Countdown Continues

My plan for today was to put in some Studio time, maybe finish coloring the last narwhal proof that I have, but I got a call from my brother this morning telling me that today was the day to do some planned yard work at my parents house.  I continued getting ready for the day, and took the trip up to Ocean Grove.  I could postpone the narwhal print until next week, but I had other business involving other people and I had to deal with that today.

Nichole was in so we got in a lot of discussion regarding the coming classes.  I had heard through my mother that a new ad had run in the Coast Star, this time not only mentioning my classes but also the "Victorian" (crafts) classes in the Green Room later in July.  More publicity is always good, and I let Nichole know this had happened.  She did receive the print/block image I had sent and plans to use it in an upcoming social media campaign.  Lately she has been pricing air conditioners, as part of the plan to deal with our dampness problem in the basement in summer.  Someone else had mentioned to her that the guy who does guitar repair (the room that Molly and I had once built tables in several years ago) regularly uses a de-humidifier to keep the place more tolerable, probably a good idea for someone who works with a lot of wood in his business.  I pointed out that in the summer, temperature in the basement is generally not the problem, but dampness, and a good de-humidifier might be the solution to the Green Room problem.  Much cheaper than a large air conditioning unit, both to purchase and to run.   Of course both items generate a lot of water, so I suggested she look into that problem before buying and installing anything.  If that can't be resolved before the July classes begin, we may have a 1st floor option for small classes that month, but not in August.   However, they have a lot of ambitions for that room, so I'm guessing they would prefer to solve the problem and turn that space into a profit generator.

Meanwhile, there's the question of students.  I learned that there have been a few more sign-ups for the drawing class, so that one is definitely a go.  Woodcut is still lacking a bit, but there is a plan for more social media.  It may help that this week includes the Fourth of July, one of the three tentpole holidays of the shore season, so the towns will be packed with people, and they might see the ads in the papers.  There were a couple of women sitting in the office, waiting to talk to Nichole I guess, and the older one mentioned being particularly interested in that class, having enjoyed linocut years earlier.   How we get people to jump from interest to signing up for the class (and we have been getting inquiries) is always the challenge, but we have a week and a half to go.  Nichole mentioned a request for a materials list for the drawing class and wondered if I had one ready, but I pointed out that I gave it to her as part of the proposals weeks ago, and sure enough she found an e-mail with a subject about materials (I am very thorough with my e-mails), so she can pass that information on.

So no narwhal, but I did stop in the Studio briefly, partly to repair the door.  The door we use most often opens with a handle, and the inside one attaches to the knob with a set screw, which is requires tightening every few months with an allen wrench or it just falls off.  I wouldn't count on Molly or the building to get to that any time soon, but I keep the right size wrench in my drawer and took care of that in a few minutes.  With that done I headed down to my date with outdoor work.  Not fun on the hottest day of the year.