8-May-99 Sharon crafts sale

. .
.
Today was the fourth time we've taken Zum Gali Gali Stamps to the SCAA. Don't get excited! That's SCAA, not SCA. Sharon Creative Arts Association, in Sharon Mass, 22 miles from here (that's what the odometer read, so that's how many miles I'm going to charge as a business expense each way). One of the organizers is a retired Newton art teacher, that is, someone Arlene has known for years. The first time we went to that sale it was almost as a favor to her, to help round out the crafts sale part of the day's program. We did enough business, and had a good enough time, that we've gone back ever since.

The event is at the Sharon Community Center, a brick building on the shore of Massapoag Pond which was a resort hotel in the early part of this century. There were perhaps a dozen craft booths set up in a big room with hardwood floor and lots of windows, probably once the hotel dining hall. The wall opposite us had an exhibit of quilts by the Rose of Sharon quilting club. A photo exhibit from the local camera club was along the wall to our right, with space for musical performances in front of it. There was a bake sale in the entrance hall (former hotel lobby), along with a raffle and a kids crafts activity area. During the morning there was a circus arts performance in the lobby by a kid about 12 years old. When I walked through to the restroom he was juggling four beanbags. Last year I watched him doing things I can't do on a unicycle.

I had a good time getting a Photoshop lesson from one of the camera club members, whose film of choice is a 3.5 inch floppy. The prints she was exhibiting were 5 x 7 inches and bigger, and she said they all started from a 640 x 480 digital camera. She recommended doing auto levels right away, then increasing resolution from 72 to 150 dpi in two stages, then using unsharp mask to sharpen the picture. She showed me what duotone pictures look like and how to control the duotone color curves.

From time to time we got to peek in the room behind us, where small musical groups were performing folk songs with guitar and piano accompaniment. After lunchtime (a middle eastern food stand was set up on the far side of the lobby. We got a chicken shish kebab and a falafel sandwich) the Sharon Community Chorus gave a concert in the room we were in, with a beautiful a capella rendition of “Danny Boy”, “High Hopes” , and “Down By the Riverside” (and a couple of songs I don't know). Then the Roy Scott Big Band came in. Volume! Four trumpets, five saxophones, trombones, and more, not playing really loud but not particularly holding back. I love hearing that much sound with no electronics in the picture.

Business was slow enough that Arlene had lots of time to talk to her old colleague, who was set up next to us with her polymer clay jewelry, and I put together six or eight little memo books. Even so, we took in twice as much as we spent on our booth fee, mileage, and lunch. It was a pretty nice way to spend a drizzly Saturday.