May 22 2008
Showing Now at the Delectable Egg in Lodo
The big day has finally arrived. Last Sunday I finally got my photos hung at the Delectable Egg in Lodo. I framed and hung 25 pieces, ranging in price from $50 to $190, on one wall of the restaurant. Another artist, named Paul, hung his artwork on the opposite wall. The restaurant was completely transformed with the removal of the prior month’s artwork and the arrival ours, and I think it looks awesome. [See snapshots of the restaurant here.]
The exposure I’m getting with this show is tremendous. I really don’t have any idea how many, if any, pieces I will sell. I invested a lot of money on frames and materials — not to mention time — getting ready for this show, so I’d really like to see a few pieces sold just to cover the cost. But, even if I don’t sell anything, hopefully the exposure will generate interest or make my name slightly more known around the photography community.
The hanging itself did not go very smoothly. I was scheduled to hang my photos after the restaurant closed on Saturday afternoon. I had my car loaded up with all the artwork and tools I was going to need and arrived at my scheduled time. A managerial change, however, caused a problem with the scheduling so I had to come back the next day (Sunday) to hang the artwork. This was a minor annoyance, but it resulted in a bigger problem. I left the artwork and tools in my car overnight and parked the car in the garage. When I arrived at the restaurant on Sunday, there was a thin film on the inside of the glass on the frames. After a mild anxiety attack, I decided I was just going to have to dismantle and clean the glass on each piece before hanging it. Luckily, my friend Andrew came with me to help and he took on that task. (I’m very thankful for Andrew’s help, by the way. I could not have hung all these pieces without help.)
I don’t know for sure what that murky film was on the inside of the glass. It looked like the prints degassed while in the garage overnight. That would be strange considering each print degassed in my studio for over a week - seven times the recommended length of time to properly degas an inkjet print. Perhaps the conditions in my car and the garage caused the additional degassing. It still bothers me that it happened and I want to know precisely why it happened, but I’m going to have to live without that knowledge for now.
In the end, every piece was cleaned and hung. The 100-year-old brick that I hung the photos made it impossible to get each piece aligned just right, but I was happy enough with the results. If you happen to visit the Delectable Egg and see my prints, be sure to let me know what you think. Better yet, buy one. Or two.