
Taffeta? Check.
Baby tee? Check.
Black tennies with teeny little skulls that look like cherries? Check.
Flower in hair because I will never stop loving flowers in hair? Check.
And oh yes…artwork installed? Check. Interns on time? Check. Interview on TV? Check. Art lovers everywhere for big Sugarluxe Show? Check.
Hail balls the size of sno-cones? Um…
I checked…the Weather Channel said 96 degrees and sunny all day. Sugarluxe? She say bad words under breath at massive hail balls.
Waaaaaaauuuugghhhhhhh!!!
Well, it was supposed to be perfect weather (except maybe for the 100% humidity making the 96 degrees feel like 110) but hey, we were moved inside and we worked our BUTTS off to create this showcase.
As you know, it was a charity benefit for the Austin Children’s Shelter and the weather wasn’t going to stop us from selling every single painting.
Or…was it?
We started the show opening early just for mid-day shoppers. However, the special events director thought it would be better for us to save our energy for the 6-9pm crowd. I really didn’t mind hanging out and mingling all day…as long as we were ready for the 7 o’clock rush hour later.

The Sugarluxe girls looked like beautiful little rosebuds despite loading in tons O’ crap that morning…I was ready to sign magazines, hug lots of people, kiss sweet smellin’ babies and sell large scale works of art (most - NEVER before available pieces) in an effort to raise awareness and money for ACS…
And then this…Large Hail and Dangerous Lightning Hits the Austin Metro Area.
But alas, if you thought it was all sweet here in candyland (or if I somehow fooled you into thinking that way) then it’s time to come clean…some days just SUCK!!!!
However, if I can at all help it, we try to make sucky situations better. I used to get so frustrated with my mom who has ALWAYS pointed out the bright side to EVERYTHING. Now, I realize that the bright side (thank you MOM!) is a perspective that aids survival.
Here’s the bright side of Saturday:
My interns are about to graduate, so we can’t help but be excited about that. I did get time with friends who I hadn’t seen in ages (and typically, I never get time to talk to them at our shows). I saw, held and kissed many babies (self-pity alert: a bit harder right now considering I am going on FIVE years of no two pink lines on my pregnancy tests). And we did sit with jaws dropped when we watched the band disappear and people fleeing the show in droves as they dodged huge chunks of ice falling from the sky (we were seriously concerned about people’s safety and our cars) but when things feel a bit hopeless…you can either laugh, or you can completely lose your mind.
So, what can a group of really disappointed girls do?
What else? Get a glass of wine and toast to good times.
That’s how it is around here. Many things never work out as we plan. But we DO try to make the best of it. Stuff happens every day making us want to pull our hair out…but I’m trying to learn that some things just can’t be helped.

As a control freak perfectionist person who wants everything to be a major success, sometimes, it’s just hard to admit that things like, you know, weather, getting pregnant, and sold out shows are not completely up to me.
Luckily, when we were doing the installation for the show, the fabulouso Central Market asked if I would be willing to have the art in there for 6 weeks!
ABSO(freakin)LUTELY.
Now, after weathering Saturday’s storm, I am even happier that the good people at Central Market responded to the work so well as to ask us to display/SELL (subliminal message to buy) over the next couple of months…giving us WAY more time to help raise money for the abused children who need this shelter and care from the wonderful people who work there.

So, if you’ve ever wanted Sugarluxe for your walls, won’t you please consider buying now?
The pieces are signed, numbered and many are Artist Proofs (AP 1/15) with an enclosed Sugarluxe Certificate of Authenticity on the back. These are unlike the pieces you can get in any of the stores that carry our line. Very cool, very limited and for a very good cause.

All artwork is currently located at the original Central Market on North Lamar in Austin, Texas and will be available until June 30, 2008.
40″ x 40″ Gallery Wrapped Canvases with Embedded Crystals | Signed & Numbered - $399
16″ x 20″ Limited Edition Archival Signed Prints | Matted, Mounted & Framed in Glass - $129
and more pieces we don’t yet have pictures of! Check back soon.
With all my Art & Soul…
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4 Responses for "In the words of Will Smith…Ahh hail NO!"
I love your work! You have some talent. I’m jealous!
Hi Kirsten,
Thank you so much for such a sweet comment. I’ve been away for a bit and it is really excellent to come back to something that makes me feel so good.
awwww! I love these new limited edition canvases!! I want one! I promise to be purchasing one this year! After a move into a bigger house I’m finally going to have the painting room I need. A real studio again! I had gone from what was a full size studio to a little 11×10 room that I could barely walk in! Most closets are that size.
It’s definitely harrowing doing this line of work, being self-represented, investing the long hours, what financial lines we may have, and emotion into something that we truly believe in. You have such talent and work ethic many of us artists would take great inspiration from! I’ve had a few shows that from the very moment I set foot in the place, gave me great knots in my stomach and thoughts of bolting out the door. One little mistake here, unconcieveable change of events there, and then in the end there is that twinkle in everyone’s eye and you remember why we do what we do!!…. It’s so rewarding in the end. Somewhat daunting, very frustrating, but ooooh so rewarding! Maybe I should consider interning for you one day so I can gain some skills and business etiquette from you that I could use!
I’ve been doing this for over 4 years now and it gets more exciting every year, that’s for sure!
ok, now I’m practically writing a letter here! hahah
Flower Shop Austin…
Very creative submission….
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