So….I’m in an art show. And it is coming fast. The varnish is waiting, and I still have not decided which piece is going on the wall.
I joined a local artist guild this year, and in a moment of “I guess I am doing this now” enthusiasm, I signed up for the member show Color Me Spring, happening May 9–10 at the Avondale Arts Alliance small gallery space.
Which means my work will be hanging on actual gallery walls under bright lights, with people walking by holding wine glasses because the show is part of the Avondale Wine Crawl.
My neighbors. My friends. People who know me as someone who makes art in the basement.
No pressure.
Getting in was the easy part. Member show means member show. No jury. No rejection letter. I was in before my inner critic had time to weigh in.
The harder part is what comes after. Selecting the piece. Varnishing. Framing. Pricing.
Choosing sounds simple, but it mostly involves moving paintings around the house and sitting with them a little longer than I probably need to, waiting for one of them to feel right. Or at least less wrong.
And then there is pricing. How do you put a number on something that came from you? I have done the research. The internet has opinions. None of them have made it feel much easier.
But this show is not really about selling. It is about showing up. Making someday today. Putting my work on a wall in my own community instead of waiting for perfect.
That feels big enough.
So if you are in Avondale on May 9, come by.
I will be somewhere on the wine crawl, trying not to think too hard about who might be looking at my work.