whomp!

That's sort of what it feels like when you get a letter from a show you always do and your check falls out and the letter is printed on the cheap paper.

Roycroft. One of my best shows last year, one I've done for several years, one I enjoy, that actually throws us a picnic (!), is so happy to have so many artists applying. So many artists, in fact, that this year I am on the WAIT list.

whomp!

Now, I do not consider myself so terribly special that a rejection is unheard of. But this one was unexpected. So, I did the usual pissing and moaning and pouting and wondering if so-and-so with the boring unimaginative widgets was wait-listed, too. That took about 10 minutes. Then I hit the computer to find June shows that might still let me apply. It's gonna be tough. It's very late in the year for this.

But I found one that I had dropped because it conflicted with 100 American Craftsmen and saw that this year it didn't..Fairport Canal Days. We always did that one and enjoyed it until the conflict happened. They take late apps and I sent an email to see if they would still consider mine. They may or may not. I hope they do, it's a nice one and fun to do.

This is the tough part. You pin your season on being able to do enough good shows to keep body and soul together. It takes years to find the right shows for your work, the right audience. Trial and error. You finally get to the point where you can visualize your season and you begin to count on certain shows without really counting on them. And then you get whomped.

I am prepared to get whomped by Chautauqua. I have girded my loins. Roycroft caught me with my loins ungirded.

I hate that.