you can take that to the bank

My three-month long solo show at Biddeford Savings Bank in Scarborough is up, and it looks really good! I know it looks good because I ended up having to go back to bring a piece I had forgotten at home. DUH!

Here's the story: Lori Rae Curole is the woman running the show (www.wetpaintstudios.com, www.lollipopartproductions.com, www.wetpaintstudios.wordpress.com). We have been communicating via email for several months now and she has been extremely patient and helpful, answering every ridiculous question I may have had. Saturday, March 26th was the day she would take down the work by the previous artist and the day she would be hanging my show. The bank opens at 8:30 (which is when Lori would be arriving), so she asked me to get there at 8:45. I was super-paranoid, and despite having been up very late the night before taking care of last-minute framing issues (isn't that always the way?), I decided I would get my ass in gear early and arrive at 8:30 as well. Lori was shocked when I pulled up and mentioned that no one is ever early; in fact, many are quite late. This made me feel good, so I proceeded to unload my car quickly and efficiently. As I lined up all my pieces and started matching them up with the tags Lori had printed, a sinking feeling overcame me...oh no...I forgot a piece! My mind started racing...how could I have done that? I set my work aside weeks ago! I double checked everything! Why did I have to pull a flaky artist move? I went up to Lori and told her about my realization. "Don't panic," she said calmly. "If you can't get back here by noon when the bank closes, just bring it to my house and I'll come back on Monday morning and hang it then." Now, I didn't want to inconvenience her, and plus, it was my mistake. Showing up early doesn't negate forgetting a piece at home in my mind. I had a work appointment I had to go to as soon as I was done at the bank, so I started doing math in my head ("it should take 15 minutes for me to get to my appointment, and it's roughly 45 minutes to get from here to Brunswick; it won't take me long to grab the painting from home and an iced skinny mocha latte from the BoHo, then it's 45 minutes back to Scarborough...) and I said, "I can do this. This is feasible. I think I can get back here with the painting before noon." She said, "Well, don't worry, and don't speed." I headed out and thankfully, the traffic cooperated and my time estimates were correct. I called Lori's cell phone before leaving Brunswick (for the second time that day) and left a message saying that I was on my way. I walked through the door of the bank with my painting ("It's A Small World", for those of you who are curious) at ten minutes after 11 and I heard the bank manager (who is also named Lori) say, "Perfect timing!" Lori had just finished hanging the show and was starting to pack up her gear. She had gotten my message and knew I would be arriving at any time. She had left a spot for the missing painting and not only did it work perfectly in that space in relation to the other paintings near it, the hanger only needed a minor adjustment for the piece to be properly centered. I looked around the bank and I was really pleased and impressed with how Lori had hung the show. She made great choices and had a real intuition about certain pieces. It is obvious that she is a professional, and I am thankful for the opportunity to work with her.

At any rate, my lesson here is simple: triple-check everything! I got away with it this time. WHEW!