Rock & Shop

I adventured 3.5 hours to Durham NC this past weekend to vend at the Rock & Shop Market. We did well and I met tons of really sweet people~ Durham is totally awesome if you haven't gotten the chance to check it out!

It was our first market of the season, and it felt nice to be around the fresh energy of a show again. It is inspiring to connect with my customers and meet other artists.

In general I am an introvert, and one of the challenges of shows for me is being extroverted. I can be a bit socially awkward at times, especially in big crowds, and at least a few times every show I am cringing on the inside when I hear myself nervously stumbling through a conversation.  I feel confident talking with customers about my favorite part: the art, it's just all the other parts of being a salesperson that get me occasionally tongue-tied. So I was a little nervous going into this show because I have working away in the studio like a hermit the past few months, but I feel like I did well.

I have been working on some new display touches for our booth too. We got a lot of nice compliments on it.

Other great parts about the weekend:

• Time to think and listen to whatever music I wanted to in the 7 hours in a car by myself .
• Getting to stop into a coffee shop without my kiddos in tow. 
• Having a sleepover at my dear friends' house and the delicious meals they fed me. 

And now I am home again, drinking our mountain water and listen to the birds and peepers (!!!) in the evening as they start to fill our woods again...

A good day today

an oldie but goodie.

I was looking through some old photos today and found this gem. 

During those awkward junior high years what was I doing? Well, I was riding in a unicycling team called the Andover One Wheelers. In this photo we had rented tuxedos (only time in my life I ever worn a top hat, bow tie, or cumber-bun ) to videotape our routine and apply for the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. We got in.

I hope someday I am better known for my artwork, but to date my big claim to fame (along with my sister and best friends) is riding a unicycle in the Macy's parade right behind Joey Lawerence.  Circa 1992. 

the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep need

beauty in unexpected places :: carrot slice

Most of us arrive at a sense of self and vocation only after a long journey through alien lands. But this journey bears no resemblance to the trouble free "travel packages" sold by the tourism industry. It is more akin to the ancient tradition of pilgrimage-"a transformative journey to a sacred center" full of hardships, darkness, and peril... True vocation joins self and service, as Frederick Buechner asserts when he defines vocation as "the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep need"

- Parker Palmer

working on photos

I spent the day working on some new product photography. I am happy with the direction they are heading... but goodness,  I feel like product photography might do me in. My newest method of photography involves taping a piece of white tissue paper to a sunshiny window. In the shadow of the tissue paper I set up a little jewelry scene and pull out my camera. Set it to Auto and start clicking away- crossing my fingers at least one of every design works.

I have the smallest hands of almost any adult I have ever met, and yet my fingers feel like sausages trying to adjust the tiny little ear-wires in the right direction. I feel so clumsy! 

I am sure I will continue to improve on my photos in the future, but I am feeling good about them tonight! 

little bee earrings  :: seed & sky

zinnia flower earrings :: seed & sky

jellyfish that live at the Fort Fisher Aquarium 

Alex and Seo (and several of the Carmonas) were taken down by a stomach bug right at the tail end of our vacation. It is gross and I am trying my best to keep those of us still standing, well, standing. Truthfully though, every time I think about it I start to feel queasy.
So instead I will show you something pretty. We took the kids to the aquarium while we were at the beach. They loved it, although their attention span was tiny compared to how long I wanted to sit and watch some of the animals move in the water. The tanks of sea-life look like gigantic abstract paintings to me, and my heart skips a beat at the enigma of it all.

renewal

We took a week away this week and came to the beach with David & Ema and family.  We stayed in a salmon colored house,  snuggled by the ocean in our sweaters and blankets during the day, and got to see the full moon over the water by night. We played board games and drank margaritas and Guinness after the kids went to bed. We ate some really good seafood and we also ate a lot more junk food than we normally eat. 

The beach and ocean feel expansive compared to our small living quarters and enclosed surrounding woods at home, and it felt so nice to switch our scenery for a bit. Honestly, the whole week felt like one big treat (even when we were working). I sure do feel grateful to live only a half day's drive to the ocean. 

kitties

www.kelceyloomer.com

Sketches

happy Spring equinox!

Peas and greens planted. Rest of the seeds ordered and are set to arrive in the next two weeks. Our peach tree has one pink blossom. The snakes woke up and we saw our first butterfly. A spider crawled across our floor last night and the chickens egg production has increased. All signs that Spring is beginning, and for that I am grateful. 

something green to smile about

and another

red journal

A portrait of Alex from the red journal.

from the red art journal :: Kelcey Loomer

milk teeth

Remember when Lili was itty-bitty and only had two teeth and was a drool machine? 

Here we are five years later, and she has lost those very same teeth.
They have been wiggly for weeks, and reeeeallly wiggly for a few days, and then her bigger (and much adored) cousin assisted her in removing the first one. They were playing upstairs when after much whispering Lili called down to me asking for an apple. After my "no" answer she whined down to me "But I really want an apple to take out my tooth!!!"
More whispering.
And five minutes later she gleefully calls down that she lost her tooth! When I ask how she did it she proudly says that Gita did it. Gita shrugged with a pleased smile and said "I know how to get teeth out" and Lili looked over to her, her tooth on the palm of her hand, and beamed.

Later in the evening the kids spot Alex's truck coming up the drive. Lil is practically jumping out of her skin she is so excited to show him the big news. Pacing next to me at the sink she waited for me to dry my hands and hand over the little tooth that had been carefully placed on the windowsill.
As Alex sat down in our entryway to remove his boots Lili came at him with her hands outstretched, presenting her prize. And then in a moment of chaos Seo bumped into her and the little tooth went flying into the abyss of our mudroom.
Yep, that happened.
So there we all were for fifteen minutes combing through every pebble and wood chip and scanning the floor for any sign of the tooth. When we broke the news that it wasn't looking promising to Lil she immediately  got out her markers and started a detailed picture to explain the dire situation to the tooth fairy.

Long after we had given up, Alex opened his leftovers from his lunch bag only to find her tooth sitting innocently inside. She squealed and promptly crumpled up her note.   :)

Here is a short video of the exciting thing that happened next! 

Good times!

another from the red journal

Kelcey Loomer :: from the red art journal 

bus living

I found this wonderful picture of school-bus living recently and it made me a little nostalgic. We lived in a converted school bus like this for a few years while we built our current home.  We had a full kitchen with a mini fridge right next to the steering wheel, a plywood floor, and a rickety old wood-stove whose pipe led out one of the windows. Living in a small (and free) structure allowed us to spend the majority of our time and money on our building project. The whole experience seems kind-of crazy now, but it happened!

and here is a journal page from those days: