As promised, the first ARTwalk in January was one hell of a way to start off 2017. As promised, local horticulture student Christian Cooper showed and sold his range of houseplants, to the point where he won’t show up in photos. That’s because he was so busy, from beginning to end, that I completely forgot to get pictures of him in action. As promised, his sales were matched with an equal contribution to the North Texas Food Bank, and the NTFB received a contribution of $150 the very next morning. As promised, this was going to be just the beginning for the year. As we discovered two days later, that’s absolutely true, as we received notice that all of the galleries at Valley View Center have to be vacated as of February 28, with the doors to the mall blocked off and demolition starting the very next day. It’s been a good run, and on one serious high note.
So what else happened? The first and foremost was the debut of the new commission enclosure Arellarti (2017) (shown above and in the Enclosure Gallery), an experiment in adapting standard diorama-building techniques for a decidedly hostile environment for most model materials. Not only was the client (below) absolutely ecstatic, but her assignment gave me the chance to push the edge on new materials and new techniques, which will be used in the future for upcoming enclosures. Now we just need to snag a new gallery in order to be able to do so…
As for that new gallery? The search started months ago, with getting an idea of which areas and what sort of location would be most amenable to what was needed and what would have been nice to have. For no other reason, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity given by the Galleries at Midtown and the owners of Valley View Center for the last eighteen months, because when a leasing agent asks “So…what are you looking for in a space?”, I can give succinct, useful, and well-researched answers. Now it’s just a matter of getting returned phone calls.
And for future plans. No matter where we go, the gallery will probably remain appointment-only unless something drastically changes with the financial situation, and regular public openings will probably cut back to quarterly instead of monthly. ARTwalk was a great way to be prepared for the public and keep the place from resembling a shooting set from The Red Green Show a little too much, but it effectively removed three months of weekends from the work schedule. Besides, anticipation, on all sides, is good for the soul.
Other than that? We have one last ARTwalk on February 18 (for those on Facebook, details are here, and feel free to invite as many people as you can stand), and after that, it’s time for the clearout. All completed enclosures will be marked down to Shirt Price for all, so if you’ve been wanting to buy a particular one but haven’t had the opportunity to do so, get the space at home prepped and bring a vehicle to carry it home. (We have a cart to move it, but once out in the parking lot, you’re on your own.) All of the other galleries will be having both final art sales and liquidation sales of excess displays, supplies, and whatnot, so bring money for them, too. It’s been inevitable, but the closing of Valley View is a great excuse for a party, and you’re all invited. Selah.