Wednesday, September 8, 2010

My Show on Mackinac Island

Wow, I cannot believe it has been a month since I updated my blog. To say I have been busy is an understatement. Last Saturday evening was the opening reception for my miniature show on Mackinac Island. It was a very eventful weekend.
We arrived on the island Friday as I had some framing to complete before the show. The weather was already getting nasty and was the beginning of a rough weekend on the island. The ferry ride was more like going to the amusement park and the wind was buckling our umbrellas in the opposite way they fold. Not to be deterred, we went about our business and helped the gallery owner finalize the setup of the show.
Friday evening was the opening reception for my friend Bill Murcko's show at the library that hosts art events as well. We fought our way over in the wind and driving rain (no cars on the island) and talked with Bill, Betty, his wife, and their son who had flown in from New York. I took a picture of Bill next to my favorite painting in the show. I love the expression on the girls face in this painting. One wonders what she is thinking about!


The opening reception for my show was Saturday evening and the weather again did not cooperate. I had a friend that called to say she would not be attending the show because she was not about to get on the ferry -it was so bad out. We found out later that more than one freighter heading into Lake Michigan thought better about continuing their trip and were anchored behind the island to shelter themselves from the storm. Many people did venture out, however ,and it was a great time. Below is Bill Murcko attending MY show along with the mayor of Mackinac Island (in pink) and her mother (back turned away) who is the most spry 90 year old I have met in my life.
The gentleman in the baseball cap is Rev. Vincent Carroll, pastor of Little Stone Church. I am talking with his wife Molly, who is also an artist. They were kind enough to invite us to services the following morning. We attended and we quite surprised to be sitting in front of the governor of Michigan who was up on the island for the annual Mackinac Bridge walk.
Its not polite to point! My husband was taking the pictures. Hm, This was one of the better ones.

All in all it was a great weekend in spite of the weather. It is always good to get home, however, and I am settling back into my painting routine.
I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend and didn't get windblown wherever you were at.
Till next time,






9 comments:

Mona Diane Conner said...

Gail, congrats on the lovely opening and thanks for sharing it in pictures.

I'm curious, can you say something about the little easels with your minis? Are they a separate component and a way of hanging them or is it part of the frame?

Gail Hayton said...

Hi Mona,
the easels are just inexpensive wooden easels that can be purchased at Michaels or Hobby Lobby. I provide them with my paintings for free. the gallery moves my work around and sometimes it is on the wall, sometimes on the easels. We placed the easels folded up behind the paintings because his hanging system made it almost impossible to get the paintings to hang flat against the wall. Something my husband discovered!

Tracy Hall said...

I hope the show sells really well for you Gail. Lovely to see the pictures! Sorry about the weather - sounds not unlike the island where I live actually :)

Gail Hayton said...

Thanks Tracy,
Yes, with the beauty comes ruggedness. I accept it because when the weather is nice there is no more beautiful place around here.

Mona Diane Conner said...

Gail, thanks for going over the easel part. Sorry too about the weather, but impressive too that key community members and prominent people nonetheless managed to attend.

Barbara A. Freeman said...

Sorry Gail that the weather didn't cooperate for you. Still sounds like you had a fun time in spite of it. Your work looks great and I know you will do well!

Debra Keirce said...

What a beautiful location for the show Gail! I especially like how the miniature art and other wall art are both integrated into it. I've started entering my miniatures into local art shows, and I've been very successful in getting them juried in...let's see if they sell. I like the look of shows with diversity of size in the paintings.

Congratulations, and best wishes for a very successful show. With the local mayor and minister in attendance, you are bound to get some great word of mouth publicity.

Gail Hayton said...

Thanks Barbara and Deb. the gallery owner has been very pleased with sales. I am too! WE did have a great time in spite of the weather.

Debra Keirce said...

Gail, did you venture back to the island for the fall tourist season? I bet it's beautiful there this time of year.