Yesterday I participated in an art show in a park not too far from home, Memorial Park in Lansdale, PA. This show is a long-running event and I’ve been in it, though not every year, for about 20 years. I’ve shown fabric, collage, and now paintings for the last couple of years.

This event is special to me because it was one of the first shows I did when I got started, and it’s also the place where I won my first award, also about twenty years ago. I got third place for a fabric wall hanging, and when the ribbon was presented to me I broke down in tears. To me, that award meant I was really an artist, that I belonged.

This year, we had a beautiful sunny day, warm and breezy. A great crowd attended.

It was a day for seeing people. I caught up with several friends who were exhibiting. My friend John came to see us and sat with us for most of the afternoon.

A little boy, about ten years old, stopped in with his mother; she said he insisted on seeing my work, and he told me he wanted to be an artist himself. I gave him one of my little paintings and they said it was his first original piece, so I started off his art collection! (I got an email from him later that night thanking me and sending me an image of one of his paintings.) What a nice day for me.

To top it off, I won Best of Show. A surprise for me and exciting. I did not cry this time, but I certainly was very happy. Thank you, Lansdale Festival of the Arts!