My show, The Mermaid Project: Chapter 1, Confinement—Works by Annaliese Tassano, opens Friday, May 12, 2017 at The Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth, DE. I will be giving an artist’s talk and walking through the gallery the following day, Saturday May 13, 2017. The show will be displayed through June 11, 2017. There will be a large number of mermaids, as well as some of the other mythic characters I have created over the years. Please, come visit if you are in the region. It is a lovely time to be at the Delaware beaches, warm, but before the crowds arrive for the high season. Memorial day is the official opening bell on summer, and my show will be up long enough for that popular weekend, too.

Home in between travels, I have been working away on the show. There is a lot to do for every image that is not yet printed and ready to go. Many files need a little final touch up with current skills, and there are considerations on what size and ratio to print, which media to use for printing, matting, framing, shipping, cost analysis, pricing, editions, etc. This is where art meets business.

I’ve been building up to it, but this is my first solo show at an established gallery, and a remote one, to boot. Like any big step forward, it has been challenging. On the days where I am resistant or underwhelmed, I just tell myself that this is my job, “Now, get up and go to work!” I am planning to have it all done 4 weeks before I actually need to take it to be shipped. That will allow me plenty of time for the errors, quality assurance, hold ups, reruns, etc. that tend to crop up on any big project. I thank my military kid background for giving me the grit to avoid all that eleventh hour stuff. I think that would kill me.

Now that I have a fair bit of the decision making, both image and business wise, behind me, I am growing more and more pleased with the works stacking up around me. As the nail biting recedes, pride in my work and anticipation are building. Old images take on new life, and I hope to add something to the show from my trip next week to Venice for Carnivale. That should be pretty mythic.