ShuGo

I'm excited - we've just added three more groups to the list of live arts events that youth can attend for only $5.  The Arts Council promotes access to live arts experiences for youth by partnering with arts groups to allow ShuGo tickets.  These excellent groups are on board - and all the kids have to do is get their ticket in advance at the art gallery. 

Caravan Farm Theatre, Armstrong 

Shuswap Theatre, Salmon Arm 

Runaway Moon Theatre, Grindrod

Monashee Chamber Choir, Sicamous

Shuswap Association of Writers, Salmon Arm

Live in HD: The Met, Salmon Arm (Salmar)

The Bolshoi Ballet Series, Salmon Arm (Salmar)

Kelowna Ballet, Salmon Arm performances

Northern Lights Community Choir, Salmon Arm

Red Green White

All roads point to the Elves' Workshop (not Elvis) on Saturday, December 17 here at the gallery.  Now that the Affordable Art Fair is on the walls, we focus on the last big event of the season - the madness that is our final Family Saturdays project for the year.  The workshop will have four art-making stations doing stuff we've never done before!  It will be a Christmas miracle if it all comes together.  The DIA is doing a Santa breakfast that morning, then the workshops start at 11am.  If we don't eat all the muffins and end up napping in front of our digital fireplace, then four large-sized elves will be welcoming young families to make stuff for the rest of the afternoon.  It's thanks to Scotiabank and Culinary Inspirations that we can offer this workshop for free.  Generous businesses make the downtown a wonderful place.

All I want for Christmas is my telephone

We can fit 32 gigabytes of memory into an object the size of a postage stamp, we can send hundreds of satellites into space, beaming back thousands of tv channels... why can't Telus make two phone numbers ring on one line?  For the last three days, we've been thrown back to the dark ages with our phones, trying to amalgamate the Art Gallery and Arts Council phone lines.  They can't do it this way, they can't do it that way, reconfigure this, reconfigure that, oh if you have it this way it won't go to voice mail, if you do it that way it won't call forward.  For goodness sakes!  I thought it was going to be simple!  That sound you hear is me pulling my hair out.  Long story short, be patient when trying to call the Art Gallery or Arts Council for the next five business days.  Perhaps use the ol' stand-by... email.

My Dream Council

Only a week or so remains until municipal election day here in Salmon Arm. I'm quite delighted that most of the candidates have indicated that they are willing to hammer out a fee-for-service agreement between the City and the Arts Centre.  On November 15 I will be sending out a list of candidates who signed the letter of support.  Vote culture!

Election Issues

Less than three weeks remain in the municipal election campaign.  In light of the recent developments, as we at the Arts Council/Art Gallery research the City's funding practices, we have turned arts and culture funding into an election issue.  I am hopeful that the eighteen council candidates will sign the letter of support indicating they would be willing to work on a fee-for-service agreement for operations at the Arts Centre.  Of course we would continue to generate about 80% of our own revenue, as we have always done.  We are only asking for about 20%, a security blanket, to provide stability and allow us to plan for the future.  I have put the brakes on a number of projects and ideas because of the lack of stable funding.  If the City ponies up, we will finally have some capacity to put important community projects into action.  To help us in this cause, ask your candidates how they feel about a fee-for-service agreement with the Arts Centre.  It's your money.  Why should it all go to sports and business?

What do we have to do?

Last year, when we received municipal funding for the two organizations to use for operating, it was the difference between staying open and closing. The 2009 Direct Access cuts were far too devastating to recover from, and the reduction in BC Arts Council funding of 40% was an additional blow. The crisis spurred our generous supporters to donate funds for the "Buy a Day at the Gallery" program. After a year and a half, things have settled out now that we appear to not be in crisis, donations have dropped off. That proposal to the City was for a service agreement to provide secure funding for all the cultural services we provide. It wasn't exactly what we wanted, but it saved our behinds.

Last month I prepared the proposal to the City again, stating how happy we are to be the recipient of some stable funding, and I was just today told "that was a one-time grant." Hmm. Apparently, my 2010 proposal for a service agreement was voted down, and they approved $25,000 as a one-time grant. Me and my limited thinking, I thought that just meant I had to come every year to show what we've done with their money, ask them for more and we'd have this lovely relationship. I guess not. My stomach is in knots. What does an organization have to do to get a commitment from funders? I had hoped 18 years of providing excellent services in visual arts, performing arts, community engagement, children's programs and maintaining an beautiful cultural venue would be enough. Perhaps not. Perhaps we should on slap on some ice skates and ask for $6 million to build one more skating rink. That seems to get approval. The real question is, what does the budget line "Recreation and Culture" really mean? Nearly $3 million operating funds is in that budget each year for the Recreation Centre. Are we not the Cultural Centre? $25,000 is only 1% of that budget. A measly 1%, which is quite in line with the crumbs the arts and culture sector is accustomed to receiving. What do we have to do to get 1%? I'm open to suggestions.

The Pillar That Wasn't

I'm not worldly.  I've never been to the Louvre, MOMA, or the Tate.  I've been to our National Gallery, which was a total hoot, as a supplement to my Canadian Art History course in my fourth year of university.  I'm a member of Vancouver Art Gallery, and get down there at least twice a year to see the exhibitions. However, I still feel a certain, how shall we say... backwardness? when it comes to knowing what contemporary art looks like. I guess I mean relevant art. It's easy in hindsight to see what was important art, but to know it in its time?  How many masters died in poverty because they weren't recognized in their time... it's a funny little quirk in our industry - not to know what's great when it's current.  Blah, blah, what I'm really trying to say is that "Peak Year" is awesome, and I think I'm looking at some of the greatest contemporary art being produced today.  With every drop of melting ice that I hear hitting that metal bucket, every person I see leaning over the viewing platform railing, and every visitor who walks by Otto's white pillar thinking it to be another white pillar and finding on their third pass that it's a sculpture... I marvel.  This is it folks, this is what it's like to look upon art that is relevant to its time.  This ecological crisis is one of many crises that our species is facing, and who knows which will take us all in the end, but for now, these ten works are doing what excellent art does - stares us in the face and dares us to think about it.

Peak Year coming in

Today was delivery day for the ten artists of Peak Year, the exhibition opening on Friday.  As the work was coming in, I was floored by their ingenuity, their brilliance, and the perfect construction of their ideas.  The tower that Otto built - it held me for several moments before I was able to look away from the salmon eye that stared down at me.  The trash bits in Patrick's salmon kept me peering inside looking for more things I could identify.  It was like "Where's Waldo" only better.  Cindy's stained glass was just stunning with the light behind it.  I'm absolutely thrilled to present this exhibition, and so proud of these artists, who did this on a fairly tight deadline and with very little direction from me - only to interpret that amazing salmon run of 2010.  I stepped up onto Eric's viewing platform and leaned on the railing, just like I do every year at the Adams River run, staring into the tumbling river.  Except this time I wasn't trying to hold onto my kids.  It's going to be a fantastic show.

Fall Fair Art

Did anyone else spend an unusual amount of time in the line-up for both delivery and pick-up of Fall Fair art items?  I'm sure the fair board will be reviewing the process and therefore find ways to make the process more efficient next year.  In the meantime, I couldn't help but notice the reduction in overall art participation.  The adult works were crammed together as though one giant lego project, while youth works seemed thin on the other side.  In fibre arts, submissions were definitely reduced.  I would love to come up with a wonderful way to increase the quantity and quality of works submitted, but alas, I can barely compose a legible blog after a weekend of 30+ degrees and too many mini-donuts.  I think that the enormous group of volunteers at the agricultural association would appreciate anyone of any background getting involved to help them move this fair forward.

Mash-less

Okay, I know some teenagers and they are actually quite responsible and interested in the world.  So why did I have 18 teens register for MashUp (youth mixed media exhibition at SAGA), and only 2 brought in artwork on delivery day?  Is it the end-of-summer bummer?  I had to go out and rustle up some youth artists and get them to bring work in last minute.  Thank goodness the art teacher from Armstrong delivered a dozen student works two months ago.  Otherwise, the show would have been mighty slim indeed.  We created three large collaborative interactive works to mash on during the exhibition, which is great fun.  But ultimately, this may spell the demise of the annual youth exhibition.

Bidding ends Saturday

Saturday, August 27 is the last day of the silent auction at SAGA. We will close the bidding at 3:30pm amidst iced coffee and frenzied art-lovers. It's a fun end to this particular exhibition - and bittersweet. This was the last Paint the Town, although we may re-invent it somehow in 2013. We will continue with Paint the Festival, because our festival artists are so keen and enthusiastic. We're just not sure how those works will be displayed in 2012. Can't think that far ahead... still trying to get the word out about the silent auction. It was only a week that the festival works were up, so not quite enough time to generate buzz. Oh well, I guess a few people are going to get some serious bar-goons.

Roots and Blues and Jack

My beautiful natural high following this past weekend's Roots & Blues Festival was brought harshly back to earth with the news of Jack Layton's death this morning. The wrenching of the heart when listening to the harmonies of the Sojourners was much the same as realizing the only political force with which I felt any affinity was gone. Barely time to contemplate, to grieve. Then, off to the gallery to receive the work of the artists who poured out their souls onto canvas over the past three days. With each painting that arrived, I felt close to tears with the sheer rawness of their energy - each piece found a way to say something of humanity, of sharing, of love, of the universal language of music. It all comes back to the same thing - we're all in this together. Culture isn't just art, music, theatre... it's what we are together, as a whole. Working in the arts sector, I'm lucky enough to be reminded often of this concept. I'll miss the one political leader who actually stood up and declared this as his platform. May we be so lucky as to see another Jack Layton in our lifetime.

Gaming Again?

I received an interesting phone call last week. A representative from BC Gaming called to inform me that our children's programs qualified under new eligibility requirements for Direct Access funding. I could apply and receive up to a third of what our gaming grant used to be. I was reluctant to say the least. We've spent the last three years recovering from the loss of those funds, slowing gaining stable funding from other sources and feeling quite proud that we had weaned ourselves off of a less-than-ethical source of revenue. It's a lot of work putting a gaming grant application together. With limited resources, how do I justify spending that time with no guarantee there's something at the end of it? And only a third of what we used to get, which really wasn't all that much. There were just so many questions, but really only one answer. When someone calls you and says "apply for some money, please," well, all politics aside, you just do it. The application went into the mail today.

Readying Oneself for Performance

I can't say that I know what any actor feels like, about to go on stage, petrified about live recall of rehearsed lines and an audience who is judging every tiny movement. However, this Saturday I will be on a similar display at "Paint the Town." I've had cause to think about this, since we have only a dozen artists willing to paint en plein aire in this final year of the event. After seven years, I figured all of SAGA's artists would be well used to painting in public. Many are already happy to, but so many more are not. After a discussion with one artist who has participated twice in the past and explained the sheer terror and then the massive pressure of producing something for exhibition, I realized that perhaps I'm different. I never thought of this process as "performance," but some do. And some suffer so badly from stage fright (read: fear of being judged) that they are unwilling to do the thing they love in front of others. I will miss this event, as will many Salmon Arm citizens and business owners. It's well loved and looked forward to by many, including young aspiring artists.

Touch Points

A marketing guru, I am not. However, tonight I just added a new tool to my marketing tool box. I'm pretty excited. Touch points are anything that touches your brand. At SAGA, our brand is "public art gallery striving for high ideals, inspiring our community and being open and welcoming to all." Decisions we make about products we use are all touch points - things that affect how people perceive us. The reason this topic came up is because of the coffee we serve. As a non-profit organization with limited funds, the decision to continue to purchase locally roasted Shuswap Coffee Co. beans was questioned. I was surprised by this because I have always felt that we vote with our dollar and if we expect locals to support us (which they do, thank goodness) then we need to support them. Plus it's darn good coffee. When people attend jazz nights, opening receptions and the once-a-month Coffee Break, we want their experience to reflect our ideals - good quality local stuff. And so, we will continue to purchase and serve the excellent coffee roasted, ground and delivered by Tara and her gang. Plus, I now have a sound marketing reason for doing so.

Measuring Impact

We may never know the impact that an exhibition has on a young person. In my years at the gallery, I only strive to ensure that everyone feels welcome there - all ages, all areas of interest, all economic abilities. One just hopes that the education and exposure provided to our visitors makes for a better community overall. I got a tiny bit of evidence of that last night. My daughter, who will be turning 11 later this month, was working with plasticene. She sculpted a crooked tree, and said "Look, I made a crooked tree like in the gallery." Wonderful, I replied. Then the explanation came. "It's a birch, you can tell by the white bark. These branches swoop down and will grow along the ground. All sorts of creatures can live here, because there are so many nooks and crannies." And then, she played. Just pure imaginative play for about an hour, sculpting blue and purple cats that climb trees and lounge on the branches with their plasticene tails hanging down. Of course I pride myself in raising two kids that can play imaginatively for hours on end, but knowing this scenario was rooted in the exhibition, I felt a certain sense of accomplishment, that I had impacted a young life with a spectacular colourful show about some crazy crooked trees in Saskatchewan.

Those Crooked Trees

Dr. Bill Remphreys gave a wonderful scientific presentation tonight on the crooked trees that are the subject of the current exhibition. How fascinating that someone was so intrigued by this little forest (which is actually one organism) that they would spend a dozen years studying it. It was great to sit there surrounded by Ken Dalgarno's bold, textured paintings with a scientist giving the other side of our brains something to chew on.

3:58pm

It's official. As of 3:58pm, the washrooms are finished. We are having a glass of wine to toast surviving the renos. Bless Delores Mori for being the unofficial project manager for the entire month of May. She must have felt like she lived here and it was her own bathroom. There will be a string of violin players using the facilities tonight, but then tomorrow night is the official opening.

New toity and new gadget

With the addition of a couple of snazzy doorknobs, the bathrooms are finished. The exhibition "The Crooked Trees of Alticane" opens tomorrow night, and so I'm just relieved that we will in fact have a washroom to officially open at that time. Yes, I saw the word "relieved" and just left it there. It felt strange to get back into the swing of things here at installation time. We all moved a bit slower than usual, and had to ask ourselves "gee, what am I missing here?" We have a video presentation of the artist in a five-minute talk on the show. Very soon we will have the equipment to feature an audio tour as well. Exciting times!

The Long Road to Toilets

Methinks I predicted things a little too early. This morning brought a happenstance meeting with the contractor, and our new date of completion for the washrooms is May 31. Apparently the tile guy is a perfectionist (which we don't usually mind around here) and is therefore taking another full week to finish his part of the job. Looks like the June 3 opening reception truly will be the unveiling of the bathrooms. Do I hear $100 to cut the ribbon and have the first visit?

Bathroom Musings

My e-grammar needs work, but I've just started a Twitter account as SAGAcurator, so that people can follow the mysterious inner workings of the gallery. For instance, the floor and wall tile on one bathroom is complete - it looks fantastic despite being a week behind schedule. For those of you who are concerned about tearing out bathrooms in this historic building, rest assured. The design is very classic, not trendy, a little retro, with good quality hardware and fixtures. The various floor, tile, plumbing, drywall and electrical contractors have been coming and going, popping in and out in between six or seven other jobs. Bless them, they wander into the main gallery and say "gee, nice room. This used to be the library, ya know." Does this mean I can mark another visitor on the tally sheet? The smell of glue sent me fleeing last Friday, but I'll be back in the office Tuesday in preparation for the amalgamation meeting on Wednesday the 25th. I think we'll still be using the "Court-a-potty" but maybe by Friday we'll have one functioning toity. Ah, the joys of renovations.

CAGE conference

I have just returned from the Canadian Art Gallery Educators conference in Calgary. It was fantastic, not just because the case studies were inspiring and the tours of other facilities were wonderful, but because the other attendees were just an amazing group of people! There were only about 15 of us, but from big and small galleries all over Canada; Halifax, McMichael, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Burnaby... and then me - from little ol' Salmon Arm. The others were specifically educators, titled Program Managers and the like, there representing a larger staff at their home gallery. Still, I felt very welcomed and encouraged by this professional development organization. At the AGM, there was discussion on how to further extend the learning from each other, and whether symposia were the way to go (given lower attendance due to shrinking budgets all over the arts sector). But ultimately we decided that the networking and the sheer fun of getting together, talking, sharing, touring and getting inspired is worth the trip.

"Art Galleries are not eligible."

The sentence couldn't be more clear. It is the 2011 BC Gaming grant eligibility requirements on their website. I was directed there by Ursula Cowland from the Ministry. I asked her in a recent email "Hey, people keep asking me if we're getting our gaming money now that Christy Clark has announced she's returning the funding... so, are we?" Ursula replied "Well, that money has already gone where it's supposed to go, mainly to the "Family First" initiatives." It seemed promising that she then suggested I check out the new "Fairs, Festivals and Museums" section of the grant guidelines. But when I got there... "Art Galleries are not eligible." I blinked a few times and then gave up the faint hope that someday the province would find a way to fund us.

TONAC & Money

Yesterday I travelled to Kelowna for the annual Thompson Okanagan Network of Arts Councils meeting. A typical meeting, we gave our reports and noted the absence of more than half of the Arts Councils. Nice to see that the Kelowna group is getting some youth action, having done a very cool installation event in an old motel, the "Mad Hatter," in March with a bunch of UBC-O art students. The issue of the moment is how BC Arts Council distributes provincial money. Our per capita grant has been cut in half as of last year. Apparently they are putting more of that money into the performance grant (money for ACs that do a good job fulfilling their mandate). But I think it's all smoke and mirrors. When you change a formulated funding system, you can easily reduce the total and no one really notices. Except, of course, the little guy at the end of the line who wonders why they have to cut back their programs in order to survive.

Then we discussed the recent Christie Clark announcement "hey everybody! gaming grants are coming back!" Whee! Oh, wait a minute. Are we suddenly eligible again? That's how they dumped us two years ago, by changing the eligibility requirements to youth-only programs. Funny, but I can't seem to find that information. I'm not sure I'm willing to spend two weeks writing a gaming grant application only to get zero and find out we still aren't eligible. A little clarity would be nice, Premier Clark.

Amalgamation

The term that caught our ear was "superboard." It brought images of us all wearing a giant "S" on our blue unitards. We laughed long and hard, but then got down to business. The Shuswap District Arts Council and Shuswap Art Gallery Association (SAGA) are amalgamating. The Arts Centre has housed both organizations for the last 16 years, and it has become clear that they both have the same goals in mind - to provide excellent arts programming to this community. The benefits include greater cost efficiencies in accounting, insurance, office expenses, staffing, memberships and contracts. This is going to save literally thousands of dollars. The drawbacks, I don't know, haven't thought of any yet. Everything will look and feel the same as it did before. The gallery will continue to operate as it has done for the last 17 years. The Arts Council will continue to manage programs such as Wednesday On the Wharf (now in happy partnership with the Downtown Association). To most nothing will change. To SDAC and SAGA members, they will have one membership to pay each year and won't have to remember to which organization they belong. To me, the big plus is one board meeting a month, one AGM a year, one Annual Report to prepare, one phone to answer.... the list goes on.

Imagine a stable, secure arts organization with a full strong board of directors, financially sustainable, able to not only provide but expand its programming in the arts. That's a plus for Salmon Arm.

The Queue

This morning I arrived at 6:55am to find that I am number 28 in the line-up for late French Immersion, class maximum is 30. I wiped the sweat from my brow, phoned the next mom on my list, and settled in for a 24 hour wait. Lawn chairs, blankets, coffee mugs of epic proportions surround me. I take a moment to let it all sink in. I wonder not only if my 10-year old has any appreciation for what I'm doing for her, but also if half of Salmon Arm is shutting down today. I see construction workers, a doctor, a counsellor, two music teachers, a speech pathologist, a dance instructor, a financial advisor, and another couple of dozen people whose profession will remain a mystery because they are so deeply involved with their laptops that they may never speak. Perhaps tonight when the poker game breaks out and everyone's support network starts delivering prohibited substances we'll get to know each other a little more. Right now, the early and late immersion parents are just happy to have a secure spot for their kid in the program, a decision that may or may not have anything to do with their dedication to the French language. Many are just seeking alternatives.

Professionalism

Some years ago, I took a workshop on small business accounting. After learning the basics, I figured out some of the more complicated aspects on my own. I've improved over time and am pleased to report that I keep my own books and manage my family's finances and annual tax preparation. With that one little workshop and a lot of practice, I have earned the right to do my own books. However, that does not give me the right to teach other people how to keep their own books. That right is reserved for professionals. Those professionals have an association to which they are responsible. This ensures that only qualified teachers are out there, teaching correct foundation skills and offering their guidance where needed. Now, how do we convince artists of the same thing? Why are there completely untrained and unqualified people out there giving art courses and workshops? It's because artists do not have a professional organization to which they are responsible. If we did, they would come knocking on said artist's doors and say "sorry, without some level of qualification, you cannot teach others in this industry." I suppose there are always exceptions, artists who are brilliant teachers and have not a stick of art education. But overall, there is a sadly abundant array of people throwing their hat into the teaching ring who have no business being there. It contributes to mediocrity, and it certainly doesn't serve to elevate the status of professional artists in this country.

The View From Here

What do you get when you ask a bunch of visual artists to go to the same area and paint the landscape? At SAGA, you get 35 artists with 40 different views. This exhibition, "Paint Paradise: Views of the Salmon River Delta," is wonderful not just because it is a fine collection of excellent works, but because it drives home the point that we are all so amazingly unique in our perceptions. Micro, macro, highly realistic to the madly abstract, the art speaks to us about this extraordinary ecosystem. On opening night Louis Thomas, a Neskonlith elder, spoke about growing up on the delta; skating on the little ponds that formed in winter and playing in the tall grasses in summer. It made us all fall back into our own connective memories of those special natural places. Growing up, who didn't have their own place in the wild, a twisted tree to climb, a river with a secret pool for swimming? Can we not reflect upon our own paradises, and realize that we must protect those same kinds of places for our children and grandchildren? It's easy to wander around the gallery and gaze upon beautiful images, but I'm hoping people will take an extra step this time - out to the delta, to the tall grasses and tiny skating ponds.

Only the Strong Survive

It's been nearly 18 months since the first of the devastating cuts hit the arts sector in BC. It's no longer front page news, and therefore has fallen out of people's minds, replaced by terrorist attacks, riots and earthquakes. Perhaps this is the government's intentions, that people will forget what happened, pick up the slack (once again) and do what we all enjoy doing, making it happen with volunteers and bake sales. However, this is the point where I'm starting to feel weary of the hard uphill climb with less money. This is our second year with the much-reduced operating budget. Scramble scramble, looking at all options, partner here, partner there. What would it look like if the two arts organizations, SAGA and the Arts Council, became one? Some dollars saved, for sure. The vision and the mandate? What would that look like? Together, both could have more impact, more sustainability. Apart, they could continue to struggle just for survival. While the population of the Shuswap continues to grow, who is going to expand arts programming to meet the demand? Not two small organizations just struggling to stay afloat. One bigger arts organization with a beautiful vision of art for everyone... maybe!

WOW turns 18

Today I was updating the sponsorship forms for the 2011 WOW season. Eighteen years. That's a good record for a community event supported mainly by small business, and a lot of happy audience members. Due to rising costs, the price of sponsorship is set to double this year. It's been $125 to sponsor one concert for the last six years. Now it is $250 to be a "solo" sponsor, and $125 to be a shared sponsor. Still a good deal, but again, we're asking small business to make this happen for us. I say this with a twang of guilt because I see these owners on the street throughout the year, and feel as though I'm always asking them for some kind of monetary or service support. I wonder if some are starting to cross the street to avoid me. However, there will always be some who feel their contribution to the community is their priority - "making Salmon Arm an awesome place to live" as one business owner put it. I applaud these folks, and want to point out that this has been an awesome place for WOW for the last 18 years. Thank you!

Year of the Youth

In 2011, the Arts Council's focus will be on youth. Plans include the launch of the ShuGo program, which provides $5 tickets for any live performance of arts and cultural events in the Shuswap for people under the age of 21. In addition, the Arts Council will be sponsoring the September SAGA exhibition "Mash Up," mixed-media works by artists aged 15 to 25, and developing an interactive educational program in the gallery for that month. An annual focus helps provide direction to existing and new programming, which then helps in the final evaluation of said programs. In an effort to engage more youth in the cultural sector of Salmon Arm, we also succeed in speaking the language of the big guns in Victoria when we show them our excellent results.

Copyright debate

On January 25 there will be a debate at the University of Ottawa regarding government reform on copyright. This from the Canadian Conference of the Arts press release: "The debate will focus on the bill’s controversial proposal to include education exemptions, which will allow for more free use of copyrighted materials. On one side, many argue that the exemption will enhance the academic experience for students and foster the development of the knowledge economy. On the other, critics argue that the provision does not protect artists’ rights by allowing the widespread copying of original works without fair compensation, which will in fact hurt the development of the knowledge economy."

It's important for artists to stay educated about such things. Let's keep our eye on this one...

the pace

Officially, the gallery is closed until delivery day of the juried members show, January 17. However, the restoration of the lower level studio, stripping the wax off the gallery's maple floors, and catching up on 134 emails has sucked me back in to the office. I am finding it difficult getting back up to the pace I was going all last fall and pre-Christmas. Two weeks is just enough time to slow down. January arrived like a snowball in my face. We've just decided to postpone the fundraising event scheduled for January 30, "The Feast of Impropriety," but hope to hold it in April. With about 90% of the funds raised for the bathroom renovation, we feel confident in scheduling the contractor for early May. The gallery will be closed for the renovation, so that the various trades can make a lot of noise and mess, and just "get 'er done." Alas, no exhibition in May. The youth exhibition will be held in September, watch for more details on "Mash Up."