Exhibition of excess
Good day, my fellow wanderers,
A day to breathe, a day to relax and a day to reflect on my blessings. Well, one out of three is not too bad. I am breathing but the other two were just a fleeting moment and not a whole day. I am recovering from an exhibition. Three months of frantic preparations, one day of mad collecting and displaying and two days of selling what we had. I did very well, thank you very much for asking. But now I am so bone tired I could cry and might just do that later once I have bundled and packed up the last of the paintings to be sent to clients and fellow artists. I had piles of unclaimed artworks cluttering up my entry hall (oh okay, it's more of a large passage than an entry hall) And now they are almost gone. Just the dregs to go. And then maybe I can put my feet up? One last client that wants to buy two more paintings and who am I to deny her the pleasure of my creations. All money made will be spent on a trip to Wellington to see the Terracotta soldiers and then a ferry ride to the South Island and a boat trip to see whales, penguins, and seals. These holiday jaunts always cost much more than I plan, so profits from paintings and books help a bit. Long may my ability to sell my hobbies continue.
Visitors to the exhibition ranged from the totally normal to the characters of the County. I had one man that stood and chatted for about an hour. No, I do not know him from Adam. And no, I did not flirt with him, or flick my hair or bat my eyelashes, and neither did my co-conspirator, Nix Whittaker aka Nicola Pike our daughter and fellow author. In fact, Nix had
enough of this strange man after a few minutes and excused herself and left me having to paste a smile and an interested look on my face. I do have this effect on some people. The effect of them thinking that what they are saying is fascinating to me. My husband jokes that I have a 'tell me your deepest darkest secrets' sign tattooed onto my forehead that encourages people to open up to me in the first ten minutes of being introduced. No, not a single tattoo anywhere on my body and definitely not one that begs for confidences. Anyhow he was not the only character to visit our table and not the only one to spend time just chatting. Well, I suppose that is what the exhibition is all about ... getting us known in the community. Did the man buy anything from us? Well yes, he did. Three books, so all is well that ended well. Did I enjoy the exhibition? Yes. Will I do it again? Most probably ... not sure but maybe. Am I grateful for Nix coming along to support and help me? Absolutely. With much gratitude for her company and talents. Was I tempted to buy some of the other artists' works? Always. There was a set of three camels with pixies on their backs that I was drooling over ... I was planning on making them into the three wise men in a Christmas display. No, I did not give in to my urges to splurge. There was a spinning wheel that had been crocheted and knitted over that had hanging teddy bears all over it .... oh definitely wanted it for my cat to play with. Sadly it was not for sale. And would that have been sacrilege to give it to a cat to play with? So much work involved in its creation. Then there was the Gannaway's blown glass. No idea what I would do with it but it is so tactile I could sit for hours just touching it. Maybe that is what I needed when the strange man was speaking to me? A touchstone of some sort to keep me sane. I will know for next time. If there is a next time?
Our area of the world is riddled with limestone caves. Gorgeous stalagmite festooned grottos with glowworms and bats. Some of these caves are subterranean and even weave their way under our highways and homes. One highway has started to collapse in one area ... who knows what the cave looks like under the ground, but above ground, it is a series of gentle and not so gentle dips. Us locals are used to this phenomenon and adjust our speed to suit. The visitors on the other hand, well they hit the dips at 100kph (80 mph) and for a moment all four wheels are airborne. It is just for a nano-second but things can happen in a nano-second. Some pull their steering wheels over and for a moment the vehicle veers off wildly with the driver not quite sure what has happened to his/her scenic drive. At other times you see a shocked look on their faces as they grip the steering wheel with a death grip and then slow down to snail pace for the remainder of their trip. Summer is nearly upon us and a plethora of speeding tourists are no doubt heading our way. Not that I blame them for wanting to visit our piece of paradise. It is gorgeous. Rolling hills, sweeping limestone cliffs that have picturesque trees perched on their edges, gentle rivers burbling along pretty valleys and ancient giants of the forest that tower over interesting walkways. Oh okay, if you really want somewhere to stay while you visit, I can clean the spare room out and scrounge up a few flowers from the garden to beautify the house with. Actually, who am I kidding? You will be lucky to have flowers in your room ... just open the window and let the garden perfumes waft inside. Good company is always welcome. Just remember to drive carefully in case a limestone cave has sagged ever so slightly under the highway.
My last client has collected her paintings, the lawn is mowed, the washing hung on the line and now I can switch off the 'fake it until I make it' and 'I am confident and talented' attitude and can melt into a puddle of insecurities and weariness and allow Barry to soothe my troubled soul until I have the energy to rise again. It might take chocolate ... and cookies ... and a foot rub but I will get there.
