I’m thrilled to share that my exposure “Bronzed”, which was captured in Budapest, Hungary in 2019, has been accepted into The 2020 CVG Show!
This piece—a sepia toned exposure that could be described as a mix between architectural and abstract—is one of my ”Exposed Metal.” series. And, I submitted the exposure as a 16 in x 24 in metal print when I answered call for artists last Fall.
I am totally PUMPED to have this piece represented at the Bremerton, WA based Collective Visions Gallery. However, my journey from the submission last September to delivery to the gallery this month was by no means without some drama!
It all began with an unexpected mid-day phone call on Sunday, January 12th.
I was in the middle of setting up a new aquarium for my daughter—as well as anxiously awaiting the start of the NFC Divisional Playoff match-up between our hometown Seattle Seahawks and the Packers—when my Apple Watch lit up with the Caller ID “Collective Vsns”.
It had been months since I first submitted three of my captured exposures for this show. I even had it on my to-do list to check back in on the status: was I in or not.
The entirety of this mystery was solved the instant the gentlemen on the other end of the call—after first confirming he was speaking to Ian Hameroff—stated quite frankly, “where are you?”
Panic immediately ensued.
With one hand covered with aquarium gravel dust and my arm held stiffly level in front of my face as I spoke into my Apple Watch like Michael Knight or Dick Tracy (your choice), I quickly contemplated the following aspects of this predicament:
Heck yeah! I made the show!
They are saying I am the only artist—out of more than 100—that has not delivered their work by the deadline.
I never received any of the three email messages from CVG sent weeks prior. Ugh.
I need to get this thing to CVG either in the next few hours today or tomorrow by no later than 10:00 am
Wait!
I’m in Seattle and Bremerton is about 75 miles away.
The accepted piece ‘Bronzed’ is in storage.
I want to watch the Seahawks and the game starts in about an hour.
I have several business meetings tomorrow!
It's expected to snow tonight and tomorrow!
As anyone who's lived around the Seattle area knows: this place doesn't operate well when it snows.
How the hell am I going to make this thing work!
How can I get this there by 10:00 AM, Monday morning to drop off the photograph to still be in this show.
Oh, and I’m halfway through setting up an aquarium.
After I thought it thoroughly through, my inner voice basically summarized the situation quite succinctly: “I might be f%#&ed”.
Deep breath.
I decided to finished the aquarium and watch the game.
During the aforementioned playoff game, I began to plot out my strategy:
- Get up super early
- Hit the gym
- Back home to shower and get suited up for my 1:30 PM business meeting
- Head to the storage place when it opens at 8:00 AM
- Fill up the car
- Plug the address of the Collective Visions Gallery into the GPS
- Go (and worry about the snow, taking one business call on the road, and hoping to make it back in time for a face-to-face early that afternoon in downtown Seattle)
With the conviction and confidence of a plan that appeared to be completely foolproof, I set out my clothes and work backpack for a quick “grab and go” the next morning.
Off to bed to await the 5:00 AM alarm (and, maybe a snowstorm).
The next morning got off without a hitch.
Fortunately, the snow was light, and I quickly learned during Step #3 that my 1:30 PM appointment cancelled due to the weather; now I had some breathing room!
With comfortable clothes and a warm jacket, I rushed back to the old Audi and hit the road. Steps #4-6 went swimmingly. Before I knew it I was well on my way heading south on Interstate-5 with ”Bronzed” all wrapped up in plastic and sat on the rear seat. It was as if the metal print was my passenger, I was its Uber driver, and it needed to get the airport for a 10:00 AM flight.
The threat/fear of snow appeared to keep many folks off the road, so traffic remained minimal.
But, it didn’t take long for the snowstorm to follow a different path.
Around the city of Fife (a suburb of Tacoma) the light snow flakes turned into something reminiscent of that asteroid field scene in ”The Empire Strikes Back.”. Even without TIE fighters on my tail, the road conditions and visibility made it exciting, for sure.
As Siri read aloud concerned text messages from my wife back in Seattle, I continued to progress through Tacoma, then across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (with its lovely “Serve Wind Warning” signs), past the naval ships at the edge of Bremerton, then into downtown.
Right in front of me was my destination and it was only 9:40 AM!
Heck yeah!
I parked the car, grabbed ”Bronzed” from my trunk, and walked with head held high to the front door of the gallery.
I reached forward to pull the handle, and it was…LOCKED.
Cue inner voice for a reprise: “I might be f%#&ed”.
Had I had the budget and Hollywood clout, I would have also included a perfectly timed Ron Howard a la ”Arrested Development” off camera narration:”He was.”
Fortunately, my panic was kept at bay following a quick trip to the coffee shop nextdoor where I effectively used my 16 in x 24 in metal print of ”Bronzed” as collateral to secure the men’s room key. (Yup, they asked if I could leave my wallet or cellphone to ensure I returned promptly with the key. Handing off the artwork turned out to be a crafty way to make sure I didn’t have to worry about where to put it while in the restroom. When life hands you lemons…)
After returning the key and retrieving my metal print, I decided to turn this java joint into my base of operations until I could get a read on the situation with the gallery. I left the shop briefly to move my car from the 30 minute parking and grab my backpack.
As I was driving away to a nearby, longer-term parking spot, I spied in my sideview mirror a person walking towards the gallery doors.
Was this another person who’s hopes would be dashed by the locked glass double doors?
Or, was it someone…YES! It was someone unlocking the doors.
I parked.
Grabbed the metal print and walked rapidly to see if it was true.
Cindy from the CVG was quick to answer the door when I arrived, and made it a breeze to turn over the print.
In this quick exchange, I learned that here had been nearly 1,100 submissions to the show, and having ”Bronzed” be one of 152 works selected made this crazy experience all that more meaningful.
Following my short visit to the Collective Visions Gallery, I returned to the old Audi, fired up the GPS, and made my way back to Seattle. Covering nearly 150 miles in just a few hours to only spend a few minutes in Downtown Bremerton.
My piece and the rest of The 2020 CVG Show will be on display from Saturday, January 18th until Saturday, February 29th.
I am truly excited and humbled to be included in this exhibit, and hope you can find your way there to see it and the others before it closes down.
More detail on the show’s schedule can be found here: http://cvgshow.com/schedule.php