I’m happy to announce 8 of my Moth paintings and 2 ink drawings of Ornamental Gourds will be headed to The Little Pink Gallery, a micro-gallery located in Genesee, Idaho. LPG is owned by Ellen M. Vieth, an amazing artist and curator – she opens the Gallery a few times a year for exquisite shows. So of course, I am delighted to participate.

But… I’m on the other side of Washington. (It was a much shorter commute when I lived in Lewiston, ID)

So how to you get ready for a show?

First, gather the selected works. Check.

Second, does the work need framing? Mats? Yes? Research frames and mats. Find frames that will complement the work, but not break the bank. Check. Find that Franken Frames will cut mats for you for a super reasonable price. Score.

Wait.

While waiting, figure out the prices of your work. Don’t forget to include the gallery commission, the price of frames and mats. Fight the urge to undersell yourself. Double check your numbers. And one more time, just to be sure. If you are really efficient, create your Word Document with all your tag info (Artist, Medium, Title, Price). Send to Gallery. (ok this didn’t happen for me until I started packing the works)

The frames and mats arrive on time! Awesome! But the mat color is just not quite right. The cut is perfect. It’s user error, because I had to guess the right white. Have you ever tried to do that? Go to the paint swatch section at your local hardware store. Try to find “white”. I picked a “Snow White” which seemed right, but apparently, I needed “Bright White”. Yeah.

Run down to the local frame shop and pray they have the mat color I need. Score! They do. But not enough. So they order another sheet, arrived the next day, so still in good time. Spend the afternoon cutting mats and assembling framed art. Admire the final product.

Work always looks great in a frame. Guaranteed.

Measure your framed work and work out what size shipping box you will need. (Don’t forget to include the cushioning space)

Go to the UPS Store to pick up shipping boxes, listen politely to the staff as they explain all they can do to help. Get back home, assemble boxes. Make labels for the backs of the artwork. Dig your hoarded packing materials out of your storage room. Start wrapping artwork. Seal box. Feel proud.

Forgot to label the artworks. Snap.

Unseal box. Unwrap all the framed work. Match and attach the tags. Re-wrap the artwork. Seal boxes.

I forgot to include the inventory list. Thank goodness, Ellen has a copy.