Well, Shame On Me

I left you a nice little photo as a teaser for She Made Her Mark about a week ago. Then I went AWOL again. Healing bodies, unfortunately, do not work to order or expectation as the same body and mind worked last year. The mind is still as questionable as the caterpillar climbing up my spine; it works when and if it wants to.

The work on doing the administrative intake on She Made Her Mark has begun. Peg Keeney, a friend and colleague who is in the Southwest to avoid the worst of winter's rigors has kindly volunteered her help in building the database. However, she has brought 27ºF early mornings with her.

The first day she set up the database. We had to make sure we got all the bits of information we would need to refer back to. It was decided to give each entrant a number and then to label the images as A, B, or C, as full images ad a, b, or c, as detail images. Name, phone, email, blood type, preferences in coffee, chocolate?; everything went into the planning.

Once we had decided that I went to work building the image files. Thank the universe for a two computer household. It's not quite perfect as each machine has a different version in iPhoto. Since the iMac has the150GB external hard drive I decided to keep images on desk folders and then input them in bulk into the big machine.

Loading images does not mean looking at them. It simply means first a drag and drop and then a renanimg of the file; each file name has to have entry number, last name, size of work, and then dpi and format. There were lots of individual creative efforts that had to be reduced to a simple, standard. It takes a lot of time.

About forty per cent of the time the artist had not marked the detail shot. Open Photoshop, inspect all images, correct file name. Time and frustration.

Loading images also means making two folders. One large image folder at 300dpi is held aside and backed up on CD.

These 300 dpi files mean that I can respond to any magazine editor, in a matter of minutes. I get requests for certain artists or images from all over the world. With the 300 dpi file I can upload whatever the editor needs to a non public space on my website; I email the editor the hotlink. Your path to fame and fortune are secure. No waiting around for the mail man. No bouncing of an image too large for an email.

We worked steadily for four and a half hours each. No lolly gagging around and talking shop. We are on a mission. This first day we were able to get 38% of the entries loaded.

Thirty Eight percent? Is that good or bad. It's neither; it just is. The day's accounting based on whether you had phoned Kelly Girls was nine woman hours. Nine hours of volunteer labor at market rate of $20 an hour is $180US. That's just for the first day and getting the set up and a small portion of the work done.

Neither Peg nor I are being paid; we are volunteers. The point of the accounting is to allow you to think about the time, overhead, and headaches of putting together an exhibition. We'll keep the accounting going.

Another point of the accounting is to encourage you to help support the good work being done by Anne Copeland, FiberArt Connection of Southern California. Please give a click to Anne's name and make a tax deductible donation. The work she does on a shoestring is really quite amazing. But like all shoestrings things break, office supplies are needed, the electric bill needs paid. Anne needs your help for this organization to grow to the point that Anne has an annual salary. Help do your part, please and thank you.