And, just like that, I'm a Art Gallery owner..

Yes, you read that correctly.

Squeeeeeeeeee!

This has never, ever been in my plans, but it is now, and I'm super excited and really working hard to make it work.

Here's a little background:  My husband and I have been casually looking for a studio space 'off-boat' for me.  I say casually, because this year was meant to be all about consolidation.  We didn't want to spend any money and I was pretty happy making do with a corner of the saloon.

But I take up a fair amount of room, so we have had our eye on a beautiful office just across from us on the Opua Wharf.  Problem is, it is a commercial space and the rent would be well unaffordable just for a studio.

The fence in front of the building surrounds a hole in the wharf looking straight down to the water.

About a week ago, my husband (bless his cotton socks), came up with a plan.  Why don't I have a working studio, open to the public, with half the space as a gallery selling local artist's work?  I can sell my work, my hand-dyed fabrics and possibly other small items like bags and table runners.  I can sell other artist's work on commission, and there is room upstairs for myself and other artists to run classes and community arts groups.  We envisage it becoming a thriving arts hub, supporting the local arts community and the community in general, and all the while providing me with a space to work and produce my own art.

My proposal to the landlord (a council owned company heavily invested in the community) was accepted.  Just like that I have the keys and I'm planning an opening night in two weeks.

Holy crap!

So I'm excited, yes, but I'm also just a teeny massive bit scared.  All of the sudden there are a million things to do.  I need to set up an accounting system, I need to make display plinths, I need to contact all the artists I know (and don't know), I need to make an inventory, I need to write gallery contracts, press releases and opening night invites.

So 'scuse me if you don't see too much of me in the next couple of weeks.  I'm busy learning how to run an art gallery.

PS - If you are a Northland based artist reading this, please email me (you'll find my email address under my profile) with your portfolio and we can talk!

How to tell when it's time to do housework.

I cleaned off my trestle table and my ironing board so I could use them to surround my Sew-ezi table.  I decided to spend some time quilting my big blue and white quilt and I need to support the mammoth  weight of the quilt while I'm working on it.

I put all the bits and pieces that were on my ironing board and trestle table onto my chest freezer, which doubles as my cutting table.  But now I want to make some soup and I need to get into that freezer.  Where can I put that junk highly important bits and pieces?

On the laundry bench?  Nope, that's my ironing space (see previously mentioned repurposed ironing board), a repository for washing-needing-to-be-folded and storage for art stuff that hasn't made it back to the cupboards.

I know, I'll put it on the studio chair aka cat bed.  Oh shoot, that's being used to store quilts, zip pouches, patterns I'm writing and fabrics I'm auditioning.

Maybe I don't want to make soup.

But there are kids to be fed.

Sigh.

It's time to do some housework, isn't it?

(and how, oh how, am I going to work in the smaller space of a boat?)