Saturday, May 10, 2014

New Beginnings...

Today was the first official day that we were open at the new shop.  People have been stopping by throughout the week, but everything was still in a state of disarray.  Today though, all the pieces lined up and fell into place.  It'll take time to get everything organized just the way I want it, but at least it's tidy and presentable.

Today was also the first Ligonier Art Walk.  Of course, it rained.  But they say that rain is good luck.  We still had a lot of people come in and it was so nice to see so many people out and about supporting the arts.  One of our goals is to promote the arts in the area, and it was just a pleasure to work with the other art venues in town with this goal in mind.

For the Ligonier Art Walk, we invited Shirleah Kelly back to show some of her photographs.  Her new show, "Works by Shirleah Kelly" was planned to coincide with the event.  The picture is of Shirleah next to the NEW Project Wall that we just built.  Her show focuses on the theme of hands.  I thought it was a fitting match, because all artwork, even the mechanically made or spontaneously generated from pixels and computer programs is initiated by the hand.  The hand is a symbol of action.  It is the facilitator of the mind.  In Shirleah's show, each of the portraits tells a different story –capturing moments of glory, transcendence, and love.

For the event, we had Batter Up Cakes cater the event.  Mary made a beautiful array of mini-cupcakes in all kinds of flavors.  She also made cookies some tasty hors d'oeuvres.  We definitely recommend her!

I was really busy talking with people and ringing people up, so I didn't get to take too many pictures.  But I did get a few photos from the evening.  This is Lynne Suprock of Simply Pretty Things and her husband Greg.  Lynne is one of the people of my tribe.  She is an "art sister".  Whenever we get together, we constantly bounce ideas off of each other and have such a good time coming up with things!

I took a quick snapshot of the gallery while Shirleah was talking with a group of people in the front room.  At points, it got super crowded.  It was nice to see so many people filling the space up.

From 4PM to 5PM, we had local singer/songwriter Jane West perform.  She was one of the first people to play in our old space, so we wanted to have her back to christen the new location with her lovely voice.

It's odd how at some points, things can seem so crazy and chaotic.  Everything seems impossible.  But in the middle of the tumult, there is a kernel of an idea.  It's a seed of a thing.  If you look at it and didn't know what it was, you might not think much of it – a little brown thing in the dust, barely distinguishable.  But within it, there are gardens of splendor and endless beauty.  There were times when things seemed impossible, but then there was this idea... that grew and blossomed.  I'm looking forward to our new home.  I'm looking forward to the light and warmth.  I'm looking forward to filling these rooms with things that are kernels of ideas, just waiting to be planted and cultivated... that will grow into things of beauty.

4 comments:

Ann Schroeder said...

Your new space looks wonderful!

Cherie Burbach said...

Looks great! And I personally think rain is a sign of luck, too. :)

Lori Bowring Michaud said...

Congratulations to you both!!

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

Congratulations!

This is a beautifully written post.

I especially like this thought: "All artwork, even the mechanically made or spontaneously generated from pixels and computer programs is initiated by the hand. The hand is a symbol of action. It is the facilitator of the mind."