Finally! The city of Keller inspector gave art251 a passing inspection, so we’re off. Let the build-out begin.

Our contractor has scheduled tomorrow June 5 for the first phase — dyeing the concrete floor. We’ve selected a bright turquoise. It may turn out light or dark depending on how the concrete absorbs the pigments. We have a color range, but not a precise color. So, the color swatch below is an approximation. But, either way, it should look dramatic. Not quite Newman or Rothko, but color field lives on.

Based on the final floor color we’ll select our wall, ceiling and feature colors. No, don’t worry. We left bold for the floor, and whites or off-whites for the walls. The art will shine in our space. It’s getting exciting now.

Yesterday we wrapped up 3 days of promoting art251 at Kellerfest. It was a great success — we met lots of local residents with a genuine interest in contemporary art, found some promising local artists, handed out many brochures, and collected even more signatures for our free art giveaway, and newsletter. As with most of this mad adventure this was the first time we’ve actively promoted our art space. So, we have learned much in the process — how to hand brochures to people, how to promote a sweepstakes, how to tell people about our space in less than 60 seconds, how to design a cool flyer, how to make eye contact with possible new customers, how to thank people for stopping by our space.

Now, back to the Texas-sized heat and humidity. I perspired so much that I lost around 130 lbs and 20 inches around the waist (and some in height). Either that, or the little person hosting the welcome table outside our space must be one of our 6 year-old helpers, crashed in the heat — not sure which, the heat has added to my art induced delirium. The good news: the morning and afternoon light inside the space is soft and clean, the air conditioning system works really well, and lots of people liked the art on display.