Confluence Opening

Confluence is a show mounted by four women artists who decided to collaborate on a series of large painted panels on which they all worked. The four artists are Brigen Gresh, Vicki Jones, Dina Mack and Anna McCambridge. I followed their progress sketching them on several occasions as they created the works. They were a fun group of artists to observe. Creating the art was a fun playful experience. Laughter was as much a part of their creative process as the long hours of painting.
Anna called the day of the opening and asked me to bring some prints of my sketches that I had done of the project and I was glad to do so. When I arrived the first artist I saw was Dina who was in the outside courtyard with her husband. We hugged and then I went inside to see the show. I placed my signed prints on the table along with a full sketchpad and some business cards and I wandered into the gallery. The first gallery had the artists individual works created before the collaboration. Each artist had a distinct style. In the next gallery, the huge panels lined both walls of a long hallway and the crowd was getting thick. I found Anna who I didn’t recognize at first because she had died her hair red. I congratulated her and continued to explore. I began to realize that I recognized many faces in the room. I had sketched many of these people and going to the opening was a fun way to reconnect with people who had influenced my art and this blog. Strangers approached me and asked if I was the sketch blogger. It was fun meeting new people.
At the end of the hallway there was a video showing the women at work. It was fascinating to watch. The video highlighted much of the playful spirit yet hard work that went into creating this show. In the next room the walls were painted partially grey with white slashed in which hand written messages appeared. Then in the final gallery the artists again showed individual works, this time however the thoughts and processes learned from the collaboration showed in each piece. Each artist had picked up new ways of painting and seeing. It was amazing to see how they had changed and grown as artists, learning from each other.
I returned to the table where I had dropped my signed prints and was amazed to find someone had walked off with them. Thank goodness the sketchbook was still on the table and I quickly tucked it in my bag before it also disappeared. I am far to trusting, or the Orlando art crowd is so naive that they consider art prints a free commodity. Well whoever took the prints, I hope you frame them and give them a good home.
There was to be an after party at the Enzian Theater and I drove over there but the parking lot was packed. Exhausted, I finally decided to give up and I headed home. I had been sketching all day and I needed some rest.