The Third View

There is always more than one way of doing something and there is also always more than one perspective about something. This weekend my in-laws came out to the Hoboken Art Fair early to help Lee and I set up my booth. Little did they know what they were in for, nor did I!

My booth set-up was the most complex yet. Previously, I lugged only my tiles and some tables with blankets to merchandise my art. However, I just purchased some used ProPanel display walls from a local artist, along with curtains to hang behind my panels to add color to the space. We were told by the organization handling the event that no spaces would be assigned prior to 8:30am that morning. So, Lee and I arrived at 8am, and were at our spot by 8:30. That gave us 2. 5 hours to set up which as we found out was not nearly enough time.

It was very windy Sunday morning and after each early attempt to set up the walls, they fell over. Finally we got them standing by about 9:15 and my in-laws arrived. They helped hang drapes, lights, artwork, label prices, etc. Lee and I couldn't have done this set up in 2.5 hours without them. And, we discovered upon arrival, that people were assigned spots around 7:30am. So much for rules!

My in-laws were amazed by the amount of work involved in setting up a show like this. They had no idea. They experienced the third way. There is the art show attendees' perspective -- just come and see the art with no consideration of the work involved to set it up. Then there's the artist's perspective -- a ton of work and it's very nerve-wracking to set up in a minimal amount of time. Lastly there's the people helping the artist -- spouses, family, friends. They see the incredible amount of work, are vested in it, not in quite the same way as the artist, but they give unconditionally. It's incredible what a loving, supporting family is capable of. Without them, the set up might possibly have been a disaster. They are the third view -- seeing the behind the scenes, sacrificing their beautiful Sunday for their wife / daughter - in - law.

To top the day off, a cute brittany spaniel peed right in front of my booth. I had to clean it up -- that's what you do to make the customer happy. Thank god for paper towels! Unfortunately, the owner didn't buy anything.