Grafton Arts Mill Opening

Friday night was the opening of the new Grafton Arts Mill. It was insane! There were so many people there. Which of course made it difficult to view the artwork, but the atmosphere was spectacular. Many members of the Cedarburg Artist's Guild came out, many old supporters of the Artpost (our old studio and gallery), and of course the News Graphic was there too.
I was hearing lots of great things from the people that came out. The space was beautiful (thanks to those that worked their tales off), the concept of the place was cool... etc. We were open from 5-10pm, but as I was cleaning up at 10:45, the 3rd floor gallery/temporary wine bar was still full. People were still sitting around the tables enjoying the night. It was an amazing night, the Arts Mill sold tons of work, and I was so overjoyed to be part of something again. Can't wait for the next event!

Greener Green

What a day...where to begin? I rented studio space!!! Ironically located above our extinct gallery.

Now, I never thought I would find a space that fits my needs. So, I wasn't looking...at all. I had decided that I did not want to show my work anywhere where they would take 30% or more my selling price. I did not want to have to price my work so high that it wouldn't sell. I can't afford to pay more than $100/mo. for rent. And I can't really be there much because I have to be in the workshop building the stuff. So that was it for me. Like I said, I wasn't looking because I didn't think such a place existed. I was content to keep on keepin' on the way things were. Work by referral, do more shows, and keep up the Etsy site. The grass is green enough here. Goog is good. Presently present and all that.

Wham O! Found it. It's a co-op. I will work there 12 hours a month. The rest of the time I will be in the workshop building while someone else is manning the boutique. They do take a small percentage, but it is small enough that I can eat it. And their / our grand opening is this coming Friday. But it's cool, I'm oddly enough, prepared. I have a couple accent tables, a few cutting boards, buttons, earrings... It's like what Oprah says, "luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.". If someone would have told me when I got out of bed this morning, that I would be painting a 1/2 wall in my new studio before I picked up the kids from school, I would have laughed hysterically. But there I was...painting the wall.

So there it is. A new chapter. A greener green.