So we conquered our Minotaurs and we defeated our fears! Now we have begun the reflecting journey back through the maze. So here I am to tell a bit of my experience of the Private View evening:
I had an early Friday breakfast after waking up from a peculiar dream very much related to our show.
Jennie and I were hunted by "killer bees" that looked like small bodybuilder-men with bumblebee wings. We had to hide inside one of my failed boxes, from where we stuck out a paper with the text "HELP" in the hope Rachael might find us.
I woke up feeling quite anxious and nervous. Everything seemed much brighter after I had met up with Rachael and gotten on the bus to Margate.
We had gotten most things done already on Thursday so it was mainly finishing touches that had to be done. We did spend a lot of time planning lighting and placing since we wanted the atmosphere to be just perfect; warm and inviting yet still mysterious and also we wanted everything to look professional and thought-through yet simultaneously random.
Visitors started popping in already fifteen minutes before opening time and then we didn't have an empty house until half an hour after closing time, most of the evening it was fairly crowded with a varied bunch of characters- classmates, friends, artists, bearded artists, people with no art experience whatsoever, people who had heard about us online or through the press and people who had just seen our poster and followed the thread, and this all I see as a success in itself. But even more importantly, we had really really nice guests who spread a friendly atmosphere and gave lovely comments on our work! For me personally the most touching and memorable comment I received was from an artist who said she felt inspired by one of my paintings and that she wanted to now search for her own "power animal" or "beast". For me there cannot be any higher bliss than the thought of inspiring others or helping them through rough phases. I also got other warming comments on all of my pieces and the general interest for my concept truly boosts my confidence! I ended up having a very enjoyable evening (which also was my goal in the first place).
Woke up Saturday morning feeling slightly dazzled but very happy. Once again I met up with Rachael for the bus and we talked the whole journey about our experiences of the PV. When we arrived in the gallery it was already cleaned! Jennie had arrived early and cleaned away the mess from the evening. Well luckily it had never been that messy in the first place and we did have time to help out with other chores so I didn't feel too bad about it in the end. Saturday was a quiet day if put in comparison to Friday but we still had a couple of visitors coming in. And quite honestly I had nothing against having an easier day. We sat in the sun outside the gallery and had tea and talked whilst waiting for visitors to stroll in. Then after 5pm we cleared out all our artworks and cleaned the space. It took us just 1hour 30 minutes from start to finish which I found a bit impressive actually. We did have help though since Rachael's parents arrived to pick up Rachael's and my work and they also helped us with carrying out work and such. And then they gave me a lift home together with my work, thank you so much for that!
Sunday morning I took the train to London to pick up my grandmother who came to visit. She lives in Helsinki and I don't see her too often nowadays so I was delighted to show her around, first in London and then Canterbury, even though I was quite tired after the exhibition. Yesterday I carried my boxes to uni to install them in my studio for assessment. They are heavier to carry than I had estimated and it took me a while, but it feels so much better now they are there together with my other work. Then I gave my grandmother a guided tour around town in the amazing weather. Today she left for Heathrow and I immediately fell asleep on the floor when I was actually just aiming to lie down a bit on my bed of nails. Woke up almost two hours later and now I feel aching and exhausted. But still happy and light in my heart!
Thank you Rachael for inviting me to work with you even though I am difficult. It has been a joy and I hope we can maybe do something again in the future : )
Thank you Jennie for joining in and helping us achieve all of this. I have learnt so much from you and you have also been really fun to work with!
Both of you are truly hard working, intelligent, emphatic and loyal! A real super-team : )
Nadja
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