May has been filled with events both large and small…including a daughter’s graduation from the School of Journalism at CU Boulder- (now looking for an entry-level PR slot for the fall) and all the fun and celebration that went along with that. She definitely has doors opening. Walking to the Kitchen, (where they had the greatest gnocci with asparagus), we passed by an empty storefront, formerly the home of a gallery I had been trying to interest in my work- they only lasted a couple of years. Doors closed.
I delivered a couple large paintings for a show highlighting the city’s Art in Public Places program. (You can see the new page I added on the right side of the blog, “Public Art” for images of my project last year.)
Headed out to California to visit family. We went to the new Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park, where they have an amazing “living roof”, and a wonderful indoor rainforest. I saw a few good galleries in San Francisco- a great show of Darren Waterston’s paintings, learned that Hackett Freedman gallery is shutting their public doors.
We also went sailing on the bay, and generally had a relaxing time. My brother has a 33 foot sailboat, and when I get to steer it, I feel like I have a large animal under my control. Steering into the wind is a remarkable thing, like a door into another dimension.
We stay with my mom at her retirement community, which is always a hoot. My daughter must have said “I’m not getting old” at least a dozen times during our stay. Dream on.
Speaking of galleries shutting doors, the Seders Gallery in Seattle, where I have shown my work for about 20 years is thinning out their roster of artists, and has downsized staff and hours already. In my case, it’s been slow-to-no-sales back there for a few years, so I am being thinned out. Most of the other artists are local to the city or Washington State, and it is much easier for the gallery to build a clientele for them. They are lovely people, and you should stop by if you are in the Phinney Ridge area of Seattle.
Feels like a mutual decision though. I’ve been starting to make my own sales and some good contacts and am planning on a marketing push to a targeted consultant/designer list this summer. Now it’s time to open my own doors!
Heard from someone interested in the painting I have up at Denver International Airport; so, contrary to what I have always thought, some folks DO take the time to look at what is on the walls, while trotting to their gate!
oh yeah, and on the way back from San Francisco, United overbooked the flight, so my daughter and I gave up ours, got free flights to use this coming year, and came home first class! Another adventure awaits!
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