On September 16th we had the “official” opening and reception to my art show at Arcadia University. It was such a special event to me that it is no exaggeration to say that I am still basking in the glow.
First of all, I couldn’t believe the turnout. The theatre was standing room only, with what must have been almost 200 people. And I think I knew virtually everybody in the room. A good representation from Philadelphia University of faculty and administrators and alums, plus many people I knew from the Beaver College (Arcadia University) days.
Then, how often do we get the chance to sit on stage for an hour and talk about ourselves and show history of stuff we’ve made? It was great to have my good friend (and accomplished artist) Royce Howes sit with me to guide a “conversation” about the history and the work. His thoughtful insights and broad knowledge of the territory made it easy to talk. The time just flew by. Based on comments afterwards, it seems that the audience thought it went well. I hope so, because it seemed to go smoothly from my side of the stage. At any rate, that’s as good as I can do.
The reception itself was hectic. There were so many people I wanted to talk to. But, just when I would get going on a conversation, I felt I had to move along to the next chat. No way around it, I guess, but kind of frustrating. The dinner in the castle was nice. It was hilarious to see the decades old photographs of the Picasso party that Bonnie Hayes showed. Then I tried to give a short, heartfelt talk with thanks to appropriate people, etc. The heartfelt part almost overtook me and I had to swallow hard to not start blubbering on too much. It was truly one of the most touching evenings of my entire life. Everybody should get to have one of these.
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