Just how hard can it be to pack a painting to be hand-delivered to an art show?
More so than I thought!
I had planned to deliver the "Sunflower Trio" to Indianapolis before the end of August, but that plan went down the tubes when none of my Cheap Joe's boxes were as big as I had thought. Lesson learned: Always, always measure! So I spent half a day shopping the office supplies stores and UPS store for the appropriate box size before deciding online shopping would be quicker in the long run. Within 5 days, two 30x36x6 inch cardboard cartons were dropped at my doorstep.
Referring to the WSI's shipping instructions, I noticed for the first time that the letter referred to "crate," not box. Oh dear, surely I do not need to build a wooden crate, I thought. My mind couldn't even go there, so I brushed that word aside (and am still hoping "crate" applies to containers being actually shipped instead of hand delivered).
The next challenge: Keeping at bay my worries about "What will they think?" They wouldn't reject the painting at the last minute because it arrived in a carboard box instead of a crate, would they? And what will they think when they see the interior packing? (The bubble wrap needed to be supplemented with styrofoam that had formerly protected a computer monitor. And when even more cushioning was needed, I took Meredith's old cardboard bricks -- you know the preschool variety that come in red, yellow, blue and green -- and tucked them in the bottom and both ends.) When the Watercolor Society of Indiana folks open the box, they will either be horrified by my unprofessionalism (if that's a word) or give me extra credit for creative reuse of unorthodox packing materials. How's that for a prize category?
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| Shelley Cannon Frederick's work at A2Z |
Having delivered the painting to the WSI office, I headed east on 96th Street toward Allisonville Road where I planned to shop at Prizm Art Supplies. I was amused by how much the area had changed since I lived in Indy a lifetime ago; nothing was familiar. And then I saw the A2Z sign! I know that place. It's where Shelley Cannon Frederick is showing her paintings. So I made a quick right and snaked my way back through a parking lot to A2Z. The paintings are beautiful, and the restaurant serves breakfast all day -- my kind of place.
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| All the pretty colors |
Act Three: Feeding my addiction
My last Indy stop was Prizm, where I could blissfully shop for art supplies without having to worry about meeting someone at a particular time or keeping someone else entertained while I browsed. It was heaven. I started just to the right of the door with the books and worked my way aisle by aisle through the store. I listened to other shoppers and the store clerks talk about this weekend's Penrod and T.C. Steele Paintout as I considered several paints and brushes. I ended up buying liquid frisket and nib, aquabord, plastic paint cups with lids and Drawing from the Mind Painting from the Heart by Annette Carroll Compton. I don't think I've ever left an art store empty-handed. It was 30 miles down SR37 before I realized I had forgotten the one item I had gone in for specifically: acetate envelopes. Oh well, it was a great day anyway.
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