Sunday at CYBER FYBER

It's just past 4:00 PM on Sunday afternoon. I'm in the gallery manning the CYBER FYBER exhibition....like I'll do every day through January 20th....from 11 - 5. Last week and especially the weekend were a whirlwind of CYBER FYBER activities....pre-opening preparations, news paper coverage, opening day, the reception, announcing BEST OF SHOW winners, and Fiber Day. I think my body is starting to feel tired but I know my mind is in overdrive. I'll sleep deeply tonight.

Yet, before then, I want to write....to blog...to share my impressions while many are still raw data, emotional moments, unforgettable details, special glances from friends, smiles. I'm lucky. I type quickly....nearly at the speed of a strong stronger drawl. (I don't have a Southern accent...but living here in Columbia I hear this sing-song slow tempo frequently. I type with the same rhythm.) I want to remember....I want to return to the feelings, the sights and sounds of pleasure...I want to capture the essence of CYBER FYBER...thus I write....I type.

When in this sort of mood, I like to let my fingers try to keep pace with the words and visions in my mind. Over the keyboard.....stream of consciousness is released. Thus, if reading this post and finding the language confusing.....simply stop. This is just my mind and heart rambling.

I want to bookmark some of the images.

My mom and Sonya looked absolutely beautiful....decked out in fashionable outfits...walking down the hall early for the CYBER FYBER opening...bringing the large plastic trash can from home.....there to share, to help, to do whatever was necessary, to enjoy and celebrate with me....family...I had a few moments to share the exhibit with them.

Jill Rumoshosky Werner walks up and introduces herself. I knew she planned on coming to the show. I didn't know when. I didn't know to expect her for the opening. I nearly faint. Here she is...in person....one of my personal icons....a physical manifestation of the word "concept". She never got my message asking if she needed a place to stay on her visit...but she's here anyway! We talk of family....deep, moving experiences. We talk of influences, fiber, the interconnectiveness in the fiber community. I feel like I've always known her. I, too, "want to live in the world of Jill" forever.

Alex shows up....my tall, handsome estranged son....I also hug his girlfriend Erica and whisper, "Thank you for bringing him." My mother and sister get to touch him, see him, talk to him....first time in over a year. They don't stay long...but he came! He even dressed up for the occasion. There is hope.

The spread of food is almost too beautiful to eat....a bed of parsley on which the sweetest asparagus beg for consumption....dipped in the prettiest hot pink beet dip....nuts, cheese, the most tender meat....it was such a fancy affair...certainly not "just another" art opening...I've never tasted such delicious art....and it truly was art....not a catered affair at all....an edible installation....Thank you Suzi....from the bottom of my heart. You played the role of a caterer even though you are my patron, a collector of my work, someone who I should have served....not the other way around...but you brought me champagne. I raise this glass to you.

Bert and Ed come. They pose for my mother in front of Poet, my Decision Portrait....Ed with the stitched words "I married Bert". Sonya and I pose in front of Wanda's portrait. Mom snaps another picture....three daughters, one a xylene portrait, one the maker of three blackwork masterpieces in the main gallery.....but she's here with us.....Mom and Sonya call her.

Foreigner....Foreigner....another "model" for the Decision Portrait Series...a young college freshman from a far away country I can't pronounce. I snap her picture...she signed the "model release" on the edge of the table from which wine and champagne are being poured. She's perfect! Stitches sparkle in my mind....stitches for her....stitches for another "model" who found me series on-line....someone from across the country willing to share her story for Overcoming Domestic Abuse....I can almost see the stitched words "I Press Charges" even though I've never seen her face. Beyond the emotional high of an art opening, I'm soaring with anticipation....eager to "get to work".

My best friend Sharon Licata plays hostess....greeting so many familiar faces that I can't greet...welcoming new people....supporting a show, a medium, an entire community that she's not really part of....I'm so very, very lucky to have such a true and wonderful friend.

Neil buys Nikki Wheeler's Grow. There's a big to-do about the red dot....just as it should be...electricity is in the air. Kay Reardon is infected with fiber....a recent student from the Columbia Museum of Art class I taught this summer. Doni Jordan brings an armful of fresh cut flowers. Jeanette Grassi came from Charlotte. Virginia Scotchie pays me a compliment and I didn't even know if she knew who I was....she's famous, you know! I'm honored. John Whitehead admires the mix in Penny Sisto's quilts. I'm just so glad to see him....he's always been there for me, for Steve, for Mathias and especially for Alex. The entire Boiter-Jolly family comes. We laugh, we hug, every such occasion a reunion. Kristine Hartvigsen probably doesn't attend every function with which her magazine is involved....but here she is....not putting in some obligatory visit but really involved, enjoying, looking at all the art. More and more....I'm honored, humbled, amazed.

Polly Stout is impressed and has great ideas for CYBER FYBER 2....isn't it wonderful! A true friend, like Deidre Mardon, on the Vista Guild. So many friends....Guy and Cynthia (on crutches!), Alice P, Ginny N, Rachel Haynie, Betty M., Sandi and Pat, Dolly and Sims, Fred Delk, Lisa and her husband, Pat G, Denise and Bruce, Cyd and her group of well heeled friends, Stephen Chesley, David Yaghjian, Pat Gilmartin, Jeff Donovan, Michel McNinch...most of Vista Studios resident artists.

I'm sitting the floor....my Swedish stocking against Denise's colorful hoses....Jeffrey Day's flashy socks....lots of laughter. My first cousin's daughter and her boyfriend come. Kim Bendillo tells me that she's found a fiber friend in Australia....someone from the exhibit to give her advice for her upcoming trip Down Under....connection! I've forgot some of the many, many people who offered good wishes, congratulated the success, told me how impressed they were.....I'll have to add more later!

For now!