So after saying I wasn't going to do this again, I did, and here I am again in the middle of it. I needed to get something financially squared away before I could slow down and with the uncertainty of a new/old regime I felt I needed to push forward. Three shows into it this year and festivals feel the same except I feel more love and poignancy at them than before.
In Chicago there was a nationwide protest against the president and you could feel that things were off. From what I heard about the protest in Milwaukee that weekend it effected the show more there than in the windy city. Other than that I must confess I really enjoy being in Chicago for the Old Town Art Fair. Growing up with a cultural bias against people from Illinois(FIBs), you aren't supposed to like Chicago. I never even traveled there until I was a freshman in college for a school field trip to the Art Institute, pretty unbelievable for someone living 90 miles away from one of our nations largest cities. I was so immature I lasted about an hour at the museum and then walked around the city for hours on my own vaguely wondering towards the Sears Tower. The next field trip a semester later, I was rocked to the core-an art history class and some teachers helped. I never made it out of the second floor before we had to get back on the bus. The paintings just destroyed me. Over time I have come to enjoy the Old Town neighborhood, the feel of the show and yes the people of Chicago. Turns out I have more in common with them than the place I grew up. Don't get me wrong though, I still hope the Cubs lose every remaining game and the traffic and tolls can stick it, but it is just amazing how you can be brought up to believe something when it clearly isn't true. Perhaps it is a stubbornness that we think where we come from is better than other places. People make a place, whether we like it our not. At the art festivals I get so many truly wonderful moments that I lose track of them. I have been too busy the last few months to write them down, they turn into a blur and become forgotten which is regrettable. When people come up to me just to say hi, to show me a picture of their painting they bought years ago, it really does mean a lot to me. I think of myself as an artist everyday, I can't shut that off ever until I die. But I don't think about the paintings I have sold or that people like what I do. I think about making the next painting or creative project. I forget about being Andrew Clair Fletcher. When I go out, I spend a lot of time processing how different I am from everybody. If I am at a bar or restaurant, gas station, an estate sale, fishing with my nephew, it can be difficult for me seeing other people and the decisions they make. I am grateful I can go to Chicago and feel welcomed and supported for being me. Sometimes I feel like my only home is at an art festival.
Des Moines was hot and sweaty and I was worn out. It was an okay show, Chicago made me scramble, and I was just happy to get to the show. Wearing polyester from the 70's on the pavement with heat indexes of 100 is a questionable decision. Aside from one of my favorite bars-The High Life Lounge, the show is about the people and the moments. Old Town and Des Moines are both very well run shows that make your experience easier. Old Town is a neighborhood, Des Moines is a city, a city coming together. Maybe it is a city banding together against the rest of the state right now, but it is a place where you feel unity. On the drive home Katie and I listed off our top ten moments of the show. So rarely is it ever about when you sold your biggest piece. It is usually about the people that bought it. It's the woman with a 4000 sq foot garden. The man whose little son brought his puppet to the show. It's connecting with people that speak your language, that dig what you are saying. You feel so blessed to have those experiences that carry you forward.
I am off to Ann Arbor this week, my body is sore and I want to quit this and move on to the next phase of my life, but I am enjoying the hell out of everybody. Thank you. These are two of the paintings I am bringing with.
We will be doing the Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City, September 20-22
Also Oct 19th and 20th we will be having an opening at our gallery. The show will be called Fresh Fish, and will be all our fish drawing and paintings, along with setting up our booths with whatever paintings we have left, more announcements about this to come.
