The "Traveling Conversations" Reception

Months, actually a year or so, in the planning, but the "Traveling Conversations" Show was a success. For those of you unfamiliar with what this show was about . . . we three friends/artists were separated by family moves. For five years to keep in touch, we have carried on visual conversations, without words, in painting forms. The forms included 5 x 7 inch individual paintings which were responses to the previous entries, several full sheet watercolor pieces where each of us painted, integrating our 6 x 6 comparable space into the design and even one book piece. These "image conversations" between Jean Warren, Floy Zittin and myself went on public display with this show at "Viewpoints Gallery" in Los Altos.

I arrived in San Jose about a week before. I'd met with Floy and we sat on the floor, debating and testing out the grid pattern for hanging the sixty-nine, 5 x 7 pieces to go on one big panel. But once we got the grid measurements figured out, within two hours we had the entire panel up. And we were pretty happy with how it looked. We got the big pieces hung the next day and place our "spin off" 8x8 paintings in the front display window. With previous skill at self-publishing, Floy took to designing an 8 1/2 x 11 book documenting both image and text, which we had added just for the show, of all sixty-nine 5 x 7 pieces. You may sample the beautiful book at: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/traveling-conversations/11398164?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/1 with free shipping for Summer orders. We were all ready for the show.

Finally, Friday evening of the Reception came. Floy's generous daughter had spent the day baking scrumptious h'devours and the Mexican Restaurant with whom we shared the back patio had festive Mariachi music in the background. Soon the people poured in, many friends dropped in to visit but consistently it seemed the aspect that most touched the audience was the friendship evident in this project. We actually sold out of our small "Traveling Conversations" book and began taking special orders for more of the books and in addition to individual prints for the 5x7 pieces.

The end of the evening found me weary but wound up. I'd proposed going for 'tea' after we got things all packed up. A little time to unwind and chat on a more personal level released some energy ... I was content to head homeward to my friends home, where I was staying. They had just left for New York that evening and I was comfortable to collapse into quietude. A soft smile came across my face . . . we three artists had done a good job, presented our show of quality in a professional way and felt that in the translation from image to image, our audience had heard our hearts.

Quickly to bed . . . in preparation for our 9:30am "Traveling Coversations" Workshop the following morn at the McClellan Ranch . . . ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz