Art on the Avenue in West Reading, PA

This past weekend, Steve and I traveled far east (it felt FAR to me!) for an art show in Reading, PA.  It was a one day show, and I was excited about that. :)  We left late in the afternoon on Friday and arrived Friday night with our two dogs, Camper and Pilot.  We managed to book a pet-friendly hotel that was super-nice.  The dogs, however, were not nearly as impressed as we were.  They were tired, stressed, and cranky. 

The show set-up was Saturday morning.  We started setting up around 9am (the show opened at 11am).  It was a smooth set up, taking us less than 2 hours to get everything in place.  Camper and Pilot had to hang in the car pretty much the ENTIRE day.

Can you see Camper?  He's behind the bush!

Thankfully, it wasn't too terribly hot until the afternoon.  At that point we pretty much just left the car running with the AC on. 

My booth was at the end of the street at the show.  I wasn't happy about the location, but oh well.  What can you do?

Sitting in the shade in front of my booth.

We kept the booth set up clean and simple.  It looked much better that way.  In the end, I sold 4 small paintings and one big painting!  I made enough to BREAK EVEN, for the FIRST TIME!  I can't even begin to describe the relief I felt from just breaking even. :)  So, this show was a huge success in my book.

The only issue I had during the show was the lack of bathroom access provided by the sponsors.  I had to use the diner's bathroom right across the way the ENTIRE show time.  I felt terrible, running in and out of there all day long.  But, I'm pregnant and I was drinking a ton of water to stay cool and hydrated.  I didn't have much of a choice.

Once the show finally ended at 6pm, Steve and I broke my booth down in less than an hour and headed back to the hotel.  It felt good to be done and have a successful show.

The next day we took the dogs to a park close by the hotel.  We figured we needed to do something fun with them, having dragged them all the way across the state of PA!

Freedom to run and pee!

Pilot loves the water!

I wish I could have joined her. :)

Steve had me stand next to this massive tree for a nice pregnancy shot.  I feel bigger than I look!

So, now I'm gearing up (trying to, at least) for my art show this coming weekend in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  I'm nervous about the weather.  It's going to be pretty hot.  I'm glad Steve is coming with me.  He'll be able to fill in and help out when I get too hot and need a break.  Thank heavens for that!

I'll be sure to post about that show when we get home. 

Time to get ready for a busy day at the pet resort!
Laters,
Nikki