“How many girls have you slept with?” the man shouts.
The woman talking to me look over at him. “What did he say?” the first woman asks.
He shouts the line again and adds, “That’s what it says. Right here.”
I realize that he’s reading one of the pictures. In a stone at the bottom of a picture, there is an argument cut from my novel and one character asks this question of another.
“Who’s he talking to?” the second woman asks.
“Um…” I flip my artist badge over and back. “Well…”
The man’s wife takes him by the arm. “Come on,” she says to him.
“It’s her novel. And I’m reading and that’s what it says.”
People rarely read the art that closely. Or if they do, they keep it to themselves. Earlier another man said, “Your novel and your art? You’re really putting yourself out there.”
I couldn’t help but hear the unasked question, “Why?”
Why do we put ourselves out there? What do we hope to gain?
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 
Putting it out there makes it real.
Look at you! I hope your weekend was a success. Can’t wait to hear more about it.
What if the unspoken end to that sentence wasn’t, “why?” but, “Wow, I wish I were that brave.”
Don’t assume everyone that everyone thinks you’re crazy. A lot of people have yearnings in that direction that they’ve never been able to go all the way with.
That booth looks really cool and so do you.
I don’t think I’d be brave enough to be there while strangers looked at my work. Especially my writing. I think it’s great that you did that.
Squirrel, does it? I’ll have to think about that.
Sherri, the festival was a great experience.
rowena, point taken.
fairyhedgehog, you never know what you’re brave enough to do when faced with an opportunity. I never thought I’d do something like that!
Although I was off-line for a few days, on Saturday I did think Hmm, wonder how the art-fest thing is going…?
SO glad it went well. We take validation in whatever form we can get it; the best thing about a public art show like this, with you actually in the booth, is how quickly the validation can come. (And I loved the story about the guy reading the novel through the picture!)
Was disassembling the display as… as… as interesting as putting it together in the first place?
I love the booth!
I love the guy shouting out the question!
and I LOVE your hair! it is SO cute!
JES, the main thing about the disassembly was the wind. The wind that weekend was amazing. When I went to move those boards to the van I was nearly knocked over backwards. That, and the wire used to hold it all together did a good number on my hands. Nicks everywhere. The real nightmare is how to deal with all the stuff now in my apartment!
Sophie, Thank you, thank you! I’m so totally happy with my hair–for once.
I like the fact that he had the gumption to shout it!