My show was up for six days after the opening. The gallery is in a multi-purpose building (a couple of studios and one business), so people are in and out, but no one is attending in the gallery. I didn't want to leave the quilts unattended, so I set up a makeshift studio in a side area of the gallery and worked there from 12:00-5:00 each day. It was interesting to see what it was like to dedicate five straight hours to studio time. Since my regular studio is in my home, I tend to move back and forth from one kind of activity to another. The study with my computer is just across the hall from the studio, and all too often, I go in to check e-mail, and then get sucked into responding, following up on things, going to other links, etc. Being at the gallery gave me a sense of what it would be like to have a separate studio, at a distance from home. I still checked e-mail from time to time on my phone, but I don't like typing or web-surfing on the phone, so it really was just a quick occasional check. It was instructive to see how much more sewing I got done than if I'd been at home. I spent most of the time making bookmarks from the remains of several quilts in the show (photo above). I also planned out dimensions and cutting directions for two quilts I have lined up to do. Very productive! But I also found that five hours devoted to quilting didn't leave me enough time to do the other things I want/need to be doing during the day, in the relaxed way that I have been able to do them since retiring from academic work.
The show came down early this week, and I've been enjoying several days back at home. It's a relief to be done with the show, which took months of preparation. Having seen the benefit of uninterrupted hours in the studio, I'm spending more uninterrupted time there--not as much as five hours at a time, but more than before, and staying away from side-trips to the computer when it's studio time.
And the opening went very well! Here's a shot of the crowd just before my talk, and you can see a few of the quilts, too.
I love the crowd. That must have been very exciting. I am assuming your work was well received as well as your presentation! How wonderful.
ReplyDeleteGreat turnout for your talk! Can you post more gallery shots??
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for one of the bookmarks. The fact that I know the writing on it is a part of the larger whole story makes it very powerful.
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