If you're trying to impress real web experts then the Excel version is simply not the way to do it. But if you're looking for an easy to design, manage and update application that is, essentially, a publishable word document, then Publisher is pretty good.
Having said that, it is still incredibly time consuming - particularly uploading the site. My heart sinks when I copy and paste the files and the prognosis for the time it will take is 2 days and 13 minutes! It doesn't, in fact, take that long - only about 2 hours and 13 minutes. And the site gets larger and heavier with each change of exhibition. Perhaps this is also why galleries limit the number of artists they exhibit - its easier than updating the website every five minutes!
It is exciting though to see both the new works going on the site, and the marking up of sold works. There are some errors - if you want to proof read it and let me know of any I haven't spotted then visit http://www.thearchitectsgallery.com/index.htm and let me know.
In the long term I will need someone else to do this - as well as to help with running the gallery on Saturdays. Who I'm looking for is tricky - am I too much of a control freak to allow a professed self motivator to flourish? To be genuinely able to take the gallery to the next level I will need help - very good help. Someone capable, effortful, thoughtful, organised, committed and presentable - as well as honest and decent. Mostly, another me! Although they would also need to be fitter for the changing of the paintings on the walls and all the trips up and down the ladder.
Now that GC has gone back to Italy, I also need help at the office`. It does take a minimum of 3 people to run both businesses six days a week. If you count the evening and weekend work - searching for artists and contacting them, writing the business plans, to do lists and the upcoming exhibitions, updating the website and preparing and issuing all the necessary paperwork - then on average I do around 80 hours a week at the moment. All fine and good - I've never minded working hard, but I do owe some time to the little starlings who still call me mummy.
So, change has got to happen. I accept that this year is going to be a full-on investment in time terms. Perhaps the children might look back and agree that it was worth it. I hope so. For now, the gallery cannot pay a salary and only I'm willing to work for nothing. So be it for what is becoming one of the most influential galleries in London. (can you tell that I'm reading The Secret?).
In that regard, I contacted one of the most inspiring current artists in the US - RB - to see if he might be interested in having a UK gallery to represent him. He is. He asked if I pop over to NYC at all. When I said that with two companies (I didn't mention the third - its largely paperwork for that one) and three small children, he felt he needed to check out the gallery. But even renouned artists need galleries. If not him, I'll continue on this tack. Only one or two well known artists to begin with and still open up doors for promising new comers - like SC - she's wonderful and her work is mesmeric. I have no doubts that she will do well.
The next two weeks will be stressful and hectic with artists picking work and others delivering, some will remain for a while, taking all the work down and painting the walls and getting labels and biographies done. There is a potential buyer interested in four different pieces from the current exhibition, so I need to let those artists know so that I can keep hold of these works. Hanging is quite time consuming when I do have help - and this time, I'm not sure whether I will have any help at all. It will come together - it always does, and the private views are always wonderful occasions. I'm looking forward to showing MB's sculpture - it looks fantastic. I want to buy virtually half of what I'm about to exhibit! including one by SD and one by SC. At the same time, I'm organising the summer exhibition - there are many more artists showing in that one, again, presenting a varied show. I must get the paperwork to those artists and finalise the list as more artists are coming forward and I could have too much work.
An angel contacted me regarding the art classes and not only is she wanting to sign up for the painting sessions, she also circulated the life drawing classes to her group of artists. So now there is a great deal of interest. This one has been a chicken and egg situation - you can't formalise matters with the artists/teachers until you have signed up students and then you find out that the artists cant' do the nights advertised! I'll launch it anyway and it will come together. I'll order all the easles and stools on Tuesday. The courses are part of the gallery's raison d'etre - to become a hub of the arts for the rather talented residents of teddington and to open up a formerly public venue (that had been not very public since 2000) and give back a creative and fruitful space back to my area. It feels good! There is of course a secondary reason and that is to create a trickle of income that allows us to retain the Reading Room as part of the gallery rather than have to let it to a separate company. It would be a shame to block the views to the garden and I have plans for opening that to the public as well. I've been speaking to Cleve West about this - he's a wonderful landscape designer and rather decent man with a talented artist for a partner. I hadn't heard of him before Carol Cordrey of The Richmond Magazine mentioned him, but now I don't come across anyone who doesn't know him. Check out his website - his work is lovely (and there is an odd link with zimmer stewart again!) http://www.clevewest.com/
So, back to work next week - tonsilitis last week graced me with a couple of days off, for which I was rather grateful. I feel good and prepared for the busy weeks ahead.
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