The old framing consult area, as it looked on Tuesday morning before dismanteling it with Jeff Mummau, our carpenter extraordinaire. A bit of a challenge for the two of us to take off the counter top and stand it against the wall, but we managed with his engineering finesse.
Then came the head-scratching task of how best to take it apart and put it back together, slightly reconfigured for the new location at the back of the gallery. Jeff built it to begin with, but various components had been added at my request over the past ten years.
Gerry Freeman, G.L. Freeman Electric, mounting an electrical box on the side, doing away with the past need of duct-taping extention cords to the carpet every time an event required coffee urn or crock pot. This new configuration allows us to do away with filing cabinets and computer equipment on the exhibition floor.
Frames have been removed from the front wall, carpet stripped from the drywall, and the task of repairing, prepping and plastering before painting began that evening. David and I took a day off yesterday for Thanksgiving with family, work commencing again this morning.
In its new location, the consult desk is turned the other direction and is about 18" shorter in width to fit centered in front of the new sample wall. Another flat file will be installed next to the existing one, with deep storage drawers beneath. Behind the wall, accessible on either side, is a 12-foot deep space to accomodate a conference table.
Carpet has been stripped at the front of the gallery, and the old carpeted sample wall is nearly plastered. Can't wait to see paintings on that wall, and I'm loving the openess of the space at the front of the gallery. Ned Wert stopped in today to discuss his upcoming show in October, and was thrilled with the way the new space is shaping up.
My father, ever faithful with the paint brush, has been working his way around the gallery painting the trim. My brother Bryan, and sons Zach and Michael, stopped by for a few hours this morning to help tear up tack strips and sweep the floors. Together we finished off a pot of leftover, homemade, chicken corn noodle soup and banana chocolate chip muffins before sending them back to Philadelphia.
As of this morning, I finished organizing the new sample walls, allowing additional space for two shipments of new corner samples to freshen up the selection. I was surprised to find how much additional space was available, along with nine drawers of shadowbox moldings, fillets, liners, handmade papers and floater frames.
With the afternoon sun shining in, you can literally see the dust still floating in the air! One more dusty, dirty job, Monday a week from now, when they sand the floors before painting them. I think we'll take some time to seal up the sample walls beforehand, and save ourselves time later.
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