Its true. It started out as a way to make a meager living while spending time with family.
But it became a pretty good business and well, I really love it.
I really look forward to camping out for months at a time. Weird, I know…
Anyone who's ever been in west central Florida in the summer knows
about the 3 H's of Hell: Heat, Humidity and Hurricanes. People may flock to my state during the
rest of the year, but June through September are NOT fun. I used to get this sort of cabin-fever
depression that time of year (depression in an artist? Freakish, I know…) like people get in the
winter up north. When its 80 degrees at down, you really don't want to spend a lot of time outside.
Also, getting work that time of year for me is often like pulling
teeth. As you can tell from this web site, I'm an artist. Although I do illustration, fine art
and portraiture, I do a lot of other things to solve the age-old dilemma
of how-do-I-pay-the-rent-and-do-art-at-the-same-time? I do a lot of event art: face painting,
henna body art, caricatures. I'm sort of an Art Jack of All Trades. I work at events, fairs,
birthday parties, and sometimes for event and party planners. Fine work when you can get it…
In the heat of the Florida summer, that's not always easy. Sometimes, its hard to get temp
secretarial work, what I fall back on to support my "art-habit" during lean periods.
One day, my sister suggested that I come up to the picturesque
Finger Lakes region of Upstate NY and stay with them. New Yorkers only get about 3 months
of summer, so they're out to have fun. She assured me that there's always a zillion events
in the area they work in, even if I couldn't find work at theirs.
They work at Renaissance Festivals. My brother-in-law is a musican,
and so's mys sister, part of the year. They travel most of the year and work in TX, PA, NY and FL.
They live in a tiny trailer with a large and very strange dog named Holly. The 2000 census
designated them as Migrant Workers.
I have myself worked at Ren Fairs since 1985 and still do off
and on. People often ask "where the troupe goes from here?" There are some similarities to
running off and joining the circus, but there really is no "troupe." There are shows all over
the country and people work as independent contractors at whatever show is convenient or profitable
for them. I've worked as an actor singer, stage combatant, crafter, royal court member…pretty
much anything but joust and juggle. Many artists like Ed Beard, L. A. Williams, Ruth Thomson,
etc sell their fantasy art at Ren Fairs. Oddly enough, that's one thing I've never done.
Maybe someday. I've already got the costumes….
