If you're in your studio right now wondering just how to get more visibility for yourself and your art, please grab a big cup of coffee and come with me. I'd like to share some of the lessons and tips I got during my first solo gallery talk.

"3030 Park" is an upscale, 10 story building with a "family" of 176 residents. Their Rotunda Gallery has been hosting artists since 1987. My talk, "Fiber Revolution: Quilts as Art", was going to be to an audience in a gated, retirement community. I thought to myself, "How fortunate, they can't escape! The worst they'll do is fall asleep." Little did I know!

"Fiber Revolution: Quilts as Art" Rotunda Gallery, 3030 Park, Bridgeport, CT January 2004

Fortunately, I was invited to the openings of two other artists before my own talk. This experience was invaluable. If there's any way you can see how a venue operates beforehand — do it. It is one less thing to occupy your mind. Meetings with the gallery director told me what was supposed to happen — watching other openings showed me what actually happens. You can see how others fumble with the microphone and know to wear something with big pockets. You can sense the audience's attention span and realize what kind of questions they ask — and whether they interrupt or wait until after the talk. You can also get yourself introduced to them ahead of time so they can anticipate your coming and bring their own, related, art pieces to the talk.

Combining this information with many years of listening to my teacher husband tell me about good techniques in communication, I plotted my approach.

What did I want from them? To buy every piece in the show, of course! Okay, I'd have to be a salesperson.

What's it like to sit and listen to a gallery talk? Hmmm. Quite often both dull and uncomfortable. Hmmm. Let's try this for an opening...

"Hello everybody. In my opinion, there's only one way to look at art — and that's sitting in your favorite easy chair - with a big bowl of ice cream in hand! 'Cause when you're eating ice cream you're in no rush to get anywhere else. So fill that imaginary bowl up with your favorite flavor and come with me. My name is Judy Cuddihee and I want to play a game together...just for an hour or so." And I guess that's just what we did. After the talk, the first comment was a man saying his ice cream had melted!

The game I played was to invite them to take responsibility for making this art their own, to mentally create an experience of the art before them, just as they had created entire lives. "One at a time, you are going to own each of these pieces. You're going to fall in love with it, buy it, bring it home with you, find just the right spot to hang it and then sit with your bowl of ice cream and admire it."

First, they imagined wandering through their former homes, remembering where the art had hung. In the bedroom? Over the television? In the bathroom? They even checked their kids' houses for where the art was hung. Next, they remembered where in their current apartment the art hung. They thought about how it made them feel - and then they took it down, just for the duration of the game.

Finally, I addressed the art in front of them. Ten artists, ten pieces — brought together with emphasis on fitting this 21 foot gallery wall more than on cohesiveness. Interpreting from the statements and stories each artist had sent me, I grouped the pieces into five categories based on the possible motivation behind their creation. Because the Fiber Revolution art quilts were hung for visual appeal and "categorized" afterward, I had the benefit of being unpredictable, moving back and forth across the gallery wall. This seemed much more appealing than simply moving one at a time, side to side, as I'd so often seen. My audience would hear that "three of the pieces were grouped as 'spiritually motivated'" and could take their own guesses before I got to them.

Speaking of that - you can see both the gallery wall and the pieces I spoke about at www.FiberRevolution.com under the Exhibition Schedule for 3030 Park where it says, "click here".

The first three pieces I grouped as "spiritually motivated" were Jutta Halpin's "Be My Guest", Deborah Barr's "Centered", and Virginia Abram's "Chant". These pieces spoke of connectedness, peace, balance, and a sense of our place in the universe.

"Be My Guest" 21.75"w x 16.75"h Jutta Halpin, Connecticut	"Centered" Deborah Barr, Delaware	"Chant" 19.5"w. x 21"h Virginia Abram, Delaware

Cindy Friedman's piece, "Punctuated Rhythm", seemed motivated by "memories". As a girl, she's delighted in playing Parcheesi and this piece represents that joy and a 1933 Parcheesi board she'd found in a thrift shop. Made of rich, Lonni Rossi fabric, this piece was the source of other interpretations after the talk. It seems one resident thought it was more representative of a Thanksgiving feast — evidently her own "memories" coming in to play.

"Punctuated Rhythm" 29.5"w. x 29.5"h Cindy Friedman, Pennsylvania	"Punctuated Rhythm" Detail

Three other pieces seemed to clearly be "matters of the heart". These were Rachel Cochran's "Someday My Prince Will Come", Kevan Lunney's "Cowgirl", and Karen Eckmeier's "City". Each piece seemed very much involved with becoming and relationships, with fitting in and giving your heart.

"Someday My Prince Will Come" 12"w.x 12"h Rachel Cochran, NJ	"Cowgirl" 14"w x 17"h. Kevan Lunney, New Jersey	"City" 23"w. x 23"h Karen Eckmeier, New York

"Passions" was a group I created just to hold Gloria Hansen's "Squared Illusions I". She is passionate about geometry and this theme has matured in her work over the years, changing in both technique and vision.

"Squared Illusions I" 24"w x 24"h Gloria Hansen, New Jersey	"Fairy Door East" 25"w x 50"h Celeste Kelly, Delaware

Last was Celeste Kelly's "Fairy Door East", an abstract, raw-edged piece that brought new delight to the words "visual dance" - at least for those who knew the steps. This I categorized as being motivated "beyond preconceived ideas". I challenged my listeners to "just imagine creating something you've never seen before...when would you know it was done?" They were up to the challenge and knew the steps to this visual dance in no time.

For those of you who have been counting, you know that's only 9 pieces and I said there were 10. Thankfully, my audience knew that too and asked about the piece on the end, my own "Just Say 'YES'". Though the profile of one Judy Cuddihee sits prominently at it's heart, I explained that the piece was really about them!

"Just Say 'YES'" 31"w x 26.25"h Judy Cuddihee, Connecticut

They were the people who had said, "Yes" to life, to getting through the rough times and starting a new life at the other end. They were the ones who have loved and laughed and looked life squared in the eye for some 70, 80, 90 or 100 years. I had created the piece for and about myself. Luckily I could see beyond that now. This piece was a tribute to them.

And so my talk came to an end. Ah ha, finally, the bathroom! But that was not to be for at least another hour. Well thought out questions kept me on my toes for answers. Everything from techniques to my opinion of the gender imbalance in this field was addressed. When the director finally stepped in to invite everyone to the wine and cheese, it only served as a starting pistol for this energetic group to swamp me in person! "I think you were off base in your interpretation of this piece." "Let me show you what my sister made." "I have an 1855 crazy quilt." "How does fusing work?" "Which piece took the longest to make?" "That's not just any city, it's New York City and that's the Lincoln Center." The level of involvement overwhelmed me with gratitude.

Martha Sielman, the founder of our Fiber Revolution group of artists had walked me out from the solitude of my studio and into the realm of bringing art to the world. Then, when I wasn't looking, she backed away to let me discover that I could fly. Having a passion is wonderful, but sharing it — now that's a gift all it's own.

I do have a few last tips to offer as I close: 1) Eat beforehand, but don't drink! 2) Dress lightly; your own excitement plus the gallery lights will make you very hot, 3) Don't worry about remembering the names of the artists or pieces; they're right there on the sign next to each one, and 4) Be fully alive for your audience; move, change your voice, pause, dance, connect! Be worth coming out on a cold day to see.

Good luck and I wish you each great success in your own gallery talks. What is success? Well, I haven't heard that the show is sold out, so I'm going to judge mine by the thank you letter I received from Gerry Eckber, the gallery director. Along with other kudos, she included the line "we at 3030 would be privileged to host Fiber Revolution artists at a future date" and then she named it! January of 2005 I get to try again. Good time of year for ice cream, don't you agree?

©2004 Judy Cuddihee
Judy Cuddihee is a full time fiber artist and founding member of Fiber Revolution. Her Release V was recently in the Artists' Museum in Washington D.C. Her artwork is on display at www.FiberRevolution.com

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