We just put out a call to artists for a show that will hang at Transformations Gallery from September through December of this year. Although it is only May, there are a lot of things that have to happen before this show will hang. Artists have to hear about the show, decide on work they want to submit, and prepare their submission. We have to gather their submissions, look at the pieces in relation to each other, and decide on what artwork to accept. Then there’s the notification process, creating a layout for the gallery space, designing and creating title cards, a show flyer, press releases, planning for the delivery of artwork… The list goes on and on. So, in about 4 months, the result of all this work will be a beautiful show with the theme of HOPE which my co-curator, Judy Weinberg, and I think is something we all need a lot more of right now. And as I think ahead in my own personal life, there are about to be some major changes in the next 4 months that need a large dose of HOPE as well. My son, who has been on a medical leave of absence from college as the result of a major concussion, is going to start attending school again. My daughter is going to graduate high school and start her first semester of college. And, in September, my husband and I will be the only people living in our house for the first time in over 20 years! In a similar way that I think about the gallery show, I think about all the things that are going to need to come together in my world in the next 4 months to make that all happen smoothly. To fill the gap between the things we can and can’t control, I reach for hope. We can’t wait to see how the artists who submit their work to this show will depict what hope means to them.