Being on one’s own in a completely flexible profession is not always easy. There is no specific roadmap, operator’s manual, or industry standard and even if there were, it would probably not apply here in Central California’s flyover country. The only galleries in Tulare County are non-profit, run entirely by volunteers, most of whom are good-hearted individuals without training in such matters. Artists may have some training, but generally it was decades earlier, completely outdated, or just various bits gleaned from the highly diverse internet, where one can find anything, everything, and nothing.

This brings me to a boatload of questions about my upcoming show, Images of Home. Some answers have appeared since I initially wrote this post.

1. If the gallery is normally open on Saturday, will people be able to see the show the day before the reception?  Nope, the gallery will be closed.
2. When will my show actually end? With December 25 on a Saturday, will the gallery be closed on the Sunday of that week? How about the following week? It will end on an as of yet unspecified date in January.
3. Will anyone actually come to the reception? Oh Crystal Ball, where art thou?
4. Should I have kept my art in Three Rivers in the art consignment store that is open many more days and hours than the Courthouse Gallery? Shoulda, coulda, woulda, prolly not, ain’t nobody knows nothin’
5. Is it “Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery”, “Exeter Courthouse Gallery”, “Courthouse Gallery of Exeter”? None of the above; it is Exeter Art Gallery and Museum Association
6. Why do I have so many questions? Do other people? Why is it so hard to find answers? Does anyone beside me actually care about these details? silence. . . 
7. How will I decide which “occasional Fridays” to be at the gallery? I will be there four consecutive Fridays from 11-3 beginning November 26.
8. How shall I publicize those Fridays to interested parties? Good question. . . 
9. How can anyone think with the neighbor’s dog barking incessantly? focus focus focus on the task at hand
10. Why doesn’t the neighbor care? Or answer emails or return phone calls? If we decided to sell and move, would we have to disclose the barking dog to the buyer? Some folks just are not community minded

And you thought all I did was sit around and draw or paint all day! This self-employment as an artist is harder than it looks. Let’s just contemplate something peaceful to calm ourselves as we wait for more to be revealed in the fullness of time.

Images of Home

Exeter Courthouse Gallery (Is this the right name?)

125 South B Street, Exeter, California

November 14 – December 30 (Is this the actual closing date?), 2021

Opening Reception – Sunday, November 14, 1-4 p.m.

I know the title of the show is correct, as is the address and the date of the opening reception. Now, what am I going to wear? Should I get my hair cut? Why do we say “hair” when it is all of our hairs that get cut?

I need a cigarette.

WAIT! I don’t smoke! Never have, never will. 

If you see me out in front of the gallery pulling weeds, just be polite, okay?