YIKES!! I'm leaving tomorrow...still so much to do!!

Images being spit out of my printer as I work frantically to prepare story boards for my tapestry demonstration booth at the Guild Fair that starts later this week.

Southern Highland Craft Guild Fair, summer edition, begins on Thursday, July 17.  It runs through Sunday, July 20.  Hours daily are 10-6, Thu-Sat; 10-5, Sun.  The Fair is held at the Civic Center in downtown Asheville and my demo space is arena center.  Diane will be set up nearby for her demonstration of fabric collage.  

I've been working hard over the past week to finish preparations for the four day demo, getting story boards together and working on the weaving.  STILL so much to do...so little time remaining!!  I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon, will stop over at my friends' place in Sapphire, then pick up Diane at the Asheville Airport as she flies in from Baltimore on Wednesday.

Setup at the Civic Center is Wednesday afternoon and it will be very hectic then, with over 100 craftspeople vying for move-in space!  The Guild Fair is one of the best opportunities in the Southeast to see (and buy!) beautifully designed and crafted objects of all kinds.  The Guild is one of the oldest craft organizations in the U.S.  and craftsmen must pass a standards committee review of work to be accepted as an juried member. 

But, an important part of the mission of the Guild, in addition to providing opportunities for marketing and exhibiting, is educational.  The demonstrations that are features of each Guild Fair and also weekly at the Folk Art Center near Asheville are only one aspect of the educational side.  The FAC also houses the archives of the Guild, an outstanding library of books and periodicals concerning crafts, and a exhibits of items from Guild's permanent collection of over a thousand pieces of Southern craft objects dating, some of them, into the 1800s.  There is also a beautiful gallery space at the FAC with exhibits changing several times a year of contemporary and/or historical craft objects from many sources.  Tapestry Weavers South had an exhibit in the main gallery in early 2007 of over a hundred tapestry works by our members--wonderful opportunity to show and to share.

OK, so...enough Guild promotion here!!  And, on to tapestry promotion through the Guild!  Got to finish up and get on the way north tomorrow.