Monday, February 28, 2011

A Lesson about Shipping



I shipped two of my small works to a show in Michigan last week. They fit in one modest box. The cost of it horrified me! Wow, I had been out of the shipping loop for a while. I thought about changing the shipping policy of Susan Hensel Gallery...But then my post office began behaving (again) as though delivery of boxes were optional.

I have been asked, more than once, "Why on earth do some galleries (like me) require artists to ship UPS or Fed Ex when the post office is so much cheaper?" Well, here goes:


•Delivery to the gallery is more reliable; My post office sometimes behaves as thought delivery of boxes is optional. In fact, that happened over the past weekend. In the past they have occasionally made no attempt to deliver boxes AND left no notice of the boxes being held at the post office.
•You cannot get return pre-paid postage labels from the post office. Stamps you can buy and enclose.
•The post office does not generally pick up boxes, nor is their parking set up for me to bring in up to 50 boxes for a show of this size.
•Both UPS and FedEx have relatively easy online procedures for setting up your own account from which you can ship & return ship your work. It costs you nothing to set up the account and it costs you nothing until the boxes enter the system. In other words, if you are lucky enough to sell your work, the return label can be cut up and thrown away.
•UPS and Fed Ex will both pick-up at the gallery. Fed Ex Ground will not.

It seems that large cities are having more and more problems with the postal service. I know that stories from New York city mirror mine. So, do I ever ship my artists books via the postal service? Sure. But if I am particularly concerned about delivery to a large city, I check my bank balance and use UPS.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

House Party!

The weather turned colder than the Grain Belt Beer, but we dressed warmly and drank the delicious donated beer. Thank you Grain Belt Brewery!
Hearty souls joined us to watch Dean's videos one last time and listen to Jennifer Markey and the Tennesee Snowpants.
Video projected over pale skin and dark jackets.
Songs sung with heart.

There are more pictures on the website.

Stay tuned for Reader's Art info!

Friday, February 11, 2011

In the House of the Mineral Spirits: PHOTOS! VISITS!

I just heard from Dean Ebben, today. He will be coming back into town later this month, arriving sometime on February 22. If you want to actually meet the artist, make an appointment between February 23 and February 28 before we take the show down!
Remember, the gallery is ALWAYS open 10-5 on Mondays and by very generous appointment on other days. We just compare schedules and, voila! you can see the show.
IN THE HOUSE OF THE MINERAL SPIRITS
video, installation, works on paper
by
Dean Ebben

through February 28.


Sunday, February 6, 2011

Behind the FAULT

There are hidden treasures in Dean Ebben's show In the House of the Mineral Spirits.
Behind the screen of Fault are cyanotypes, drawings , small rusty objects, lit by the projection on the front.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

FAULT

The video FAULT, by Dean Ebben is projected onto the shaped screen of In the House of the Mineral Spirits.It is an evocative video, roughly 7 minutes, in roughly 5 parts. It begins with Dean rolling on a clear, old, wood floor.The soundtrack is both ambient, using the sounds found in the environment and additive and evocative using the jingling and jangling of silverware. As the video progresses, new sounds and new actions surround the newly discovered fault. Bread and water, staff of life, the stuff of memory and the stuff of the present.
In the House of the Mineral Spirits runs through the end of February at Susan Hensel Gallery. Open Mondays, 10-5 and by very generous appointment.