I’m getting ready to hang some of my work at a local coffee shop for the month of February. Everything was going swimmingly. I had business cards designed, I’m working on my Artist’s Bio, and picked out two sets of photos I think would work well in the space.
The first set of photos are a group of three that I had printed last month. I bought the frames online and they were delivered while I was away. When I got back I worked on framing them, and they look great.
The second set of photos is a set of four. I dragged my feet a bit getting them printed, and dragged a little more deciding how I wanted to go about framing them. Initially, I thought of having them framed in town, but after a consultation they estimated an amount that was out of my budget. So, I went the online delivery route and the four came in two separate shipments.
The first two came a few days ago. I immediately opened them to get the process started. For what they cost, they are what I expected: simple and black. I cleaned the dust off and slipped the photos in there. They looked great. The second shipment arrived today and I was excited to have homes for the final two images. And more, I was excited to have them ready for the show. But as I took the first one out, I heard a little noise, like it was the sound of a wind chimes. As I tilted it to one side, I realized what the sound was, and winced. It was the sound of broken glass. I thought “Don’t worry. We’ll ask to send a replacement,” thinking I’d get one by end of next week. Just my luck, the company who makes them let us know that they were out of stock and a replacement wouldn’t arrive for another month. Le *sigh*.
My husband, sensing my stress, called from work and proposed a couple of options:
- Eat the cost of the frame and pay for replacement glass.
- Return the frame for a refund and show only three pieces.
A couple of other options I thought of later are:
- Buy a whole new set of four frames in town to ensure glass isn’t broken (not gonna happen).
- Wait for the replacement frame and ask to add it to the show mid-month.
I’m so close. I started off pretty irritated, but it is what it is. I’m channeling Bruce Lee and how he said “Water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend“. Sometimes plans hit snags and you just have to deal. It’s not worth it to fight what I don’t have control over (the production of the same frame in the time that I need it). Instead, I need to just work through it, find a fix, be resourceful, and have faith. It’s not the end of the world, and it’s not like this isn’t fixable. This won’t define my work. Nor does it define me as a person. I’ll go ahead and be water.
MARIVIC PINEDO 