I am 22 going on 5

Today I got really excited to go to an art opening. I did the thing where it's like do I go right when it opens? Do I go in the middle, or towards the end? What's the best time for the best scene?

From work I went home and got ready and calmed my nerves by sitting at the dog park till I felt time was appropriate to head over. I have always worked this place up in my mind for gallery openings, because the artists are of major interest!

Here is the online version of what I saw in person.

http://cgrimaldisgallery.com/static/current.html

Upon my arrival I saw that my timing was good. I looked around at the work and was shocked by the quality. The photos that I saw online prior weren't doing them justice. The actual size of the work and the quantity was comfortably tasteful. Mid browse of the gallery I noticed that the other artists at the opening were all above 35 (and 35 was maybe two couples, and then the rest near 50) making me feel like a five year old viewing such an unfathomable thought like black holes and ant hills. This made my comfortable feeling quickly turn to an overwhelmingly unease feeling. Thinking how am I to goto art openings and network if I am a minnow in an ocean. Or more simply how am I to net work if I don't grow a back bone and make myself present (of course this didn't come to thought till I was homeward bound).

I finished perusing the works and even went back and did a double take to a few. I even flipped threw a few books that were published that had his work plastered within. All this just to stall my departure (ok, not just! I also did it to educate myself with nicely crafted work. Also to see if any other people would come into the gallery). Then I ran. Ran out of the emerging artist gallery and went straight home.

My experience with this opening was not what I had hoped. I didn't get what I wanted out of it, but got a surprise and ended up learning something that I wouldn't have guessed to learn. which is that I cannot begin to call myself an emerging artist if I don't grow a back bone. Going to the opens wont cut it, applying to galleries wont cut it. You have to present yourself, and know how to do it well! This is just another thing I am tacking onto my summer in order to learn more and develop myself to become that better person/artist.

But Ps. i thought of Chrissy Day and how she should show with him! Look into his work Chrissy