Personal Achievements

My church asked me if I would showcase some of my photographs in a pop-up art gallery. This will be my first gallery, and let me tell you- it does not go as smoothly as you think it will, and I'm still a week away from the actual gallery.

I have learned a lot, though, and I thought it would either be helpful, or at least anecdotally entertaining, to share some of the process.

• Initial invitation: Pure elation. It's a low pressure event, I have time to turn in my prints, piece of cake.
• Then, I was asked if I could deliver my prints almost a week sooner than I was initially planning. This is when the panic sets it. I'm pretty good friends with another photographer who will be showcased, so I reach out to her, and we spend about two hours in Michaels picking out frames and mattes (which is always going to be more expensive than you think it will. Always).
• I get home to start putting everything together, and the mattes that we thought has a slip where you could slide the photo in do not. They all come in three separate pieces. I spend the night gluing them all together. The next night, they fall apart. I spend that night gluing them together, too. So far, it looks like they're holding together now, but barely. Delicately. I have concerns, and I'm about to hand them over for a week before the show.
• The fish in the frame? The frame doesn't really hold the matte. It took a lot of effort and forcing to get the brackets to hold. 
• So, I have just delivered them, and our stand-in curator gave me really positive feedback. I'm equal parts relieved that they are out of my hands and finished, finally, and worried and concerned about what happens in the week I am away from them. We'll see- I'll let you know on the other side.