Gallery Opening: Rocked!

What blast! First of all let me take time to thank Super 7 for making all this possible. I'm still in the clouds about the whole thing. Enrico and I had mused a few years back that it would be great to have a gallery of our drawings to show, well, somewhere. Well, since no one was asking, we decided to do the next best thing: we printed our own. And then the amazing wistful notion of the gallery show started to wind its way towards us. Our first show of the Fragments material came last year in the nexus of comix in L.A, of Meltdown Comics (Gaston and Felicity were such gracious hosts of that amazing store and we'll never forget that they were the first!).

Then came this magazine and store. Super 7 is Mark Nagata, Brian Flynn and Mark Miyake. It started as a magazine over two years ago (there are a couple of origin stories staff member Devon Morf informs me and one of them involves the top seven Japanese movie monsters) and then the store just a scant eight months old now. The passion of all involved is very apparent in both ventures and the people are so welcoming and empowering that we knew we were in good hands. Thanks to everyone there for making this a success, including Lemi, Dora Drimalas of Hybrid Designs, and Jing Bentley for setting us up for success (and personally, for maps of Japan on my recent trip).



We knew the gods were with us when our set-up of the gallery ran so smoothly. For all the unknowns about how to present our mish-mash of framed work we somehow managed to have fun as well as pull of the task of making the gallery look cozy and rather organic. A testament perhaps to how Enrico and I seem to work intuitively with each other over the years. When people started arriving Saturday evening we were confident that we had a good show. By the second hour the store was packed with people that more than once I got nudged outside to make more room. The pieces for sale moved briskly and the one lament I got--both friendly and frustrated--was, "Are you being a tease? What's with showing us artwork "not for sale?!" I meekly disclosed each time that I wasn't ready to part with some of them yet. But perhaps by the next gallery.



People from Pixar came by in force to grace the opening as well as friends online and new faces from all over. It was so amazing to meet so many people and watch them all visiting each framed piece. I am like a proud papa displaying my talented kids. One of the notable visits is by Jeff Smith of "Bone" fame. Jeff and I met ever so briefly at the Eisner Awards back in '95 and when he came by to Pixar to visit our Michael Johnson, I re-introduced myself and handed him my books. Enrico slipped him a postcard to our show hoping he could make it. Jeff's in town doing Bay Area signing for the Bone collected stories for Scholastic. He showed us a copy and it is a lovely book. Unless you've been shot out to space for the last decade you probably know about Jeff Smith's towering achievement in Bone (check here). And wouldn't you know it, he showed up! And got more books! Great guy, huh?



We took photos with Jeff but after a few of these you are likely very stiff and I mentioned this, to which Jeff and I spontaneously mugged for the camera--as you can see above we're the bestest of pals right away. The night was a steady stream of great guests and fun conversation--like a double birthday that Enrico and I had thrown for us that it was kinda sad to see it all end so quickly. Just as well because we were going to need it the next day. Sketchcrawl starts the very next moring at 10 a.m.



Thank you all again to everyone who made it to the show and for all the wonderful comments about the work. It only makes me we wish I can work on that portal to another dimension where another set of 24 hours was there for me to do all the things I can't fit in this world's day. Sigh.

Enrico's Journal here.
Super 7 Magazine personages here.
Super 7 Store personages here. Click "Information."