Last month, I had to go to Service Ontario to renew my Photo ID card. (Since I don't drive, I don't have a licence to use as ID). I had never been to the Service Ontario in London, so sure enough I got lost and I even had a map. (Don't tell my dad. He thinks I can navigate with the sun.) I knew I was close by, but I needed help. I went back to where I started. My bus stop was near The Grand Theatre. I thought I had to turn the corner there, but all I found was a strange little mall.
I went inside and found an art gallery, Art with Panache. I had read about this place in the paper, but I had no idea where it was until this point. The lady in there was unable to point me in the right direction, but I eventually did find Service Ontario, about two blocks away. (I had to go into another place and ask for help.)
Anyway, I really enjoyed this gallery and was glad I found it.
(I didn't ask this lady for directions.)
After I left, I knew I should have asked how to get my art on display there. So I went back a couple weeks ago and met the gallery owner, Audrey. This is a painting of Audrey that's on the back wall:
Audrey asked me what kind of work I do and I said collages. She asked how big, and I said 12x12. Audrey got excited and said they were doing a 12x12 show and that I should enter. I took an application and it said everything had to be 12x12 all the way around. No bigger. No smaller. When my work is in a frame, it's 12.5x12.5 inches, so I told Audrey that and she said that was too big. That was super frustrating, so I have been working on 12x12 canvases instead,
She wanted to see my work, so I took in two pieces in on Thursday. They were previously in my Fringe show.
"Standing Tall"
"Reality Check"
I chose these pieces to show Audrey because I thought they were the best ones from Fringe and they were made as a pair. Audrey loved them! I thought she would just look at them and I would take them back home. That's not what happened. Audrey said, "We'll hang these up right away!" Meaning they are for sale as of today! For anyone that was at my Fringe show, the prices are higher now because Art with Panache takes a commission. I am not sure if they will sell there, but I am excited to see them in the gallery. I have been there a few times and there's always someone visiting Audrey, so I think a lot of people will get to see them. When I asked how long the art would be there for, she said until December! So that's a long time!
I was taken aback that she wanted to sell them right away. I said I have more at home, but she was mostly interested in these two for now, which is okay. I told her about my struggles for the 12x12 show, due to the size, but she said to enter it anyway and I can continue to bring in more work to sell, as soon as next month! I am super excited! I will be adding more information to my art show page if I get to participate in the 12x12 show, so keep an eye on that. It has the address and everything on there so you can come see the pieces that are there now for yourself! :) (I will double check later this week to make sure they're actually on display.) Stay tuned!
Annette
