At one point, I decided I needed to have an art show. I couldn’t tell you what necessarily prompted it, but I can tell you that it was a necessity.

If you know a creative, once they have an idea in their mind, it’s hard for them to stop until it’s finished.

I contacted UW-Marinette, now the UW-Green Bay Marinette Campus, as I am a proud alum and it made sense for me to display my photography at a place where I had displayed my art as a college student with my various art classes. We went over the times they had opened and decided which was the best time for me to have my exhibit on display.

Once I had a date, I went to work planning on what pieces I wanted to include, including which I wanted to feature with poster-sized prints. I didn’t make an exorbant amount of money, so I decided to move back home with my parents and I bought all the frames from Good Will (Marinette and Green Bay locations), St. Vincent de Paul’s Thrift store and bought a handful of new frames.

A lot of the frames needed work in some form, whether it was repainting or staining the frame, replacing the glass with plexiglass or adding hangers.

There were 73 pieces in that show, give or take, that was held in February 2011. I held an opening of the show with friends and family able to celebrate all my hard work with me.

I really couldn’t take on the huge project without the support of friends and family.