My First Gallery Show

[Steve Schlumpf]

Friday, May 6, my wife Colleen and I made the road trip up to Calumet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calumet,_Michigan) to attend the opening reception of the Ed Gray Gallery (http://www.edgraygallery.com/) art show I am in, called ‘Wood: Form and Function’. The show consists of 5 woodworkers (only 2 turners) and runs through June 1st, in case anyone wanted to check it out!

Although Calumet is only 2 ½ hours north of us, it was the first time we have been there. It was once a very busy copper mining area and Calumet was a huge city in its day but since the old mines closed decades ago, the city has been struggling to find another way of life. Most of the town was built using stone from the mines and are testament to the builders of their day – beautiful structures, most of which are still in use today! One of the more famous buildings in our area is the Calumet Theater (http://www.calumettheatre.com/) and it is still going strong!

So far, I think tourism is working well for Calumet and part of the draw to the area is their 3 art galleries! They host an ongoing event called First Friday in which, the first Friday of every month, the galleries put out some food and refreshments and everyone is invited to walk from gallery to gallery and check out the new artwork! The event runs from 6 to 9 pm and the artists are present to talk to the folks about their art. It is fun, draws a fairly large crowd and everyone has on opportunity to get to know each other. In all honesty – I had a blast! I got to talk turning with dozens of folks, listened to what they had to say about art in general and got to explain my work to anyone willing to listen!

Here are a few photos that Colleen took of the beginning of the event!

Some of my turnings.
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Talking with the gallery owner, Lynn.
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Talking with another of the wood artists, Pat Reagan.
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Good friend, Bill Wiard, critiquing my work.
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Talking with some of the guests.
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[Steve Schlumpf]

The gallery.
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Talking about my work with local artists.
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A sample of Ed Gray's pottery and some fiber art.
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I am posting this – not so much as a gloat – but as proof that getting into a gallery is possible if that is something you would like to do. Took me quite a while to make the effort but am now glad that I put my work out there for folks to see. It is all a learning experience and have to admit that the gallery side of turning (meeting people, talking about your work, sales, etc) can be just as rewarding and feels like it brings things full circle in that I am looking forward to turning and trying some new ideas!

As always, your opinions and comments are welcomed!

Thanks for looking!

[Alan Trout]

Steve,

That looks like a fine setup, and hope that it is a profitable experience for you. You have a lot of pieces and they all look great. Congratulations.

Alan

[Bruce Page]

I’m not surprised by the quality of your work – beautiful!
I love the architecture of those old stone buildings. Judging by the heavy coats it looks like it is still pretty cold up there! I spent a few hours yesterday getting our coolers up & running, it’s been in the mid-upper 80’s here.

[Nate Davey]

Congratulations Steve. As I mentioned on John Harts post, it's nice, for me, to see the pieces in a setting other than a photo booth. One doesn't appreciate the size of the piece until they see it in a setting like your show or next to other items. Well done an best of luck with the exhibit.

[Quinn McCarthy]

Great job Steve. You deserve it. You have really coming up with some wonderful turnings that deserve to be in thegallery.

I just love hat calumet area.

Quinn

[philip labre]

Great display,Steve! Thanks for sharing. For those that have not been to Calumet, as Steve stated, most of the buildings are a beautiful display of the work of master stone masons. As you walk around town, there are plaques explaing the history of many of the buildings and parks. If you are a history buff and enjoy great scenery, a tour of the Keweenaw Peninsula is highly recommended and one of my favorite places to get lost.

[Don Alexander]

congrats Steve beautiful work as always

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congratulations Steve! Very nice collection and display of your talent and efforts.

[Dan Forman]

Steve --- Sounds like you had a great time, and you surely had a tastefully done display with some outstanding pieces. Looks like you were in some pretty good company too.

Dan

[Tim Thiebaut]

Congrats Steve! Very cool to see things that you have posted here over time now sitting in an art gallery!

[Pete Jordan]

Way to go buddy!

The display looks awesome. I think it is time you brought your talents to the lower peninsula:)

[Roger Chandler]

That is a fine collection indeed! So happy for you, Steve..........your work is first rate. I am glad you got to display your talents in such a wonderful way, and had the time to do the "meet & greet" with the public.......

I hope you will have the opportunity again at other venues. Congratulations!

[David E Keller]

Beautiful work, Steve, and thanks to your wife for taking the photos. It's a nice looking gallery, and your display is fantastic. Best of luck with the sales!

[Jim Burr]

Well done Steve!! You're going to be a hit!!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats Steve. Very nice setup and looks like it was a lot of fun. My wife's relatives are from Calumet. She is not sure but may have some very distant cousins still living there.

[David DeCristoforo]

Gloat or not, it's great! Your work looks right at home in a gallery setting. It's always fun to see pieces in a gallery setting after getting to know them here on SMC. Almost like we had a preview of the show!

[John Keeton]

Steve, great photos!! Excellent display of your works, and they really match the flavor of the gallery. Congrats on the representation by the gallery, and on the show. Your work is very deserving, and I know your fellow creekers all join in wishing you the best with this endeavor!

But......you didn't tell them the best part (gosh, I hope this isn't a secret!!!!)....Steve sold four of his turnings during the show!!!!

CONGRATS!!!!

[Mike Peace]

Congratulations, Steve! That is wonderful. You do great work and have a great eye for form. I wish you the best of success.

[Ted Calver]

It must be very satisfying to see your art on display and have your talent validated by folks willing to pay to put your work in their homes. Congratulations!!!

[Scott Hackler]

How awesome. I am sure you were/are on cloud nine. A gallery showing is something I aspire to achieve. A giant congratulations to you Steve.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Wonderful reward for a lot of practice and experimentation. Best of luck at the show. I've heard the name Calumet before but I can't recall where or why. Anyway, it is quite far from the Pocono mountains in PA and I won't get to visit. I do wish I could, though. It would be fun to see your work up close and personal.
faust

[neil mackay]

Steve, Life is pretty much a learning curve and I confident you will meet the challenge and given your demonstrated ability to date. I suspect you will be able to "do" as many galleries as you want. :)

[Steve Schlumpf]

Thanks everyone for all the kind words! I had a lot of fun at the reception and hope this first time out was typical of the gallery experience! Highly recommend everyone give it a try!

[Cathy Schaewe]

It's interesting to see the pieces grouped together, and (IMO) emphasizes the skill of the artist, when you see them all together.
Congratulations on the show, and on the sales! Very good!

[John Hart]

I know you've been working on this long and hard and really had you in heavy anticipation. It looks like you belong there my friend. Congratulations...and good luck for the rest of the show!!

[Jon Nuckles]

Steve,

Google maps says that it would take 7 hours and 51 minutes to drive to Calumet from Chicago, but your pictures make it look like it would be worth the trip. Congratulations on the show and on the sales. Your pieces look right at home in a gallery setting. Nice work!

[Kathy Marshall]

Congrats Steve! A beautiful display of some beautiful pieces!

[David Reed]

Good-on-ya for making it into what appears to be a real quality art show. We all know you produce some of the finest turnings around and hope the exposure brings you nothing but goodness. Your display is quite a collection of lovely artwork. Hope it is a profitable experience for you as well.

[Jim Adkins]

Congratulation Steve on getting in a nice Gallery. You will do good.
Best get to turning replacements. Thanks to the wife for the photos.

[Curt Fuller]

Wow Steve, your work looks so good on display! Congratulations first on getting accepted and then on the sales. I'm guessing this won't be the last. Again, congratulations. Couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

[Baxter Smith]

Congrats Steve! Great seeing your turnings together in one picture. Good luck on the future sales as well!

[Michelle Rich]

Congrats Steve. Great little stark white gallery. It gives the work the "centerstage" it deserves. Glad you had fun & enjoyed the experience.

[Jeff Moffett]

Congratulations, Steve! Certainly some well deserved recognition for one of the true artists among us.

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Congrats Steve. It's always cool to see your own work under the lighting & display's in a gallery. Some how they just look so much better than they do at home. Hope this keeps you inspired to keep those artistic turnings coming.

[Tim Rinehart]

Congratulations Steve, that's a nice collection of your work that we've been able to see. Interesting seeing the relative size differences between some of them. I think, regardless of sizes given in postings, we don't get true idea till we see them out like this.
I hope the show yields further positive review for you and your work...this is something we all look forward to.
Excellent work by a great turner, moderator and teacher.

[jwjerry w kowalski]

Way to go Steve, those are some great pieces, I've got to check my map and see where this is at, maybe I'll check this out. And yes getting into a gallery is possible, if I could turn like you!

[Harvey Ghesser]

Congratulations Steve! You've always done such outstanding work that it was only a matter of time for that commercial recogniton to arrive. You're always such an inspiration and thank you for sharing with us!

Best,
Harv

[Michael James]

Way too late to this party, but......... better late than not at all, eh? Steve congratulations on all levels. You spend a lot of time encouraging us (following somebody down some trail) it's nice to see you get the recognition, kudos, applause and hopefully the pesos you so deserve.
mj

[Mark Hazelden]

Steve,

Congratulations!

I wish you success.

Mark

[Rich Aldrich]

Steve - Congrats. You're in good company with Bill. Calumet is a nice little town. In the day, it was down to Lansing or Calumet for the Michigan state capital. At the time, mining was booming and the Copper country was very populated. Lansing won and mining went down hill.

It looks like a nice show and your Gallery looks really nice.

[Greg Just]

congratulations Steve - there are some very nice pieces on display here.

[Curt Kemppainen]

Congratulations Steve...My wife and I will be in the Calumet area for Memorial Day so we'll make it a point to visit the gallery and see your work up close and personal.

[Roland Martin]

Congratulations Steve!! An awesome job done on displaying your spectacular turnings and thanks for providing great pictures of the event. As has been said, it is absolutely fantastic to have one of our own being rightly recognized for your uncompromising artistic talent.

[Steve Campbell]

Congratulations Steve. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. I love to see the pieces all together like that. It shows off the size much better than just a single photo. Again congratulations and hope you get many more sales out of it.

Now we can say we knew you before you got famous......................................

Steve

[Gordon Vizecky]

Congratulations Steve! Beautiful work, I especially like the purple dyed HF, and the white HF looks like it could be an alabaster vase.

Gordon

[Russell Eaton]

Congrats Steve. After seeing your post here the gallery was smart to have you display your turnings.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Steve You look like you are taking the Artist scene in stride. It is good to see you beautiful work on display. I came through Calumet on my way back from Copper Harbor. It is quite a contrast from the rest of the area. You can see that the mineral economy has left some tuff times up in that area. The day I went through Calumet, they were lined up for a play at the opera house. It is a truly pretty area.

[Rob Cunningham]

Congratulations Steve. You have some beautiful pieces on display. I'm sure you'll do well in the gallery showing.

[Jeff Nicol]

Steve, Looks like a nice gallery and set up very nicely, everything looked good and the other turner has a completley different style than you so that is a good thing. I am in 2 galleries and have done other shows and it is always fun, but a lot of work talking with everyone and answering questions. I hope you do well with sales and find another gallery or shop to carry your work, what won't sell in one will be the most sought after in another.

Congrats again,

Jeff