My goal is to be filthy rich:
Rich in knowledge,
Rich in adventure,
Rich in laughter,
Rich in health,
Rich in family,
Rich in love.
-Anonymous
I have been extremely lucky lately with getting into gallery shows. My latest was Fantastic Fibers at the Yeiser Art Center in Paducah, Kentucky (runs until June 17). More than 300 artist entered and 38 were accepted including me. My piece Gathering Stillness was my entry. It was the 30th anniversary of the show so I decided to attend the opening (April 22). It was a nearly 7 hour drive. I am thankful that I had handwork to do in the car and that my husband agreed to go with me. The weather was rainy and cold. There was not much going on since quilt festival did not begin until the 26. We arrived a little early and I identified myself as one of the artists and the person's reaction was, "Oh, then I don't need to tell you anything." Okay, not the reaction I was expecting, but I was there to see the art and hopefully meet people. I kept trying to figure out if there were any other artists present when Pat Owoc approached me. We had a delightful conversation then went looking for other artists. Pat expressed exactly what I was feeling, "Why don't we have name tags?" Once we connected with the other artists present, they too had the same thought. Marianne Williamson had traveled all the way from Miami, Anita Cooke (won an award) from New Orleans and Roxanne Lasky drove from South Carolina. Roxanne took lots of photos so do check out her website. I bought the catalog because I always feel funny about taking photos where there is one. Silly me. Anyway, I have been to five openings this year where I have had work in the show and only one (Tall Grass Gallery) has had name tags and purposely acknowledged and encouraged the people attending to interact with the artists present. I do not get it. I love talking to artists. I want to know all about the work that they created and why. I was touched when Pat said, "Please tell me about your piece." I bought the catalog so that I could read the artist statements. Most of the galleries did not even have artist statements available. So my question is, don't you want to met the artists? Would meeting the artist have any impact on your purchasing the work?
And don't get me wrong, I am thankful that I went.
