If you focus on all the negative and uncertainty going on in the world you would miss the good that is still out there. Being our first show we didn't know fully what to expect but I had hope, some new old clothes, no alcohol and a winter's full of work. I was stressed out some, just because if things went bad that could mean a bumpy road this summer, not just for me but for every working artist I know. No, my department wasn't slashed, my overseas market didn't suddenly shrivel up, and I am not in fear of losing job because I don't have one. The show however, did not go bad. It wasn't crazy good, it wasn't a free-for-all, it was a good art festival.
Being at a good art festival makes me feel good. I watch people walk by, and even if I am in the back of my booth, I am paying attention the best I can. In KC I saw people being nice to each other, families leisurely enjoying the day together. I didn't see an abundance of status, the cold distance of corporate culture, or the phoniness of people out to be seen. Brookside is a neighborhood, and that is how it felt to be there. You felt part of a community, part of something valued, something healing, something worthwhile. That said, we were there to make money and we made enough. I also saw other artists make enough. And honestly, that felt good.
Sometimes, and yes even at this show the surface level nature of many artists work upsets me and I am not good at hiding that. But I also walk around and see my friends, I see good art. I see good people. Talented people. And the thing is most of us want to help each other out, help out younger artists and students. We want to feel like we have something to offer and we want people appreciative enough to except what we creative people bring to the world. Too often in our world everything is about the individual, and I feel that most of know deep down that is wrong. At most of the art festivals I do, one feels very human. Very connected and even vulnerable. It's just people out walking around and talking, observing, discerning the best they can. And I am part of that process. Presenting something hopefully good. Hopefully thoughtful, sincere and skilled. It feels good to be part of the group and you feel like you are doing something positive to get us through the tenuousness of life.
I'll repeat this: being at an art festival makes me feel good. Thank you to the people putting on the Brookside Art Annual who made us feel welcome. Thank you to the people of the Kansas City and from parts further that attended the show. I needed you and you were there for me.
