Post-Opening Exhaustion
The past 2 1/2 weeks have been dedicated to--no, I take that back, they were consumed by preparations for the gallery's Spring Show opening reception this past Saturday. It was a very successful show in the sense that I did a good job with the hanging, Steve and I got through it without fighting, Jack and Paul and their friend Tom did a knockout job with the food and flowers, we had an excellent turnout in spite of other popular events going on in the area at the same time, and we sold over 20 pieces of art. The downside is that we are both exhausted, I can barely walk or hold my coffee cup, and we have a profit of $7.58. But it is over with and we don't have another one scheduled until October 28th, which is a relief beyond words.
The exhaustion was not strictly caused by the gallery prep but by the additional activities we took on--replacing the old cheap vinyl miniblinds with heavy plantation blinds in the gallery and the "library" and lavatory, moving a heavy armoire out of the dining room and up the stair to the dressing room, bringing up my gardening books from storage in the basement to the library, and then, to top it off, hanging a large number of works in the show in a $550,000 model home in time for it to be photographed for a national publication, then taking them down and putting them back up in time for our opening reception. Today they need to go back to the model home for the next several months. It's good advertising, good public relations, but boy we are pooped. In between all of this we have had to write a lot of new copy for press releases, general information, design fliers and posters and print them, and at the moment I am between coffees as I try to clear the mental fog enough to write the price list for the paintings going back to the model home. It's not something I want to make a mistake with.
Nick and Amy have decided to go ahead and get married this summer, and have picked August 4th for the date. Thank god we decided to not have so many opening receptions any more. As it is, their wedding is only three weeks after the Art Fair. But we are scaling back our personal involvement in the art fair this summer, bringing only half as much as in previous years and lining up a lot more physical help, so that should keep things a little less overwhelming. Of course thinking about all of it at this moment when I am wiped out from the past half month is bound to make things look more challenging than they will actually be when the time comes. You can tell from that last sentence that I am already trying to implement Mind Over Matter techniques.
I did get a couple of hours in the front garden during one warm afternoon, clearing out the decomposed stalks and leaves that had blown in from other yards, and was encouraged to see so many of my transplants coming back to life in their new home. I don't think I have ever looked forward to spring as much as I have this year. All I want to do is be quiet and garden and paint and feel the sun in my face.
But obligations call and before I do anything more I must get that list written up for the model home artwork. More coffee!
The exhaustion was not strictly caused by the gallery prep but by the additional activities we took on--replacing the old cheap vinyl miniblinds with heavy plantation blinds in the gallery and the "library" and lavatory, moving a heavy armoire out of the dining room and up the stair to the dressing room, bringing up my gardening books from storage in the basement to the library, and then, to top it off, hanging a large number of works in the show in a $550,000 model home in time for it to be photographed for a national publication, then taking them down and putting them back up in time for our opening reception. Today they need to go back to the model home for the next several months. It's good advertising, good public relations, but boy we are pooped. In between all of this we have had to write a lot of new copy for press releases, general information, design fliers and posters and print them, and at the moment I am between coffees as I try to clear the mental fog enough to write the price list for the paintings going back to the model home. It's not something I want to make a mistake with.
Nick and Amy have decided to go ahead and get married this summer, and have picked August 4th for the date. Thank god we decided to not have so many opening receptions any more. As it is, their wedding is only three weeks after the Art Fair. But we are scaling back our personal involvement in the art fair this summer, bringing only half as much as in previous years and lining up a lot more physical help, so that should keep things a little less overwhelming. Of course thinking about all of it at this moment when I am wiped out from the past half month is bound to make things look more challenging than they will actually be when the time comes. You can tell from that last sentence that I am already trying to implement Mind Over Matter techniques.
I did get a couple of hours in the front garden during one warm afternoon, clearing out the decomposed stalks and leaves that had blown in from other yards, and was encouraged to see so many of my transplants coming back to life in their new home. I don't think I have ever looked forward to spring as much as I have this year. All I want to do is be quiet and garden and paint and feel the sun in my face.
But obligations call and before I do anything more I must get that list written up for the model home artwork. More coffee!
posted by meg at 9:58 AM
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