Last week was the “LOVE” opening reception. What a night it was. Had a fabulous time! For starters, I wound up chatting with the wonderful and talented Kelli Montgomery of Austin Visual Arts Association (AVAA) fame. Much time has passed since we got to catch up and I come to find out she had spent some time in Japan. She was quick to mention that my work made her miss her time there and we chatting about the influence of Japan on the arts. Although my work might not reflect it, I do think time spent in Japan is really going to change the way I see the world, even if only a little bit. For an artist, that’s a big thing, really it is. It was great catching up with Kelli, talking about Japan, AVAA and other shared experiences.
After the show, actually towards the end of the show, I got invited to what can best be described as “the after party.” A bunch of us went to a restaurant called Sala and Betty which is a wonderful little dinner style restaurant over on the east side of Austin. Really great place with wonderful food. We had a great evening, catching up with artists from the show, talking about travels, and the like. There is something about photographers. When you put our work in an art show, it doesn’t always sell but, damn, if we don’t make for some really good conversations over dinner. We are the stars of “the after party,” that’s for sure. For the LOVE reception, we did not disappoint. Lots of great conversation in what turned out to be a fantastic evening. I’m really excited I got to be a part of it and it was an enjoyable evening.
Sometimes, when you are an artist, there are patrons who like to take you for dinner or just otherwise converse about your work. It’s one of those things. A lot of people view this as a means of supporting the arts and it is really, it is supporting us. Even if you don’t buy a piece of art, it’s great if you can take an artist out or, heck, even invite an artist to dinner for some great conversation. It’s not about money even, it’s more about sharing and the event of it all. Good conversation, maybe a glass of wine, and great stories. I think that’s the core of it really, as a lot of great photography centers around storytelling and photographers always seem to have great stories to share. In many ways, it’s the core of what we do, right?
I hope you have some great stories to share even if you are not the storytelling kind of image maker. Heck, even if you don’t take pictures at all yourself, life is really about making some great stories together, isn’t it? Enjoy the story for it is but a tangled web we weave. May the stories continue as the images flow.
Until next time…
PS I’ve got another opening reception coming up, (Re)Imagine opens on Friday, February 28th, 6-8 pm at Texas State University in Round Rock, details here: https://www.pr.com/press-release/805673
