Necklace Auction

Her work was mostly inspired by movies and television - hence the film strips that they were suspended from.  There was a matching picture to show the inspiration.  In the middle picture are the tables with treats - notice the bottles of alcohol in the background.  I love this school!

After the practice, I planned on going to a necklace auction that was being held at the school.  There was an exhibit that had been on display in the hallway of the school.  A local artist had brought in some of her goods to put out – and then they would be auctioned off at the school for charity.  I had some time before the 5 pm start, so I walked to the grocery store and back to school.  It was 4:45, and there was no sign that anything was going to be happening at the school.  I was almost positive Kata (the secretary) told me it was going to be Friday, but I wasn’t entirely sure.  So- I video chatted my parents from my office and decided to wait another 10 minutes to see if anything happened.  Lots of observation- I tell you.  At 4:55 I walked up to the third floor, and sure enough, the artist was there, along with some other teachers and the room had been transformed into a delightful intimate setting with cookies and champagne.  I can go for this!  After about 20 minutes of looking at the necklaces, the art teacher started to talk about her pieces.  He spoke for about 10 minutes, and told us the story of her work.  After that, we got to just claim the ones we wanted and pay for them.  I wasn’t sure of the process (surprise) because NO ONE there spoke English, and there were only about 20 people there.  It was like one of those Tupperware parties where there are so few people that you feel obligated to buy something.  The Headmistress was there, and I was definitely scoring points since all the money collected went to the school.  So, we meandered around and chose the necklaces we wanted.  My only problem was that I didn’t know how much they all were.  There was a pack of papers that had the prices written on them, but I hadn’t had a chance to look at the papers yet – I was starting to get a bit nervous.  I chose a small one that I liked, and eventually found it’s price – so I decided to get it.  Then I picked out one that I had spotted a week earlier when I first saw her pieces, and bought that one too.  The thing I found to be most interesting about her work is that it is inspired by or in some cases named after television shows and movies.  She also uses buildings and historical figures as inspiration.  So the necklaces I got were “Dexter” (it’s got a large red pendant at the bottom that looks like a blood drop) and “Iago” which is a Shakespearian character?  I don’t know.  Anyhow I was pleased with myself.  I was standing looking at some other necklaces when the Headmistress came up to me and another teacher and started talking about her necklace.  All of the sudden, I heard the one teacher ask the headmistress what the name of one necklace was – and the Headmistress responded with “karma sutra”  - I chimed in with a big “ahh…. Értem” (Ahh… I understand) and I embarrassed her a bit, but we bonded over it and she brought me a glass of champagne.  I spoke to the artist's husband towards the end because someone told me he spoke English.  He asked if I had heard the story of her work and I said no.  He responded with "it's a short story.  It's a hobby and she started in May"  He was funny.  I asked if she was taking any students and she was not.  Oh well - I had a nice conversation with him and then packed up to head home for the evening - finally.  What a night.