Harley 115th at the Museum

Labor Day Weekend at the Museum

It has been a few years since I have shown art at the Harley Museum so when I found out Heyltje Rose was going this year I jumped on the chance to share a booth with her. Our hand crafted motorcycle goods have a tendency to compliment each other rather well and, with the added bonus of seeing her face for a week, it made the prospect of the journey irresistible. So with quite a bit of preparation I loaded up the Art mobile and drove to Milwaukee to Hustle Art during the 115th Anniversary party.

A few things changed this time around. Firstly, the museum extended the hours of operation so we had to be present from 9-9. Pretty long days, which denied us the opportunity to visit friends, but at least we got to spend a lot of time together to catch up and developed some pretty stellar ideas. I would tell you about our magic brain children but sometimes the million dollar ideas needs to be kept secret. Haha... 

Secondly and most importantly the level of professionalism in our display clearly stated that we had been doing some serious adulting over the past few years. We were so proud to show all the familiar faces a booth that no longer looked like a yard sale. I was truly honored by all the people that came to visit the art show made me remember why it was so hard to leave milwaukee in the first place. Honestly If it weren’t for the weather I would still be there because the people are beyond amazing.

Thirdly the studio has been quite busy these days so I got to spend the week painting live and selling art. With India only a week after my return I really had to scramble to get a Biltwell Lane Splitter painted as well as an oil commission done prior to leaving. Jessi and I even found time to sign some books in between all the chaos.

Not only did I spend the days at the museum I did a little painting live at Rogues gallery, which was basically where I started my art career. I wish I could say I got to go out and see the Race of Gentlemen and enjoy the concerts and witness the take over of Brady street; but alas working 14 hour days had me just toasted. I mean it was pretty embarrassing because like and old lady I was in bed by 11 at the latest each night. This is just another example of my serious adulting I have been doing these days. I know painting while simultaneously talking to people all day doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when you are used to being along in your studio, it takes a lot of energy to be a social bunny.

By the end of the event my head was spinning with conversation and even my amazing husband rode his 9th iron butt to get to town to visit. I can’t imagine doing all this if I was still drinking, but somehow even in all of my sobriety, Heyltje and Charlie talked me into getting a Cupcake tattoo with a gold tooth and FTW written in the icing... so classy... how do I let these things happen!!! Like so many things these days it was over before it began. The hours made the event seem like one long day but the time I got to spend with Heyltje was pretty priceless. With far less art than I came with I loaded up the art mobile, turned her sails toward Colorado and moved on to the next adventure.