Wrapping up "Gravity" before I move on to the next blog

 
So I obviously finished the sculpture and delivered it to Grand Rapids, MI.  It was a ton of fun and I had a great showing.  The first pic gives an example of what it looked like around my work most days.  I was in the courtyard of the Gerald Ford Museum.  One of the best outdoor venues for the whole city and the best location on the courtyard.  These guys were wonderful hosts.  My host family was also wonderful.  3 weeks at their house and they are willing to have me back.  Crazy, right?
 

Nighttime was great.  There is always a lot of activity and it is fun to talk to everyone in a more casual atmosphere.  Being outdoors was great to allow people to see the work longer than just business hours that the other venues had to offer.  My host even provided me lighting.
 

Pics 3 and 4 were actually taken by a viewer.  She really liked the piece and came back a few times to take different pictures.  She even printed them out and brought back me the prints.  Man has it been a long time since I've actually held a photo in my hand.  Ha.

Wrapping up.  Here is where the piece finally landed.  This is a pic of the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Rivercenter in Downtown Davenport.  I will give a brief description of the show so that you know what happened and why the sculpture was still in my possession after ARTPRIZE because, had I won, they keep the artwork in Grand Rapids.

I had a great location and great weather.  I was talking to hundreds of people a day and thousands came by to see it.  Public voting happens in 2 rounds.  The first round is 1 1/2 weeks and the second round is 1 week.  I was in the top 25, out of 1500 artists from around the world, for the greater part of round 1.  But two days out from the final voting for round 1, the weather turned REALLY bad.  I went from talking to hundreds a day to talking to 6 people.  Anyway, I fell out of the finals just before the announcement on Sunday.  Very bummed.  As an aside, out of all the outdoor pieces in the top 25, not one went through to the final round.  The weather killed all of us.  Gotta love Lake Michigan and Michigan weather in general.  So I have to decide if it is worth the risk for me to be outside again this year.  Oh well, I had a great time and it was a great learning experience.  ON TO THE NEXT ADVENTURE.