Opening Day at Art is You Petaluma

Yesterday was officially the first day of Art is Petaluma 2014, and things are already hopping. We had a big crowd for breakfast and the first Morning Motivator, which is always lots of fun. This first one is called Getting to Know You, and it's our chance to reconnect with people we've met before and meet new people and find out stuff we didn't know about pretty much everyone. Here's the card we give people when they register:

My favorite part is the last one, about secret unappreciated talents. Some people say they haven't discovered theirs yet, and some have talents that are unappreciated but not secret, and then we have the others, the one like mine: I can imitate a cat so well my own cats will run up and sniff my mouth. I assume it's to see if I've swallowed a kitten, but it might just be that I'm making so much noise that they're worried I may begin to froth at the mouth and attack them all. Whatever. I demonstrated this talent, but I was immediately outstripped by the demonstration of imitating a chicken, which was most excellent and surely unappreciated, since few people grasp the wonder that is chicken-ry. Someone sang for us, and she was beyond fabulous.

Others had talents we wanted to see, but they said they'd demonstrate later in the day, after happy hour, perhaps: doing the splits, hula dancing, playing a tiny, tiny harmonica. You should make sure you're alert so you won't miss any of these when they occur, perhaps spontaneously in the lobby. What I love about Getting to Know You is that it's an easy way to break the ice. Most people here aren't shy, but some of us are, and it can be tough to go up and introduce yourself to strangers, ask if you can sit at their table, ask if you can borrow a pen or an X-acto knife or a piece of tape. But if you've sat next to someone who imitated a cat in heat over scrambled eggs and toast, it's much easier to talk to them later. I mean, really: what could you *not* talk to them about?

I try to get everyone to show up for the Morning Motivators. Sure, you've have to get up a little earlier. Sure, it's not quite like having your coffee in your jammies in bed. Sure, it's a pain to schlepp your stuff down to the meeting room. But it's worth it: it's one of the few times when all you have to do is sit, be entertained, and feel like part of a family. For the rest of the day you're going to be sawing and soldering, painting and cutting and glueing, stitching and slashing, but for that first hour, all you have to do is relax into the joy and energy of your tribe, your people, your art family.

Join us today, when I'll talk about publishing with Tonia Jenny, my editor at North Light Books. We'll talk about getting published, and there will be time for questions. And, of course, coffee!