We have been living in the Low Country for a few years now, but this was the first time I have gotten near downtown when the Piccolo Spoleto festivities are going on. It's an art festival to offer an American counter to the performing arts festival in Spoleto, Italy, and it has been held here since the 1970s. Last year I was too wrapped up in my own little universe to think about attending an art fest, and the year before that, I honestly had no idea what it was. The mah jongg master suggested we sneak downtown to the craft fair that was set up on the grounds of one of the historic churches in the Holy City, and I was all too happy to join her. My hope was that I would find a new bead to hang off the bracelet I have worn every day since I pressed my man to win it for me in our charity auction last year, since the one that came with the bracelet vanished a couple weeks ago. As we drove into town, a large thunderstorm cell blew over the area, and drove off most of the crowd from the craft fair, and apparently it chased off the one vendor of beads. Just my luck. There were plenty of people selling jewelry, but I couldn't even find a single pendant or earring set I was willing to buy and pull apart to put on my bracelet, knowing that it needed to withstand serious daily wear and tear. I did see lots of beautiful pottery, textiles, jewelry, and sweetgrass baskets. And there were a few artists who did metal sculpture, including one I really wanted to get a good photo of, but I thought the artist might object. The man who did the work was sitting on a bench, that was apparently supposed to be some sort of dragon or sea monster. It had a strange, buggy sort of head, a bus stop bench sort of body, and a long, cable-like tail arcing behind the bench, with a metal stinger on the end. It was fabulous. The whole thing was in a deep, glossy, cranberry red. I didn't even let myself look at the price. I knew it was way out of my price range for the day. But I will dream of having it in my Park. I took the artist's business card, and someday, I will have the funds to get that bench.
The rain may have dampened the enthusiasm of the arts and crafts patrons, but it didn't dampen my enthusiasm to create once I left the craft fair. I came home and worked on preparing the surface for my next painting project. I have a leftover hunk of plywood, and I sanded it smooth, primed it with clear coat (it's what I had handy), and started a base coat for the background with leftover sample paint from my powder room, in a deep Cheeto orange. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to complement it with vivid fuschia, but that is next. I hope this comes out looking vaguely like I want it to. It might be one of my most ambitious paintings to date.
I have been watching the calendar, and I went digging through my old posts from last year to confirm this. If Athena was indeed three weeks old when I started fostering her, then today is her first birthday. We haven't done anything special to celebrate, but I did grant her very enthusiastic vocal request for a trip outside to play when she asked. A squirrel had fallen from the roof into the holly bush while she was watching through the window, and she immediately turned around and asked whether she could go out and kill it. I wasn't interested in letting her do that last part, but I couldn't deny the sweet request to go play. While everyone was outside, I even brought the Cave Troll out from Cricketstan, so that she could get some fresh air too. I don't know if all that counts as a birthday party, but it was the best I could do for today. (For the record, when I checked that old post, where I dropped hints that I was trying again to foster a kitten, after the first bottle-fed babies died and crushed my spirit, it was on a day when I was starting another painting project. I guess it's a regular thing with me in the summer, wanting to create art. There are worse habits to have. http://scenesfromsmithpark.blogspot.com/2013/06/persistence.html -- if you want to see the original.)
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