This is my first blog post, and I'm just testing how it will work...

In April this year, I had my first solo exhibition at the artist run gallery, 69 Smith Street Gallery. This Gallery has seven exhibition spaces that they lease out to artists. I was in Gallery 2 on the ground floor. It was a very interesting experience in many ways. Many friends and colleagues came to the opening, or visited the show while it was on, and were very supportive and encouraging. Polly Hollyoak helped hang it (well, she hung it, I watched) - that's her in the pictures - and Angelo & Sophie helped unpack and pack the show.

What was strange though, was the intense feelings of exposure and worry. I'd shown a couple of things before in group exhibitions, and I show my work on social media (which took some getting used to), but at least on fb and intasgram, one gets feedback in the comments section or the 'like' thumbs. This makes it a bit more personal and comfortable. Showing the original works was so impersonal in comparison. Who saw it? Who hated it? Did I have cause for embarrassment? A friend, George, calls what I felt 'post-opening blues'. Hehehe. Yep, that's what I had.

Olga Tsara - Paintings, 69 Smith Street Gallery, 15 April - 3 May 2015