Pandemic? WTF?
When I last posted to this blog, COVID-19 was a shadow slowly creeping towards us. I had applied to several big northwest art shows and I was waiting to hear if the juries liked my art work. I was wood turning painting, riding my bike, climbing in the gym, working with my team at work to be a collaborative machine, and living the 2020 life most of us expected to live.
Then along came March 2020. Our world forever changed. At work we scrambled to send people home and still provide the minimum services needed to run a city - water, sewer, storm water, transportation, police, library, parks, social services. Gathering in public became taboo. You could die. Masks became a standard part of the wardrobe - like underwear or socks. We bought toilet paper, disinfectant, soap, and we hunkered down and worried. It was stressful time.
This spring (which seems like forever ago), I was accepted into BAM in Bellevue, Art in the Pearl, Salem, and Wild Arts. Wow! I went ahead and paid my booth fees and started planning for the art shows. I was excited and scared.
Then the inevitable happened and we all realized we weren’t going to be congregating in large crowds anytime soon. All shows canceled and then went virtual. I have a website, but I’ve never used it for commerce. This year that would need to change.
Tonight I put the finishing touches on my commerce page. I linked it directly to the Art in the Pearl site so hopefully your experience is as seamless as possible. I’m a civil engineer and an artist, not a webmaster. I worked hard and learned a lot. Hopefully it works this weekend.
I am a huge fan of learning, so I know whatever happens, I will learn some lessons and apply them at my next show in November - Wild Are Festival. Hopefully, next year we will be back in person. I miss seeing people and sharing in their joy when they buy a piece of art or just stop by the booth to talk. If not, I will keep learning and I will find other ways to make the experience real. We are doing it at work now. I’m sure we can do it in the art world.
In addition to the COVID and the Black Lives Matter movement (I’ll post my thoughts on that in another blog post - it is sooo important for us to eliminate racism - to me it is the key to our future success as a nation), the other big happening this year for me has been painting.
I’m kind of addicted - ok I’m in love with it. I’ve been painting a ton this year and it is AWESOME. I entered my first two juried exhibitions last week - Oregon Society of Artists Fall Show and a group show at Blackfish Gallery focused on politics and love for humankind.
One of my pieces called Boundaries (we made the frames too) was accepted into OSA’s Fall show. Robin had two pieces accepted into the show. That felt so good. I havent heard back from Blackfish yet, but my fingers are crossed. I entered a piece called 98,223 RIP that I finished on Memorial Day after 98,223 people in the US died form COVID-19. Last week were up to 183,000 and climbing. For reference, around 211,000 U.S. soldiers died in the Vietnam War. Ugh! We don’t feel like a super power or a leader of the free world right now. Deep breath Jeff - deep breath.
I hope those of you who attend the virtual Art in the Pearl enjoy yourself. There is a lot of awesome art by a lot of awesome people. Let’s stick together, support each other, and regain our role as world leaders. It starts here with you and me. Have a great weekend and don’t forget to celebrate LABOR. It is the foundation of our economy.