Packing the Cargo Van

(Above:  My husband Steve ... building boxes for the Found Object Mandalas!  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Searching for unique found objects is FUN!  Stitching the Found Object Mandalas is FUN!  Figuring out how to get them into Booth 102 at next weekend's Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show ... well ... "Fun" wasn't a word that came to mind!  Fortunately, I have a fabulous husband who found 3" x 1" dimensional lumber and lots of corrugated for boxing each piece.  Each box is carefully labeled to indicate which mandala is in the box, which side is to be opened, and which end is "the bottom".  

(Above:  The boxed mandalas.  Some had to go in 4" x 1" wood but most went into the thinner boxes.)

So ... all last week, Steve and I boxed the larger artwork.  Smaller pieces were carefully put into boxes, separated by pieces of corrugated.  Then, we did our "hunter-gatherer" thing.  What's that?  Well, it involves finding all the stuff that has to get packed for the show ... track lighting; extra bulbs; the hand-held vacuum clearer; extension cords and surge protectors; a file cabinet full of stuff (invoices, pens, tape, zip ties, business cards, price tags, etc.); two boxes of interlocking carpet tiles; the fiber vessels; the display unit for the fiber vessels; the PayPal device and charger; bubble wrap; wrapped, wooden spool Christmas ornaments; bags for purchases; the ProPanel walls and all the pieces needed to construct it; chairs; the rolling cart; the two-part table for the ornaments; the booth sign; a ladder; a bag of tools ... and more. All this stuff isn't in one place, of course.  The walls were wrapped in a tarp in the garage.  Most of the track lighting was overhead in my studio.  Basically ... we "huntered and gathered" all over the place until the area near our back door was almost inaccessible.  I was worried.  How was it all going to fit into the cargo van?

So ... here's the pack job!  Above ... the walls go into the booth.  View from both the side door and the back door.

The boxed (larger) Found Object Mandala got stacked on the walls, leaning against the back of the driver's seat.

The boxes were strapped in place.  One of the boxes of interlocking carpet tiles went beside the end of the row of mandalas. The fiber vessel display unit went on top ... with another bungie cord.

The fiber vessel display unit created some unique spaces for boxes of light fixtures, the bag of tools, the Christmas ornaments, etc.

The boxes of the smaller Found Object Mandalas, the file cabinet, the second box of interlocking carpet tiles, and other things got put into the van.  The bubble wrap went on top.  We even have room for our suitcase!  

Tomorrow at dawn, we head north!  We move into Booth 102 on Wednesday morning. The fancy gala is on Thursday night.  The show is Friday through Sunday ... at which time I've got to remember how all this stuff got into the van ... so that it can go back into the van!