The Placer Artists Tour November 2022
In the summer I signed up to participate in this open studio type event. This is the first time I have done this type of in-person showing of my work, The event ran for 3 days, November 11, 12 and 13, from 10 am to 5 pm each day. There was a small participation fee and required some volunteer work for the organization.
One of my volunteer stints was at the local Apple Festival and my day's partner and I were set up in an apple orchard to hand out pamphlets and talk about the artists tour. During that afternoon I finished a painting "plein air" and used a windfall apple cut in half as a stamp for part of my mark making!
A second 3 day showing was possible but I decided not to work the 6 full days. I needed the experience of showing "live" as it were, for the first time.
Preparation
My studio is fairly small so my husband and I decided we would make part of our garage into my gallery. That involved moving tools, removing hooks, some wall patching, and painting the wall, of course.
The garage was already divided into two by a long wall of wire shelving. We chose to hang a large painter's canvas to cover the shelving. We weren't sure how we'd hang paintings on it but knew an idea would present itself.
The nextstep was the curation of my work to fit the space. My very good friend Linda was there to help; she has a good eye and gave us the added bonus of making a cold day fun. One of my mentors came by and gave us the solution to the canvas wall. String a wire tightly across the top and hang the work from a thin line to the wanted height. Brilliant. Thanks, Linda! Thanks Sandy!
Showtime
The opening day was bright, sunny and cold. I didn't have a lot of visitors but what visitors I did have just made me so happy. They oo-ed and awe-ed over my work, commenting especially on the colors.
Day two was overcast and COLD! And it was busy! Friends, neighbors and others came by. It was so exciting to see all the new faces, art lovers, neighbors and friends and it was wonderful hearing and reading their comments from Amy sign-in book. Comments like,
"Lovely paintings! Thank you!" Anonymous
"Amazing color and vibrancy", from Candi B.
"Love your work - your colors and designs are wonderful", from Muriel S.
"Love everything!" from Pat B.
The sun came out on day 3 and there was a good stream of visitors. To top it off, over the 3 days I sold 9 works! I was so thrilled and felt so good that people responded to my work as they did,
If I had and doubts about my being an artist this event had put those thoughts right out of my psyche.
I had so much fun and so enjoyed interacting with others as they viewed my work that I have decided to begin entering art fairs and festivals.
So stay tuned for the adventure!