My mother, who is nice, polite, and proper, was shocked I was bored at my Exhibit(ion) by the end of the first week; she thought I was unprofessional confessing to it. But here's the thing: I started to work on this project last May, and started weaving the shawls in November, and by the time I hung the pieces in the gallery, I've been living, breathing, photographing and blogging the Exhibit(ion) intensively for three months. So by the time it opened, I was passed all these shawls (well, maybe with the exception of the last piece, "Deep"); I now know this is a rather common sentiment.
It has been super hot in the gallery (especially in comparison to my cold, dark, basement studio); the wooden chair and small-loom combination is not as comfortable as foot looms, so by the end of the day I get kinks in my back, neck and right wrist.
Still, I kept the gallery open until 6.30PM on Friday, and from 11AM to 3PM on Saturday. There was a summer street market on "my" section of Trafalgar Street right in front of the gallery, but that didn't bring too many people up those strange stairs, and I had two people turning hostile because there were no paintings. Monday was hot again, and I was trying to concentrate on learning about a new weave, in which I must produce small sample pieces for an exchange. Tuesday was a national holiday and a glorious Nelson beach day, so I didn't go in. I needed to get away so I can maintain my enthusiasm for the next half of the Exhibit(ion).
Today, Wednesday, the school year started and suddenly the visitor profile changed; many of the people knew what was being shown and came specifically to see my shawls. Or was it coincidental? A former colleague colleague I hadn't seen for several years came in with her friend, and we chatted about textiles and fibers for almost half an hour. A former neighbor saw Matt's piece and came and showered me with praises. Late in the evening a woman came in; I sensed she knew a lot about colors so I thought she was a painter. It turns out she did the old Polytech's Weaving course, which apparently was famous around the country in the 70's and 80's. She had health problems which prevented her from weaving, but after reading Matt's piece, she decided to get back on the loom! We lamented the demise of the Polytech course and the drastic decrease of handweavers; we exchanged notes on dyeing techniques. I did enjoy our conversation, and I wish her many happy warps. I've also started another Fibonacci experiment on the loom; I ran into Kath in town; and finally, I went to the gym for the first time in two months.
So, as they say, I'm good today. I'm going to enjoy the second half if it kills me.
7 comments:
Hi Meg,
I saw your comments on Bergamo - posts aren't too new, but they are good don't you think?
Glad that you're determined to enjoy the exhibit! Hope it's a little better weather for you - it's plain old frigid here.
Cheers, Paul. It's possibly the hottest and the muggiest I've experienced in the 10 years we've been here.
Ugh, I hate that kind of weather - even though I wouldn't mind a day or two of it right now - it hasn't been above freezing for at least a week now with probably that many more days to go - Brrrrrrr.
I'm so glad for you that you are getting these really interested and interesting visitors lately!
Must be hard staying indoors such long hours under the weather conditions you write about.
Here in Vienna we had another glorious day with splendid blue skies and springlike temperatures. I went for a run at lunchtime in T-Shirt and a thin sweater. Glorious!
Hope you get some downtime during the weekend!
It's been seriously hot this summer - after summer finally arrived. We don't really get a lot of days over 30C in Nelson, but this year, it feels as if every day is like that. I keep thinking, "Minnesota, Minnesota" because apparently they are having their regular temperatures at last!
Yes, it has been frigid here in Minnesota. Not the coldest I have experienced, but perhaps some of the most persistant.
From what I can see of the show it looks grand.
Best wishes.
Felix
I'm kind of hoping our heatwave is over, Felix. The weekend has been not but not ridiculously so. I have had lots of time to reflect on weaving and especially what I do/want to do, but it's been too hot to try to formulate them into coherent thoughts/posts. Maybe this week my gray cells would work a bit better?
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