art by sarah kargol

welcome to my crazy life! :)

this summer has been nuts. the weather's been nuts... our family's schedule has been nuts... my show schedule has been completely nuts... and i think i'm nuts too! ;) (that fact probably helps me in creating my art.) the stone arch festival in minneapolis went wonderful. i won first place in the mixed media category! quite a thrill. :) last weekend was the brookings summer art fair. i love that show. the staff is always super friendly and the park is a comfortable setting. we were lucky enough to get a spot right next to some friends of ours (brenda collison-schmidt and her husband nate). brenda makes really neat fused glass jewelry.

it's such a small world... brenda actually bought my very first monster painting at my very first little art show in mobridge, south dakota. and now she and her husband have jumped into the art fair circuit with their own fantastic creations. check out her website: flourish glass.

this week is the downtown fargo street fair. i have several new pieces that are not posted in my galleries yet... i apologize. i have some time in between fargo and the uptown art fair in minneapolis the first weekend in august :) to try and catch up a little bit on my website.

other news: i was juried into the one of a kind show and sale in chicago in december! it's a biggie. very cool.

well, i must be off... time to fly.

hello everyone! just a quick note to let you know i am in the midst of reorganizing my images/pages. since there are sooo many it's going to take a little while. :) i can only do a little here and a little there... in between house cleaning, diaper changes, loads of laundry, mealtimes, painting and show weekends.... hmmm. i should be done with the site make-over... in about a year. :) (hopefully sooner)

in the meantime, i'll continue to post new work on my 2008 page and in my blog. 

monstrously yours, ;)

sarah 

what the hail?! i survived the edina art fair hailstorm of '08!! barely. what a surreal experience... when i think about what we went through on the corner of 50th and france at 6:15pm on saturday, may 31st... it seems almost like a dream, or more like a nightmare. *sigh* apparently, the storm was to miss us... i wasn't too worried. we tied down to our weights and zipped up what tarps we could in the 5 minute warning we had, and then...
while standing in 8 or so inches of rushing ice water, in a soaking wet dress and bare feet, being pelted with ice balls the size of brussel sprouts, holding up a crumbling tent and watching, with horror, the poor glass blower in the booth next to me try and protect what work he could and looking to my equally wet and horrified husband in the opposite corner who was trying to hold his end of the tent down in the massive gusts of wind... i wondered, "why the heck am i doing this?!" "i need to abandon ship and run!" honestly though, i was probably "safer" with my now destroyed tent over my head than out in the street with no protection at all. so i stayed in there and rode out the 15 minutes that seemed to go on forever... when it finally did stop, and we were able to step out into the street again, the adrenaline began to wear off and the shock of it all started to kick in. i had 4 inches of hail inside my booth! it looked like someone dumped giant styrofoam balls everywhere. walls were bent... some of my paintings were buried in ice...

here is a link to a very amateurish video i shot  with my camera... please pardon my potty mouth... i was in shock.

"oh-my-goodness" just like laumeier, there were booths blown totally away... people who lost everything... and just like laumeier, i fared better than expected. i lost a few pieces... some suffered minor water damage... i lost my tent (well, two tents actually.... long story), but we weren't hurt, and the majority of my work is okay. i've got a new and much better tent already ordered and on it's way. :) it should be here just in time for the stone arch art festival in two weeks, which (fingers crossed) hopefully has much better weather than what i have been through this season so far! que sera! it's all part of the game, i guess.

on a lighter note! :) my last two shows were both one day shows in the same bright and sunny weekend. the marion arts festival and the valley junction spring art market. i won 3rd place at marion and best of show at valley junction!! i've got a pretty ribbon and a darling trophy sitting in my studio to remind me that "you love me! you really love me!"
 

i consider myself a pretty lucky girl. :) i've got a great family, a super husband... and a dreamy bohemian life. :)

this last weekend was the art fair at laumeier in st. louis missouri. my mom was able to come with me (it was a memorable mother's day!)... we got to stay with my aunt and uncle and their two beautiful girls... (here's a shout out: "i love you guys!")

i had kinda high expectations for this show... i won't lie. :) it was a big deal that i was even juried in... if mother nature would have just butted out for a few days, i think the weekend would have been perfect. the news said the storm system that moved through the lower midwest on mother's day weekend killed 22 people. some of the artists and vendors at the show lost everything they had. i didn't lose a thing... my booth didn't suffer any wind damage, not a drop of water landed on any of my work. i wasn't a lucky girl... i was a blessed girl.

having a wonderful husband and a great family (immediate AND extended) and being able to lead this life i'm living isn't luck at all. it's unfortuate for me that it takes a close call to remind me that god is taking care of my needs. although, happily, i am grateful for this reminder... and my thoughts and prayers go to all of those who lost livelyhoods and loved ones in the storm that crossed over our heads.

in other news: :) i received news earlier this week that i got into the marion arts festival in marion, iowa! THIS WEEKEND!! (may 17th) i'm very excited to be part of that show again this year. (it was great last year)... then on sunday (may 18th) i have the valley junction spring art market in west des moines, iowa. (see my events calendar for more info)...

thank goodness it's SPRING!! not sure i can take anymore winter. it was a long tough one... wasn't it? :) i got to take a little hiatus to atlanta a couple weeks ago, but it was cold and wet. not much fun.

i've updated my summer schedule. it's looking to be just as or busier than last year. i have at least 5 other shows that are still being juried... i'll post them as i am accepted.

art fair at laumeier in st. louis, mo is my next venue. :) come see me! (booth #95)

i'm having so much fun with my "machines" !!! here's 'mechanical man' 

oh... :) check out my machines gallery. 'mr. and mrs. roboto' would like to share some vacation pictures with you. 

here is a preview of what's winging it's way to seattle:

'retro monsters' 

...and the "good old days" :)

the madness is beginning a little earlier this year. i was recently juried into the atlanta dogwood festival in atlanta, georgia which is the first weekend in april! it's been so cold here in the barren north, i can't wait to get back to the south... even if it is for just a week. :) my husband, matt,  did his grad work at clemson university in south carolina, which is only two hours away from atlanta. so while i'm down there i'll get a chance to see some old friends. :) matt can't go... he's got to work. he's insanely jealuos. :) my mom is going to take the place of my lovely assistant. :) i am so excited to spend the week with her!  i also got invited to participate in the art fair at laumeier in st. louis, missouri and the edina art fair in edina, minnesota, which is just outside minnepolis. both are in may... (see my event calendar for further information on those events)...

i was contacted by elysian brewing company in seattle, washington a couple weeks ago. the curator is going to hang my work in their brewpubs. :) i believe my work will be in the elysian fields brewpub first and if they are well received my paintings will travel to the other two elysian breweries in the city. "hello seattle!"

in january i had the chance to attend a glass blowing workshop at hasting college in hastings, nebraska. i attended the same workshop last year and was wooed by the glass. :) hot glass is amazing and the process is intoxicating. i love it. matt is implementing a hot glass program at northern state university where he is the professor of sculpture. i've had the opportunity to tag along in his research.

my exhibit at the dakota prairie museum has been up for about two weeks now. :) last night was the "opening" reception. it went very well... i even sold a piece! the show looked great. this year i've started a new "vein" of work. i call them 'machines'... this current exhibit was their "unveiling"of sorts... :) i got great comments and they were a hit. :) i am excited about their possibilities. no worries though! i will not abandon my monsters...

happy new year! time is flying by so quickly... my oldest boy is going to be 8 years old this year... 8! already! i set a goal when he was born that i would learn and know how to play the guitar by the time he was 8. i better get started! :) (i might have to give myself an extension on that one...) maybe by the time he's 18 i'll have learned how to play. :) i'll cut myself some slack though; i've accomplished some other things in that 8 years. i've gracefully ;) entered my thirties. i'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable in my skin... my twenties were hard! i was wondering why i hated my twenties so much... it occurred to me that i was painfully pregnant for a lot of it... :) anyway! :) i found my niche in my thirties... and that's something! my niche has been something i've been searching for for several years. and that niche is growing and evolving... so am i. 

as for 2008, i am going to forgo the guitar and hang on to my paintbrush.

my exhibit at the third street gallery went very well! i picked up my work earlier this week. there was considerably less to load! :) which is good news... and not so good news. :) i have a solo show at the dakota prairie museum in february. then in april, i have been accepted into a big art festival in atlanta, georgia! after that one there's no relief in sight until october. :) so, this month and next i am going to try and build up a good sized body of work to start the season off on the right foot.

my show in grand forks, north dakota at the third street gallery is up! the opening reception was a few weeks ago (november 17th)... it went well! a huge number of people came, the show looked fantastic!... it was very exciting.

the exhibit is up through december 20th... go see it!! 

my latest series, 'my hero,' is on exhibit there... 

i will be showing at the dakota prarie museum in aberdeen, south dakota during the month of february. my goal right now is to have all new work for that exhibit... time is moving quickly... i need to crack that whip! ) as soon as i get all  my holiday commissions finished!

have a merry christmas and a safe and happy new year! see you in 2008!

since my last  festival  in ames, iowa, i've managed to keep myself pretty busy!  we moved to a new house out in the country  and i've finally had a bit of time to unpack some things and organize a little. slowly but surely, it's coming along. i am loving having a studio space!! how did i ever get along without that?! 

my and my husband's exhibit in foyer gallery at william penn university in oskaloosa, iowa is up. it looks fabulous. (if i do say so myself!) the closing reception is on november 4th from 2-4. if you're in the area, please come. it's a good show!

that show comes down on the 5th of november and my work goes straight to the third street gallery in grand forks, north dakota for my very first solo gallery exhibition! :) very exciting! the opening there is november 17th, 2007.
 

i am posting the images of the works i did for a home in the cedar rapids (iowa) parade of homes this fall. the tour was in september. this series is hanging in the home's formal dining room.