Peg Sandin

Rocks and Water, Watercolor by Peg Sandin

I work at what is, imho, the best gallery in the county, the Vertin Gallery. Tonight was First Friday, which means that we had a show opening. This month we featured UP watercolor artist Peg Sandin. If you're in the area, I strongly recommend going, she has a huge collection of impossibly large watercolor paintings that deal with rocks and water.

This was also the first opening since the last gallery director, Kerri Corser, left to go to Northern. Kerri actually stopped by today to pick up some boxes because she is still moving from her old home in Calumet to Marquette. She is happy and healthy and loving the college life. She also had some wonderful things to say about how the gallery looks  since Ansley and I have been re-arranging a few things. I felt this was thoughtful of her, she is as vibrant and vivacious as ever. I will miss working with her!

Ansley spent at least a week planning the placement of the paintings in this show, the pieces are so large and there are so many that she wanted to make sure that when it came time to hang, everything went smoothly. The size and scale of the show actually worked for us, it turned out there were only a couple of ways everything would fit, which meant a lot less time was spent deliberating about what order the images looked better in.

At one point during this planning process, it was suggested that we limit the number of pieces we showed. Ansley was reluctant  to do that because Ms.Sandin gave us as collection of pieces that she has taken pains to keep together so they could be shown together. In the end, I believe Ansley's decision paid off because with all the paintings covering almost every inch of available walls space in our exhibition gallery, the images of the paintings reflect off of each other like a concave disco-ball and intensify the whole effect of it. I have to say it is the most impressive exhibit I have been to since I started in the local art community.

Unfortunately, attendance was down tonight because the weather up here is once again, miserable. This time because it is freezing, rainy and unbelievably windy. It is such a 180 in weather that I can't believe it was Tuesday I was complaining about how hot it was. I have go from fudge-cicles to hot chocolate inside a week!

Luckily, the quality of the people who came was great. The artist talk and Q&A was  thoughtful and intriguing. I think in part to the fact that the Finlandia University ISAD students have returned and made an appearance at the gallery tonight. They are certainly and inquisitive and bright bunch. I wish I could book them for all of our artist talks.

I learned a few things about setting up for an opening, because there was a week between Kerri leaving and Ansley coming in, I took care of a lot of the advertising and marketing for the show and there were some things that could have been done better, or to a greater extent. Fortuitously enough, the art community in the Keweenaw is supporting and patient. There are a lot of people besides those of us who work in the gallery concerned with it's success and were happy to give me instructions as to things to do better and grander next time.