Hallmarket part 2: Electric Boogaloo

   For the second year in a row, Hallmark artists will be selling their work at "Hallmarket," an art fair in the square outside headquarters on Saturday, October 1. I'm not participating myself (too many extracurriculars to make time to create all that artwork!) but will be there with my checkbook for sure. Last year's was great—don't miss it!

Information about the event from the Hallmark newsroom

KC Star article

Hallmarket

   It was a stunning day in Crown Center Square, and over 70 Hallmark artists filled tents with their arts & crafts, in celebration of our company's 100th anniversary. Kelly & I had cooked up a fun plan to collaborate on some work, but I had to bow out due to a scheduling snafu (had already committed to speaking at Japan Fest), so cross your fingers that there will be a Hallmarket 2: the Revenge of Hallmarket! I do have this to say: I have some freakishly talented friends!!!

   Mark Franzke makes INCREDIBLE handcrafted instruments (and that's Henry in the back, of KCCC fame):

   Diane & Madeline had a very impressive display of their cut-paper-turned-letterpress prints (which were featured in a photo in a recent Crate & Barrel catalog, uncredited):

   A whimsical beaded snowman pin by Cindy Ross:

Gorgeous, nostalgic paintings by Larry Degraff:

My favorite booth design:

Flora Chang's booth was mobbed! (Duh, her work is so cool):

Kelly bought a couple of Flora's button packs & shared them with me:

   Shenanigans from a "miniature shiba" puppy, Swifty, and her Boston terrier buddy. Made me wish I'd had time to bring my two goofballs. Taylor would have enjoyed a birthday romp with them:

Dick's booth was cool (and jam-packed!) as always:

   It looked like a very successful sale. Wish I could have stayed longer to visit with everyone. It was a great reminder of just how talented Hallmarkers are—inside & outside of work!

Plaza Art Fair 2010

   Last night after work I met Maureen, Renee & some of Maureen's non-work-friends at Kona Grill on the Plaza for some happy hour drinks & sushi, and then to walk the Plaza Art Fair. The weather was a gorgeous 70-ish degrees, and the Plaza was more mobbed than I've ever seen it in my whole time in Kansas City! The Fair itself is cool, with over 240 artists selling their work, food, live music and more. But it was so crowded that it was nearly impossible to walk around & enjoy, much less actually see some art. By the time I got there at 6:00, all of the nearby parking garages were already full & I parked all the way up by St. Luke's (which turned out to be a nice walk, actually). Given all that, Renee & I planned to meet up in the morning to jog with our dogs, have breakfast, & see some art.

Guess who loves to ride in the car:

   We met at Loose Park at 8 am & did about 31 minutes of brisk jogging, 2 times around the track, which is about 2.5 miles. My hip felt great, but I got winded easily since I had to lay off the training almost 2 months ago. All four of the dogs (Aki, Taylor, Rosie & Boo) were in heaven. It was a beautiful, cool morning, 55 degrees, perfect for running. But a funny thing happened. We heard this funny sound approaching & this dude comes blazing around the track on these crazy contraptions called "Kangoo Jumps" shoes that gave him all kinds of bounce & speed...

...and on the third or fourth time he passed us, I realized it was Bob, my hairstylist of the last 10 or so years. LOL!

I never noticed the gold crown on Hall's department store before!

   After the run, we walked downhill to the Plaza & got takeout from Panera (mmm... my favorite baked egg souffle with bacon & spinach!). I stood outside with the dogs while Renee got the food & coffee, and it was so funny because Rosie & Boo look enough like giant shibas that virtually everyone who passed by thought they were all related, and thought that they were all MY dogs! Yeah, just call me Jen the Dog Whisperer Wannabe. We ate across from Brio & then we walked around the Fair.

Boo & Rosie at home

   Here's a view from the south side of Brush Creek, with the Chinese lanterns on the bridge and a few of those 240 white tents:

   Even as it opened at 10:00, the fair got crowded quickly. The dogs were tired & well-behaved from the run, but there were still crowded sidewalks to navigate, kids & strollers all over, noise from the crowd & the live music, and the smell of food being grilled everywhere. Add that to the fact that Aki HATES to wear a harness, and DOUBLE HATES to be coupled to Taylor, and she was a bit of a grouch. At one point, Taylor accidentally brushed up against Aki on one side & an old man's ankle on the other, and Aki snarled to warn him. The old man whipped around & sternly said to me, "HE TRIED TO BITE ME!"

   I saw the whole thing & there was no doubt that this guy was full of B.S. In fact, it took all my strength not to flippantly say, "Aw, shut up, you old fart!" But I bit my tongue & kept walking. It's a good reminder of how litigious people can be. You gonna sue my dog for touching your ankle? Jerk. Minutes later, two adorable little girls swarmed my dogs without warning & gave them giant hugs. Oh yeah, these dogs are dangerous...

   Dick Daniels already had a nice crowd, and since his work was my favorite I wanted to show some photos of his booth. Make sure to check it out if you're down there this weekend—definitely worth the trip!

That was fun! Thanks, Renee!!!
And check it out: Dick with Mayor Funkhouser & Gloria:

Hot dog—we have a wiener!

   Dick surprised me this morning with the weiner dog art that I missed out on at Art Unleashed last week. (It was bid up too high for me... since i had purchased 3 other pieces!) I think it looks fun in my dining room, among the Hella & Maura art, don't you?
   As for the title of this post, I got that from Charlotte, who presumably got it from her Dad, who was hilarious. The other zinger I remember well that she would say after making someone laugh is, "Well call me butter, 'cause I'm on a ROLL!" Dr. Belland looked quite a bit like Dr. Bunsen Honeydew from the Muppets. And I never saw them both together in the same room. Hmm...

Xmas Xchange with Kelly

Kelly & I exchanged Christmas gifts as soon as I returned from Ohio. I was really excited to give him this piece of artwork by Dick Daniels. Something about it just seemed like Kelly. (Given that he's from OK, the southern BBQ theme felt right.)

And he really outdid himself with gifts for me... the art of Charley Harper book, a Mute Math t-shirt & live concert DVD, Polysics & Lightning Seeds CDs. Between these & the "Jackie Brown" DVD & an awesome art book he gave me for my birthday, I ought to have plenty to keep me busy for a while! And Gypsy is content to get a box.

Westport Art Fair

Kansas Citians: Do yourself a favor & get down to the Westport Art Fair this weekend & buy some art from Dick Daniels. His stuff is fantastic! これは私のヂックダンイェールという友達の美術ですよ。とてもかっこいいですね！

p.s. - The Katie Horner piece sold while I was there...the guy who bought it was SO. EXCITED. That was fun to see!