STILLNESS
Last Sunday the water of the Schuylkill River was like glass. And although it was a gorgeous day, we only saw one rower sculling along the mirror-like surface of the water: a lone water bug!

This photo represents the calm before the storm that will be this weekend for me. I am in two concurrent exhibitions and so have two art openings, or receptions, I must attend. The first is tomorrow in New York City (information here) and the next is on Sunday in Philadelphia (information on that one here) Most artists have mixed feelings about opening receptions and I am no exception. On the one hand, it is an excellent thing that one's work is deemed worthy of participatation in a given show or gallery. A blessing! Plenty of incredibly talented people struggle with finding gallery representation and I am well aware of how lucky I am. But on the other hand, openings are a mixed bag.

Sometimes an opening can be wonderfully fun: a joyous celebration where friends stop by and your connections are strengthened, the work receives positive attention, you meet interesting new artists and appreciative patrons, and the atmosphere is energizing and inspiring! But, sometimes the reverse is true and it is like a dismal cocktail party: a semi-empty room, no sales, no interest, no fun! Time..stands...still. Worse than ninth grade math class where I practically developed a wall-eye from keeping one eye always on the clock. But there is no way of knowing ahead of time what kind of party it is going to be! You just have to go and see. It helps to remember what Woody Allen once said: 80% of success is just showing up. If any of you readers are local for either of these receptions, please show up too! My last show opening was of the lively party variety. One of the fun things that happened was a person I knew only through her terrific blog came to the show and introduced herself. The word made flesh as it were, and what fun it was!