Exhibitions
Wow, has this been a busy fall and early winter.
Late last fall, I attended a panel discussion at a local gallery that was aimed at young and emerging artists. Much of the talk centered on getting “out there”, as in exposure of our artwork, and ourselves as artists, in any number of venues. It is usually worthwhile to hear from more experienced artists their thoughts on what has worked for them, what options are available for us.
One of my current avenues has been to enter juried exhibitions. Most are held at local galleries, but I also look at those across the state, nationally, or on the internet. My normal process (method?) is to keep a binder of entry forms or information, think about each show—if there is a theme and who the audience will be, dates, location, and who will be the juror.
Somehow, though, I started entering in the fall and kept entering, until I finally found myself in 7+ shows at one time. OK, that is a great place to be and I’m sure other artists handle even more with ease. But the reality for me is that I was then hustling to get pieces framed or cleaned up for delivery (and some deliveries were as far away as Flint and Petoskey), keeping track of pickups, receptions, providing an artists statement and other paperwork as necessary. All on top of having my artwork professionally photographed for slides and CDs. This is an important side of the business of being an artist, and to keep a professional face in the art community, all this takes time to be done with care and thought.
The result however? There is no time to really spend in the studio. Time to just think, to experiment, to have a spectacular failure, then more time to think what to do next. I can feel the momentum slipping away.
So I think my conclusion is that gaining exposure is an important part of what I need to do now, but not at the exclusion of doing the hard work of making art. The balance is important, but if it tips to one side, it needs to tip back towards the work. I think the next several months in this new year need to be spent going back to the studio and re-immersing myself in creating a mess. And, of course, drawing every day.
Late last fall, I attended a panel discussion at a local gallery that was aimed at young and emerging artists. Much of the talk centered on getting “out there”, as in exposure of our artwork, and ourselves as artists, in any number of venues. It is usually worthwhile to hear from more experienced artists their thoughts on what has worked for them, what options are available for us.
One of my current avenues has been to enter juried exhibitions. Most are held at local galleries, but I also look at those across the state, nationally, or on the internet. My normal process (method?) is to keep a binder of entry forms or information, think about each show—if there is a theme and who the audience will be, dates, location, and who will be the juror.
Somehow, though, I started entering in the fall and kept entering, until I finally found myself in 7+ shows at one time. OK, that is a great place to be and I’m sure other artists handle even more with ease. But the reality for me is that I was then hustling to get pieces framed or cleaned up for delivery (and some deliveries were as far away as Flint and Petoskey), keeping track of pickups, receptions, providing an artists statement and other paperwork as necessary. All on top of having my artwork professionally photographed for slides and CDs. This is an important side of the business of being an artist, and to keep a professional face in the art community, all this takes time to be done with care and thought.
The result however? There is no time to really spend in the studio. Time to just think, to experiment, to have a spectacular failure, then more time to think what to do next. I can feel the momentum slipping away.
So I think my conclusion is that gaining exposure is an important part of what I need to do now, but not at the exclusion of doing the hard work of making art. The balance is important, but if it tips to one side, it needs to tip back towards the work. I think the next several months in this new year need to be spent going back to the studio and re-immersing myself in creating a mess. And, of course, drawing every day.
posted by Candy at 10:30 AM
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