Take a deep breath

Well, everything is just about done. A little bit of cleaning left, but we are ready for the OPEN HOUSE on Saturday September 8. Had to get ready early because I will be on vacation next week (could be the last one for a while!). What a whirlwind month this has all been, but it's very gratifying to see the place looking like a real gallery. I'm so excited! The open house will be from 10 am to 5 pm so I hope everyone comes by. I'll have brochures and contracts for artists wishing to sign up for some space. I'll also be in the park at 1:00 to do a photo demonstration for kids for the St. Albans Artists Guild. The gallery will still be open during that time too. Refreshments will be available!

It's a Sign

Yesterday, Jason and I got the sign up. It was a "Dr. Frankenstein, it's alive!" kind of moment! We finished just as it got dark outside and the exterior lights don't have bulbs in them yet so I had to wait until today to get a pic. I think it's even. (don't tell me if it's not!)

Whew

What a weekend! It's crunch time so we really put things in overdrive and got a lot accomplished. Saturday was spent driving a U-Haul to Montreal to pick up the rest of the furniture at IKEA (my favorite store) which took two trips into the store to get. We came back and assembled some of it and then took a well-deserved break for dinner at home and a movie. Today we
hung the art display hanging system, completed assembling the furniture, cleaned up a bit, and prepped for some painting. We're tired. We're going home now…more to do tomorrow!

Staying Late

My two kids, Maddie and Tobi (shown here), have been putting in the long hours with me this week to finish up with construction. My dad has built a sweet bar and this week Jason and I have been working on tiling the countertop which means mud, grout, and clean-up. I'm still working on that grout haze! Other than the rest of the lights going up, the next thing on the list is installing the hanging system.

Artist Info

I've been sending out information via pdf to as many people as I can with information on signing up for gallery space. If anyone would like that information, please email me at staartgallery@gmail.com. I will have an open house on September 8 for artists to come in and check the place out. Sign-ups will be available then. The Grand Opening will be on September 29.

lights!

Yay! Julian and Travis from Nunez Electric started work today on installing a fabulous track lighting system. They made a lot of progress. Now things are starting to look good!

in the beginning…

I thought I would share the transformation of the space as it progresses. Here's a few pics of the gallery pre-construction.

the space…
the beginning of a bar…


the tools…

welcome

Hi and welcome to the beginning of the Staart Gallery in St. Albans VT. For a while now, artists have been discussing the need for more arts venues in our area…so here we are! We can start small and see where it goes.

The Staart Gallery (name derived from ST. Albans ARTs…clever, huh?) is going to be a great place. Not only will it be a space for artists to show and sell their work, but it will be a place for artist receptions, art classes, artists talks, slide nights, small music performances, readings, and whatever other creative endeavor we can think up. It will also be a place to relax with comfy couches and WiFi. If you are an artist interested in showing, email me at staartgallery@gmail.com.

Start date for Staart will be in September. I'll keep you posted…