My after college plan/goal was the American Craft Council shows. My first time to the one in Baltimore was seriously awe inspiring, humbling, exciting and intimidating. It sets a bar for the fine craft world and this was my first time seeing it.  The Baltimore show  is held in the convention center and there's at least five hundred exhibitors from across the country. Each artist has at least a ten by ten foot space and basically builds their own gallery. The artwork is juried in and it's incredible, innovative work. The craftmanship is mindblowing, the ideas are ingenius and the materials are seductive. It's attended by an estimated 20,000 spectators from the eastern seaboard. It's a phenomenal way to get your work out to the crowd that wants your work. It's also an opportunity to make friends with other people who do what you do. This is what told me I could make a living. It also set a standard in my mind that I'm still striving to attain.

So, this spring as I was freed from the mass production shackles from the past two years, I picked up my old goal. These tiles went over well in Scranton, lets see what the rest of the world thinks. The ACC show has recently opened a section in the shows called "ALT craft". Their call for entries read this:  ''Sixteen makers will be juried into this bustling section, which celebrates the innovative techniques and materials of the burgeoning handmade movement."  I didn't really understand the qualifications, especially because I thought that the handmade movement started with, like the cavemen, but I gave it a shot. To qualify for this section, it also had to be your first time exhibiting in an ACC show.  Two months later I was notified that I got in!  I had two months to prepare, so I really didn't see much of summer.  In this section, they set us up more market style, with tables so my dad built me tall boxes to set on the table. They were on turntables so they spun around and I had a bunch of wall space.  It looked great (in my opinion) . The show went well, I sold some work and  met great artists and great non artists. And had one of those weird, wow I'm really doing this kind of experience.

I heart San Francisco. It's the best city ever. I especially love all their signage, like this stella pastry sign over to the left. It's just a very laid back hip town.

You can find out more about what I'm babbling about at www.craftcouncil.orgwww.craftcouncil.org