Exhibition Opening: We did it!

WE DID IT!!! We had the opening this afternoon and it went very well. It has been a hectic few days getting ready for the opening. I had to make sure that I remembered to take everything for setting up on Firday, but when I actually got there the plan had to be altered slightly. I had to quickly put on my thinking hat while I was cleaning the cabinets, but in the end I came up with the solution. Two of my students Ayako and Dennis came to help set up. I found that the process of setting up was fun and creative. I did need someone else to bounce my ideas off for it to work.

Finally the time had come. Tom and I set off a bit early to make sure that all the arrangements with the gallery were allright. When we arrived, Dennis was already there. It wasn't long before people were arriving. We had enough finger food and drinks for everyone. The MGA had generously provided us with wine and champagne. The speaker, Dr. Raphael Zimmerman and my dear friend Jane arrived and the rest of the event went very smoothly. We had about sixty guests in total. I took quite a few photos and here are some of them.

Dr. Raphael Zimmerman our guest speaker is a Visual Arts graduate from Monash University majoring in print making. He is a practicing artist and is focused on his current painting. In Dr. Zimmerman's speech he mentioned that art and craft are now merging into one. He praised our work as crossing over from one to the other. Dr. Zimmerman attracted a lot of attention from the listeners.

Kumi, Dennis and myself were ready to receive our guests. One of the display cabinets is behind us. It was a nice day for a photo shoot.

A visit from Cathrine Harboe-Ree, the University Librarian. It was a pleasant surprise to see her there. From left, Cathryn Harbo-Ree, Natima Palaskas, Kumi Suzuki, Dennis Kishere, Jane Hammond and Jane Rumbold.

I took this photo of Dennis yesterday after we finished setting up. You can see one of our exhibits in the cabinet. It was a book clock made by Jane Rumbold.

This is Ayako standing by one of the display cabinets. Ayako could not be here today. She is on her way to Japan for her sister's wedding. You might remember the wedding journals she made for her sister? Ayako, I hope you have a safe trip.

The guests were listening to Dr. Zimmerman's speech.

You can see a glimpse of the exhibits. The white looking stuff on the bottom shelf is recycled shredded plastic. We just laid the exhibits on top of them. We have different recycled stuff in all the bottom shelves of every cabinet.

More visitors and friends admiring our handy work.

I think they really liked our work. I think I need a holiday...! I didn't think that it is going to be a lot of work, but you have to put effort into everything if you want it to be successful . To think that this is our second exhibition in a year; we achieved quite a bit.