Mulling Things Over

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I took things easy this afternoon. This morning I buzzed about finishing a printing job for my project and helping The Husband get ready to go to LA. He had to go down there for an audition and afterwards he had an appointment to shoe a horse in our old neighborhood. By the time I finished the printing for me, the stapling and general assistant for him, got him off, then drove into town to deliver some biographical material for Friday night’s promotion, I was feeling a little worn. Besides, I discovered that we are smack back into late winter again. Well, my idea of winter, anyway. I got out of the car and was hit by how cold and blustery it was. I had no will to make any other stops and came straight home after completing my delivery.

With the house quiet and feeling tired besides, I gave myself permission to ignore the to-do list and spend time instead relaxing and reflecting a bit on my experiences the last couple of weeks. I’ve been thinking mostly about this First Friday event and all my preparation for it. I have reached the conclusion that my participation in First Friday is already an unqualified success. I see those furrowed brows. How can I declare this a success when the event hasn’t yet taken place? Easy. This is clearly one of those cases where the journey was the destination.

First, by saying yes to this invitation, I said yes to a lot of work that I normally postpone indefinitely. When asked to bring in additional pieces, I said yes and embraced the challenge of more framing. Without external structure, I will shoot much faster than I can process—much less print, and forget about matting and framing. I frequently have pieces that I want to take all the way to that conclusion of the framed print, but I love shooting so much that I am constantly ahead of myself. Yes, my preparation for First Friday meant that I didn’t have as much time for shooting, but it prohibited my normal procrastination on printing and framing.

Another bonus was the motivation to get out and talk to more people. I am quite impressed by Lori (the shop owner) and want so much for this event to be a success for her. Her store is new; she has put a great deal of energy into her new business and has accomplished amazing things in a remarkably short time. I want to support her and thank her for choosing my work and for inviting me to be her first “featured artist”. It’s been easy to talk up the evening, because of my enthusiasm for her and her entrepreneurial spirit. So far, quite a nice number of people have said yes to my invitation to attend on Friday evening and I look forward to meeting still more people in my new neighborhood.

Just by committing to the event and preparing for it, I have already accomplished a number of things. Now, I can settle down and look forward to the pleasure of watching the evening unfold knowing that the experience has already been a success. Everything else will be a bonus.