The "Artist of the Month" Story

It was an ordinary day.  One of the last days in February and I just had a call from Wayne, the owner of Strawberry & Co. in downtown Lancaster.  His neat little store is tucked away in Market Alley, across from Lancaster Central Market which is one of the best fresh food markets in the world.  Strawberry & Co. not only opens onto Market Alley, but also  onto West King Street, one of the major east-west thoroughfares in the city.  His eclectic store gets plenty of exposure from both the front and the rear and carries artwork from a variety of artists from watercolor to ceramic to papier mache.  Wayne was calling me to tell me that I was going to be the featured "Artist for the Month" for March in his store as well as on his website and if I cared to bring in a few more of my Polaroid manipulated prints, he would find space for them in his front window.  Didn't take long to answer in the affirmative and to thank him for featuring my work.  The City of Lancaster sponsors  what is called "First Friday," a shopping and dining event that takes place on the first Friday of each month.  All the stores, galleries and eateries make a special effort to attract customers into their stores and restaurants for the event, and Wayne is no different.  More sales means more profits for him and his store.  I gathered together a few "new" prints and delivered them Friday morning, just in time for his big evening.  Well, that evening our friends from State College, Jerry and Just Sue arrived for a visit and a trip to the Chesapeake for lunch on Saturday.  After a fun time along the C&D Canal we returned to Lancaster via Millersville, PA where we took a car tour of the campus of Millersville University where Jerry and I both graduated in the late 60s.  Back then it was known as Millersville State Teacher's College.  Fun time reminiscing with stories of the different buildings and our favorite lunchtime hangout, the "Rat Race."  As we entered Lancaster City from the west we drove past Strawberry & Co. and sure enough, there in the front window were several of my photographs.  Pretty impressive I thought to myself ...... no maybe I actually told my riders how impressed I was with seeing my artwork in the window.  I just returned from another trip to the store to take a shot of the front window for my scrapbook and this story.  What do you think?  Impressed?  For me it's really neat to think that someone may actually like one of my prints enough to buy it, but it's even neater to think that someone would feature me as the "Artist of the Month."  It was an ordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Photo of my computer screen with Strawberry & Co. website.

Strawberry and Co. entrance on West King Street.  My photos are in the bottom left of the photo.