our ideas and goals
Somehow, Cal never ceases to come up with extraordinary ideas. It seems like every day he has a new vision. I am always so excited when he says, “I had an idea.” I thought I would share what we’ve talked out recently on this post. The main goal that we really hope to see come to fruition is becoming traveling art sellers. We’d go to different art fairs around the country, traveling in one of our vintage motorhomes, with hundreds of Tinker Wagon pieces in tow. It would be seasonal, i.e. going up north in the summer, and down south (to Florida) in the winter. We could also go based on certain events. For example: when the Bread and Puppet Theatre in Vermont puts on a show, we would coordinate to go to an art fair nearby during that week. Of course, everything is up in the air because of the virus. But we figure that outdoor events could still happen. Current roadblocks are: investing in a fold-out canopy covering, like the ones that cover all of the stalls at art fairs, and buying or building displays for all of the trinkle houses and oddities. Plus, we’d need to apply to be in the art fairs, and plan many months ahead. When I write it out, it doesn’t seem like too much, especially considering how Cal and I started our own trucking business last year. Comparatively, this art fair idea would be much less expensive and much more expansive. We yearn to be surrounded by fellow artists while traveling the country. It seems like a perfect goal to have.
Another idea, which is on a more local scale, is that we’d built a “grotto” in our front yard. This grotto would display trinkle houses that could be bought by donation. It would be a weird destination for Athenians, and seem like an urban legend until one finally discovers it. It would be built out of reclaimed bricks and the inside would be tiled with Tinker Wagon tiles. You would barely go inside, if at all, so the city wouldn’t have to be involved in any planning. There would be a locked donation box built into the bricks. Another idea is that it looks like one of those ”Little Free Libraries” that are all around town. Another vision is that we build a small trailer for Cal’s 1970 Fiat, and pull the Tinker Trailer full of trinkle house to various locations around the city. The image I posted above shows some of Cal’s depictions of these. My favorite version of this is the brick grotto, because it sounds like a place where moss would grow and become very rich with a luscious, moist energy that would draw people and mystics to. It would become this witchy legend of Athens. Sadly, Cal seems to have moved on from this idea. I may need to build it myself.
His most recent idea is that we deliver a trinkle house to every home on our street. They would be free of charge, and hand picked by us for each home. We’d attach a note, explaining how in these troubling and uncertain times, we thought it would be best if everyone had one of these good luck charms in their home. Eventually, we’d work our way up to the whole neighborhood, and maybe even the whole Boulevard Historic District. Cal is very generous by nature, and this idea really describes him and his spirit. We‘ve talked about how it is odd to be making art and having to charge money for it. We both yearn to give everything away for free, to be public art servants, asking nothing in return but a smile or giggle. Unfortunately, we have bills that cannot be paid with art, but only with US currency. So, we dream of attending art fairs and selling art to happy customers, while also being able to brighten Athens with a more generous offering of free or donation-based art for everyone.
Everything is up in the air, so we can’t promise anything. But I’m sure whatever we do will be just extraordinary, simply because Cal is involved and adds so much value to the world. He works long hours, creating and detailing his artistic visions out of clay. His style is impeccable, unique, and timely. I think the only reason he isn’t a world-famous artist is that he is never comfortable with marketing himself. So that’s what I’m here for! As a millennial, I have so much practice in boasting about different topics on social media, using hashtags, understanding the algorithms of getting noticed. So Cal and I make a great team, and we both know it. Sometimes I forget just how endless the possibilities are for us, but it seems like every day there is a new idea to get excited about.