After the Fire
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Give and Take A new book in inventory by Lynne Olson. A great reminder of the never-ending cycles of our lives. |
Ever go through one of those crazy busy periods in your life when you feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day? When you feel like you just can’t catch your breath or get on top of the avalanche that is facing you daily? Well, I’ve just finished up one of those periods and while the to-do list is still eight miles wide, at least the fires are all out…for now anyway.
The coming holiday made me realize how lucky I am to have a great support system here at the gallery and that is time to say thank you.
My most sincere debt of gratitude goes to my husband, Steve Russell, for his continued help every single day. He is always willing to help with the gallery, whether it moving walls and installing shelves or critiquing and proofreading marketing materials. And, when the going gets crazy and I get crabby he always handles my madness remarkably well. Just yesterday, he offered to sit the gallery for the rest of the afternoon so that I could go upstairs and catch up. It’s amazing he puts up with me and I’m so thankful he does.
Erin Derge also deserves a hearty thank you. Erin is here in the gallery every Thursday, sitting the front desk, helping to hang shows and whatever else needs to be done. She has taken on a huge WordPress project and is doing some remarkable things. You would never know this but she found a way to make the Uncommon Threads online catalog, done in WordPress, look virtually identical to my full web site. The things she has taught me are invaluable and I’m so happy to have her cheerful, smart self here every single week.
Erin’s husband Marshall is also on my gratitude list. Marshall has become our de facto tech guru who always manages to pull off a miracle when disaster strikes. Like last Thursday: I somehow managed to delete the entire Uncommon Threads catalog and thought I would have to spend the whole weekend recreating it from scratch. Amazingly, Marshall fixed a config file in just no time at all and had us up and running in minutes.
Mary Bennett is soon to be accruing many points as well. Mary, who has become a good friend since
her solo show last May, will be sitting the gallery on Fridays for the near future. Happily, I get to work off some of those points by helping her with her new MacBook and iPhone. As Marshall can attest I know just enough about computers to be dangerous, but I’m so happy to be passing on the tiny bit of Macintosh knowledge that I’ve acquired since my first Apple SE30 in 1989.
Alicia Bailey is also much appreciated. You might not know this, but Alicia co-taught the very first artist books workshop that I took in 1997. Then she opened
Abecedarian Gallery a year after I opened 23 Sandy. Amazingly, her first gallery location was in my old studio space in Denver. Alicia and I chat frequently to trade business ideas, advice and emotional support. Whenever a sticky situation comes up with business side of things I’m so happy to have her willing ear to sort things through. It’s amazing how much her experience helps.
And, I cannot forget past volunteers Deborah Watkins and Linda Kiley. Just yesterday someone asked for Deborah in the gallery and remarked how much they missed her graceful presence. Happily, I still get to see Linda now and then as she is volunteering now with the Art Source Portland publication that I work on. Her laughter and terrific writing skills are much missed. (And, if you are an artist or arts organization needing help with marketing or PR, give me a jingle and I’ll connect you with Linda.)
Last, but not least, I am thankful for all of the very talented artists who trust me enough to let me show their amazing, thoughtful, gorgeous, important artwork. It is a true honor to be working with you all.
So, there you go. Wow. I feel blessed to have such a terrific network. Thank you all for your friendship and help.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Laura