Back in the Woods

       Until further notice I am away from the jewelry work table and into the woods. And by that I mean full tilt immersed in the series I started last year, entitled “Of the Woods”.  Here’s a little preview of my time in the woods.

       My goal all along has been to show in the category of Mixed Media Collage for the 2020 art fair season. Of course it’s only January of 2020, and way too cold to even think about being in shows. However, that being said, NOW is the time to prepare for those shows. 

    To be in line for  juried art fairs means having four or five professional jury images, a carefully written artist statement, and a booth shot that shows the body of work as it will appear under the customary white tent at a show. 

    That brings me to my latest accomplishment, the booth image. 

Because I am entering a new category, I needed a new booth image that shows my series. I had planned on putting the booth together once there is a break in the weather and I can put up the tent without freezing. Nice plan, right? Then I realized that the one show I am most interested in applying to had a deadline which was two days away. 

   After getting over the shock of the eminent deadline, I decided that I could, should and would apply. After all, I had just finished getting the fourth of my show pieces photographed. So what was there to lose? 

       My dear husband helped me (on the coldest day of the year) put the tent up. We then spent the rest of the afternoon assembling the display components and hanging artwork, aiming for an "art gallery under a tent” look. We had to keep going in the studio to warm our hands over the wood stove! Finally we got it done and were able to snap a bunch of pictures before the sun set and our light was gone. 

      Breathless with the challenge of meeting the deadline, I formatted the new photos and added the best one to the queue. When I finally was able to hit “submit”,  and realized there were still four hours before the actual deadline, I felt a great sense of accomplishment and relief.

      Now it’s time to “hurry up and wait” while the jury deliberates over all the entries and decides whether they will let me in.  My feeling at this point is, great if I get in, great if I don’t. Having that deadline helped me get all the ducks in a row and gave me a great sense of direction and confidence. Plus I can now enter other shows.  

So, it’s back in the woods for me, until further notice.