Art On Main Refreshed

I have been a working member & exhibiting artist at The Art On Main Gallery for 1.5 years now and once in awhile I like to show you what my display & the rest of the store/gallery looks like...

During my last shift I was able to pull everything off the walls, plaster up holes, sand, repaint, rearrange & hang new pieces...

Here are a few shots showing what the rest of the store is looking like these days...

And this was the January window display, my pal Rachael & fellow member is a whiz at decorating/designing the windows...



The window has 3 of my Wee Whispy's (which I am anxious to get back to the studio to rework abit).

My gallery shifts are sometimes interesting, sometimes extremely satisfying & lovely and sometimes annoyingly negative!  I am luckily greeting with 90% positive but there is some kind of uncanny & unexplained mojo happening around me as well where the most negative of people find their way to me.
There are strange people who first, find out I am the artist of the body of work they are looking at, than they proceed to say 'Oh I see your an animal lover" and upon my very adamant 'Oh Yes I am & I am so glad your getting that message from my work' they than feel that it's appropriate to tell me some horror story about an animal they had, make a joke about animal testing, show me pictures of  the deers they just shot or tell me that their fathers just love to hunt bears...!

Now, I am aware of the atrocities that our animal kingdom faces, I do willingly educating myself in the devastating & gruesome  knowledge of animals plight including heartbreaking knowledge of animals in slaughter houses & testing labs etc...the knowledge breaks me down, yes,  BUT it also opens my eyes & gives me ammunition to use when I hear 'there's nothing wrong with eating meat'...and it easily keeps me on the strict & narrow path of what kind of human being I want to be, which is a kind & compassionate one whose akin to our natural world, not averse to it...Why do these people think that the artist who just professed to being a great animal lover wants to hear their death & destruction stories, seriously what is wrong with people!  Jeepers! 

The last couple shifts brought brand new criticisms/negativity:  I heard from one very forward customer that my asking $100 for a little original piece was asking 'way too much' and that 'she understood what went into it because she was a hobby crafter herself but still'...Okay!!!

Another very opinionated patron felt it was her solemn duty to tell me that my work was 'much to bright and cheery', that my 'colour palette was suitable for a country such as Mexico' but that I'll 'never sell well in Canada unless I neutralize my colours and change my style to fit in abit better'...
Yeah, because I work my butt off to find my own style & voice only to abandon it to blend in with the masses, okay sure, I'll get right on that!

Anyhoo..ha ha..Every artist needs to vent out the negativity once in awhile...

...It's important for us artsy types to remember the somewhat crude but true adage
"Opinions are like assholes, every ones got one"!

Any artistic ranting/gripes to share this week?  feel free to leave a comment & vent & release your artsy stresses....& know that your certainly not alone. 

XO Mandy & Roo who is shedding like mad & who will not let his mama pluck or brush him!