I did it! The time has come and gone, and I can now breathe again and continue with my fine art studies! The show was a hit. I will say, I definitely, stand out like a sore thumb when it comes to the art world. Don't get me wrong, artists are awesome but they are hands down some of the most interesting people I've come across. That's a polite way of putting it, yes? To them, I am by far the weird one. That's okay though, better to stand out then blend in with the rest of them, right?
Thursday was the longest day of my life. I showed up to the venue in Salt Lake around 3:30 to set up. I of course, being new at all of this, was very naive with how this was all gonna go down and wasn't as prepared as I thought I was. You see, we were given very little space on the wall for each artist to hang their paintings. Sadly, I had to put a few paintings back into the car and couldn't display them. As for the ones that I could display, I realized I had a wee bit of a problem. The venue has asked us not to hammer nails into the wall to hang, so Raw Artists set up a long metal like fence along the walls to hang our paintings off of with S Hooks. No problem, I had the S Hooks ready to go, until I realized that, I have no wire hooked onto the back of EVERY CANVAS to hang the S Hook from. Holy mother of pearl. Where I have been this whole time? So running out of time, and still needing to get my interview done as well as my photo shoot before the show, I booked it to the nearest Home Depot... which I never found because I know nothing about Salt Lake and I still don't fully understand the grid system having lived here for about six years nows. I've got some problems. So now I am panicking. I am sure you're not surprised. Well, I think heaven sent this artist who was setting up next to me because he saw that I was having some major issues and whipped out a tool gun, nails, s hooks, wire, the whole freaking shabang. Bless his heart, and bless mine! So once everything was squared away and set up, off to the interview I went.
The interview wasn't bad at all. That was the one thing I was so nervous about! I mean, I talked to myself in the shower before hand, practicing what I was going to say and how I was going to deliver it. Honestly though, I really played up this whole event and if anything it was really low key, comfortable and fun. I don't know what all of my fuss was about.
No, I didn't sell any paintings. I didn't know we could. There's my naiveness coming out again. Artists next to me where selling left and right, but hey, I have nothing to sell because everything on display is due in about two weeks for midterms! So if anything, I'm begging, "please don't touch this, I've shooting for an 'A'." No, really though, I had business cards with my etsy shop, but it's not like anything on my shop is really what I want to pursue. Im heading straight for the abstract work, and none of that is ready to go yet. With that said, I plan on launching a series of original abstract works for sale come spring and summer, and with dedication I am really excited! So do stay in touch!
With all of that said, I just took the night as great experience, being the first art show, I was able to get a feel of how it all goes down, how to better prep and prepare for future shows and to see how the ball drops. I was relaxed and just really enjoyed the long evening that lasted until midnight. I socialized with so much family and friends that came to support me, which I honestly deeply appreciated and I really hope they were entertained and had fun! I always get so paranoid when people have to pay for something and then show up and are let down. I don't want to waste anyone's money here. But the gesture of them coming and showing me their support and enthusiasm was what made my night. They made me feel like I was really important. I appreciate the Zoo taking all of these photos through out the night. He was one heck of a trooper. I do believe, he was secretly enjoying himself. All in all, it was a successful night, one to remember and be proud of, for sure. And one that also ended with me, flying solo through the In-n-Out drive through at 1:30 in the morning ordering the number five combo and not giving a crap about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment