Catherine Yassin on tue 6 apr 04
I participated in a show this weekend and was lucky that the rain held off
until Sun. after noon. All things went well but could gone totally awry due to
one unsupervised child. I walked over to my shelving ( 2 V shaped hinged frames
with 5 long shelves between the slats) to rearrange some bowls when all the
sudden the whole thing swayed and vibrated. A disaster looming, I watched as
vases and taller items rocked precariously and it seemed to go in warp speed and
slow motion at the same time. Caught one piece before it kamikazeed off the
shelf. The rest settled down on their own.
Was it an earthquake? A sudden gust of wind? Alas no! It was an unsupervised
5 year old! My heart pounding and blood pressure rising I asked my own child
(8yr old) what in the world happened? She said, "See that little boy over
there? He tried to "limbo" underneath that bird house hanging off the shelf and
banged his head on it." Sheesh! I watched him as he ran to his mother, one booth
over, she saw what happened and her eyes were wide with fear. I met her eyes
with a look of relief on my face thinking all the while that its a good thing
things turned out well or I would have had to grab on to her child until a fat
check was written or a credit card processed.
Any suggestions on what to do when something gets broken at a show? I know
accidents happen. Heck a big gust of wind knocked off a light hanging piece and
it crashed to the ground. But what to do when someone IS responsible for
damages? And how do you secure your shelving? I do have two 14 inche long sandbags
I made that I drape over the bottom of my shelving which really helps. And
unless someone literally bumps into them (or limbos and makes a direct hit) they
are stable. I have a sense of deja vu on this one, like it happened last year
at this same show...
Thanks!
-Cat Yassin
San Antonio
Lois Ruben Aronow on wed 7 apr 04
An adjacent exhibitor knocked over my work accidentally. She was horrified,
as was I, but she immediately took out her checkbook, and I accepted her
check, but giving her the 15% discount I usually give other exhibitors. We
both felt bad, but it was a couple hundred bucks worth of work, and she just
wasn't aware of where her body was in space, and that there was another
person's booth next door. No, my work wasn't so close it could have been
easily knocked over.
At the same show, there was a flash hailstorm. Another potter had hail come
into his booth - sideways - and exploded a pot, which sent the whole shebang
tumbling down. Other exhibitors had their Ezup's blown clear away by the
wind. I would guess this is considered an act of the God of your choice.
Maybe your homeowner or business insurance covers it.
Had an unsupervised child knocked down a display, I would have taken the
parent aside and worked something out financially. I am a parent myself,
and know how hard it is with kids at a show, which is why my husband never
comes with the kids. My 7 year old REALLY wants to help me, but I think
he's another year away.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of
> Catherine Yassin
> Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 11:15 AM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: Art shows, pottery, and kids
>
> I participated in a show this weekend and was lucky that the
> rain held off until Sun. after noon. All things went well but
> could gone totally awry due to one unsupervised child. I
> walked over to my shelving ( 2 V shaped hinged frames with 5
> long shelves between the slats) to rearrange some bowls when
> all the sudden the whole thing swayed and vibrated. A
> disaster looming, I watched as vases and taller items rocked
> precariously and it seemed to go in warp speed and slow
> motion at the same time. Caught one piece before it
> kamikazeed off the shelf. The rest settled down on their own.
>
> Was it an earthquake? A sudden gust of wind? Alas no! It was
> an unsupervised
> 5 year old! My heart pounding and blood pressure rising I
> asked my own child (8yr old) what in the world happened? She
> said, "See that little boy over there? He tried to "limbo"
> underneath that bird house hanging off the shelf and banged
> his head on it." Sheesh! I watched him as he ran to his
> mother, one booth over, she saw what happened and her eyes
> were wide with fear. I met her eyes with a look of relief on
> my face thinking all the while that its a good thing things
> turned out well or I would have had to grab on to her child
> until a fat check was written or a credit card processed.
>
> Any suggestions on what to do when something gets broken at a
> show? I know accidents happen. Heck a big gust of wind
> knocked off a light hanging piece and it crashed to the
> ground. But what to do when someone IS responsible for
> damages? And how do you secure your shelving? I do have two
> 14 inche long sandbags I made that I drape over the bottom of
> my shelving which really helps. And unless someone literally
> bumps into them (or limbos and makes a direct hit) they are
> stable. I have a sense of deja vu on this one, like it
> happened last year at this same show...
>
> Thanks!
> -Cat Yassin
> San Antonio
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> ________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your
> subscription settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
| |
|
