Tennessee Arts & Crafts Fair

I was so excited to see that the TACA show was this weekend in Nashville. I needed something to get me out of the house and get my mind on some fun stuff. They show twice a year here, once in the spring and once in the fall. I believe I missed out on the spring show this year.

Some of my favorites were there including R. Michael Wimmer. His work is called "found object sculptures." I would love to have one! What fun stuff.

Then there was one of my favorite clay artists, a husband and wife duo Sandy & Ann Batton of Batton Clayworks out of North Carolina. Love their stuff!

These were new folks that I had either missed in previous years or were actually new to the show. Eco Art had some wonderful pieces.

When I saw this, of course I had to get it for Riverside!

Not sure if Maclone Clay was new or not, but I had not noticed them before. Loved their yard stakes and the little plaque about faeries.

I got this, also for Riverside, to cover up the old door bell hole in the wall by the back door. These are the only rules at Riverside.

It was a beautiful morning before the sun began producing the heat of the afternoon.

I skipped out on a demonstration by Akira Blount that I would have loved to have seen. Her "dolls" are incredible. More than incredible. It was beginning to get too hot and too crowded so I missed it. I'm bad that way. I was also afraid I may be tempted to purchase a piece with no money to buy it with!

I did come home with lots of papers to go through including a brochure from the Appalachian Center for Craft which lists classes! Classes!!! I am in desperate need of some classes! That is one of the things I miss the most after leaving the DC area, classes and workshops. They are very few and far between down here in Nashville. So, you can only imagine my excitement when I came upon their booth. They are about an hour and half from here, not too bad. There are two weekend sessions that I am thinking about--"Figure it Out," modeling a figure in clay and "Book Arts Galore," innovative formats to create our own books. Hmmmmmm. Ooops, already missed the clay class. Oh well.

Now, look at the pieces I brought home that I am really excited about! Remember last year, I bought the funky tea pot from Batton Pottery? Well, this year, they had a platter that was reduced for quick sale! Yep, I bought it very quickly. Look at how pretty!! Yay!

You know I'm a sucker for small things. And Sandy had more of his tiny little clay boxes. So yes, I bought a couple more to add to this one I got last year.

Precious little tea pot on top.

And who could resist eggs and bacon? Not me, for sure. Can you hear me squealing from there?

Then I splurged. I was being so good too. Really. But when I came back by Ben Caldwell's copper booth, I just couldn't help myself. You know me and my copper in the kitchen, right? I had found this great polenta pot on the bargain table at Williams-Sonoma a while back and I had just recently hung it behind my stove. I loved the acorn motif on the handle. Well today, there were these luscious copper ladles just calling my name. Ok, I bought the smallest one. And look at how utterly perfect it goes with my pot. Can you say "hot apple cider?" hehe.

It all is just making me happy. I need to be happy. Happy happy happy. Are you happy today?