The Making of a Gallery Exhibit – the prep work

For this blog post, how about a quick peek into some of the work I’ve been doing to prepare for my upcoming gallery exhibit in Essex, Connecticut?  I figured something different might be kind of refreshing here – instead of the usual photos of what comes out of my camera, we’d take a look behind the curtains for a minute or two.  I’m in the planning/printing stages currently, right on schedule for the May 30th gallery opening reception (Click Here for the Event on Facebook).

As you probably know, I’m preparing for my first ever solo art gallery exhibit, which will go from May 30 to October 27, 2014 at the Oliver Jensen Gallery at the Essex Steam Train station in Essex, Connecticut.  Since I’m hand-printing the majority of the photographs, I decided it would be a good idea to calibrate the printer and ink set I’m using so that the prints accurately match what I see on the screen.

Also, I evaluated some frames and mats, and selected a nice simple 1″ deep black metal frame with plain white mats for the entire exhibit.

With the selection made, I placed the order with the supplier, and a few days later FedEx had a pile of boxes for me!

I guess at that point it was time to make some prints.  Here’s a few of them (maybe 1/4 of the exhibit) ready for matting and framing.

And of course, I need to plan on what will go where.  A month or so ago, I visited the gallery and got some shots of the interior walls so I could do a virtual layout of the exhibit.  With pretty much scale photos of the walls, I’m currently in the process of trying different combinations of prints to see how everything flows through the room.  Here’s one wall as it stands now – I can tell you for sure, this layout will change from what you see here.  You’re going to have to come to the gallery to see the final layout.

And that’s where I stand now.  With about a month and a half left, I think I’m on the home stretch.  Next step is to print, mat and frame the larger prints, finalize the layout, then get it all to the gallery!  Stay tuned for more updates, and I hope to see some of you at the exhibit!

Thanks!
Tom