By Syed Feisol Ahmad

I took a last look around our booth site, making sure we didn’t leave anything. Whitney, who was already in the passenger seat, buckled her seat belt. Eager to get home she cried out, “C’mon! Let’s go, we don’t want to miss the ferry.”

After a quick look in the van to make sure everything was secured, I closed the back doors, climbed into our Chevy Astro van and started the engine. We drove slowly across the grassy field of Edmonds Elementary School, the site of the weekend festival. Headed toward the exit we manoeuvred around other artists who were still packing and loading their cars and vans.

We reached the exit. Just before I drove off onto the city street, I felt a profound sense of joy and pride in accomplishment. I could barely contain this feeling of excitement. It was such a huge childlike emotion that I dared not express lest it be met with ridicule or indifference. Sensing that Whitney was feeling conflicted, I sat quietly and contained my excitement. Truth be told, I never display excitement, much to my wife’s annoyance. Before driving off I glanced quickly at her, and quietly said to myself, “This is so much fun! I want to do this for the rest of my life.” It was a moment of clarity that defined who I am today.

I continued driving to the Anacortes ferry terminal to catch the last ferry back home to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands. It was the end of our weekend exhibiting Whitney’s artwork at the Edmonds Arts Festival in the beautiful Pacific Northwest town of Edmonds, Washington.

Grassy field where Edmonds Arts Festival is held annually in June. This pix is from My Edmonds News website posted on June 5, 2018

As vendors we had done outdoor street fairs a few times before, but this time it was different. This was our first juried art festival where the artwork must be original and done by the participating artist. The procedure required the artist to apply by a deadline with a professionally photographed body of work in the form of mounted Kodachrome slide films that can be projected. These would be juried by a panel of judges. We prepared the application months before the event.

Weeks after our submission Whitney received a letter of invitation to exhibit her paper collage artworks at the Edmonds Arts Festival. The pressure was on. Excitement turned into doubt. Will we have enough work? Will the work be good enough? Will they sell? Quickly nerves were quelled. Resolutely Whitney accepted the invitation and sent the booth fee. She spent the following months making enough work to fill the booth.

Meanwhile, I had to figure out how to build a clean professional looking display – something I hadn’t done before. It required some carpentry, of which I had done precious little. I came up with a design, but after looking at the parts required I surmised that it was too heavy to lug around. Back to the drawing board – which I had to do several times. It took many sketches and much contemplation to a point of over thinking it, which I do a lot I later found, much to my detriment. Many days later I came up with what I thought was a brilliant design.

The display would be attractive, light in weight and collapsible. It was going to be easy to set up, tear down and pack. It would be able to withstand years of multiple use with an occasional new coat of paint to freshen it up. A system of interconnecting walls built out of  1×2 lumber, metal corner brackets and luan plywood sheets while using screw eyes and 2 inch bolts as hinges – yes, this would do the job.

With confidence I proceeded to build the display. Days later when it was all finished, I put together a mock version and was thrilled that it surpassed my expectations. I proclaimed the display ready for its first art fair.

A scene from a recent Edmonds Arts Festival. This pix is from is from the website EdmondsArtsFestival.com

Even though it was not my artwork on display at the art festival, the amazing display system was my handiwork. I was proud of it, not to mention all the work I put in to complete the presentation; cutting glass, matting and framing the artworks.

We were collaborators, my wife and I. We were an effective team. Before, I was content with being the roadie, the schlepper, the helper. This time I took ownership of the venture. Together we had worked to make the Edmonds show a successful venture.

Did we make a lot of money that weekend? No, we did not. We made enough to break even. If we had gauged success solely by economic gain, we would have been so disappointed and decided not to do that ever again. To some this could have been a red flag that warned “Don’t become an artist.”

But I lived with an artist and by this time we had been married for 3 some years. Some of my many attractions to her were her art and the successful artist life that she was living. I wanted some of that. Her life proved to me that one could do this. I thought that if I stick close to her long enough, I’ll learn to do and be the same.

We finally made it to the ferry terminal and were grateful we were allowed to get in line for the last boat to Friday Harbor. As we waited for the ferry to arrive, Whitney expressed ambivalence about Edmonds but was relieved it was all over.

I didn’t know what was at stake for Whitney at the time. We were a team but it was her work we were exhibiting. Her work on the line. She wanted to sell more work. It was business, but to artists artwork is also personal.

On the other hand, unburdened by the need to perform, I was ecstatic. I declared it a great success for a first timer. Except for the small detail of not making much money, there was no disaster. Things went smoothly and we were almost home.

Art fairs represented a business model novel to Whitney. Before, she was a gallery artist where most of the marketing is handled by the galleries. Needless to say there is a learning curve to selling at art fairs. We knew that when we were there on that festival ground. We saw how experienced festival artists work their booths. We knew we had some work to do. I was certain we would learn it after having a few fairs under our belt.

Here I am in 2023, thirty years later. Today you will find me cutting, firing and framing glass in my glass fusing studio, getting ready for my Florida art shows in February with my own artwork. Whitney has quit the art festival circuit, now spending her time in the studio painting commissioned oil portraits.

The writer in his glass studio

I am doing what I said I wanted to do. It took a few more years after Edmonds before I became an artist myself working in the glass medium. That moment of clarity way back then has set me on this path. I started exhibiting my work 25 years ago. I don’t know if I will be doing art fairs for the rest of my life. I’m still loving it, so I guess for a while I will carry on as the art fair artist.

The writer in his booth at Long’s Park Arts Festival 2022 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Syed Feisol Ahmad was born and raised in Kedah. He simply wants to go places, meet people and do things with them. He currently calls North Carolina home. Whitney, his wife of 34 years, is always ready for an adventure.