Oh my!

September 18, 2007

Well I’ve really gone and done it now, I’ve finally got in touch with a gallery. I’ve been thinking for a while that I aught/want to have an exhibition of my work. The want comes and goes depending on confidence, but as I think it is generally a good idea I am going to go for it. Some time ago Margaret Cooter suggested I look at the Dissenters Gallery. I did but at the time I didn’t feel I had anywhere near enough work to mount a show. Earlier this week Cherie kindly applied a boot to my rear and feeling too ill to stand and quilt I got on the phone. Well if all galleries are as easy to deal with, I think I can do this. I suspect they aren’t and that the very nice people looking after the Dissenters Chapel are something unusual, and rather wonderful.

Given this is really a long way from the field I am trained in it was nice to be talking to people who are keen to make this work and have experience of putting on this kind of event. I had been very worried about my lack of knowledge, but have been and met the team today I am sure I can do it. The only tricky part will be choosing work to display, as it will need to fit the venue, both in size and content. I was unsurprised that they weren’t keen on the idea of me displaying nudes, given the gallery is attached to the chapel, especially as it is regularly used for funerals, but I took along my triptych anyway as it is a good size to take as a sample of my work. Well after they saw those they were actually keen for me to display them, thrilled doesn’t cover it.

Having had a chance to think and try to plan, I think I need to make three or four new pieces to fit the space. It’s a lovely venue and it has a few spots which demand using and have quite strong ideas what shape pieces they want. There is one spot which needs something tall and thin, which I think I would like to make something from the cemetery itself. For a while I have been thinking about dong a piece based on a sculpture and the cemetery has some wonderful work in it. I think it would be really good to have something to link me to the venue and I don’t have anything that will fit the bill at the moment.

This is so scary, but thrilling at the same time. It feels rather like public speaking in fact, which I suppose isn’t terribly surprising. If anyone has any tips I’d be very pleased to learn from others experiences, and I really do mean it, this isn’t a field I trained for.