We made it!

So...I was out at work today, nervous because I was expecting an email from an art festival I had applied to, because their jury date was today.  Didn't get an email during work...then afterwards, as I was heading to the library, I checked my phone in my car just before taking my books in...and there it was.

I GOT IN!

This happy Scotty picture expresses my joy.  Except he's kinda understating it a little.  I may have done a happy dance in my car when I got the email.

So you can expect to see me at the Hilton Indoor Fine Art Show on August 23rd and 24th, if you are in the greater Tucson area.

And what does this mean for me?  Well, a lot...

This show is one of the biggies.  It's run by a pretty big organization, and they bring in a LOT of people to their shows - when I worked for the jeweler, she did a couple of their shows, and she was very successful at some of them.  It's a lot of exposure, so even if you don't make many sales, you still get customer leads, and you get to network with other artists in the area, so it's an awesome opportunity

But they're selective, they only accept 45 vendors, so this is really the first juried arts/crafts fair I've gotten into.  (The ones I did this summer have been market-style, open to all comers.)  That makes me feel really great.  And having been to the organization's other shows, having seen the caliber of artists who get in, it's really flattering to be in this group.

I admit, too, I mentally prepared myself for not getting it.  This morning, in an attempt not to be nervous, I said to myself, "okay, pretend you just got the rejection email, and go about your day as if you didn't get in and have to plan for other alternatives."  You know, the pessimist's coping mechanism of "expect the worst, so if it happens you're prepared, or if the best happens you're pleasantly surprised."  And it worked!  I got to be pleasantly surprised, while still mapping out alternative routes just in case.

So here we go!  Getting into this festival was a big step on my journey of making my art into a business, and now I've achieved it...it's only going upwards from here.