03/30/2005: "Miss me? I know that cha did!"

Hey everyone, I just dropped Rick off at the airport. He had to leave much sooner than planned and I’m feeling pretty depressed at the moment. I miss him already!

Anchorage was fun. We visited the university Arts building where we both attended. I spent soooooooo many hours in that building, all the familiar smells came back, wafting out from the various studios and there was wonderful art everywhere. Very inspiring. We also walked around downtown and checked out more galleries; I realized there are a lot of Alaskan artists I'm not at all familiar with.

On Saturday Rick and I painted my sister's nursery. It is a very cool 4-wall mural of rolling green hills spotted with palm trees. Rick painted a zebra and tiger and did the entire sky by himself; I painted an ostrich, 3 elephants and a lion as well as a huge palm tree with a monkey hanging from it (Plus there was a giant giraffe I had painted on my last visit). I'll post some photos if anyone is interested.

This afternoon Rick and I walked around downtown Juneau and stopped at the Friendly Planet's liquidation sale (where my show was to be). Richmond and his sister Alicia (owners) were there, both have bought paintings from me in the past and Richmond had seen my “in progress” gallery and is interested in buying one. He's about the 5th person wanting to *possibly* buy a piece when they're finished.

The guy who had been trying to arrange something for me with the Alaska Folk Fest let me know that they had declined my request. Something about liability and setting a precedent, so...

I had this idea... I have a wall about 25ft long and I want to install some track lighting and use it as a sort of "in home" gallery. When the pieces are finished I can have them hanging along the wall, all framed and with title cards and prices etc. Then I can either invite individuals over who are interested in purchasing or I can just send out my invitations with new info as an invite to a party/opening at my home. I'll put out snacks and wine and people can come over and just see the work or maybe buy something as well.

Does that sound like it would be fun or lame?

Replies: 6 Comments

on Wednesday, March 30th, dave from Nebraska said

Yes, I'd like to see pics of the mural you and Rick did. And I think it's a terrific idea to use that wall space in your home.
Welcome back to Blog-ville.

on Wednesday, March 30th, Elise said

Thanks Dave! I actually really missed my daily exchanges here. It's funny because my non-blogging friends think it's a kind of anti-social phenomenon that decreases *real* (i.e. better) human interaction.

hmph!

What do they know, right?

I'll post those shots of the mural as soon as my sis emails em to me.

on Thursday, March 31st, Jackie said

E: I'd like to see the murals too!
And your idea about hanging your work in your house/studio is cool. YOu can have an "open Studio" tour! My sister, partner & I went on an open studio tour in Bellingham last fall. Many of the artists had studio space outside their homes, but others had live-in studios or a garage they used for art. I must say - all but 2 artists were snobby snotty prima donnas, who didn't even greet us, or acknowledge our presence while we perused their studios and work. One group of fiber artists pointedly ignored us, gathering in their little clique with some friends, drinking wine and eating cheese & cracker, which they didn't even offer to other guests! Anyway - I'm stoked about the open studio thing. If I had more than a corner of our 2-garage as my 'studio', I'd do it in a heart-beat!
And Welcome back - I missed ya! :satisfied:

on Thursday, March 31st, Elise said

Wow Jackie, the artists in your studio tour sound awful, I wonder if they were being elitest or just really shy?

I have started forcing myself to go up to strangers who come to my shows and introduce myself and thank them for coming but it's really tough for me. In the past I've just hung out in a corner with my sister and a friend or two getting drunk because I was basically terrified. However...it doesn't sound like that was exactly the case in the studio tour you took and anyway, if you invite the public to your studio you should make them feel welcome, end of story!

Or I could put up a big cardboard cutout of myself saying: "hi, I'm the artist and I'm so happy you could stop by! I'd come over and talk to you but I'm pathologically shy (not just a snobby bee-och!)"
:laugh:

on Thursday, March 31st, Raymond Grant said

missed ya...welcome bizacck!Return da' love!

on Thursday, March 31st, Elise said

Hey Raymond...thanks and consider da' love returned!