Greetings!
Thought you might enjoy these photos documenting the efforts involved in building my art booth for the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, AZ - www.celebrateart.com (for those of you not familiar with the show, each artist designs and builds his own studio space, where he works and shows his art for 10 weeks)! It's a true labor of love- performed every year by my wife, Lee. She has a background in theatrical design (boy, did I marry the right woman), and every year puts together a space that just gets better and better. And she doesn't just design it...my tool belt diva builds it as well! It all starts in the lumber department at Lowe's- this is about the only time you'll catch Lee sitting down on the job!
 Here's the space- 12x24 at the back, 12x40 at the front adge, with an asphalt floor, barnboard siding, and a great view of the tent ceiling! |
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We bring in wall sections and decorative archways- all designed to go together like "Tinker Toys", with just a few bolts.
Then the architecture gets attached to the existing walls. By the way, the fellow assisting Lee is Kendall Nielson, one of the greatest workers and all-around knowledgable guys you could have on a construction project...we hired him for one day, then had him come back for three more, because he made our lives so much easier!
This year Lee re-designed our central structure, affectionately known as "the tower" (by special approval from the show co-ordinators, it's taller than any other structure in the show!)
I stop by to check out the progress- note my carefully protected hands...
With the tower almost complete, Lee starts on the lighting beams.
Meanwhile, work begins on the small task of drywalling the space (check out the pile of sheetrock in the lower half of the picture)...
Our drywall boys, Ed and Fred...the best in the business, in our opinion! They do it all in a day and a half, with the smoothest seams you could hope for (and no sanding)!
Why is this woman (my wife) so happy about installing these beams?
Because, believe it or not, it's the end of day one...but the lights are already installed...AND WORKING!!!
Day 2 sees the beams go up on the tower, and a few other minor adjustments, but mostly we're staying out of the way of Fred and Ed, who are back to tape and mud the drywall.
Who knew painting was such a graceful endeavor? Lee touches up the lighting beams with her own form of aerial ballet...
It's DAY 3, and the walls have been primed and painted (we have our paint mixer tint our primer, to make painting a little easier), and now the shade screen goes up on the beams...
...which can be difficult to reach, even from the tall ladder. the extended leg, I learn, is for counter-balance, when Lee has to lean forward with both hands to stretch and staple the cloth (this is on a 10 foot ladder, folks)!
And finally, we load in the artwork, and face the seemingly overwhelming task of 'hangin' the show. What to put where? Well, that question, like all things booth related, falls to my wife. And the results are...
Once again, an astonishingly beautiful space in which to paint and display my artwork! Do hope you'll be able to come by...I'm there until March 29th, oh...and look for my new 8 page booklet in the mail soon!
All the best,
Bruce
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Come visit us!
Matisse is soooo happy to be back at work (he comes to the Celebration of Fine Art with me every day). Hope everyone who'll be in Scottsdale between now and March 29th will stop by to say hello- you'll find us at booth # 244 & 245
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Preview Bruce's book on the website!
That's right, you can now peruse the pages of Bruce's new book on his website. "Bruce Marion: An Exploration of Texture and Form" can be previewed page-by-page, and you can order your copy on the website as well (isn't modern technology wonderful?)
Buy The Book
Price: $ 125.00
S & H: $ 7.95
Plus Sales Tax (if applicable)
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