I've been keeping myself busy lately, preparing for my show next Friday, September 2.

I'm making several different types of work, one type shown above.

It's been a long time since I've drawn only using graphite. This whittling down to such simplicity has been good and really enjoyable. I have a feeling I might be doing a lot more drawings like this in the future.

{The show next week is at 123 S Gay Street in Knoxville from 6-9pm}

Whenever I hear Hurricane by Bob Dylan, I see Matthew McConaughey walking in slow motion through a billiard hall. I can't help it, and I'm not complaining.

I dropped off the Mason Jars for Folk Fest at Yee-Haw today. I wish them well.

Here are some photos.


























































































































For this batch, I even tried a little something different with my signature on the back. I thought of this a while back but had never written it out. OMG! So presh and fitting.



Now that I've completed this and that, I have another deadline coming up.

I'm showing work at Kate Moore Creative and Jennie Andrews Photography Studio located at 123 South Gay Street (in Knoxville) next month. The opening is September 2, so if you're around for First Friday, please come see me and the work that does not exist now, but will very soon.

I just finished a commissioned painting today that I've been working on for entirely too long. I've written before about my issues with commissioned artwork. Even though the "patron" said to enjoy myself, it still stressed me out, hence why it took me a while to complete.

So this particular lady found a very large canvas (62 x 42" to be exact) at a thrift store and decided she wanted me to paint the lyrics to You are My Sunshine on it. She has sung the song to her daughter every night for, I'm guessing the past decade, and she wanted to give the painting to her daughter for her birthday.

I found some images online of other paintings I've seen with the same lyrics. We discussed colors and style. Basically, she wanted it to be "old timey" looking with greys, blues, and maybe greens. She also wanted the text to look hand-written. Got it.

I found a couple of fonts online to use and decided to interchange them and also make certain words larger than others. I spent several days drawing out the letters with charcoal, referencing my computer in the very beginning and then making it up the rest of the way.

I took the painting to the lady today, and cringed as I waited for her reaction. I didn't have to cringe long before she exclaimed, "I LOVE IT!" and gave me a huge hug.

But that's not all. She actually began to tear up, and then proceeded to hug me several more times. Granted, she's been having to deal with some difficult things in her life recently, which probably explains the response, but hands down, the most surprising and best reaction to date.

And now I expect nothing less from future clients. I'm gonna need tears, people.






















 And to give you an idea of the size:

Living in Knoxville is pretty spectacular. I'm a big fan, you can ask anybody, but there are fleeting moments when I get a little antsy here.

It helps, in these moments, to focus on the things that make Knoxville great, the natural beauty, the people, the local businesses. One such business on this list that I've always admired is Yee-Haw Industrial Letterpress.





When Julie Belcher and Kevin Bradley joined forces in 1996 to create Yee-Haw, they were pioneers in reviving the practice of Industrial Letterpress. To see their shop thrive on Gay Street for the decade I've been in Knoxville, to know they create and sell artwork in a city that doesn't sustain its artists, to me, it's so exciting. Their work as creative entrepreneurs is impressive and has always made me a little starstruck.

With that said, I'm pleased to share (giddy, in fact) that Yee-Haw has recently asked me to be in an art exhibition with them. I'm one of four artists to show work alongside their prints this coming weekend, August 19-21, at the Slotin Folk Fest in Norcross, GA, just outside of Atlanta. Folk Fest is the world's largest folk art show and sale.



They've asked for twenty of my Mason Jar paintings, and so at this very moment, I'm in my studio busting them out. After I make these, I'll have a few more to make to reach my goal of 100, and then I'll be done.

If you've been thinking about purchasing one, you still have a chance to do so via Etsy, the Market Square Farmer's this Saturday from 9-2pm, or by emailing me at beth@bethmeadows.com. 

I've recently rekindled my love for the public library. I admit, I don't really check out books, per se, but mostly DVDs and CDs. It's free, and like a little slice of heaven.

In other news, I caught my fourth bouquet this past Saturday at my friend's wedding. I felt the only fitting thing to do when I returned to my hometown was to check out Sam Cooke and listen to his voice as much as possible.

Enjoy.

On Saturday, I was in a wedding in Memphis. I arrived there Friday for a bridesmaids' luncheon and went to the rehearsal dinner that night. The next day we had to be at the church at 2 for the 5:00 wedding. There was much excitement, much hustle and bustle, and I knew it was going to be a fun weekend.

However, I knew that there would be sadness in the midst of it all as well. 

A family friend passed away last Thursday evening and his funeral was held the morning of the wedding. In one day, I sat in two different churches under two very different circumstances.

I realize the situation could have been more dire for me personally. It could have been my wedding day, or it could have been my father who passed away. Even though I had distance from each situation, I still felt so much sorrow for my friend who lost his father and, at the same time, so much joy for my friend who was getting married.

The older I get, the more I see joy and sorrow run side by side.

Also, the older I get, the more sentimental I become. This weekend made me reflect on the distance I feel from certain friends that will always mean so much to me, but who I rarely speak with or see anymore. Those friendships have run their natural course, I know that, but there's a connection I'll always feel toward the friends I knew when I was younger.

Now I more easily accept that some friendships are only for a season, I even expect it. It doesn't mean I like it, but I get it now...

... by the way, none of these thoughts have to do with the fact that three of my best friends just moved away. Nooo. Nope.

{here are some old photos I dug up this past weekend}
















{^ hiking in the Smokies}



{^ Easter Sunday tradition}



(^ Halloween- a knight, a unicorn, a dragon, and a ballerina)






















{^ I'm the kid with the worm on her overalls. I don't even know.}

I just added a couple of new items on my Etsy shop. Hooray! They are drawings in shadow boxes I made using salvaged tin ceiling tiles.



The one above is of the IGA Grocery store in Fort Sanders, a historic neighborhood in Knoxville, Tennessee. The building is in bad shape, so I decided to send some good vibes its way by making a drawring of it.






















The one below is of Flynn Paint, formerly one of my favorite buildings; it has since been renovated in a hideous manner. I like to remember it the way it is drawn here, the way it was when I adored it.



I use salvaged materials from the Knox Heritage Salvage program, which I manage, to raise awareness about the importance of historic preservation. Part of the proceeds from these items goes to KH, which is a non-profit. You can learn more about their work at www.knoxheritage.org.

These babies will be with me at the Market Square Farmers' Market THIS Saturday, August 6 from 9am to 2pm. If I still have them, mention this post and I'll give you 20% off.