Les Phillips Blog

Intent

On December 1st, salon Ad Hoc premiered with a successful show of watercolors and jewelry. Even before 5 pm when it was to open, people were knocking at the door wanting to see what was going on. The house was packed from 5 until almost 9 pm and, from feedback I’ve received, just about everyone had a good time.

Being most comfortable with dinner parties for 4 or 6 people, I was emotionally unprepared for the tumult of the crowd that appeared.

For most of the evening, I wandered about talking with quests and marveling at the lively conversations going on all around me. It was rewarding to see how people from different networks mixed so easily.

   Virgil, Marianna and Me (r to l)

At the end of the evening, after everyone had left, I sat in the front room with the lights dimmed, and listened to the still echoing party chatter. Later, when I went to bed, I questioned if I would do another salon. It was way outside of my comfort zone.

Since then, I have continued to evaluate my experience and decided, yes! I’ll have another salon. I think it will be in February when everyone will have a touch of cabin-fever and will be looking for something to do.

Tips for Throwing a Salon

1. Have a clear idea of the theme for the event.
2. Make a list of things to do and things needed.
   The only way I could keep everything straight was through the use of lists. Lists also help manage time.
3. Be flexible.
   What started out as an intimate event with a few guests, quickly expanded as more people became involved. I’m glad that I didn’t cling to keeping it small, otherwise I’d have missed the magic of the evening.
4. Know when to say ENOUGH.
   It is important to know your limits and when planning veers to far away from the original plan. Because this salon was an experiment I was willing to let it grow larger than my initial comfort zone. However by the end, it was necessary for me to reign in invitations and other things.
5. Try to have all preparations done the day before.
   For me, I wanted to have the hours before the party open and restful. That way I could go into the party relaxed and not worrying about last minute details.
6. Mix up your guest list.
   While it was important to invite people who had a predisposition to enjoy looking at painting and jewelry, it was also important to have diversity. Combining my mailing list with Marianna’s gave us a wider audience. Also, distributing postcards to my neighbors and friends that I ran into during the day helped get the word out.
7. Welcome people as they come in and thank them as they leave.
   This is hard to do once the party is going but it is an important personal touch. If the event is large it may be the only time that you get to meet with each and every guest.
8. Have someone designated to help keep the wine and snacks topped off during the evening.
   I lucked out. Initially, I stayed on top of keeping the refreshments and snacks stocked but as the night progressed I got side-tracked. That was when Marianna took over and made certain that the table remained full.
9. Let go and have fun.
   After all the work and expense of putting together a soiree, it would be shame to miss it because of fretting and worrying.

Many thanks to Jim Earley and Kathy Boesch who took pictures during the event.

Virgil the Watercolorist

Tomorrow evening, from 5-9 pm, I’ll be hosting Salon Ad Hoc, an experiment in community. I’ll be featuring the watercolors of Virgil Delegard and the jewelry of Marianna Padilla. I wrote about Virgil in an earlier blog.

Salon?

Anyone who knows me knows that spontaneity is not one of my strong suits. When I have an idea I tend to mull it over for a long, bring it up in conversations, and then procrastinate. I am constantly bombarded with ideas and this process helps me determine which few are truly worth pursuing.

The salon idea, providing space to display my creative work and that of friends and acquaintances, has appealed to me for a few years. I first thought of it while reading a history of the French Impressionist painters and how they struggled to get there work before the public. The early photographers faced a similar problem in getting photography recognized as a fine art.

These revolutionary movements appealed to me because they were vibrant communities, held together by shared visions of the arts and communication. I imagined the evenings in the cafes filled with lively discussions and sharing sketches.

I wondered if it was possible to create a similar environment today employing the resources of my community.

I feel very fortunate to live in the King Field neighborhood: particularly being so close to the corner that hosts Patisserie 46, Cafe Ena, and Kings Wine Bar.  Also, my neighbors are engaging and open: often stopping and chatting when we see each other. In addition, this area of town has a concentration of people involved in creative professions and there is an inherent interest here.

I decided that winter, when everyone is indoors and looking for a reason to go someplace,  is the perfect time to try out the salon. My decision was reinforced by conversations that I had with several other people who had similar ideas but didn’t know how to start. Who knows, it may be that this is the early stage of a new King Field tradition, a season of intimate salons illuminating the cold, dark, Minneapolis winter nights.

Salon Ad Hoc?

I use Ad Hoc to mean impromptu: improvised and implying a spontaneous relaxed atmosphere. The goal being an evening where you can stop by for a few minutes or hours, look at the creative work of a local artist(s), have something to drink, snacks, and enjoy the company of friends and neighbors.

Over the months that I pulled the this event together I encountered a couple challenges, what type of hanging system for the pictures and how to light them. The most elegant solutions were also the most expensive. I would get wrapped around the axle as I pondered what to do. At some point I reminded myself that this salon as an ad hoc affair which freed me up to look for more creative and less expensive solutions. It is ad hoc and all the better for it: community rather than perfection.

How is this going to turn out? How many people will show up? How will folks get along? Will it be too crowded, too empty? Will we have enough/too much wine, cheese, crackers, etc.? Will it be what I hope that it will be?

I haven’t a clue. This is an experiment, a work in progress.

There is a fellow who stops by the patisserie almost everyday. He is accompanied by a pack of dogs: a huge pack of dogs.

His routine is always the same. He stands by the bench, faces his companions and says, very quietly, “Lay down.” Almost in unison the entire group lays down and gets comfortable. There are a couple of outliers who needed extra coaching which involves repeating the command along with the a subtle hand signal. It is always the new members to the pack, who haven’t quite gotten all the rules, who need the extra attention.

Then they all lay in the sun and take a break from their busy morning of walking, sniffing, and peeing. As they lay quietly together, some using others as pillows, the Dog Whisper, which is what everyone calls him, takes the water dish that is set out by the folks at the patisserie, and offers it to each dog individually. Each waits his turn patiently and gets a long cold drink.

I’ve been watching this guy with his ever-growing tribe for almost a year. They are held together by an intricate spider web of leashes which gives each dog the space he needs while keeping them all intimately connected to their shepard. A gentle tug here and a slight pressure there and the swarm of dogs delicately navigates its way down the street. It is a ballet.

Technical Note:   This is one of the first photos that I’ve taken with my new Samsung Note 10.1 tablet. It is like taking pictures with a dinner plate, but the results are satisfactory for snapshots. There simply times when I don’t want to carry my camera and yet don’t want to miss those spontaneous moments.

I got the tablet because I want to take may online research reading with me rather than be chained to my computer. I decided not to get a smartphone because the display area is too small to comfortably read long newspaper articles or reports with graphics.

I am just scratching the surface of this device and I’m already hooked.