so i sat down with my preliminary list, and wrote out an email to the curator to get more detailed information. the curator responded to me with her answers attached to my questions, which i’ve italicized for differentiation.

hi laura,

i’m formulating my timeline, etc. in preparation for showing at the carrack in october (i know it’s a long time out, but i’m anal and like to plan ahead), and i have a couple questions for you.

 

i wanted to confirm a couple quick things about the dates. my dates are 10/1 to 10/11 i believe.

to be specific, my installation date is 10/1 and take down would be 10/11?

 

Correct- technically you have until noon on Friday 10/12 to be out of the space.

 

also, as far as lighting, i don’t recall the set up. do i arrange the lighting or is it pretty much set the way it is? do i need to get any kind of permit for parking to unload and load the artwork on those days?

 

The space is lit by rows of spotlights that we rigged onto pipes so each of them are adjustable as far as their direction, but all are turned on and off by a single switch (i.e. there is no dimmer or individual control). You can turn off individual lights by climbing up our ladder and physically turning off lights one by one.

 

if i get you fliers by 9/15, would that be good or is earlier better? obviously not too early, but would say 9/1 be better? and how many would you like?

 

The earlier the better! I send out a newsletter at the beginning of each month but I can send out info much earlier to catch the press if I have it in time.

 

will we need to do any painting, repair, cleanup before or after the show?

 

The space should be clean and ready for you to hang when you get here but you will need to return it to that state at the end of your exhibit – spackle, paint, sweep etc.

 

i’m compiling a list of papers, etc., which i was going to send publicity materials to, and find out their submission requirements. do you have a list i can add, check against?

 

Yes! See the attached. Do please let me know if you send ot your own PR stuff to them so I don’t repeat.

 

what do people usually do about food, beverages and music? in denver, the city banned galleries from serving wine and most didn’t have food and/or munchies. i don’t know what’s done here, usually.

 

All refreshments are completely up to you. You are welcome to bring any food or beverage – alcoholic or otherwise – for the reception. Cups, plates and napkins are the responsiblity of the artist as well.

 

and that would be about all the grilling i can think of right now. is there anything else i might have forgotten?

think you covered it!  

so, the first task is to put together a list of what needs to get done aside from the artwork. for example, i’ll need postcards, press releases, etc. part of the organization is to break these down by general area, i.e. publicity/marketing, transportation and installation, reception. honestly, i don’t know everything which needs to be done yet (remember, first time) so it’s starting out as a draft and i’m sure i’ll be adding on as time goes by. i’m also planning the actual work i’m going to hang as well, so i have a clear picture of what the exhibition is going to look like when the doors open.

again, the benefits of a timeline are innumerable. i can predict what my workload is going to be at certain points, and adjust if need be. i can also tell if i’m behind schedule and need to speed things up or get something done pronto. i also pad the timing to account for unexpected delays or things which may come up, so if something looks a little weird, that’s why.

off the top of my head, here are a couple things i know i’m going to need done so i’ll start by listing them out along with theoretical timeframes. you may notice, typically i work in reverse chronological order. when i’m still planning how to do things, i’ll think about it in terms of how it’s going to go step by step and then convert.

publicity -

message, visuals and title

postcards (if you want a postcard, make sure you’re signed up for my mailing list and i have your mailing address!)
should be sent out minimum 2 weeks prior
one week to label and mail
one week to print

press releases 

list of list of media outlets, arts news and reviews to send pr to should be completed 5 weeks prior to opening – mailing lists, newspapers, magazines
artsee (deadline?)
NC art blog – Dave Delacambre
independent
other art/news sources?
should be out 1 month (?) ahead of time
one week to pull together

total 5 weeks

flyer 

should be out 2 weeks ahead of time
1 week to print and mail
1 week to develop

transportation and installation -

make floor mounts – 1 week
pull together installation kit – 2 days (hardware needed? laser level, screws, nails, hammer, torch and extra butane, work kit, mounts, extra wall rubbers, leveling goop)
build rack for transporting pieces – 1 week
install rack in truck -  1 day
install large paintings in rack – 1 day
(park in garage overnight?)
how to transport smaller pieces?
drive to durham, install – 1 day
(helpers?)
(confirm dates and day for install)
lighting
installation shots before and during reception
truck and rack – 1 day
take down, clean up and return to charlotte- 1 day
helpers?
(confirm dates for removal)
remove paintings, disassemble rack and return truck – 1 day

reception -

food/wine?
music?

because of the idiosyncrasies of an encaustic studio, as well as those of my studio, my practice developed into a certain rhythm. the year wound up divided into four separate periods; the heat of summer was too hot to paint, and the deep cold of winter was too cold. at first, i just took these periods as breaks, or focused on work which would be done outside the studio. but these forced breaks have become a rather integral period i use for my career development and those things which must be done and don’t involve studio time; updating the websites, photographing completed works, etc.

another eccentricity of an encaustic studio is, unless you have everything set on a timer or have other work to do, typically you can’t just walk into a studio and start slathering molten wax. the paints have to be warmed up, and my studio takes about an hour for everything to be at the point where i can start working. i know everyone has their own special routines they go through during this time. for me, i usually sit with a cup of coffee, cat in lap and i look at, among other things, calls and requests for proposal (rfp). there are a variety of sites i go through (a list of sites i typically look at are on my link page here), and i’ve gotten it down to a point where it goes rather quickly. i have loosely based criteria i look for in a call and anything which looks vaguely interesting i bookmark in my browser.

the bookmark system, for me, is really were the rubber meets the road. it’s what allows me to be organized and on top of what i’m doing. probably residual freakish-anal-retentive-leftover-behavior from my days as a project manager, i break everything down by due date. the bookmark system is broken up into sets of folders as shown below:

calls

• january
• february
• march
• april
• may
• june
• july
• august
• september
• october
• november
• december
• 2013

exciting, eh!?! when i bookmark a call, i tag it with the due date of the call in front of the call title, i.e. “2.17.12 apexart :: Unsolicited Proposal Program” and drop it into the appropriate month folder. if the call is something important, is an rfp which will take time to develop, or is a call i know i want to apply for but is due at the beginning of the month, i’ll drop it into the folder for the month before or whatever month i plan to begin working on that call. my preference is to allow 6 weeks to work on an rfp. at this point i don’t worry too much about organizing the dates within the folders. i’m just sorting.

the month organization itself starts at the beginning of the month. instead of searching through calls, i’ll spend the morning going through the calls bookmarked for the month and organizing them by date. i’ll also note the due dates on a desk calendar, starring those which i know i’m going to apply for. it may seem repetitive, but i don’t want to have to turn on the computer to look at dates and how my month is laying out. i’ll also note down conference calls, webinars, or anything else i have scheduled for the month. something to take note of with calls are there are different types of due dates. some are postmark, but not all, so you must make sure you know which is which. if it’s not clear, ask. if you note the call thinking it’s postmark, but it’s received by, you’re work is going for nothing. when it is a “received by” date, i build in time for delivery and adjust the call date accordingly.

now that the month is organized, when i’m perusing the listings, news, etc., in the morning i also have my own deadlines noted. on mondays, i’ll spend a bit more time reviewing them to determine if i really want to apply or not. you don’t have to apply to them all, and i definitely don’t. but looking at them all mapped out with the important ones starred lets me know what the workload is going to be like. last fall i had something like 7 calls, 5 rfps (including residency applications) and 2 grant applications due within 5 weeks. almost all of them were important, so it becomes an issue of prioritizing, planning ahead and starting early. although i didn’t apply for all of the calls, i would never have made the deadlines without being organized and planning ahead.

organization like this can seem monotonous. when i was younger, i felt that to have these kinds of practices or to have routines was the absolute death of creativity. ruts were ruts no matter how you looked at them. there is a distinction though between a routine which makes your life easier and a rut. and having these small routines frees me from having to make small, unimportant decisions all the time and frees me to focus on what’s really important. i hope this helps, somewhat. what makes your life easier and allows you to be more prepared?

for those not familiar with carrack modern art, it’s a really interesting venue. located in the heart of downtown durham, “The Carrack puts the artist squarely at the epicenter of all of its efforts. The space operates on a zero-commission, no-strings-attached basis, and we encourage artists to use the space for solo exhibits or mindful collaborations, allowing them to show their work as a whole, as a body of work rather than just a couple of works amongst many on a crowded wall, as is often the case in group shows, salon galleries, co-ops etc…. The artist should use the space to put his or her full artistic identity in the spotlight.“

in return for such freedom on exhibiting your work, marketing, promoting and all other aspects of the exhibition are also in the hands of the artist. although a bit daunting at first, i’m really excited at such a wonderful opportunity. not only do i get a beautiful 50′ x 25′ space to work with, but also the invaluable experience of learning how to self-produce and self-promote an exhibition.

so, i’ve decided to blog about the process of putting this exhibition together. keep your eyes peeled for regular updates on the painting, planning and implementation. and sign up for my e-postcard and newsletter for quick updates on the progress. i have some new work in mind for the show which i think is going to be really great, and i think (and/or hope) the blog posts as a whole will be an interesting and illuminating view into the process!

items to consider in shipping:

• edges and surface of your work
• weather and ambient temperature
• special circumstances

what is the condition of the surface or sides of your painting? do you have a lot of drips on the sides? it’s something i believe all those who work with encaustic face – what are you going to do about the edges? leave all the cool drippings which are fragile and break off so easily? do you trim them off and clean up the edge. i usually edge the pieces, revealing the layering, and then paint the edge of the board. it breaks my heart, but honestly, i usually break most of it off while i’m working on the piece. and no matter how much bubble wrap i use, i think you’re sure to lose at least half of what’s remaining. if someone else has a great tip on this, i’m more than happy to hear. the only solution i’ve found is crating which is just not cost effective.

that being said, it’s important to protect the surface of the painting with a barrier layer, and what i use is glassine. it comes in sheets, rolls, envelopes, and think of it as fancy waxed paper. straight waxed paper is also equally effective, but it’s coated with paraffin wax, which may and probably will adhere to your work. since paraffin is an inferior wax, you really don’t want that. glassine won’t leave anything behind and prevents your packing layer (bubble wrap) from leaving little bubble marks all over your work. especially if you take pride in the silky smooth surface of your works? take my word for it – not fun. and if you’re work is roughly worked, trust me, you won’t get off either. wrap your work in glassine and rest easy, knowing when the work is received by the curator or buyer, it will look great and they won’t be flipping about how to get rid of all those little bubble impressions.

as mentioned, now comes the bubble wrap. i wrap, a lot. it provides not just protection from impacts, but serves also an air barrier for temperatures, helping to insulate the work. the box might be driven around all day in the back of a delivery truck, which could be blisteringly hot or frigidly cold. this bit of insulation does make a difference, but how much also makes a difference. how much you bubble wrap do you use, you may ask? think about the package taking a side hit with something large and heavy. will your painting survive the hit? also think about how big your box is?  is there going to be a lot of extra space in the box for your work to move around inside? maybe some rolled up newspaper or something to fill up the extra space would be good. if the box is really tight, we’re back to that side impact question again. do you have enough packing material to take a hit? you want your wrapped, insulated painting to fit snuggly into the box, no room for shifting or movement. if there isn’t a box which is going to fit well, make your own. big sheets of cardboard cut to the proper shape can make sufficient boxes. or check uline, a great source for packing material.

i buy bubble wrap in big roles of one continuous sheet, perforated every foot. it makes wrapping easier. i also pack extra bubble wrap or place special foam corners on the corners of the piece. damage to a side isn’t fun, but damage to a corner is really not good. take care of the corners. once the bubbles are in place, i wrap the whole with a plastic barrier, similar to industrial plastic wrap. it also comes on a roll, and you just roll it all together. it’s a lot of work, but it makes sure everything stays in it’s proper place and it’s tight. unfortunately, none of this is very environmentally friendly, which really kills me, but until i find a better way, that’s how it is. and i reuse as much as i possibly can without the packing job looking shifty.

although i have never done this, there are other artists who have found some form of metallic/foam insulation barrier which they wrap around the inside of the box. it could be something separate, or it could be incorporated into the box. i’ve been fine without it, but i’ve heard other artists swear by it. if you’re interested, you might check a supplier like uline, or trusty home depot.

as an option, i’ve recently found some art boxes which have foam inserts which you cut to the size of your work. you can buy them with or without the metallic insulation barrier, and some artists say they are fantastic. i’m sure they aren’t cheap, but check out this video. if you were to go with this type of scenario, you still want to encase the work in glassine. you always want to control what is rubbing or coming into contact with your work.

i often tell collectors that if my painting is melting whilst hanging on their wall, they have a much bigger issue than my painting falling apart, ie their house is burning down. the melting temperature of encaustic works is somewhere between 160 and 170 depending on what formula you’re using for your medium. encaustic work will also get brittle in extreme low temperatures. so, you always want to think about what temperature ranges you’re going to be shipping your work in, because this is important in the planning. if you’re shipping in the middle of a heat wave or frigid weather, you might consider some form of expedited shipping. i  set up an account and ship fedex. it’s great because i can pre-fill out the return shipping slip with my account number, and it gets charged to my account. the sender doesn’t have to do anything and no worrying about the package having enough postage for the return shipping. all it takes to get an account is a credit/debit card, and bamm, you’re a registered shipper.

although you don’t have much control when the work will be delivered on it’s way out, you have more control than you realize when the work is coming back to you. when i’m filling out the return shipping slip, i’m not using my home or studio address. i use the address of the closes fedex distribution center (remember, i’m shipping fedex). it’s probably closer than you think. mine was about 15 minutes away. the reason why i do this is because my fragile, heat sensitive box is not being driven all over town all day. if i’m not at home, this great big box isn’t sitting on my door step in 100 degree or 10 degree weather until i come home. and as much as i love my neighbors, there’s no temptation for someone walking by. if you have the package signature required, then you’re tied to someone else’s delivery schedule of “whenever”. but, if you ship to their distribution facility, it’s sitting in a nice, climate controlled facility waiting for me to pick it up at a time convenient for me. any extra charge? nope. i love it!

there are special works, like my sculptural pieces, which would never work in the above kind of scenario. for these pieces, i build custom crates. i also modify the back of my sub-straights to accomodate the hardware in the crates. there are screw inserts located in each corner of the sub-straight which match up with wholes located in the bottom of the crate. a screw passes through the bottom of the crate, through a layer of dense foam cushioning, and into the back of the sub-straight. this screw is made tight so there is no movement of the painting within it’s crate. this happens in each of the four corners. inside the crate, there is also ample room on all sides and top to prevent a side or frontal impact from hitting the painting. the lid, with instructions for installing and removing the work, is put in place. the crate is then packed into a box with packing material surrounding it to prevent movement of the crate within the box. it took a lot of work to figure out this packaging, as well as retrofitting older works to handle the crate. the retrofitting worked, but it was difficult and not pretty. if you plan on working out of the ordinary, i recommend thinking about how you’re going to ship beforehand and save yourself a lot of headaches.

questions? thoughts? comments? throw it at me…

it involves actually talking to people.

shocking! i know!

but let’s think about this for a minute. i don’t know about you, but i spend all my time in my studio, working away. i’m kind of a shy, introverted person and i can amuse myself for hours. i love people, but honestly they intimidate me. so, over time, i’ve developed this habit of communicating via email. for four years, i worked as a stock broker and virtually lived on the phone, speaking to people non-stop. it nearly drove me over the edge being “on” all the time with complete strangers and only added to my reticence of the phone conversation.

one and a half years later and i’m a changed woman. my skin doesn’t crawl when the phone rings and i really enjoy chatting it up with my friends when we get a chance to connect. but this? this is something entirely new.

it all started during my busy week of pushing papers, writing proposals and filling out forms. i had a question. (two actually.) i also needed to speak with a reference of mine, someone i very much admire and who really freaks me out. normally, i would just jumped on that “new message” button and gone to it. but i didn’t want to wait, so i picked up my phone and made a call.

that person on the other end of the line… that person was nice. that person was there to help me, and she actually did in more ways than one. let me explain. when i initially called, i got her voicemail. so i left a detailed, but not overly so, message regarding my question. i left my name and contact phone number. professional, nothing shocking. but when she called me back, she first reiterated what i was calling regarding, but then stopped and said “before we go on, i just wanted to tell you i visited your website and i absolutely love your work!” i thanked her, we had a short chat and she then proceeded to give me the information i needed, a time frame i could expect before feedback and that was that.

but this was an amazing experience for a variety of reasons. first, this wasn’t just getting information. this was making contact with another human being in a personal way. we all know. we spend a great deal of time online. after a while you may get to “know” the nebulous person whom you’ve been chatting with, but it takes time. you’re missing the inflections and intonations you have with a real conversation. you’re missing all those nuances which tell you about whom you’re talking to. instead of being a series of characters in a rectangle on a monitor, you are a voice, a personality, an individual in a way two or three traded emails will never be. and she looked at my website. a senior administrator for a grant giving body “loves” my work. now if i’d been really smart, i would have said “if you’d like, i’d be happy to put you on my mailing list. i occassionally send out electronic postcards of work in process or has been completed. and if you don’t want to get them anymore, you can just unsubscribe.”

i’m still learning too.

i also spoke with my reference, and instead of being completely freaked, we had a nice little chat and i found i’d completely misunderstood instructions she’d given me but was too nervous to confirm. i also met a lovely woman at, of all things, a farm tour. we buy a lot of organic meat from her, but took advantage of a local farm tour to actually see their farm. she was great, recognized us, so she stopped to chat. during the conversation, i casually mentioned i was an artist. she was interested in that way most people are when you mention “i’m an artist”, and politely asked what i did. then she was intrigued, so i dug out my business cards which have photos of the work on them. then she was really interested and asked if i had done a residency or knew about the residencies at a local art center, to which i enthusiastically responded “yes! i’m applying for their program right now!” she asked if she could keep a couple of my cards (they’re all different) to give to her friend. although this conversation may lead nowhere, any possibilities would have been negated if it had never happened in the first place.

again, i totally spaced that whole “mailing list” thing, but i’ll get there. some day.

the point is, you are a complete person and whenever you reach outside your studio, you are interacting with other people. and they are just people too.

talk to them. you never know what may happen as a result.

things just never turn out how you expected. you know the feeling. after spending 5 or 10 years in a career, you find yourself in a position thinking “is this what i thought i would actually be doing when i was in school?” pushing paper. filling out time sheets and expense reports. trying to figure out exactly how much time was spent on “that” project today.

this life is not so different.

this week, i got to spend friday chilling out and puttering in the studio. and yes, puttering is a technical term. i had no real goal other than to not have a goal. no task list, no to-do’s. mess around on facebook a bit and twitter a tad. at first, when i turned the studio on, i thought “what do i want to paint today”? that idea quickly went out the window in place of cleaning up pieces which were nearly finished.

the rest of my week was entirely different. it involved trading emails with galleries, speaking with a few artists and curators about references. speaking to grant organizations about submissions and questions as to their requirements. writing and submitting materials for review for one grant proposal, and reviewing the feedback. writing and submitting materials for a residency. reviewing the criteria for three other residencies and starting to get my ducks in a row for those. emailing and speaking with organizations on how to get into creative capital workshops and finding out about a fellowship i must apply for. reviewing a few calls. speaking with a friend about putting together a series of pop up exhibitions, while continuing the planning of my own exhibition proposal. and writing a letter of recommendation, which i’ve never done before. actually, pretty much all of this stuff i’ve never done before.

i’ve let these tasks intimidate me for months. there have been many opportunities on my lists, but this week i made some decisions. i know what i want to do. and now i know what to do.

nothing happens unless you make the first move. nothing happens if you don’t take that step forward. i’m not willing to wait for opportunities to present themselves. i’m going to create my own opportunities. creating those opportunities means conquering your fears. it involves risk. it means putting the effort forth to become the person you want to be.

your life is in your own hands. make it everything you want it to be.

i’ve posted some new images on my tumbler page of works in process. this is working itself in a nice series of works. check it out here… let me know what you think!

Q & A WITH NATALIE ABRAMS & GALLERY DIRECTOR LAURA MORIARTY

LM: What is the core theme of these works?

NA: My work comes from a mapping of moments of hypersensitivity I experience; I think all people experience. I’m just fascinated by these flashes in time, sometimes momentous, usually not, in which everything just seems so crystal clear. These moments occur in a freeze frame of something I see or experience. The senses take over, the ego is shunted aside and the conscious is pure observer of what the senses are recording. I call it the “texture of a moment”. The other component is moments of self realization; a reflection of my state of mind at that time. How the exterior is reflecting the interior.

In part, that is why I gravitate toward painting water. We see the surface, the exterior we present to the world around us. But underneath there is what’s going on inside. The calm cool surface of placid water, but the huge bubble of air struggling to the surface as we’re drowning on the inside from our own inner turmoil. We live our lives measured in how many breaths we take; air is life and symbolic of time. Unbreathable, water becomes a suspension in time. Between the two there is a horizon line, an event horizon. My paintings are a mapping of that event horizon, both the physical texture and self realization.

LM: What do these ribbons of paint represent for you?

NA: These ribbons of wax represent emotions, as if captured on reels of film; once significant, later lost, discarded, or neglected and ultimately deteriorated. They are our history and future. They are the dramatic pauses, glimpses of our surroundings which turn into that aforementioned freeze frame where life somehow becomes particularly sensitive. These pieces reflect the textures associated with specific, tangible experiences, moments or events and feelings, which at the moment seem overwhelming but quickly fade from memory.

LM: Have you always worked sculpturally, and if not, when did you begin to?

NA: I started working sculpturally in about 2004 when I became increasingly interested in the dimensionality of sculpture and textures; giving texture a more pronounced depth. Life is three dimensional. It has depth and movement. For example, the movement of water as shown in the piece “deep blue”. Instead of painting a picture of ripples in the water, the painting becomes more of a dimensional exploration of the movement of the water itself. The textural rise and fall, broken up into big drops distinct but liquid, cascading and merging with one another.

LM: Do you think about environmental issues or events while you’re working? If so, what have you been thinking about lately?

NA: Being an aggressive environmentalist, yes, environmental issues and current events are always in my thoughts including when I’m working. Up until recently, I’ve tended to focus on what I observe and want to preserve in the landscape pieces. I haven’t found the ability to express that intense anger I feel about individual and corporate irresponsibility towards the environment, although that barrier is finally coming down.  Events such as the mass destruction of environment, culture and personal life and lifestyle such as that we’re witnessing in Japan is a very difficult pill to swallow. And, though I realize many catastrophes such as Japan are beyond our ability to control, I do believe much is and I am always striving to make people aware of their impact on the planet and educate those who want to make changes to in their own lives.

LM: What do you learn by making your work?

NA: When I first started painting, I didn’t feel I was cut out to be a confrontational artist. I live in awe of those artists who are able to wear their feelings and opinions on their sleeves and in their art, but I just really didn’t feel I was one of them. My interests and issues were much different. I was focused on gaining understanding and perspective, living a more balanced and serene life and projecting that in my work. A prime example of would be my piece, The River’s Voice and The Bank’s Reflection. The painting is an interpretation of a passage in Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha when the main character, Siddhartha, sitting at the river hears its voice. I used to read the book every year and that section was particularly poignant for me.

Now, I’m starting to feel that almost compulsive obligation to express what I feel are wrongs or injustices as those art heros have. Being very introverted and reserved, this desire for self expression is both liberating and daunting. But over the last 10 years, many things in my life have changed and as I develop, my work also continues to develop