ART
PUBLICATION
RESULTS

At ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, I spend a lot of time preaching about the benefits of Art Publication and why you should enter art shows.  So, it only seems fitting that I publish my occasional results that address both.

In June, ArtAndArtDeadlines.com posted a blog about The Flaneur, an Independent Art & Culture Newspaper.  I followed my own advice and submitted one of my favorite pieces called Pieces of Me: Fat.  Below is the front page of the latest edition of The Flaneur along with the page on which my piece appears.  Click the image below to go to The Flaneur!

Michael Mitchell Interiors hosts Art For Charity, May 19 to June 13, at 438 King Street, Charleston. The gallery will be open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“I saw a way I could use my contacts and talents to help the community,” Michael Mitchell (pictured right), owner of Michael Mitchell Interiors, said.

“I look forward to working with each of the non-profit groups to raise money for their very special causes this year and in future years.”

Through regular gallery hours and special invitation-only receptions, artwork sold from local and national artists raises money for local non-profit organizations including:

• Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Hollings Cancer Center
• Charleston Breast Center
• MUSC Children’s Hospital
• Five local Habitat for Humanity affiliates
• Ronald McDonald House
• American Red Cross
• South Carolina Aquarium
• Roper Saint Francis Ryan White Program. 

Art For Charity features a wide variety of artwork from local and national artists. Artists include:

• Carol Kamm
• Marty Biernbaum
• Deanna Bowdish
• Terry Brennan
• Joe Byrne
• John Crum
• R.L. Gibson
• Heidi Darr-Hope
• Toni Elkins
• Rex Hunter
• Jon Ives
• Kim Keats
• Karen Keen-Day
• Stephen Kishel
• Alicia Leeke
• Elena Madden
• Debbie Martin
• Betsy McDonald
• Easter Melton
• Bruce Nellsmith
• Betsey Stevenson
• Darlett Stone
• Carl Turner
• Marlies Williams 

The style of the work ranges from traditional to modern, is both two and three dimensional and encompasses a variety of media.

Ashley Wieters Redmond, Director of the Ryan White Program, said, “The Roper Saint Francis Ryan White Program looks forward to their new partnership with Michael Mitchell and his Art for Charity event this year.”

“I believe the event will help bring awareness to the community on HIV/AIDS and services the Ryan White program offers while supporting Lowcountry artists. It’s all for a good cause.”

The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (McGhee Tyson Airport) and the Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville are pleased to present “Arts in the Airport Spring 2010,” a new exhibition featuring selected artwork. “Arts in the Airport” was developed to allow regional artists to compete and display work in the most visited site in the area.

The selected art features contemporary 2-dimensional artwork and will be exhibited in the secured area behind McGhee Tyson Airport’s security gate checkpoint.

This call for entry was featured on ArtAndArtDeadlines.com and had NO ENTRY FEE!  Get to work–No excuses!

Have you ever had a piece of artwork stolen? Me too…more than once. Within the past two weeks, “Sally,” part of a triptych called “Sue . Sally . Sara .” was stolen off a gallery wall.

I received both a phone message and an email from the Director of the organization and the Director of the gallery–frought with professionalism and concern. My response? “Stuff happens,” and “Hey, I take it as a compliment…I’m theft-worthy.”

For me, the theft poses questions like…“What was wrong with the other pieces in the triptych”…not “How could this happen.”

As a gallery owner and then director for many years, please take my advice on this one. Do not have a hysterical fit that reinforces the idea that all artists are crazy and irrational.

Yes, I understand that you may be attached to the artwork. “Sally” is a part of my masthead at RLGibson.com, but you’ve got to let it go. Galleries and their owners and directors do the best they can; do me a favor, and give them a break. Most of them are insured.

Do you have a story of art theft and intrigue to share? Send me an email or leave a comment on this post. Have Happy Holidays!

I recently posted an update about my being juried into the Arts in the Airport show.  On Thursday November 5th, I got to attend my first show opening and reception located in an airport.  Click Here to see all of the work in the Arts in the Airport show.

First, my kudos go out to the Knoxville Airport Authority’s devotion to the arts and willingness to put their money where their mouths are by offering $1000 in awards and NO ENTRY FEE.  Secondly, I want to applaud how well the reception and viewing were handled considering all the security issues surrounding any event held in the airport.

My husband, son Oscar and I drove approximately 1.5 hours to attend, and I had a great time.  Here are some pictures of the event:

Don’t forget to send your artwork and result to www.ArtandArtDeadlines.com.

The media in which I work is Xerography.  And I’ve spent years trying to find the technique that works best for me.  SC Artist Kim Lemasters introduced me to Xerography and showed me his method.  His method didn’t work for me…my first methods didn’t work for me.  Years later, I’m comfortable with my own process and find that it is still changing.  As my aptitude increases, my results change in unexpected ways.

For years, I worked on wood.  And honestly, I still prefer to work on wood.  However, I had work on wood that in my gut I knew was good that I couldn’t get shown.  I reworked some of the pieces on canvas and sent them to the same galleries as juried entries for different shows…and voila!  They were juried into the same galleries where they had previously been rejected.  It was at that point that I had to confront the issues of satisfying the marketing and realizing that it was not all about my process. 

I began producing ALL of my work for show on canvas while producing a few pieces on wood here and there because I loved them.  The result was a long resume of national shows and a secret belief (held by all artists I suspect) that some galleries and jurors simply have better taste and fewer biases about what constitutes “art” than others.

I decided to enter the Arts & Culture Alliance National Juried Exhibit of 2009 featured on the September Deadlines Post of ArtAndArtDeadlines.com.  As an experiment, I entered two pieces on canvas and a triptych on wood…just as a last hurrah for my sadly rejected wood pieces.  Only one piece could be juried into the show.  Wouldn’t you know… the wood triptych (pictured below) made the cut.

So, the moral of the story?  Oh hell, I don’t know…never give up on a piece you believe in?  have faith that eventually a juror will get it?  there’s no rhyme or reason to taste? 

Pick one.  Your guess is as good as mine.

Are you inspired every time someone’s 5-foot cake doesn’t go splat on one of those cake bake-offs? They make it look like anyone can do it. I find that knowing someone else has achieved results helps me distinguish between the opportunities I should seize and the ones that simply are not worth my time. I recommend giving emerge midwest art zine a try. I was honored to be juried into the April 2009 issue.

emerge is a specialty art zine, created by Sarah Earle, that is open to artists nationwide and is distributed quarterly to over 100 Midwest galleries (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin). Each issue features nine artists whose work is hand selected by a rotation of guest jurors.

The next issue should be January 2010. The deadline has not been released as of this post, but you don’t have to wait until the last minute. No really–you don’t. Send your submissions today.

All professional artists, ages 18 or older, working in all media are encouraged to apply. Created by artist and graphic designer Sarah Earle, emerge is a powerful exposure tool for any serious studio artist in the country. The cost to submit up to 10 images for consideration is only $15. you can complete the entire process online in 15 to 20 minutes, or you can send your payment and submission via snail mail. If you are juried in to the zine, here’s what you can expect:

Art Layout

Pictured right is an example of the spread provided to each of the six accepted artists. The left page is dedicated to the artists work, featuring several full-color images of their current pieces chosen from your submissions. The right page has the artist’s contact information, educational background (if applicable), show history, a Q&A section and more.

Distribution

emerge is an art zine that is open to artists nationwide and is distributed quarterly to over 100 Midwest galleries (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin). When I asked emerge Editor/Designer Sarah Earle for the distribution list, she happily emailed them–an invaluable asset for marketing my work in the midwest.

Pictured left is Pieces of Me: Atlas, one of featured works in the April 2009 edition.

Take a chance–$15 and a chance you’ll be rejected is about as gentle as the art world gets.

And remember, successful artists don’t cook or dine alone…

so invite emerge into the kitchen with you.

Although I’m hard at work on Psychomachia with my friend Jerry Portelli, I can’t afford not to be showing work in the meantime.

I’m thinking about entering the notBig show in the Chicago Arts District.  All works must be 12″ or smaller–which means they are inexpensive to ship via Priority Mail Insured.  Plus, the entry fee is only $20 for up to 3 images. 

The call can be found at Art & Art Deadlines.com ; however, I have also re-posted the Call below.  The deadline is October 31st, 2009.  Hmmm…what should I enter?  Most of the Pieces of Me series is 12″x12″.  I’ll have to give it some thought.

SHOW: notBig: A Small Works Competition in the Chicago Arts District

ENTRY DEADLINE: October 31, 2009

EXHIBIT TYPE: Gallery Exhibit

MEDIA: This is an open call for any medium including painting, sculpture, ceramics, collage, mixed media, photography and glass.

DESCRIPTION: The Logsdon 1909 Gallery in Chicago, Illinois announces a call to artists for a juried show, December 11, 2009 to January 2, 2010, that is open to all individual artists working in the contemporary arts. $500 first. $200 for second. $100 for third. +Purchase Awards. Juror: Doug Stapleton. There is no intended theme for the work; it just needs to fit the criteria of being “small art”. No works over 12 inches in any direction. $20 for 3 images. Visit http://www.logsdongallery.jimdo.com for prospectus.

CONTACT: Marco Logsdon at logsdongallery@gmail.com or call 312-666-8966.