A couple of weeks ago I managed to retrieve my artwork from Artomatic. This past Friday I served the last of my three required volunteer shifts. I basically helped with taking down the partitions in the middle of the floors. The shift I was on managed to finish with the few that were left on the 9th floor before taking down all the ones on the 8th floor. By the time we started on the 7th floor, our shift was over. When I left there was still a lot of work that needed to be done but I'm sure everything will be eventually cleared out.

On that note, I'm going to stop updating this blog for the rest of the year. While I enjoyed myself at this year's Artomatic, the big disappointment is that I didn't sell a single thing. I don't know if it's due to the poor economy or the fact that Artomatic was moved to the summertime or the fact that it was located near the Nationals ballpark or a combination of all three. But right now I'm up in the air as to whether I will participate next year. It really depends on what the organizers do and where the event will be located and my own schedule.

But I'm really disappointed that all my efforts have amounted to naught when it came to my own sales and even lucking out on meeting influential curators or other movers and shakers in the art world who could help me make it to the next level. I'm at the point where I'm questioning whether it was worth it at all.

I'm not going to make any decisions about my participation in future Artomatics until next year. In the meantime I'm just going to pursue other opportunities and hope they pan out.

A few days ago I finally finished visiting all the floors and viewed all the artwork. How I did it was that I would devote a few hours a week to seeing art and I did only two floors at a time. I started with the 9th floor and worked my way down.

I saw incredible amounts of artwork. I saw lots of art that I liked but there was so much of it that I can't remember which ones I liked. I did pick up a bunch of business cards and flyers and many of these artists have websites so I will be spending the next few months with gradually visiting all their sites at my own leisure.

A week ago I spent the second of my three required volunteer shifts watching the loading dock. I was glad that I brought my iPod Touch and my puzzle magazine along because it was a bit on the dull side. The highlight came when I helped another volunteer with washing out the recycling bins using a hose then spraying them with Lysol. All I can say is that stale beer is an absolutely disgusting scent.

But I still can't complain about having to do it because last year my left hip stopped working and I had to hobble around on a cane. My hip got so bad that I had to undergo a hip replacement then go through a few months of physical therapy. Compared to the hell that I went through for the past year, washing out recycling bins is no big deal.

I felt bad about having to withdraw from the Artists Marketplace last Sunday. The only silver lining is that I was able to attend this event that I would not have been able to attend otherwise because it would've conflicted with the end of the Marketplace day and the required taking down of table, chairs, and leftover wares. I checked out the first ever Zombie Prom and it was a riot!!! I wore this evening gown that I had originally purchased for my brother-in-law's wedding a few years ago and I even had my face made up into a zombie. It was pretty fun.

There are times when I wished Artomatic had been held in the spring like the last few years. That's because this year both the Artomatic 500 Cardboard Car Race and the Peeps Diorama Reception are being held this Saturday and I'll be out of town. My family had booked a week in Ocean City months before Artomatic announced its show and it was too late to re-schedule. I will be back next Friday, although I'm not sure what time I'll arrive. If I arrive relatively early in the day and if I still have energy, I'll check out the Art in Fashion show later that evening. But everything is really iffy.

In the meantime, here are some videos I shot of last year's Artomatic 500 and Peeps reception. I highly recommend that you attend both because they are so much fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F3FUWdHWTw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55EkGHsTK6I

I've had to cancel my appearance at the Artomatic Marketplace this Sunday for personal reasons that I can't elaborate on at this time. I apologize for the inconvenience. All I can say at this point is that at least I won't be battling for parking spaces with the traffic that is going to see the Washington Nationals play nearby this Sunday.

I still have all of my artwork for sale so if you're interested in purchasing any of it, please send an e-mail to kstark at erols dot com.

I will be at my exhibition area for Meet the Artists night tomorrow night (June 13) from 7-9 p.m. Then next Sunday, June 21, I will be selling some of my crafts at the Artomatic Marketplace from 12-7 p.m. (Yes, I know it's Father's Day but if you're looking for some last-minute unique gifts for Dad, well the Artomatic Marketplace is a good place to shop.)

Hello:

I wouldn't normally write something so personal as a transaction in this blog but I attempted to contact you via the e-mail address you provided when you signed my guest book but it bounced back.

You stated in my guest book that you wanted to purchase the "Free Beer Tomorrow" sign as a birthday or Father's Day present for someone. I just want to let you know that you can purchase it now but you won't be able to take it home until after Artomatic ends on July 5. (It's one of Artomatic's big rules and I can't do anything about it.)

What I can do is print out a .jpeg of the sign for you to tuck into a card and give to that person and you can pick up the real thing anytime after July 5.

If you're still interested in purchasing the sign, please feel free to e-mail me. We can make arrangements to meet at Artomatic. I can be reached at kstark at rcn dot com. (Just replace the words "at" with "@" and "dot" with a period.)

You can also make a comment in this blog. Please place your comment only in this post and no other post just so it would make it easier for me to find it.

I'll try to re-send my e-mail to you to make sure it's not some computer error. In the meantime, if you happen to see this blog entry, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Kim

P.S. I will delete this blog entry once I successfully contact you. I like to keep all transactions with my customers confidential.