Back in March, a friend sent me a link for artists to submit their work to be considered for inclusion in the 20th annual "Artists of The Seacoast" calendar. Proceeds from calendar sales help the organization, Families First, provide affordable health care, family support, education and mobile health care for the homeless. I, myself, have purchased the calendar in past years because it features local artists who I admire and it benefits a great cause.
The word "jury" never has appealed to me as an artist and I have avoided submitting my work to juried shows because, I admit, I do not like the possibility of rejection. I have submitted work to the last two Biennials of The Portland Museum of Art and I am the proud owner of two very nice rejection letters. However, I had a very healthy expectation of being declined from something as big as a city museum. Nevertheless, I still tend to shy away from anything containing the "J" word mostly because I am an outsider artist and feel somewhat diminished in my ability next to many of my art educated colleagues.
It was on a whim that I clicked on the link I received and went through the process of submitting a painting I had just completed that was more experimental and quite different from my usual work. "Why not?", I said to myself. I like the painting and it would be something I, personally, would like to see while flipping to the next month on a calendar. Two months later I received my very first congratulatory acceptance letter! It was a surreal moment where I kept checking to make sure it said what it said and not "Your work sucks". That moment for me was like winning a lottery.
This doesn't mean I am ready to run off and submit to another juried show any time soon but it is nice to know there are other possibilities out there for me as an artist; that, although I am self-taught, my work has validity. And even when my art is rejected, I know that my paintings come from the heart and they make me and others happy...no jury needed there.
The word "jury" never has appealed to me as an artist and I have avoided submitting my work to juried shows because, I admit, I do not like the possibility of rejection. I have submitted work to the last two Biennials of The Portland Museum of Art and I am the proud owner of two very nice rejection letters. However, I had a very healthy expectation of being declined from something as big as a city museum. Nevertheless, I still tend to shy away from anything containing the "J" word mostly because I am an outsider artist and feel somewhat diminished in my ability next to many of my art educated colleagues.
It was on a whim that I clicked on the link I received and went through the process of submitting a painting I had just completed that was more experimental and quite different from my usual work. "Why not?", I said to myself. I like the painting and it would be something I, personally, would like to see while flipping to the next month on a calendar. Two months later I received my very first congratulatory acceptance letter! It was a surreal moment where I kept checking to make sure it said what it said and not "Your work sucks". That moment for me was like winning a lottery.
This doesn't mean I am ready to run off and submit to another juried show any time soon but it is nice to know there are other possibilities out there for me as an artist; that, although I am self-taught, my work has validity. And even when my art is rejected, I know that my paintings come from the heart and they make me and others happy...no jury needed there.
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