–a fine day was had by all

Tracy and I just came off a 3-day show at Creative Arts group.  It was our first event that ran over several days and now, a week later, it just seems like a whirlwind of activity…a bit of a blur.

We truly had a grand time of it.  Lots of old friends of Ramona Paloma Tile came by to say hello as well as new.  There was no shortage of warm greetings and shared chuckles.

On Sunday, at the end of the show as we said our thanks to the organizers of the event, we discovered an interesting little truth.  As first-timers to this show, we were relegated to the “kids’ table”.  Yup, we newbies were all housed together in a rear classroom dubbed “Room 4”.  Within that farewell conversation, we were told that Ramona Paloma had helped break the curse of Room 4.  (It had notoriously been a less-visited room, tucked in a rear corner of the event.)

However, all that is changed now!

Along with our Room 4 roommates, we had a walloping good time in that intimate little room.  There seemed to be a constant stream of friendly visitors to see the “artwork of Room 4”.  It’s an interesting social experiment to share a small room with strangers.  I’m happy to report that instead of strangers, we now have some new friends!  We even had a little storage room in the back of our display which became our fort after a while.  (What is it about rainy weather and close quarters that turns you into a kid again?)

Ode to the Room 4 artists:

Meet Judy.  She makes intricate kiln-fired glass pieces and traveled to this show from Arizona.  Since her work was located close to ours, she appeared to be associated with our tile, and actually began talking about the process with those who had questions.  She was hilarious and engaging in such a low-key way.

Meet Christiane and her husband.  They love Beagles.   She makes tiny folded origami pieces into jewelry and wall-hangings.  She actually hand-paints 8 careful coats of glaze on each folded work of art.  Amazing!

Meet Janice and Jill.  They work together but create separate pieces (similar to Tracy and I).  Janice, an elegant woman from Australia,  makes beautifully woven pieces that some people may call baskets, but they are so much more.  They’re like 3-d collages using natural objects, metal and wire…really lovely.   (And Janice has a gorgeous Black Lab named Cassie.)  And Jill?  Well she arrived wearing ostrich skin cowboy boots and wasn’t afraid to carry the right attitude to wear those boots with style.  She presented fascinating folded and hammered copper pieces as bracelets and necklaces.  You could really see the hand in her work.

Next we have Kathleen.  She makes carefully rendered and incredibly complex drawings.  (Dictionary.com suggests…”something complex  may be well-organized and logically constructed as well as subtle and intricate”)  Yes, that sounds about right.

In the center of the room, we have Beverly.  I overheard Beverly telling someone that she had been an English teacher, and a film-maker prior to her life as a jewelry-maker.  That description was so fitting for her–a confident woman who wears awesome color combinations and makes beautiful jewelry full of color and life.

And next door to us was Penny.  A woman we did not previously know and yet every time an old friend of mine came in to say hi, they would turn to Penny next–also greeting her as a dear friend.  How is it, Penny…that everyone I know…you know…and we don’t know each other?  That’s a mystery, apparently.  Penny makes crazy-cool jewelry featuring found objects and vintage pieces.  She is not afraid to re-adapt a necklace from by-gone  days into an eye-catching masterpiece by modern standards.

And that was our stint at the kids’ table for 3 days…full of irony, amusement, and anecdotes with Tracy and I throwing our hearts and souls into making as many tiles as our little gray matter could produce…and loving every minute of it.

I guess it took me all week to reflect–kinda like adding salt and pepper at the end of a cooking fest—season to taste….savoring each flavor and nuance as it comes up.

Thank you to all our tile friends that came by to see us.  Tracy and I find tremendous delight in your response to our work.