Back in 1993, my parents came up to see me graduate from Hampshire College. I was fortunate enough to be able to time my final thesis exhibit for their visit. Not an easy thing during the spring when everyone needs a place to show off their projects.
Trying to find a suitable gallery space in May in the Happy Valley can be downright impossible. Instead of a traditional gallery space with white walls and track lighting, I held my show in the Hampshire College greenhouse attached to the Cole Science Center. My red glazes never looked better!
So why am I sharing this old photo?
This month, Aurora and I took a drive to Vermont and then MA to the Happy Valley to look at schools. It is getting to be the time for Aurora to apply to schools. She had asked about visiting Hampshire while we were in town looking at Amherst College. After we finished the school tour and the info session, she and I walked the campus together after having lunch in the dining hall. She asked if she could sit in on a class in the science building, and arranged things with the professor so she could. We were about a half hour early for her class so we walked through the building. I figured why not show her what the greenhouse is like on a warm spring day. It must have been over 85F in there. And humid! Quite a shock from the chill 40F outside. As soon as Aurora saw the space she understood what it took to host this show in that space. Certainly not the usual space to host an exhibit.
Seeing that space again after all this time certainly brought back memories. It was quite possibly my most brief exhibition. By far it was the most humid! The attendance was incredible. Potters from all over came to show their support. As my first solo exhibition it marked a new point in my clay career.
