimistic attitude). When choosing what to read from the massive pile of newspapers, I picked up one of the local ones.

Laguna Beach is a town of around 20,000 people most of the year (but during the PTM - Peak Tourist Months - it swells to about 2 million, give or take). And we have 3 (yes, THREE) local papers published weekly, plus 2 magazines published monthly. I would blame the stupid MTV show (“Laguna Beach, the Real OC”), except we had 3 papers even before the show. Then we had the magazine, “Laguna Life and People,” and just a couple of days ago I realized that there is Yet Another Laguna Magazine. I realized this because the security staff at the Sawdust had to go around handing out free copies of the new magazine (I’ve already forgotten what it’s called - ooops, I guess they won’t be publishing any press releases about me and my jewelry work!). 

Yoga

In spite of the temptation to just go home, drink wine, and fall asleep, on my one night off a week I go to my yoga class. At times when my blood pressure and stress levels are skyrocketing, making myself continue the discipline of going to class always makes me feel better. Then I go home, drink wine, write a blog entry, and fall asleep.

August 16: Attention Sawdust Visitors

I’m at the Sawdust, and they’ve just made the nightly “Attention Sawdust visitors, it is now 15 minutes until closing. Please make your final purchases.” As much as we artists love Sawdust visitors making purchases, those of use who are still here at 9:45 pm every night also love hearing that it’s almost time to go home. Personally, I think we ought to close at 9 pm instead of 10 pm. Except for my Tuesday nights off, I’m here every night until 10 pm, and I can report that there are usually about 12 visitors on the grounds after 9 pm, and they’re usually all at the glass demo booth. 

Today was the weekly neighborhood dinner, and tonight’s theme was “bring your favorite cocktail hors d’oeuvre”. A surprising number of us actually managed to produce things we made (as opposed to things Trader Joe’s made) and I think it was our best gathering yet. It was also a birthday celebration for Cherril (albeit a few days early), For my part, I brought in tapenade that I made on my night off, Tuesday. I miss cooking - it has always been a passion of mine. And I miss eating at a proper dinner table, with wine in a glass instead of a plastic cup.

August 18: You May Feed the Artists

On Friday I talked to a Sawdust visitor who just couldn’t believe the kind of hours some of us put in at the show.

“Every day? 12 hours a day?” he repeated. “So how long does it go on for?” he asked.

“Two months - we’re open until September 2nd,” I told him.

“So, can I get you guys a drink, or something to eat?” he offered, sympathetically. Patricia and I laughed, thanked him (it did sound like a sincere offer), but declined.

In general, we don’t turn down offers of food and drink. In fact, before the show started, I’d announced to my freinds that I’d give them free passes if they came and brought me dinner. For most of them, however, their own busy lives and the horror of summertime traffic and parking in Laguna has kept them away.

But tonight Bill and Denise came to visit and brought a lovely meal, so Pete and I got to have a nice social dinner with them up in Healy House (the common room for artists and staff to use when they need to hide away for a while).

August 21: The Weather

We’ve been having quite a heat wave the past few days, although it’s nothing compared to what last summer was like. Typically, the temperature in Laguna, especially in the canyon and near the ocean, will be 10 - 20 degrees cooler than it is just a few miles inland. And that’s been the case here over the weekend, which seemed to help boost attendance. My guess that the crowds were due to a combination of the fact that people were out enjoying the last couple of weeks of summer, and were looking for a place to escape the worst of the heat.

Last summer we had unrelenting heat throughout July and August, even down at the beach. All of the artists have said that last year’s heat really brought down down attendance.

I taught my weekly jewelry-making class last night and had a reasonable balance of adults and children, so that made it easy to manage. Only one more to go, now! 

The countdown mentality is starting to creep throughout the grounds. I’ve been working very hard to finish new pieces so I have full display cases for the last weeks - everyone is expecting big crowds these last couple of weeks.

August 22: Copyright

I occasionally see Sawdust visitors photographing the artwork. Some of the time the intention is benign - the person likes the work and wants a memento of what they saw. Or perhaps they’re considering buying the piece, and want to show it to their husband or wife before making a purchase. But other times the intention is not benign.

As an artist, protecting your intellectual property and your creations is virtually impossible. Especially since good business practices require that you have a website - customers expect that anyone serious about their work will have an internet presence, and that means that images of your work are out there for the world to view - and to copy - for free. Photographers and painters are particularly vulnerable to this kind of rip-off. One of my graphics clients is a photographer (I did his website: David Linnig) and he has discovered in the past that his images have been taken and used without his permission. And a painter in our Sawdust neighborhood was quite angry one day when she was told that someone had been taking pictures of her work - with the capabilities of even relatively low-end digital cameras these days, an image of a nice painting can be turned into greeting cards, postcards, posters, etc. and mass-marketed without the artist receiving a dime.

Even within the Sawdust community there will be accusations of one person copying another’s ideas, and so we have to have a Grievance Committee to attempt to resolve such disputes.

My own work ranges from $45 earrings to one-of-a-kind pieces in the $300 - $500 range. The designs for the $45 earrings could easily be stolen and reproduced. And recently I realized that even something I make as a one-of-a-kind piece could be ripped-off, too. I was recently at a gem show and saw a cheaply-made knock-off of an other jeweler’s work. Gem shows always include vendors selling mass-produced finished jewelry (usually from China or Indonesia) for re-sale as well as unset gems, raw materials, and beads. 

I don’t see any way we can protect ourselves. So I’m going to borrow a ritual from one of my gemology instructors, Lothar Vallot. In class we use some fairly expensive equipment and handle a lot of gemstones. At the beginning of the semester Lothar announces to the room that while he trusts us, he has, as an insurance policy, personally cursed the equipment and the stones. So bad, bad things will happen to anyone who steals any of it. So, to anyone who steals my work: bad, bad, BAD things will happen to you!

August 27: Who Knows Where the Time Goes?

It’s Monday morning, the last Monday of the Sawdust Festival. Seven days to go (but none of us are counting, you understand). The past few days have been even more hectic than usual, hence no blog entries. 

We had our traditional neighborhood potluck last Thursday, and Pete took time off work to make our killer crab cakes, which (if I say so myself) were the star of the party. There was even, for the first time all summer, a fairly good crowd around until almost closing time. Usually the crowd dwindles to nothing after dinnertime.

I’ve been continuing to work hard making more pieces to take advantage of the final week. It’s my last chance until the Winter Sawdust (which starts in the middle of November) to have my work in front of a large audience, and I want the display cases to be full.

Sawdust Festival Board Elections

On Friday evening there was a meeting to nominate candidates for the Sawdust Festival Board. There are 3 openings, and the process is short. I was expecting the nominees to make some sort of statement at the meeting, but that didn’t happen. It only took about half an hour - names were put forward, someone had to second the nomination, then everyone had to say they approved the nomination. And that was it. Tuesday (tomorrow) the voting happens. So the candidates have less than 4 days to campaign - and so far the campaigning consists of the nominees handing out copies of bios and/or candidate statements.

Celine and Sam

I took Saturday night off to attend a wedding - our friends Celine and Sam. My friend Martha came in to booth-sit for a while, so a big THANK YOU to Martha. The wedding was wonderful - it was at Crescent Bay Park, which is where Pete and I were married. And Celine, who loves celebrating just about anything, asked us all to dress up as gypsies. She herself was wearing a purple head scarf, white peasant blouse, and a full-circle burgundy skirt with a magnificent peacock shawl tied around her hips. We had dinner at a lovely french restaurant in Newport Beach afterwards, Le Crillon.

Music in the Park

Stormy morning...

I also took a few hours off on Sunday afternoon (what a slacker I’m becoming) to go to Music in the Park. The band was supposed to be a well-known local Irish group, the Fenians. They were, actually, supposed to have played last Sunday, but had to re-schedule. We found out about last week’s switch quite by chance, and so changed our plans accordingly. However, they were then involved in a car accident, and so at the very last minute the MITP organizers had to come up with another band. Which happened to be the reggae band which had been playing at the Sawdust all afternoon! Oh, well. 

Our regular MITP companions had decided they were too busy to join us, so Pete and I were just going to relax on our own, but we ran into Bill and Denise, so they invited us to join their group (very serious picnickers, that lot).

Pete and I went back to the Sawdust afterwards - it was dead quiet, but I wanted to get a bit more work done, and get the pieces I’d been working on ready for the tumbler.

And so, that brings us to today, one of my half-days “off”. Meaning I’m working at home on a website project for a client before going to the Sawdust.

August 28: Quiet Times

Monday was dead quiet around the grounds. I taught my last “Fun and Whimsical Jewelry from ound Objects” class to a total of 3 students, 2 of whom were Sawdust kids (their parent work at the Sawdust).

Today was voting day for the 3 open positions on the Sawdust Board. It was also the first night of class for my Gemology program (Diamonds), so I couldn’t be at the meeting to hear the discussion among candidates and vote. But I was able to arrange to vote in advance, so I was a diligent Sawdust member and took care of that. 

The first night of class in Diamonds was easy - a lot of introductory and adminstrative stuff, plus a little bit of lecture on things we actually have to learn. There were many familiar faces from the classes I took last year, and we got out a bit early, so that meant I was home at about the same time I would have been on a regular Sawdust night.

August 30: 3 To Go

I’ve just got home from my gemology class. Unfortunately, having to go to class meant that I missed the last Neighborhood Thursday party. But we’re having another one on Saturday, and probably Sunday as well! Just 3 days to go.

Yesterday, Patricia, with some help from Greg Thorne, helped sell what was probably my most unusal piece of jewelry (it incorporated a piece of palm root). The customer wanted the leather cord that it hangs from shortened, which meant that the leather had to be cut and re-wrapped at one end, so Patricia recruited Greg to do it - I owe him one!

Suzette

Another great Sawdust neighbor is Suzette Rosenthal. Suzette has created a scrapbook of all the Sawdust artists in their booths (no easy feat, since some of them are so rarely around). And she put together a wonderful collage of the artists to be displayed over by the food court on the grounds, which I know was a time-consuming job. I think it’s a really nice contribution to creating a community atmosphere.

August 31: Hot, Hot, Hot

For all of the 20 years I’ve lived in California, Labor Day weekend has been one of the hottest of the years. And it seems this year will be no exception. 

The temperatures were rising yesterday, although our areaa of the grounds stayed fairly pleasant, except during the middle of the day. As much as I’m looking forward to having time off after the Sawdust, I know that my booth is cooler than my house, so it’s actually nicer to be at the Sawdust than at home.

The big final weekend crowd we were expecting is unlikely to materialize, however, because this afternoon there was a major accident on Laguna Canyon Road involving a tree coming down and taking out utility poles with it. Rumors were many and facts were few, but what I do know for certain is that it caused a huge power outage (which lasted less than an hour, to my surprise), and the Canyon Road is closed. The police traffic hotline is currently saying the road will be closed through today (Saturday). 

So, I expect we’ll be having a nice, quiet day and that a lot of end-of-summer partying will be starting quite early!

September 1: Our Giggly Wiggly

In spite of the fact that Laguna Canyon Road was completely closed until after lunchtime (and only 1 lane inbound was open after that), quite a few people made it to the Sawdust. I think most of them were desperate to escapte triple-digit temperatures inland.

But the crowds, large or small, didn’t matter (much) in our neighborhood - it was all about celebrating the end of the Sawdust. Emily, with help from Cherrill (and possibly others, I don’t know), had arranged a day of non-stop sillyness. First, she presented each of us with necklaces she’d made, with leather symbols significant to the wearer and jingle bells - because “you’re all here with bells on!” she said. 

Then there were photographs that had been taken over the summer - we each got personal ones, plus a copy of a collage of images she’d put together. Cherril gave her a Giggly Wiggly ball that squeaked when you shook it, so she wandered around the neighborhood making noise with that. 

And of course there were balloons, and bubbles.

Then there were rose petals... Thanks to Paul, her florist friend, she had 2 huge boxes of rose petals, and we had a beautiful shower of rose petals strewn about the neighborhood. 

The rose petals were wonderfully elegant, but then it was back to sillyness. Specifically, silly string. Then we had one last neighborhood potluck. If she ever gives up her jewelry business, she’ll make one helluva party planner!

September 2: The End

It’s Over

Report to follow....

September 3: The Day After

My brother, Steven, arrived on the last day of the Sawdust. He had business meetings in San Diego this week, and was able to score a couple of extra days off to visit me. Pete picked him up at the airport and they arrived back in Laguna in the early afternoon.

The morning started quietly, very subdued after all of Emily’s efforts on Saturday. The canyon road was finally completely open again, after the big accident on Friday.

The heat wave that had started on Friday was reaching new heights, but we still had a pretty good crowd coming through by the afternoon. I guess it was still cooler at the Sawdust than most other places. I took off for a hour or so to take Steven to the Marine Room to hear the Missiles of October play - it’s a well-loved local band that he’d heard a lot about, and he was keen to hear them. We had to fight our way in the door, where we stood at the back of a packed room, only able to glimpse the band when someone in front of us moved. Sweat was poring down us, and we only stayed for a few songs.

I was rather expecting the usual Sunday night dearth of people, but the combination of it being the last night and Monday being a holiday meant that there were lots of people around right until the end. Artists, including myself, went around making end-of-Sawdust purchases and barters.

I certainly have mixed feelings. It’s hard to believe it’s over, that I won’t be seeing Patricia and Emily and Earl and Greg and Christopher and Susan and Cherrill and Suzette and Marlyse and Katlin and Jude & Bill and Walter and Jan & Fred on a daily basis anymore. But I sure am ready for a day off.

The Aftermath

We have to clear the booths out very quickly after the show closes. Security is only around for another couple of days, and if your booth isn’t staying up for the Winter Festival, then it has to be completely torn down and removed by the end of the week.

I’ll be back for the Winter, so I just had to clear out the contents of the booth. But I knew I had accumulated a huge amount of stuff - amazing, really, how much I’d put into such a small space. I wound up throwing everything into whatever boxes and bags I had, and dumping it in my studio space (which had been a mess since before the show started - after all the stuff from the Sawdust was carted back to it, you couldn’t even see the floor). So for the past week I haven’t been able to find anything (not that I tried very hard). But I have had to begin facing up to organizing it all again, and switching from doing nearly all my work in the booth to doing it all back in my studio.

But first, I had to read the last “Harry Potter.” It was a treat I’d been saving all summer, and I thoroughly enjoyed escaping into Harry’s world as soon as I could leave my own.