"The Lightness of Being", 30 x 40" oil on canvas
This morning I drove to Pickens, South Carolina with two of my paintings for submission to the Pickens County Museum of Art and History's 31st annual juried exhibition. As always, my hopes are high to be included in the selection of the juror. I am doing my part in following the advice of an art marketing workshop I attended to "Get your work out there!" This is the fifth juried exhibition I've entered since January and it will be the tie-breaker. I was rejected from two exhibitions and accepted into two exhibitions.
Entering these competitions for recognition and exposure entails a great deal of work and expense. In some cases, the actual paintings are delivered to the exhibiting facility so that the juror can see them in person, rather than in a digital file. In other cases, the exhibition committee prefers digital submissions that have to be formatted in a very specific way. Whether I am sitting at my computer or driving 90 miles, like I did this morning, the business of getting my work "out there" is quite time consuming. If one or both of my paintings are rejected in Pickens, I will be driving another 90 mile morning next week.
Finding a balance between creating my work and "getting it out there" is an ongoing dilemma. I want to be in my studio, not filling my day with the tasks of entering shows. Yet I understand that the more people who can see my work, the more opportunities I have to sell it. And getting into juried exhibitions adds to my "saleability." Wish me luck!
How did it go, Carol. Did you get in?
ReplyDeleteThe tie breaker went against me this time. I will be entering another competition in July. Hope springs eternal!
ReplyDeleteCarol, I've been rejected from the Pickens Show and the Anderson Show.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I attended the Anderson Opening, so I could get a feel for what that year's juror was accepting. When my husband saw a small black painted oval line on computer printer paper framed and hung in the show, he asked, "How'd that get in?" I responded that I had no clue, even though I can usually find a redeeming quality in everything.
As we left, I hugged him and felt better about it all.
We just never know what is in the juror's mind. What all of us need to remember is that the most important person we have to please is ourself. It's no fun to be "rejected" by an authority in the field, but the more I believe in my work, the less it matters when a juror passes me by. I will continue to apply to competitions despite another recent rejection.
ReplyDeleteCarol, I LOVE your work and feel so connected to it. If you ever want to do a group exhibit somewhere without the hassle of a juror, e-mail me.
ReplyDeleteJennifer wrote about one really neat solution to the "exposure" problem on her blog, "Visual Conversation". You can find the link in my blogroll in the right sidebar. Click on "Visual Conversation" and the post title is "Baggage".
In the comments under the post, I mention more communities considering this...