week in the life | friday

Friday. The day before an art market is always busy with last minute prep, packing the car, and all sorts of other niggling tasks that seem to eat up the day. Luckily, since I had a market just two weeks ago, I am already 90% prepared. There is still a lot to do, though, and I am off to a slow start this morning - this week has really worn me out. A glimpse at the morning:

Who let the dogs out? I did.


A quick breakfast. I'm not usually a cereal person (as an anti-morning person, I generally require a hot breakfast to get me going), but today I need something easy.

Gravy insists on a morning game of Tug the Warthog (not a euphemism!).


I throw on some clothes (and discover that both the pants and shirt are stained), and put my hair back in my buff bandana before I drop Larry off at the metro. I'll shower and change when I get home.

Beautiful day for a drive through Falls Church.

Filling up the tank. (I'm embarrassed to patronize this gas station with its over-the-top cheesy patriotism, but it has the cheapest gas in town.)

Happy to make my 1,000th Etsy sale!


12:00 Sit down in the office to do a little work and discover that John & Sherry at Young House Love have written about their experience a couple weeks ago at Richmond Craft Mafia's Spring Bada-Bing. They feature the work of a lot of artists, including my new Whale and Alligator prints. Soon orders, e-mails, and convos start rolling in. I am so incredibly appreciative when bloggers feature my shop, but since I have a lot of work to do today for tomorrow's Crafty Balboa, this happens at an inconvenient time! I actually hadn't even listed the Whale and Alligator prints in the shop yet, so I run down to the studio to photograph them and list them in my shop. I end up spending the majority of the afternoon babysitting my Etsy shop - renewing orders, responding to customer questions and requests, etc. When the Etsy shop is busy, maintaining my online presence can be a full-time job on its own. During all of this, the computer crashes a few times. I say bad words. (Also, note the Desk o' Disaster. Cleaning that up will have to go on next week's To Do List.)

4:30 I need to get back to the studio though. I finally pull out my bins of prints from the last market and start to get organized for tomorrow.


5:00 Hungry and stressed. How is it already 5 pm? I still haven't showered or properly dressed myself. I scavenge for lunch. Get out some hummus and naan and when I return from turning on the stereo, there is a greyhound walking away from the table licking his lips. He looks guilty, but not remorseful. The hummus (from Whole Foods) is disgusting. A look at the ingredient list reveals that it doesn't have tahini in it. What? No wonder it just tastes like lemony chickpeas. I eat some cheese and crackers and olives. Still hungry and getting desperate. Heat up some leftover rice and sit down to eat. (That's chocolate soy milk in my glass, not beer!)

5:10 As I scoot my chair back to take a photo, an opportunist sneaks his snout onto the table.

6:00 Back in the studio. Where has this day gone? I unpack the prints that arrived yesterday.

6:15 Signing prints.

6:30 A visitor finds a way to cram himself into the limited floor space in my studio. He doesn't seem to mind the pre-deadline mess. Perfect spot for a nap.


6:45 I start packaging prints. This involves cutting cardboard backer boards, putting the prints and backers into poly sleeves with a business card, and sealing them up. I'm so thrilled with how my new Octopus prints turned out!

7:30 Larry gets home. He takes the pups into the backyard and they alert him to the presence of an INTRUDER. A BALLOON! IN A TREE! Larry calls me out to take a break and watch their hijinks.

7:35 For some reason, the discovery of the balloon causes strange canine behavior. They go nuts.






7:40 More balloon play. Banjo wants to bite it. Gravy is afraid of it. He rarely ever tucks his tail.


7:45 There is nothing funnier than tying a helium balloon to a dog. I really needed those few minutes of comic relief. "Why you put this on me, Dad? I do not like!"


8:00 Banjo asks for a neck scratch. Gravy sidles up for some petting, too.

8:05 Back in the studio. Still packaging prints.

8:50 The prints are finally all packaged. As a result, my studio is a complete disaster. I tend to make huge messes and throw trash everywhere when I'm on a deadline.

9:00 Another late dinner. I was so excited to finally cook dinner and perhaps have a chance to relax on the patio tonight, but it's already dark. We're finally grilling pizza, but late night outdoor cooking requires Larry to don his headlamp!

9:05 Our ingredients are threatened by backyard predators.


9:10 Pizza's on the grill. Beautiful food photography is definitely not happening in the dark.

9:20 We finally eat.

10:00 I change into pajamas (I never did get that shower today) and head back to the studio. I make price tags and start pricing my prints. Larry starts to load up the car with all the art market equipment.

11:30 All the prints are finally packed up. We finish packing up the car, printing directions, and getting ready for tomorrow. We're in bed by 1:00. It's going to be an early morning...