(One Too Many) Adventures at the Chicago Botanic Gardens Art Festival

Chicago Botanic Gardens Art Festival

Strolling at the Chicago Botanic Gardens Art Fair

Sherpa and I spent the weekend in Chicago. I exhibited my Seeded Earth Photography at the Chicago Botanic Gardens Art Festival. It was a rather crazy, mixed up weekend.

First we had to keep switching schedules to adapt to work schedules and show timetables. When Sherpa had a conflict on Thursday which was set-up day, my son agreed to drive me, the trailer and the art set up to Chicago on Wednesday evening. That worked out well. We had an entire evening to catch up on a few years worth of conversations.

Thursday set up went well. We set up the booth, strolled a bit through the Botanic Gardens, had a quick lunch, and Jeff was back on his way to Madison by 3 in the afternoon. Sherpa arrived later that evening to take over the assistant’s duties.

Friday again started off well. It was warm and humid, but there was no rain in the forecast until later in the evening so we were looking forward to a dry, uneventful first day of the three-day show – maybe a bit sweaty, but not rainy! The day stayed dry, but not uneventful.

We had a couple of hours of set up to do before the show began. As Sherpa and I were getting the awnings of the booth unrolled, I stepped backwards, tripped over another artist’s gear, and hit my head hard on a ladder laying in the grass. I’ll sum up the next 24 hours quickly–ambulance, ER, CAT scan, hospital admission for 24 hours’ observation for post-concussion syndrome.

Sherpa went back to the festival where employees of Amdur Productions and so many wonderful artists near my booth pitched in and set up my photography display and helped Sherpa when he needed a second pair of hands. When I was discharged from the hospital at noon on Saturday, complication-free, I went to the show and found everything in good shape. And so the rest of the show proceeded smoothly.

I want to note that I started out on this art show path with little idea of how things were going to work out. There were lots of unanswered questions, lots of risk taking, and a few sleepless nights. Sherpa and I are both lucky, because we discovered we love doing art shows. But the best benefit of being on the art fair circuit was one I had not expected.

It was meeting and becoming friends with the amazing artists at the various shows. It was getting to know the people who capably run the shows and handle emergencies in stride.

To all of you, thank you. I am so very proud to be a show circuit artist associated with such fine and caring people.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. This weekend she very briefly considered whether the life of an artist was the life for her. She answered with a resounding YES – what other life could be so fulfilling and meaningful.

Weekend Show – Seeded Earth Studio at Chicago Botanic Garden Art Festival

Tall Stem Poppy

Tall Stem Poppy © 2011 Bo Mackison

Here is one more photo of this gorgeously pink poppy, my favorite flower from this spring.  The soft pink colors combined with a hint of purple, and the bonus raindrops, made this a flower any botanical photographer would love to study and photograph. And I did both.

This weekend I will be at the 1st Annual Chicago Botanic Garden Art Festival in Glencoe, Illinois, an art show organized by Amdur Productions of Highland Park in association with the Botanic Garden. This photograph will be one of the many flower and garden photos in the Seeded Earth Studio booth.

I can think of no better place to display my garden photo gallery than in this magnificent botanical garden.

The art fair will be held on the Esplanade from Friday July 1 through Sunday July 3 — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The 80 artists in the Chicago Botanic Garden Art Fair will exhibit art that is in some way related to a botanical theme. This promises to be a one of a kind summer art fair.

If you visit the art festival, please come visit my booth, #24. I will be presenting a booth chat about photography at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 2. Hope to see you there.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is looking forward to this weekend’s art fair set in the midst of the Chicago Botanic Gardens–a tiny piece of heaven on earth.