Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Try, Try Again


Years ago, last time I was working as a full-time artist, I applied to exhibit at @Central Gallery, at the Burton Barr Central Library in downtown Phoenix, several times. Applying to various shows is part of an artists' work. It actually costs money to apply to almost all exhibits. The fees are usually about $15 to $25 per entry of anywhere from 1 - more images, depending. So not only do you risk rejection, but you have to pay for it! It's important to get into shows because it's exposure for your work, it might generate sales, it's good for a resume, it builds credibility.

In the case of the @Central Gallery submissions, way back in the mid 1990's my work wasn't chosen. It's always hard to be rejected. But as an artist, you have to be able to move on, keep making your work and keep trying. Since then for 12 years or so, I was occupied by going back to school to get my teacher certification, and then spent 10 years teaching art full time. During that time, I continued to make my work when possible, and created a fairly steady, albeit slow, output of work.

Since the move to Ajo, and my commitment to working full time as an artist, as expected, my body of paintings has been growing. So I took a stab at the @Central Gallery again. It's a wonderful space, I always love the shows there, and the gallery gets lots of traffic . My hope was that maybe this time I'd get a piece into an exhibit.

Yesterday I got a call from the Gallery Coordinator, Prudence Crosswhite, asking me if I'd like to do a solo show! What an honor. How exciting! What a lot of work I get to do to prepare for this show. I'd better head up to my studio right now and see what I can accomplish.

By the way, the painting posted above is from the Nooks and Crannies series, part of my upcoming show. When I get the schedule, I'll post it. All I know right now is that the exhibit will be happening sometime between July and November.

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