Third Time's a Charm!

Last night was our third, and final, reception for the first First Impressions photography exhibit, which was held at the Kornelius Schorle Gallery in Irvine. We had a very good response, and it seemed that everyone had friends, family or guests come to support them. I was especially happy to see my friends, Carol, Arleene and Sara enjoy the exhibit, and to be able to spend some time with them.

Bacchus Secret Cellar Wine Shoppe & Bar in Irvine sponsored a wine tasting and appetizers, which allowed the artists to mingle and chat with the guests, without worrying about hosting details.



I was very blessed this evening to have some very special guests come to our show. I thought I would fall over when I turned and saw my friend, Karen Long, whom I've been friends with since the age of three, and her husband Paul, and beautiful daughter, Katherine, standing to my side. I sent her an invitation, but did not expect to see her, since she lives a good distance away, and if you know anything about L.A.-to-O.C Friday night traffic, you would not wish this on your worst enemy, much less a dear friend.

In addition to the logistics issue, she is one of those whirlwinds that should have at least 5 personal assistants, or 2 clones, as she is a mother of three, wife to one, devoted sister, to Lori, whom I also love dearly, caretaker to her aging mother, an Emmy-nominated ex-news reporter, successful author and lecturer, co-owner with her husband, Paul, of a very successful post-production studio for some very A-list movies and television shows, and, I'm sure, oodles of other things I've forgotten. Whew!

But there she stood, in all her glory (and more than her fair share of beauty!), honoring me at my exhibition. I was thrilled, to say the least, and I will always be grateful to her for taking the time out of her very busy schedule to simply be my friend.

After knowing her husband only through shared photos all these years, (cliche coming...) I felt I already knew him. He's a very nice and friendly guy, and I'm so happy I finally got to spend some time with him.

We had another silent auction offering the second portfolio box of 18 original signed prints, one by each artist in exhibit. We had some vigorous bidding, and ended up selling the box for double the price of the first.



After the bidding, and just before Tom thanked everyone, we surprised him with an engraved thank you gift from the First Impressions group. He has gone way above and beyond for us, and we wanted to give him something to remember us by.

This is Heather, showcasing some of her art. Heather is a fantastic artist who has been focused on botanicals for awhile now. Her usual medium is black and white film, but she displayed some of her digital work at this gallery.

This is Mike and Rita. Rita is an artist whose area of interest is architectural photography. She had a very good series from a visit to North Carolina. Mike is her husband, and No. 1 fan.

This is my crazy friend, Sara. There is enough life in this girl for two people. She's one of those people who fills a room with her personality, and is a great artist and "Photosculptress" in her own right. She was not part of the First Impressions exhibit, but came as my friend and guest. Sara's art is very bold, shocking and thought/emotion-provoking. Whether or not it is your style, you can never view it without its affecting you. Stay tuned for more from this one!

All in all, it has been a fantastic run, and I am grateful to everyone who helped guide us, accommodate us, support us, encourage us, and bought from us. We have all enjoyed this experience and plan to keep our group together and exhibit together in the future.

It has been a gift from us, and for us.

Two Shows Down, One to Go!

Our shows to date have had truly great responses, and the turnout both times was wonderful. Our first show in January had hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of people, and the gallery filled quickly to maximum occupancy.

The guests seemed to be really impressed with our work, and I heard from one couple, Dr. and Mrs. Teel, that "the caliber of work was exemplary" and way above their expectations. That was wonderful to hear, and seemed to be the general consensus. I'm happy about that, not only for myself, but also for all the others in our group. We all worked very hard on our series, and to know that others appreciated the quality and enjoyed their time at the gallery truly made it worthwhile.



The first reception (First Impressions exhibit) was a madhouse, In a very good way, with wall-to-wall friends, family and locals. The second reception (First Fridays) had fewer people, but it was still a very good turnout, and the artists were able to spend more quality time with the guests, and host the various art series present.



I was able to meet and mingle with some of the friends and families of the artists. Even though you know some people already, once you meet their friends and family it gives you more insight into their lives, and brings you closer to them.



The variety of subject matter was really interesting. Something for everybody, from very proper florals, to tattoo art.



Toward the end of the evening at our First Impressions reception, we had a silent auction for a portfolio box containing one original signed print from each artist, including our leader, Tom Lamb. It was a great evening for everyone.