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Behind the scenes
Bath art show to feature 611 works
BY MARGO OXENDINE • CONTRIBUTING WRITER
 | | Artists converge to register works for the annual Bath County Art Show at Valley Elementary School, which starts this Sunday. (Recorder photo by Charles Garratt) |
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ASHWOOD - Ready for some fun?
The Bath County Art Show opens this Sunday, July 15. Some 611 photos, watercolors, oils, pastels, acrylics, graphics and works of sculpture and mixed media will be displayed for eight days, from 1:30 until 5 p.m., at Valley Elementary School.
For art patrons and aficionados, the show magically happens every year - for 43 years now - durwont ing two weeks in July.
But what goes on behind the scenes? What is entailed in putting on an art show? You would be surprised. Fun and fear and confusion; delights, dilemmas, and darned hard work.
The whole process takes most of a year. Anyone involved with the Bath County Arts Association can tell you all about it, from one perspective or another.
One most important aspects is choosing a judge. Directors suggest names of noted worthies, and then mull their options. This year, Michael Haga, program coordinator for the School of Arts, Charleston,
S.C., will judge the show.
Posters proclaiming the show must be designed and printed and distributed across Virginia. Letters to potential patrons must be crafted, soliciting the necessary donations to pay for the show. And of course, each patron must receive a lovely invitation, reminding them about the party - this year, it is Friday, July 13 at the Old Dairy in Warm Springs.
A mailing list of some 450 artists from Virginia and beyond must be maintained - defunct names culled, new names added. In the early spring, a mailing alerts these artists to show dates, regulations, and particulars of what and how to exhibit.
Artists are limited to three pieces, and all must be available for purchase. Since the number of works has grown steadily throughout the years, the limitations have decreased from four to three works, and the allowance for "NFS" (not for sale) pieces has been eliminated.
At least a dozen BCAA directors, myself included, pitch in and do whatever might be necessary, at any given moment, to get the show up and open.
There are two particularly fun aspects vital to the show: Getting the art in and hung the week before the show, and getting the sold art out and the money collected and dispersed on the final Sunday.
It all happens in what could be called a whirlwind.
Last weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, we threw open the doors and accepted the artwork. We begin at 1 p.m., but the artists are standing laden with treasures, their noses pressed to the doors, by 12:30. We let them in, and the fun begins.
Most directors have spent years doing this; we've got it down to a science. It could even be called a well-oiled machine, but for the artists themselves.
Artists, God bless 'em, are right-brained. They are capable of creating magnificent, fascinating, sometimes perplexing, works of art. We love artists. They are the reason we can bring this show to the people. But many artists don't really have the knack for paperwork. Their paintings may be quite detailed, yet they are not, shall we say, detail-oriented.
We don't ask for a lot of information. We need their name, address and phone number, and the title and price of each piece. To avoid snafus, we need that information affixed to the front and back, of each work. Months before the show, we mail artists the sheets on which to write this information. We even provide those little dashed "cut here" lines, and directions on what to affix where.
No matter. Hundreds of artists arrive, flushed and breathless, toting attractive treasures to exhibit. No, they don't have their info sheets. No, they haven't affixed anything, anywhere. No, by golly, they weren't aware that each piece must be ready for hanging - have wire on the back, or at least an "eye" we can place on a hook.
We're ready for 'em; well, most of them, anyway. We've got extra info sheets, tape, pens, scissors - everything they might need at this, the very last minute.
What we aren't prepared for are the unusual requests.
An artist who arrived at 5:15 p.m. - a tad late, but never mind - looked at her painting, scratched her head, and wondered, "Do you have any pliers?"
Pliers? We scrambled to look, but no.
"How about a hammer?"
That we can do!
Turns out, this addled but talented dear had affixed her wire horizontally, rather than vertically, on the painting.
Another thing we had to scramble for was Band-Aids. Who knew placing a sculpture could be a dangerous undertaking?
Since artists travel sometimes 100 or more miles to exhibit here, groups from towns such as Richmond and Charlottesville will load all their works into one artist's car for delivery.
Thus, one harried Roanoke couple schlepped 24 works of art into the building. Naturally, not all pieces were tagged. We got to know this couple well during the course of their four-hour ordeal.
When the couple finally trudged to their car, the license plate read "ART MULE." Ain't that the truth?
Artists love their work, and are to part with some of their best, or favorites. Still, they aspire to share this inspiration with others.
"What do you mean, no NFS?" more than one inquires.
"Sorry, but we can accept any pieces not for sale."
"What do I do?" they wonder.
We advise: Name a price that, should someone decide to pay it, you will happily accept. Hence, there are at least a couple of modest pieces in the show - usually of a beloved pet or person - with wildly hefty price tags.
The prices this year range from under $100 to $5,000 or more.
There's something for everyone to enjoy, whether they can afford to bring it home or not.
In case you've ever wondered, it takes much of two days to hang the show. Busy little bees like Janice McWilliams, Mary Mustoe, Karen Diamond, Lou Ann Vincent, Pat Ross and Patty Biederman scurry about, putting their practiced eyes and impeccable skills to work. They somehow manage to make it fun.
The next big "fun" day is Sunday, July 22, when the show closes. Things begin to verge on bizarre about 5 p.m. That's when artists arrive to bring their work home, or collect their checks for sold pieces. That's when patrons arrive to pick up paintings they simply could not live without. With hundreds of people milling about, there is always excitement. Some artists and buyers forget they need to pick up their pieces, which means BCAA president Cathy Singleton has a lot of calling and insured mailing to do.
Visit the Singleton home after any art show, and you'll see perhaps 20 paintings stacked against the walls. They're waiting for Cathy to track down the buyer, or the artist, or one of their friends who might help get these things where they need to go. Sometimes it takes months. Sometimes, there are orphans: Poor little paintings that never, unfortunately, find their person.
If you're a person who loves art, make plans to find yourself, and perhaps a must-have treasure or two, at the Bath County Art Show next week. Looking at the show is the most fun of all.
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