I’ve been waking up at night dreaming of fancy ways to display pots.
Waking up with pots on my mind is nothing new over the past few weeks, but the focus has changed.
In a week we start setting up the exhibition at Refinery Gallery in Nelson.
Six weeks ago, we were worried about whether we could get enough pots together. Now we’re sharing our house with hundreds of them. Which ones will make the cut? How will we display them in the gallery?
We’ll still have to fire every day this week to get everything through, but the decisions about what will make the cut have already started.
Last night’s dreams were about how to set them out.
I’ve been thinking about geometric displays.
Maybe we’ll group some things by colour or glaze.
We’ve finished making little beakers, but only for a few days. Time and again we’ve put a few dozen aside, only to have someone come round and buy them. We have to put a stop to that too. In fact, all home sales are on hold until we’ve decided what we want to exhibit.
By next Saturday we’ll have to have everything catalogued. We’ve probably got time for three more firings, so we’re pressing on with that, but already we have about 50 pots labelled, priced and catalogued.
On Sunday we move in to the gallery and start arranging.
By Monday afternoon (December 4) it’ll be done and there’ll be an opening that evening at 5.30pm which we’ll share with Sue Heydon and Mariana McPherson, the exhibitors in the other two parts of the gallery. Anyone in Nelson is welcome to that opening, especially if you’re keen to get in first for any special bargains (not many of those).
You can come to both, but if you only want to choose one outing, choose our floor talk at 5.30pm on Friday December 8.
As mentioned previously, we’re giving away 100 wine beakers filled with lovely liquids from our friends Sali at Riverby Estate and Ben, father of the Chia sisters.
This giveaway strategy has stimulated a bit of discussion. Is this devaluing our work by saying it has no value. Or is it an example of dilettantism, undercutting others in the market?
As far as I’m concerned, it’s a strategic promotional move. Last time we did this, people were clutching the beakers, even fondling them, and showing them to their friends, discussing which glazes worked best, which shapes were superior, who had made the best choice. Even better, our pots became part of their home, they had an incentive to remember our pots and buy more.
It certainly guarantees a good turnout at the opening of people who are likely to send their friends in, or come in themselves for another look.
We’re really looking forward to having the exhibition set up.
Maybe then we can go back to swimming. We haven’t done much lately and that was obvious this morning when we raced over a 2km course in the sea, only to find we’d dropped several minutes over our times from a year ago and we were being beaten by people who used to swim in our wake. As usual, I use the plural, as both Cathie and I swim - in fact she had the temerity to beat me today - I love equality.
Also as usual, I wrote a story for the website Sportzhub and in the absence of a photographer managed to sneak in a pic of my friend Ralph’s seagulls, surrounded by sycophantic real seagulls - here it is.
If there’s a message - it’s to come to our talk night, 5.30pm, Friday December 8 at Refinery Gallery in Bridge St, Nelson.
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