Preparing for Art in the Gardens
Happy/L.A. Hyder
I was accepted to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden's annual Art in the Gardens (AIG) for 2020. When that was cancelled, accepted artists were told we would be in the next AIG with no need to apply again. As soon as the email landed a number of months ago from Jaime Campione, Event Coordinator, I replied that 'yes, I am interested,' and so I have spent almost all my time preparing for this two day event – August 7 & 8.
I began with choosing what to bring (I'm still doing that) from my 53 years in photography, working with Lynne Prentice to have mats cut at Prentice Gallery, buying inks and paper to print even more work myself, and working with Kiersten Hanna at Braggadoon to have a number of my images from Spring Ranch printed on canvas.
And then there are the actual needs to exhibit and create a space that felt like a gallery. I borrowed a tent from hat maker Tess McGuire plus various attachments and grids to hang work from, and her best wishes for my success at AIG. Just today I borrowed other display elements from Rebecca Jarret, generous owner of Ananse Village where I work.
Today the artists stream into the Botanical Gardens before the event and put up our tents to display our wares. I rarely exhibit outside of Edgewater Gallery (except for a few images at Indigo, Tangents, and Sol de Mendocino in Mendocino), where I plan how I will use my wall space; and, even after three years at Edgewater, my plan usually shifts as I'm hanging.
Stay creative. And, if you're at Art in the Gardens, be sure to stop by and say hello. Let me know if you're already a collector – and don't be shy to become one. I love having my images on your walls!