In the Public Eye

Granted, the population of the town of Ajo is small. A total of around 2,000 in the summer and 4,000 in the winter. The public eye may be microscopic, but this makes it a great testing ground for me. In the last week I put myself in front of the public several times.

While I've done a great deal of public speaking in my life, I must admit, I've never formally talked about my own work. I was invited to do a talk at the local library and found it was a great exercise in pulling some of my thoughts about my work together. After the talk, listeners were invited to my studio. Then, last Saturday, as a part of a community meeting about the future of the Plaza (where my space is located), there was a tour which included my studio. This was another opportunity to talk to people about my work. The photos you see here are of the event. They were taken by photographer, friend and neighbor, Jewel Clearwater. Many thanks to Jewel!

Also, yesterday, I invited the students in the Las Artes GED class up to my studio. Their interest was refreshing, and their questions were completely different than those of my previous visitors.

All of these experiences made me realize that I need to work on the way in which I talk about my work. More on this later.