I have had three exhibitions so far. All of them showing my other photographic work which you can see on www.busybee.at. Every time I was nervous, every time was nerve-wracking. With these fine art portraits I thought that it would take me much longer to build up the courage to show them publicly, printed and framed, on a wall, spotlights on. Surprisingly, it didn't take me that long. The thought WAS nerve-wracking but then everything happened very fast.
first set of images
I got a lot of encouragement from the people around me, a date was set, images selected, printed, hung. Instead of planning an opening and making myself even more nervous, I decided against an opening and went with the "they hang, it's too late anyway" attitude ;) . An exhibition is always unnerving. But it gets really bad when it takes place in your hometown. Many people know you, see you around town and many of them see your images. In the grocery store, or anywhere else, you start seeing yourself as "the girl dressed in blue fabric, emerging from a giant birds nest". It is pretty funny when you really think about it!
Nerves and insecurities aside, the images are received really well (at least that's what I heard) and for me it was a bit of an ice breaker. If I do get the chance to show my new work again towards the end of 2016, I will feel less nervous and I can promise right now that my images will be bolder :)
Typically, I sell my images "off the wall" and they are sent or delivered after the exhibition ended or customers can order prints without the frame, I collect the order forms and get to work. It doesn't happen too often that I get to meet buyers. The day before New Year's Eve I DID meet buyers from Denmark that had decided to purchase the image "Curiosity". This was absolutely exciting and it made me truly happy to package and hand over this "little piece of me" personally. The buyers told me where they lived (an island in the North Sea!) and what meaning the image has for them. BEST part of my exhibition adventure! :) These are the brief moments that are the BIG reward for working on concepts, finding dresses and props, shooting in awkward places and/or positions, and hour-long, sometimes daylong edits. It reminds you why you create. I don't create to use up space on my computer's hard disk. This would be a very lonely and unfulfilling existence. I create and give a small piece of myself which then finds a new home, gets new meaning, and, hopefully, makes somebody happy!
my second set of images
