The exhibition this weekend was a huge success and I'm so grateful to all who came along to support me! A big thank you also to all those who helped out to make the event possible! I particularly enjoyed catching up with people I hadn't seen for ages!
Photo taken by Livi Donnelly
For those of you who were unable to be there; the exhibition was held on 7th May at my local church I go to in Redhill (Holy Trinity), to help me launch T J Blumire Photography, and get an idea of how sell-able my work could be. As part of the event it was also a good opportunity to talk about what inspires my photography, such as my Christian faith and love of the natural world. I still can't quite believe it was my first solo exhibition! The day was divided into 2 parts, 2-5pm and 7-9pm, to leave time for a break in between as I get very tired due to my condition (do read my first post for more info) and to leave time to set up for the evening.
To be honest, I wasn't sure how well the event would be received, but any expectation I had was completely outdone! I was especially pleased at how my abstract work was received, as I didn't know what people would make of this sort of photography. I thought that maybe the afternoon would be quieter than the evening, however both were equally well attended. Unfortunately there wasn't a counter at the door (a thought for next time), but about 200 people came in the end across both sessions. There was a steady flow in the afternoon and in the evening most people stayed throughout the 2 hours to hear my interview. I was also glad we decided to keep the exhibition up for after the Church services on Sunday.
The afternoon was informal allowing everyone to walk around at their leisure with tea and cake, which went down well. (Thank you grandma & all the cake makers!) I was pleased with all the comments as to how professional everything looked, as I had tried very hard to get that right from the start. By the end of the afternoon we had already sold out of a lot of the cards and most of the card packs, which was fantastic! There was just enough to see things through the rest of the weekend.
Thanks for the picture Dad!
The evening was slightly more formal with wine and canapés being served and my interview to break it up. The interview was at 8pm to leave an hour to look round beforehand. To draw peoples attention, a video I made of still photographs to go with a piece of music I composed about seeing a barn owl was played. Writing music is another one of the creative outlets I enjoy, but that's another blog post. I then gave a 15 minute interview talking a bit about myself and what inspires my work. This was followed by another short video put together by the church curate Aneal about my faith. Then ending with thank yous, including a special thank you to my mum who I couldn't have done it without, and then replaying the barn owl film again for anyone who missed it. I was so moved by the response to what I had to say and glad I didn't bore anyone, haha!
Would I do the event all over again? Yes definitely!