So, did you see my Fringe piece at the opening?

If you did, you came early. How do I know? They didn't turn on any lights on the porch where it is!! So when the sun went down, it was in the dark. Yes, I should have asked them to turn on some lights, but by the time I came outside and noted this, I was tired and freezing from standing outside guarding the back door and pointing folks to the front. I volunteered for that, thinking I would be near my piece and get to hear what people said about it, but i wasn't really.

Besides that, there's another thing I'm not happy about. I understand about having to put up the piece with a rope across with just a few eye-screws for support when I originally wanted to use one for each string of "beads". But that had the result that the different strings tend to congregate in the center of each space between the eye-screws leaving uneven gaps and making the whole piece look pretty straggly. It's the entrance of the whole Fringe at the factory site. So why does no one but me take the trouble (about three minutes worth) to even out the distances between the strings once in a while, especially when there are large numbers of people coming in that entrance? Before I got there yesterday, there had been an opening for VIP's. I guess it must have looked fully straggly for them.

I can't go down there every day and do this since i work and travel by bus. On the whole, it it's going to look scraggly, I'd as soon people not notice it, so I've decided not to ask that the porch lights be turned on henceforth.

I am full of complaints today. My jewellery for the auction? Well, I guess I should be thankful that it's on the lighted side of the auction room. Half had no lights during last night's opening. Or at least it was. Each piece was laying in the box I brought it in, still on the dilapidated desk in that region, though with a label. I just hope it's still there for the auction itself.

Is there more? Unfortunately yes. Yesterday morning, I went to the BBC radio station for my interview that Produced in Norfold had arranged as a part of their series. Turned out the series had ended the week before! Luckily, I said the right thing when they told me this. I said " I'm sorry, too, because I was offered two dates and I chose this one because of the Fringe." They perked up and said that if i was part of the Fringe, they wanted to do an interview on that. It was very cool. I got to mention several other things and plug my classes and my website and the Fringe and such. They said it would be on later in the day, An irony, huh? An interview about my piece that no one could see.

Lord bless me, there's one more thing. While I was at the BBC, a couple came in. They had heard about the Fringe on the radio and come to the Forum (where the BBC and the library and the tourist information office for Norwich is) looking for information on it. The tourist information office of Norwich had not one single brochure or schedule of events. The woman at the desk looked that the web site on her computer. She found information about events, but no directions to the factory or to any other location. If they had even made web pages of the brochure pages, that would have been there. I knew and helped them as much as I could. Yes, I should have been carrying my brochures and invitations. I'm not perfect either.

OK. That's all out of my system. On to my next adventure as an artist in England. I'm letting this one go and simply trying to make sure I hold on to all the lessons I've already learned:
Fight for a proper set-up for your piece.
Fight for proper lighting.
Acrylic-painted cardboard tubes DO stand up to rain.
And, should I ever actually be the organizer of an event (which I am wishing more and more that I could take a crack at) (and they should immediately call me up and offer me next year's Fringe so I can get my come-uppance for all these complaints) MAKE SURE THERE ARE BROCHURES AT THE TOURIST OFFICE.

Oh, and one last parting shot. I just picked up the latest AN magazine for October, which has listings of all the art events all over the country and some beyond. Is there any listing of the Fringe under Norwich? OF COURSE NOT!

There! I'm finally done.