Whew! I have just run an Art Marathon, and it feels good. This past weekend was the first weekend of my first-ever Open Studio in Santa Cruz, and I have to say I had NO idea.
Which is to say I had some: Sarah-Hope and I had driven around to many studios in previous years, and bought art, and enjoyed seeing a lot of fabulous work. And we had noticed crowds, but being in the crowd is much different than having the crowd descend.
But back to the basics. Here are some photos of my setup.
First, an overview of the tent.
Matted prints in bins:
A card rack, holding mini linocuts and commercially printed cards with images of my prints; then snacks, more matted prints, and the guestbook and business card table:
Inside the garage, prints, paintings, and (out of sight) my press with a description of my process:
Note the lovely fabric behind the prints, covering the ugly metal grids; courtesy of the fabulous Sarah-Hope’s sewing talents.
These are from Sunday, after a wall panel had blown over in the wind on Saturday, dinging a bunch of frames and forcing us to reconfigure the setup. Originally I had two walls of folding panels outside under the tent, where they are more obviously visible, and the bins of matted prints in the garage with the press and working display. But after the wind incident, the panels got moved inside, and the prints, oddly less volatile, moved outside. Either way, I was pleased with the setup. This was the first time I’ve mixed all my prints, all different series, with paintings and other work. I have an oeuvre!
I’ve participated in Open Studios in both Oakland and San Francisco, and even before the weekend, I’d already told people that the Santa Cruz version is far and away the best, both in terms of organization and in terms of support for the artists involved. Now I have to add also best in terms of the attendees. The crowd was much larger than in either Oaktown or SF, and the people were friendlier, more interested in the work, asked better questions, and in general were much more fun. I was exhausted, but had a great time. Now a week off to celebrate Sarah-Hope’s birthday, and on to the next weekend of Open Studios! Please come by if you can!
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Next Open Studio:
Saturday and Sunday, October 17 & 18
11am – 6pm each day
816 Hanover St., Santa Cruz (see map)
Sponsored by the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County
Congrats on what sounds like a VERY successful first Open Studio in SC! Now on to the 2nd weekend.
Think of Roy Rogers singing here…” Happy sales, to you, until we meet again…!”