business of art and pez

©2011 gary garbett.com

In preparation for this weekend's 43rd Street Festival of the Arts, I recently placed the order for my new business cards. With all the advancement of technology and the addition of social media, there's a good bit more text than there use to be these things. 

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the best damn art show in Richmond. Period! It's a day filled with fine food, fine music, fine art and fine folks. Come get your culture on and be sure to stop by to take a look at what I've been doing creatively. If your one of those kind that needs even more incentive than all the above goodness, …yes, I'll be giving away Pez dispensers while they last. 

Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011
10-5
Forest Hill and 43rd Street.

Come see me. I'll have a free 2" x 3.5" limited edition print waiting for you.

a thankful reflection

Full Moon Claytor ©2011 gary garbett.com

There was solemnness and a revival upon departing from my vacation yesterday morning. My time away was beyond healthy and a well needed refueling for my soul. It wasn't something I jotted down on my to-do list while I was away. It just happened. Seemed almost ironic with the decade commemoration of 9/11 being played out around our country and the world.

Perhaps my deciding to take the long way home was an attempt to extend my vacation a bit, but traveling along the Blue Ridge Parkway with the windows down and the roof open was more about reflection rather than delaying my return to the real world. It was a time of emotion and celebration as I thought of the day that changed so many lives ten years earlier and on a day that looked so similar to the one I was experiencing. The air was fresh. The sky blue, and the sun warmed my skin with its touch. I drove through the beautiful panoramas, stopping from time to time just to live in the moment, knowing I have a lot to be thankful for.

The end of my vacation drive found me in the parking lot of our church. I was thirty minutes late for the 5PM dedication memorial service for 9/11. I walked in with my hair a mess, wearing shorts, and my skin still warm from the hours of sunshine. Those things were trivial and just didn't matter. I listened and was touched by the stories I heard of those retelling their personal accounts from a morning ten years earlier.

I'm not sure I could have scripted this past week any better. It renewed me, gave me hope, and opened my eyes. I believe in a lot of things ...some of which even more today than I did seven days ago.