Last Day...
before opening day tomorrow. If someone walked in here right now I'd be OK with it (unlike yesterday!) Things to do yet, but by tomorrow we'll be rockin' & rollin!
Did you hear about the freeway crash & meltdown in Emeryville, CA? Practically next door to our old place in Oakland. We would have smelled the smoke from that fire. Scary. Glad we’re outta there.
All righty then, back to today’s tasks: Training on the credit card machine, art labels up, signs up, one last curtain to make (over the area marked “Private,”) download a bookkeeping application for the Macintosh (I’m looking at TinyBooks), and download some consignment forms and tax documents for my first guest artisan in the gallery—I should be getting three pieces from her in a week or so, then 3 more in about two weeks time—she makes these great wooden boxes out of logs—they look like the log and you’d never know they opened up and had a compartment inside. They’re really quite nice and will go well with my ‘southwesty’ 21st Century Regionalism.
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Gallery Visitors!!
Yikes! We had our first gallery visitors today and we're not even open until Tuesday! We took our house numbers down to put the credit card signs in the window, the sign was not out--I think the gallery right down the road sent them over. Our place was a mess! You know, the sunday morning slippers, coffee, newspaper thing. Nevertheless I invited them in for a preview peek--they said they'd come back Tuesday. I was really flustered at having visitors and not being ready.
So that sent us into a frenzy of cleaning, arranging, putting away of dropcloths (protecting the paintings on the wall from my paint-slinging), and signmaking. We need so many signs! The one outside, one for the door (there are two adobes here they need to know which is which) one stating the return policy, one saying “please come in” as I won’t have the door always standing open…and still the labels for all the artwork.
Back at it, then.
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The pictures!! Here they are.
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Signs, signs, everywhere signs...
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Signs, signs, everywhere signs...
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Museum Exhibition
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Hooked Up, Hanging Art
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Credit Cards and Lemonade
The credit card terminal arrived today! Along with the stickies for our window—“we accept these cards here.” In plenty of time for opening up on Tuesday.
But wait. You knew that sounded too good to be true. The DSL/phone line plugs into the router, CC terminal must plug into a router, the router plugs into the computer. No worries, I have a brand new shiny router fresh from Windstream (remember the Windstream stories?) Yep. They sent me a PC only router. I have a Mac. No hope of returning it and getting a new one before Tuesday. In San Francisco, maybe. In Truchas? I’ll be lucky if I see the correct equipment in a fortnight.
The lemonade part is—they also sent me an old-fashioned imprinter with accompanying 3-part forms. I can call in by phone for my authorization codes. So I am still able to take charges should anyone be moved to buy art before all the electronics are in place. Way!
In office arrangement news I moved the hulking (but great) printer under the desk and did a lot of re-arranging and file clearing, etc. I managed to make things more efficient as well as afford a great deal of increased speed on the fung-shui energy flow front, plus it looks far, far better.
I also sighed long and hard yet assigned myself to the task of putting curtains, or ‘skirts’ if you will, over the supply shelves in the studio (plain white muslin—now all my stuff may as well be behind the adobe wall) and the ‘under the kitchen sink stuff’ now dressed up behind a cheery chili-pepper skirt.
It snowed all day. Was not required to capture and release any small animals.
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Good to Go!
We are good to go on the merchant account! We will be accepting Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. The terminal should arrive today but since this is Truchas it may be tomorrow ;-)
Way!
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Thunder-snow
Heck-a rain last night, this morning we woke up to 4 inches of snow and it's still coming down. This is the most snow we've had so far. The cats have learned that white stuff means "stay-in" day--by their own choice. That makes me happy as hopefully I will not have to play zoo-keeper today. Missy is speaking to me again, BTW.
Oooooh! We just had a bluebird out the window! Not a jay, an actual bluebird!
Now to find out what’s up with my merchant account—I keep getting calls & emails referencing things that seem to mean all is good to go yet I have not yet gotten the last word from my banker yet. As soon as it’s my turn to use the phone I will give him a call & see what’s up. Then a call to Southwest Art magazine to find out whom to address our press release to. I don’t hold a lot of hope that they’ll actually print anything but you never really know, and they can’t print it if they don’t have it. I’ll also send to New Mexico magazine & try to find others that seem appropriate.
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Miscevil, Big Game Hunter
We’re pretty sure yesterday’s catch was a vole. I don’t have any experience with voles but the critter looked a great deal like the pictures I found on the web and they are known in the area.
In gallery news, then. Looks like we’ll be taking American Express. Don’t leave home without it. My welcome package is on the way with the little AmEx window stickers & what have you. I assume my terminal is on it’s way from the equipment leasing folks but I’ll give a call tomorrow to verify. Just because it was supposed to happen….And the press release for the national rags is virtually complete. I only need to come up with a headline, frequently not as easy as finding three or four good words should be.
My husband is now an official New Mexican. It took hours (an unusually busy day at MVD) but we secured his license in only one visit.
Another storm is rolling in for tomorrow—thunderstorm. For us that probably means thunder-rain-hail-snow and enough wind to get a galleon to China.
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Ghost Pony Gear & Hunting Cat, again.
The link is www.cafepress.com/ghostponyglry
I might add some things with actual gallery artwork on them. I don't know about a mug with a painting on it but maybe a poster or a calendar. Anyhow, that won’t happen right away as I’ve played away too much of my time today with this and actual work must be done before the gallery opens in just a little over a week.
Now, the news about Miscevil or maybe we should call her Diana the Huntress. She comes sailing in through the window with a groundhog in her mouth. At least that’s what we think it was—it was not a rat, it was not a chipmunk, it was not a squirrel. It was a rodent, it was HUGE, and kinda cute. But much, much too big for me to feel comfortable with it scurrying around the house for days. So, amidst much crashing, banging, leaping, jumping, a bit of shrieking, and a helluva mess in the studio the two of us managed to get Missy off the critter and help it out the door. I’m sure it won’t be the last one we see in here. There are rabbits out back as well and it’s just a matter of time.
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And the Howling Wind....
Now that the Trustero is finished and in place we’ll start working on the GPG sign for the outside signpost. We have a plan in place! It will be silver and black because that suits the Ghost Pony Gallery look, matches the cards that we printed up, and has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that we are from Oakland or any sports team that may play there.
I found a good internet radio station, Pandora. You plug in artists you like and it matches up the sorts of things in the music you like to new music you may not have heard. You have the opportunity to nix songs you don’t like or to tell them you really like one and to play more like it. You can set up as many stations with as many kinds of music as you like. So far I’m really enjoying it, and it’s free. They do not come on every half hour trying to get you to subscribe to something (which my last internet station did that annoyed me to no end, hence the new one). As a matter of fact I don't believe I've heard an ad of any sort yet.
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A Bit of Press
All righty then. We have a couple of press blurbs--One in Collector's Guide Online and one in The Rio Grande Sun's weekly Arts magazine.
Check 'em out:
Scroll down to 4pm--they are in order by time. Look for "Inaugural Exhibition."
Rio Grande Sun—Arts Diner
Scroll down to April 19 & click--that will download the PDF. Look for the “Arts Diner” on page 6. Right hand column, 2nd item.
We'll have a calendar listing in the May issue of THE magazine--an upscale monthly arts magazine available in newsracks throughout downtown Santa Fe. They confirmed by phone.
We'll have a listing in the Taos magazine that comes out twice a year, once in summer, once in winter. They have a special section for artists on the High Road. It'll be out May 14th. They give these hefty-sized guides out free and one can find them in virtually every hotel, restaurant, art gallery, and transportation facility in the Santa Fe/Taos area. Here's a copy of last year's Taos ad. Our blurb will be: Contemporary western, landscape, and iconic painting & assemblage.
And we have reserved a full-page, full-color ad in the essential guide for 2008. We were too late for this year, they're already on press. This is a very elegant publication, it comes out once a year and it too is available in hotels, restaurants, galleries, etc. for free.
So that's a start on our long and winding road to our 15 minutes.
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Trustero
Here it is--the Trustero--the kitchen cabinet. If it is in the bedroom then it is a Ropero. It's turned the eyesore corner in the kitchen into a work of art. And there is enough space in it that I could unpack and put away the other 3 “kitchen” boxes standing in the corner as well as bring in our pantry supplies that were stashed in the garage/workshop. It really transformed the kitchen. I am so pleased! ">Trustero--the kitchen cabinet. If it is in the bedroom then it is a Ropero.
It's turned the eyesore corner in the kitchen into a work of art. And there is enough space in it that I could unpack and put away the other 3 “kitchen” boxes standing in the corner as well as bring in our pantry supplies that were stashed in the garage/workshop. It really transformed the kitchen. I am so pleased!
My husband did it all from scratch.
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Photos from Day Trip
Here they are, a few photos from our day trip on Wednesday.
Tomorrow? Pictures of Leonardo's Trustero--the fabulous kitchen cabinet he's been making. It's finished, we brought it in, I spent all day re-arranging the kitchen. Just wait 'til you see it!
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Art Inspiration Day
We went out and took a drive over through Abiquiu (O'Keeffe country) and through Cuba and back across 126 (that turns into dirt for 15 miles) and through Los Alamos (scary!) and back home. Saw some great country and discovered new camping & picnicking places.
Full report tomorrow with photos.
Just got in, it's time for LOST.
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Buuurrrrrp!
New Mexi-Mouse #3 did not last long in spite of its big voice. That little creature has been devoured in full.
At least she ate this one.
Leonardo is in the kitchen punching the tin for the final 2 doors on the kitchen armoire & I am finished with web/office work for today and am, for once, enjoying the chair in front of the fireplace with our latest art magazine and a pile of stuff we picked up from the Forest Ranger’s office—stuff about firewood permits (can’t get one ‘til May), how to adopt a wild mustang (not too hard, you just have to have proper accommodations & be a nice person) and how to keep the bears away. We picked up a couple awesome maps of the forest & wilderness around our area for guidance on future treks.
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New Mouse, New Artists
In response to some very good suggestions by my art group I made a few improvements to the GPG web site. The type is easier to read, navigation links get you back where you wanted to be, the snowy picture has been replaced, at least temporarily, by GHSTPNY, and last but certainly not least—I’ve posted up a couple images by our new artists! Yes, we’ll be showing artists other than ourselves for a brighter, more balanced mix of work. They’re on the artist’s page…go check ‘em out! (www.ghostponygallery.com)
Yeow, this mouse is a real squeaker! I believe Miss knows where the mouse store is and we’re in for a lot more of this action. It’s a good thing they don’t bother me—when she first came in she let it go under my desk. Yes, while I was sitting here. Cats.
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Mousie Bites the Dust
There's an offering here for me on the mat in front of my easel. Right smack in the middle of it.
R. I. P. Mousie.
Go, kitties, go.
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Mousie Switching Hour?
It seems Midnight is the witching hour--or is it the Mousing Hour? Depending upon whom you are rooting for. It may be the Cat Confounding Hour as well.
The Team Mousers have been hanging around the kitchen stove all day. Finally, Wizzy decided to get flat and crawl under the sink toward the back of the stove tonight.
Delight! Delight for a Cat. He flushed the mouse out, just after Husband thought about heading to bed. I came out to turn out the lights—and there is the little black mouse (I’ve never really seen a Black Mouse before, mostly grey or white mice, but this one is decidedly the blackest of black) running across the floor. The cats and mouse went into a wild frenzy for about two minutes, tops (that can seem like a long time, especially if you’ve ever been in a real earthquake, which is what pouncing cats must seem like to a mouse) then Mousie ran under the piano again. Sigh. Both Miscevil and Mr. Wizard are feeling a bit foolish once again, but trying to discourage all scrutiny of their Paw-ful mistakes by sitting in front of Mousie’s latest fortress looking very attentive.
I’m afraid I’ll have to feed the mouse again, as they keep keeping it a prisoner but cannot seem to catch it. In all fairness the cats get their meal twice every day, should not I keep their adversary at least as nourished? Especially as they seem to not be able to let it go or catch it either? Not Mousie's fault.
One trouble is, no matter how much I feed the cats they still want to kill the mouse. (They are hard-wired for that, it’s not evil, it is their nature as predators.) T
Hickory, Dickory, Dock.
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Artwork Inventory Database
Then I decided I’d better keep track of what exhibitions my work’s been in. Sure, I have a stack of show cards from every exhibition. But they don’t list the pieces that were in the shows. Where is that information? All the correspondence from every gallery and every exhibition was sitting in my email box. That’s just where it lived—each gallery in it’s own little folder, so organized. It all disappeared when the hard drive melted down. And to go back three or four years and try to remember which work was in which show and when? Geez, I'd even forgotten about some exhibitions altogether! "Oh yeah....THAT show!" Let me just say, “Hard copy, hard copy, hard copy.”
I’ve gotten it pretty much reconstructed—I’ve gone through my acceptance and rejection letters, which come in hard copy and I keep all of them in 3-ring notebooks. I did manage to print out a few emails. I went to various web sites where I’ve posted photos and gleaned some info. The more I pondered—I remembered one painting was in a particular show because someone insulted it and minutes later someone else praised it. I remembered on another exhibition I had to paint a new one to replace one that was going off to another show. In the future, however, I promise to keep better records. Hard copy, hard copy, hard copy!
That was most of today. I also wrote a draft of the press release that will go out to national magazines like Southwest Art magazine and New Mexico magazine (they’ve got 5 months lead time so to get a mention in for the High Road Tour this needs to go out by next Monday). And I cleaned up some images on Leonardo’s web site. And now I guess I’ll go catch “The Riches” on the tube ‘cause it’s quittin’ time!
Mousie still at large, thunderstorm rolled in.
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Mousie's Midnight Adventure
As he kneeled down to remove the screen and position another piece of firewood Mousie ran out from its hiding place and hid under my Husband’s heels! Miss and Wiz promptly attacked from two different directions, causing Leonardo to go straight up in the air. Once this melee was over, the identical incident repeated! Miscevil made a graceful ballet leap through the air but by the time of the pounce the mouse had retreated. The entire incident ended with one cat by the stove and one by the piano, no mouse in sight, and my husband thoroughly rattled.
Mousie must have heard Leonardo promise to release him the other day! He is still hiding in here somewhere, so the saga continues.
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GPG Site Update
Whew! I believe the Ghost Pony Gallery site is ready to fly. Bwa, ha, ha, let the postcards be mailed far and wide!
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Mousie & Web work
Mousie seems to be behind the kitchen stove. Both kitties were under foot this morning trying to get back there. Now Wizzy is asleep on his Feather Bed and Missy is sitting in the open back window contemplating the lure of the outdoors. If Mousie ever had a chance this is it.
Got up early this morning and put a few hours of web work in on the Ghost Pony Gallery site. Once those cards drop it must be ready! There’s more work to do but it’s coming along. At the very least there is more than one page now.
A beautiful day (in spite of the forecast of a cold, snowy week), all the better for changing the flat tire on my truck.
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