It's like a roller-coaster, up, then down, and betwixt the stomach gets all queasy. It's jury time. The multiple $30-$40 apps and the sound of hard earned money being flushed to the silent abyss for judgment, yea or nay. The nays come without comment or score, just a cold encouragement to try again next year. Like Lucy pulling the ball away at the last moment from Charlie Brown ..Whoosh.. Thump!
Thank God for the few yeses but only after a pile of nos. A local show with 1 out of 2 acceptance ratio rejected me today, but a show with greater than 1-10 ratio said yes. Did I just get lucky for two years in a row? .... how does this happen? It is illogical ... never mind ... just keep believing.
You know you can sell if you could just get into the show. Patrons love the work, but the show gatekeepers don't; it is illogical. Last year I was wait listed at a top show and drove 4 1/2 hours on the day of to stand in line with hopes that an artist wouldn't show. I got the nod, a sigh of relief! Once in, I'm judged best in my category with an automatic entry into next year's show. It's illogical, but it happens, because for every amazing artist that gets into a show, many more don't. The odds are not in your favor. As the jury season marches on, the queasy stomach comes more often. Will I make ends meet this year? The question never goes away.
Why do we do it? Because.... to stand toe to toe with someone who loves the work, wants to buy it and can't wait to get it home, to an artist, there's nothing like it. Sometimes patrons send me pictures of my work hanging on their walls. Wow, that is really cool. For me, it would be empty to just create the work and not see the joy of a buyer. I recently read a signature quote from another artist, "Art isn't art until it's sold. Until then it's an obsession and a storage problem." The creative process will remain unfinished until one other person receives it. I've sold works in galleries, it is just not the same. Sure the check is nice but it is empty. There's nothing like an art show for selling art!
The bing of the computer as another email arrives. There goes that queasy stomach again.
Happy Trails,
LC
Comments
Love the Charlie Brown analogy. We applied to several new shows this year, had a fairly good acceptance rate and then the "waitlist" notification came for one of our regular shows that has been in our top 5 shows for the past 4 years in a row. Whoomp, thump, wham, feeling like the rug has been pulled out from under us. We're number 1 on the waitlist but load in starts Thursday and right now there have been no openings.
I'm expecting a big roller coaster of emotions between March 31 and April 10, I think we have 9 notifications coming in that time period. Applying to many new shows we’ve never done before is leaving with much more of that "queasy feeling", not having a clue as to which shows will accept us and which ones will reject us.
Thank you for this post. I have not yet applied, so I have not yet been rejected. But now, when it happens, I'll already know that it happens to everyone and that it doesn't always make sense. Knowing that in advance will help me deal with it, no doubt.
Ah! Thank you for expressing this so well. The waiting and wondering is aweful. I also agree about the anxiousness about the weather forecast.
Carolina
So far, in three years, I've only been rejected twice. So, this year I went for the big shows around Chicago and Milwaukee: the ones that cost three times the usual fee to enter.
Now I have the nerves to match the fees. The Assisstant Art Director of the Chicago Museum is on the jury, you read. Whoa! And I found I am #4 on the Wait List.
So what does that mean? Do I have a chance? Is it more logical to attend an event, held on the same day, which I HAVE been invited to attend.....but it's not as .....well, what's the word.....prestigious?
I envy those who can "roll with it" and don't have too much ego involvement wrapped up in this. It is generally a string of "nos" that depressed me. Those of us who have been at it for awhile know that it is not personal, that they must be on some "bad" list, but still tough. There are two responses, never apply to that show again, and use all your guile to figure out how to make the cut the next time. Shows really mostly do rotate their juries so the "flavor" of this year's show will be different than next year's. Who the jury is does make a difference. There has been a lot of looking for edgier work lately it seems. Some judges young and wanting to throw over the establishment and seeking quirky and strange...if you are someone who prides yourself on craftsmanship and traditional fine art qualities you might have a tough time getting in. Still, you are going to continue to make work that you can be proud of and draws on your many years of experience.
My answer: try to find something that makes me feel good - so I took two days off this week and tried not to think about the ideas that were hounding me. Spent time with people who made me think about other things and put some perspective on the present.