Hello Lovelies!
The opening was a huge success. I sold 6 prints and have had inquiries about 4 more. The show will be up in San Rafael CA at 1122 Fourth Street until February 20th. Go check it out! Make a date night of it. There is a great Puerto Rican restaurant called Sol Food, or there is hippy awesome food at Cafe Gratitude. (Food is one of the things Marin does particularly well.) The cafe is right next to the Rafael Theater, so stop in there for a flick, then hop over and check out the my photos.
So, for the opening I ordered bookmarks to handout that offered up a description of what Saturn Return is and some tips for surviving it... unfortunately they did not arrive in time. I requested super fast delivery however, the printer made a mistake and sent them ground.
Of course I realized this at 3 am the day of the opening. In a panic I called my friend Nano, he works at a local print shop in San Francisco-. He wasn't at work, but told me to call his co-worker, Ken, and let him know that I was Nano's friend. Ken said "No problem! Send the files to Joe, tell him you're Nano's friend, and we will push them through." Of course I wasn't near internet access... AND I wanted to redesign the bookmarks to match the flier I posted on my last update... so on the drive into to city (to go to therapy) I was on my laptop hustling to redesigning the bookmarks (don't worry, my friend Lila was driving). I got the files sent and within two hours the bookmarks were done. It was magical. My friend Kari picked them up, paid for them, and delivered them to the show, which was over the top sweet.
The opening went great. I showed up around 4:30 with my Grandparents to do a walk through before it got too crowded. It was really nice to have them see my career on display, and have an opportunity to show them the various places I have traveled and people I have shot. It gave context to why I am always running out the door or on my computer retouching/writing. (My Grandma is very depression era wired. The thought of having a freelance career seems ridiculous and unreliable to her. Even though she loves my photos and thinks I'm talented, she has suggested, on more than a few occasions, that I look into a career at Peets Coffee or Rite Aid. I know the intention is Sweet. She just wants me to be able to eat.)
After the Grands left, I went to the art supply store a few doors down from the cafe and bought a guest book and a second little book to record what images sold and what the prices were. I mentioned before that I was a little afraid that it wouldn't feel like an opening because the cafe didn't want outside food/beverages or music. Luckily that was not the case. At about 6:30 a steady flow of people began trickling in. From family, to friends that have known me for years, to acquaintances of my Aunt's, to fellow photographers and local artists, to friends in recovery, to ex-boyfriends, to friends of friends and so on. It was great. All in all there were about 200 people in attendance throughout the evening. I was really happy to have bookmarks to give out. They were a great conversation starter... then Kari pointed out that I misspelled... PHOTOGRGRAPHY. Ha. Oh well. I love them anyways.
I designed a set of 4 postcards which are arriving next week at my apartment in Austin and my photo book is going into production starting the 12th. I have a dear friend who is helping me design the book. I'm hoping it will be finished by Valentines Day-ish.
A few days before my opening I saw that a gallery in San Rafael was packed with people. The art looked tactile and interesting so I went in to check it out and quiz the gallery owner on the fine art world. The art was awesome- hundreds of Self Help books had been taken apart and re-stitched together to create all sorts of ridiculous magicalness. The spines of the books were cut up and reworded to make up some Outstanding new titles and the dedication pages were cut up and sewed back together to make what looked like a 4' tall cream coloured tear drop. Check it out if you are in the Bay Area. http://www.donnaseagergallery.com/current_exhibition/index.htm
I ended up telling the woman at the gallery (who turned out to be Donna Seager herself) that I was living in Austin, which led to the question many Bay Area people have- Why? Which more or less resulted in me telling her an abbreviated version of my my life story. (I left out a lot of the more interesting details as I am learning to do...I need to keep the memoir in mind.) Long story short, it turns out her husband knows my Aunt through the Grateful Dead scene and I went to high school with her son (who I may or may not have sold acid to). She seemed to be very intrigued by me. She asked to see my website, however her gallery doesn't show photography. She wrote down a list of galleries and people she thinks would be interested in my work. It was great.
SO, for the rest of my week in SF I will be ordering prints, shipping rewards, checking out galleries, going to meetings and spending time with the Grands, friends and the therapist. Got to keep the head checked.
So much love,
Frankie
Also, feel free to check out my other blog to read more about my brain- http://LittleMissAddict.com
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