Renegades in the Rain

When I got up this morning I had planned to go on a weekly walk and go on two Artist Dates to make up for not doing one last week. Weekly Walks and Artist Dates, for those who are not acquainted with the fantastic work of the illustrious Julia Cameron, are activities that I do so that I can continue to stay creative. A Weekly Walk is exactly what it sounds like: taking the time to walk somewhere alone. And an Artist Date is another solitary excursion, a small planned adventure to benefit the artist in you. It could be anything that you'd find interesting or fun, and doesn't have to be art-related. My plan was to take a walk to the Lincoln Park Art Faire and then go over to the Renegade Craft Fair. But there was one big problem: the rain.

It rained all day yesterday and all through the night and was still raining when I got up this morning. I've never been to Seattle, but the kind of weather we've been having here lately reminds me of descriptions I've heard of the weather there. Yesterday I didn't even go outside. But today I made up my mind to go anyway. When I got to where the Lincoln Park Art Faire was supposed to be, all I saw were sad, soggy people folding up their EZ-Up tents, putting them in vans, and driving away.

Not to be discouraged, I slogged through the puddles back to the car and drove to Wicker Park to see if the Renegade Craft Fair was still going on. And it was! Of course, there weren't nearly as many people as there were last year when it was sunny and warm. But I didn't care. I was just glad to be there. I should probably mention that I am really into art fairs. I almost feel weird about admitting this because a lot of other artists I know despise them, and don't want to participate in them at all. But I actually hope to do some art fairs someday, and sell my paintings as well as my crafts. I find art fairs inspiring, especially Renegade, which is my most favoritest craft fair, like, ever!! Yes, I realize that using expressions like "most favoritest" makes me sound like I am five. What can I say, I like the Renegade Craft Fair so much I cannot even describe it in a sophisticated and grammatically correct way.

I always seem to end up going to art fairs when I am totally broke. But thanks to the Internet, I at least have the assurance of knowing that I will be able to go to the artists' websites and purchase their products at a later date when I am more financially solvent. I always end up taking home a lot of business cards as a result. Now that I have this blog, I can also refer back to the business cards to share a few of the products that caught my eye.

You can't tell because this picture is so small, but this print from Paper Stories uses a paint swatch as a background:



Surreal case goods from Dust Furniture:



Fun Posters from Delicious:



Necklaces and bracelets from SwallowKisses



Jewelry from Buzz:


Pocket mirrors from My Favorite Mirror:




Paintings by Chicago artist Steve Shay:


Covered Moleskine notebooks from Chickabird's Randl collection:


Scarves and hats from Patina:


More scarves from I Like You:


Why all the scarves? Well, you need a lot of them in Chicago. I find that having fun winter accessories makes the colder months a little more tolerable.


And last but not least, I love this inspiring print from Alison Rose, available on shirts for men and women, as well as on a tote bag:

Of course, now that I am back at home, sitting comfortably in front of my computer, with my wet clothes hung up to dry and my galoshes parked by the door, the sun is out and it stopped raining. But it's too late. I'm in for the rest of the day. But if you're in Chicago, and looking for something to do this lovely afternoon, maybe you can go to Lincoln Park and see if the Art Faire got un-canceled, or go to Wicker Park and shop at Renegade with all the hipsters.