(Above) Before the rain. Happy. Joy.
(Above) There was a live band playing at the other end of the street.
My Dear Husband (soaking wet) in the wreckage of display tent.
Salvaged during the storm.
There's a car under that tree.Yesterday my Husband and I set up shop at the Kent (Ohio) Art & Wine Festival. Readers may remember Kent had tornado like conditions last time around and I cancelled at the last moment.... Later that night (after the festival was officially canceled) I congratulated myself for making a good decision.
Heh. Now fast forward to yesterday... The re-scheduled event had a 40% chance for rain and I decided it was worth the risk. We set up. I had a blast talking to people and getting valuable feedback on my paintings. My homemade notecards were a total hit and sales on those were brisk. Happyhappyjoy. Husband went off to find us some icecream.
The skies then darkened ominously & suddenly. But I see somebody from the local paper buzzing around artist George Kocar next door and decide to hang around and see if I too can get some publicity. (doh!) Husband later reports that he saw lightning and he immediately turned around to come back to the booth.
Then it rained. You wouldn't believe how fast and how furiously the rain arrived. Lightning hit a nearby tree and crushed a fellow exhibitor's car. Within minutes the sides of the street became fast moving streams. We tried grabbing and stacking the art in the middle of the booth, but the canopy top blew partially off. Things got wet. Large works on paper were ruined. Several small daily paintings were damaged when one of the display racks blew over. All paper products were ruined: business cards, flyers & notecards. At some point I just stood there and cried.
I'm sure there's a bright side to this somewhere... Right now (Sunday morning) I'm having a problem finding it. I'm gonna take a week and let things air out literally and figuratively. I need a play date with my nephews. It's time for a break, will be back in a week or so.
Heh. Now fast forward to yesterday... The re-scheduled event had a 40% chance for rain and I decided it was worth the risk. We set up. I had a blast talking to people and getting valuable feedback on my paintings. My homemade notecards were a total hit and sales on those were brisk. Happyhappyjoy. Husband went off to find us some icecream.
The skies then darkened ominously & suddenly. But I see somebody from the local paper buzzing around artist George Kocar next door and decide to hang around and see if I too can get some publicity. (doh!) Husband later reports that he saw lightning and he immediately turned around to come back to the booth.
Then it rained. You wouldn't believe how fast and how furiously the rain arrived. Lightning hit a nearby tree and crushed a fellow exhibitor's car. Within minutes the sides of the street became fast moving streams. We tried grabbing and stacking the art in the middle of the booth, but the canopy top blew partially off. Things got wet. Large works on paper were ruined. Several small daily paintings were damaged when one of the display racks blew over. All paper products were ruined: business cards, flyers & notecards. At some point I just stood there and cried.
I'm sure there's a bright side to this somewhere... Right now (Sunday morning) I'm having a problem finding it. I'm gonna take a week and let things air out literally and figuratively. I need a play date with my nephews. It's time for a break, will be back in a week or so.
