Looking Back: AGP's Open House of 2011

There is a wonderful thing happening in Pacifica, California.  It’s something people on the outside may not know. I certainly had no idea it existed before my family and I moved here.  Yet it grows and flourishes in this lovely coastal town that lies quietly between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.  When we moved to Pacifica in 2009, I had no idea it was so wonderful. Rather, I was focused on the small town house we’d bought and the difficulty I anticipated commuting to the city. The sense of township here – the Community Center, the Resource Center, and all the town’s events (the largest of which is FogFest)  – is strong and welcoming.  Our daughter just loves her high school, which is bonus!   I had no idea this place would begin to feel like home.   

Here in the heart of Pacifica lies an arts community that is strong, talented, and warm, and I feel as though I fit right in.

I participated in the Art Guild of Pacifica’s 2011 Open house at the Sanchez Art Center in early December of last year.  In the Open House, artists who rent studios at the Art Center open their doors to share their works, and for a small fee other Guild Members can display on a stretch of the gallery walls. Almost everything exhibited is for sale, and the event lasts over a weekend. I had a 5 foot span in the West Wing where I exhibited a combination of past and recent works along with my cards, pendants and prints. 

Friday night’s Opening Reception was loads of fun.  People were excited, animated and very welcoming, just as the artists around us were happy to be there and friendly.  The Guild people made me feel at home.  Saturday and Sunday I found myself keeping the snack table in order, and as it took me back to my event planning days in Corporate, I had some fun with it.  

By the end of the day on Sunday, I'd made friends with many artists in our wing, exchanging stories around our lives and our art.  It was unexpected and cool, and I was impressed with the sense of mutual respect I felt.  There was a chorus recital happening in the Mildred Owen Concert Hall adjacent to the Sanchez Art Center and part of the same complex, so people attending dropped in on our exhibition, too.

In spite of all this fun, Sunday evening rolled in and it was time to dismantle our exhibition. How is it that I could feel a combination of happiness and sadness at the same time?  It made me look back on the whole year, and what I’d learned putting my art out into the world.  I was satisfied with what I’ve learned and what I’ve done.  But AGP’s 2011 Open House was last art event of the 2011 season, and it will always be special to me. 

A variation of this blogpost was originally published by Donna L. Faber in donnalouisefaber.com.