The past few weeks have been so full and moved by so quickly that I thought I needed to stop and take stock - if even just for myself (so that I'll remember this period of time)
Sept 17 - went to check out my space for open studios. It ended up being a few hours since I stopped and visited with two artist friends and checked out their newest work. It was a nice time for sharing the creative process and for realizing that artists all have similar insecurities.
Sept 17 -24 - created a piece that fit into a 20 in. x 20 in space for the open studios group show
Sept 23 - Tanya and I held an artist talk about the fairy tale show. We talked about our creative processes as well as the stories and folklore surrounding fairy tales. I was super nervous about giving a talk and then on the night of the event I felt totally calm as I pretended I was talking to just one person instead of a room of 30 people. It went well. I was approached by someone who told me about an artist-in-residence program and encouraged me to apply.
The UCSF Art for AIDS event was the same night, at the same time so I ended up missing it. I was disappointed about missing it but one of my artist friends showed up to the talk with a program from the UCSF event that she'd picked up for me. She managed to go to both events because our talk started an hour after the Art for AIDS event began. She told me a story about how she was in the elevator at the art auction and overheard two women talking about me and my work! She said they were going on about how I was really one to watch!
Sept 24 - I met our newest family member, my niece for the first time. She is a beautiful happy little girl!
Sept 25 - After getting up super early to put a final coat of paint on my piece, I went to SOMArts Gallery to drop off my piece for the big open studios group show. While there I saw some artists I knew, chit chatted a bit, picked up open studios guides and headed home. It was a very painful day for my knees so it felt like a huge accomplishment to get down there and back on the bus.
Sept 26 - My art dealer dropped off some work from a previous show and picked up a few pieces for an event she is hosting
Sept 28 - Closing reception and wine tasting for the fairytale show
I met some great artists and a few art supporters. The funniest part of the night is that about 6 people mentioned seeing my sculpture in the live auction at Art for AIDS. That blew me away.
In general I was glad I went and that I was able to make it through. My arthritis pain has made everything feel ten times harder to accomplish. When I left the reception I also had to take three of the pieces with me because I decided to show them at open studios. So there I stood, standing in front of the gallery in pain, with three big plastic wrapped sculptures, trying to hail a cab on a super busy street.
Sept 29 - gathered art and supplies, made labels, gathered tools in preparation for the Open Studios show
Sept 30 - installed show for open studios after my brother gave me a ride with all of my work over to the space
I was surprised at how quickly the install went and that I was able to do most of it alone (this rarely happens - I always need help). I had lunch with a couple of artists from the building and then went home to spend the evening taking care of last minute details for the show.
Oct 1 & 2 - open studios
The event was from 11 am - 6 pm each day and because I live all the way across town I had to get up at a decent time each day and be completely ready to leave the house by 9 am. The weekend was good but fairly quiet. The number of visitors was small compared to other years and yet the visitors I had were great for networking. I talked to someone who'd formerly been accepted for an artist in residence program I am applying for. I met a handful of artists whom I've only heard about but never met before. Many of them made a point of visiting my 'studio'. I also met a number of people who showed up specifically to see my work after having seen it in the Open Studios guide.
Oct 3 - felt the let down/ depressed feeling that always comes when a big event is over. I put my sculptures back in storage and cleaned my room
October 4 - went to gallery to get the rest of the work from the fairy tale show
I ended up having a long talk with the cab driver and gave him one of my postcards. He was impressed that I was an artist and black. Seems that he had all of these assumptions about black people and I blew many of them out of the water.
October 5 - I was going to install a new group of work in the windows in the financial district yet the rain this week has kept us from doing it. Hopefully we will install it tomorrow...
