As some of you know, the Art Through the Loom guild show at Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, NM is the first show that I have my rugs in. This show runs from mid-July through mid-September. On July 16th, several of us made the trek to Ghost Ranch to set up the show. The reception for the show was held the following Saturday, July 20th. Unfortunately, I did not make it to the reception because we had a lovely summer flash flood the day before and I was still tending to the after math – both in cleaning and in recovering physically from my Friday exertions of shoveling and bailing water.

However, I did take lots of pictures the day we did set up, so I can share with you all some of the great art work that was displayed in this show. I am new to the guild, so I am still learning who all the other artists are; any mistakes in labeling the pictures or spelling folks’ names are my own.

In a previous post, I expressed concern that I would forget to bring something important to the set up of the show, like business cards, water bottle, or even my rugs. So, I packed the truck the night before with everything but the water bottle. I even brought extra hanging tags just in case I needed to correct something or replace one on one of my rugs. I managed to have 15 rugs ready for the show. I hadn’t been out to Ghost Ranch in perhaps 7-10 years and I wasn’t sure which building we would be in. So, I planned to be 15 minutes late so that I would (hopefully) see several other vehicles, including my mom’s, in front of the correct building. It worked, though the sign on the building said it was closed. That was easily fixed by turning the sign around and lugging my rugs in.

The ladies at ghost ranch who allow us to invade the space and help set up are awesome: Lorraine, Cheryl, and Judy – Thank you!

I also wish to thank John Curran for doing so much ladder work. Much of the wall pieces must be hung from the ceiling instead of attached to the walls. If John had not volunteered, I am sure I would have been sent up and down the ladder repeatedly as I was the youngest there. It’s a wee secret of mine that I have a ladder phobia, which I didn’t particularly want to share with the other guild members in full on color vision. I don’t know what the clinical term for this fear is, though climacophobia is close. If the ladder is anchored into a wall, etc., I have no problem. But a free standing ladder is extremely difficult for me to use. So, a big, big thanks to John and later, Cheryl for doing the ladder work.

I learned the check in process for items. Several folks brought not only their own work, but the work of others. So we had plenty to check in, make sure all the items match the paperwork, and stick on the scannable barcodes. I do like sticky barcodes – makes things simple for whoever is doing checkout and makes me as an artist feel like we are in the 21st century.

I spent most of my time harassing three ladies: Michelle Rudy, Caroline Rackley, and Nora Curran. Michelle got me started on checking in my mom’s (Sandy Voss’s) hats. This was a good thing to learn on because it was hard to mess up. Next, I artistically mussed up the kitchen weavings table, which included items by Michelle, Caroline, and Nancy Woodworth, so that someone with a more critical eye could come along later and make it look nice. Then I had fun placing little baskets holding Hues by Heather skeins of yarn. Hues by Heather is created by Erika Schwender. These baskets were later consolidated and placed in other strategically located places.

Caroline and I spent some quality time comparing pocket knives, checking in Debra Dubois’s items, hanging Pamela Colton’s dolls, and joking around. She makes the mullet look cool and I look forward to seeing her at future functions. So as not to pester Caroline the entire time, I then spent time with Nora tying knots, arguing with dowel rods, discussing pickles, untying knots, and fussing with clamps. We eventually got one, yes a single, item ready for hanging.

Eventually, we had a little lunch break in the partially covered center patio area. John & Nora’s sheep dog was out there in the shade. I shared an apple with her and gave her a back massage. She was very sweet. We watched the mud swallow chicks being fed by their parents. After lunch, we had a few more things to see to, cleaning up, making sure the Ghost Ranch staff had all the paperwork they needed from us, etc. After that, we peeled off here and there. I had planned to take pictures of us all dressed at the reception and capture a few pictures of the scenic landscape of the area when I came back for the reception. Alas, who expected flash flooding encroaching on my livingroom?