Exhibition Opportunities Source

There is only a month to go until October 30th, the postmark deadline to enter the ACGA Clay & Glass National Juried Competition. Here are some things to think about before sending in your entry. If your work is to hang from the ceiling it should not exceed 40 pounds. All other work should not weigh more than 100 pounds, and not exceed 60 inches in any direction. Multi-section or segmented work is welcome. Work too fragile for public display should not be entered. For questions about the show email 2011acganational@gmail.com For a prospectus go to www.acga.net and look for a link on the right side of the homepage.

Looking for others places to show your work? Check out Art Opportunities Monthly. The ACGA National is listed there as well as many other competitions.
http://www.artopportunitiesmonthly.com

Letter from the President

For the past three weeks, I've been traveling with my husband through Belgium and Holland, completely by bicycle. This is a trip we've been planning for over a year, and dreaming about for far longer. Since I've been spending hour after hour pedaling my bike, primarily in contemplative silence throughout the countryside, I've had plenty of time to think about the effects of travel and what it means to me.

When I was an adolescent and thinking about the way I wanted to live as an adult, I thought traveling the world would be one of my main priorities in life, and I could think of no other reason to work, except to earn enough money to travel. As I got old enough to start traveling, I realized that travel is actually quite taxing, and not always the transcendental experience I wanted it to be. While moments of wonderment and joy do happen, they are passing, like everything else. As I've been on this trip doing some of my favorite things in life-- bicycling, drinking the world's best beer, eating fried food, and hanging out with my husband-- I'm all too aware that I am unfortunately still me, and people are still people. While bicycling 35 km from Gent to Brugge in a downpour is a challenge, it's nothing compared to what goes on inside my own head.

I think it is a shared human experience to want to escape from ourselves, at least temporarily, and there are many ways to try and accomplish that. As we pedaled across endless canals in Holland on our way into Amsterdam, I realized that there are only a couple of things in life that work as an "escape hatch" for me, and one of them is creating pottery. Travel helps feed my curiosity and creative impulse to keep the engines turning, but creating art is my ultimate journey, my reason for being. I think many people in the ACGA share the same journey, and my question is: what feeds your artistic sensibilities? Are you doing the things you need to do to keep your art from just feeding on itself? These are questions every artist faces, I'd love to hear your answers.

ACGA National

Just a reminder that the entry deadline for ACGA's first national juried competition is only two months away, with an October 30th postmark. This competition is open to all US artists who create handmade clay and glass artwork. You do not need to join ACGA to enter. The show will take place January 22 through March 4, 2011, at the City of Brea Art Gallery in southern California near Los Angeles.

ACGA members and City of Brea residents are entitled to a discounted entry fee. They can enter three pieces for the entry price of two ($25), or enter two pieces for the price of one ($15). An entry of just one piece will not be discounted.

It is a good idea to have your artwork professionally photographed. Entries must be submitted on a CD, at 300 dpi, no longer that 6 inches, and jpg format. In the San Francisco area I can recommend J. Jones as a photographer, 415-773-8784. In Los Angeles I like K&M Photography, 310-306-7574, www.kmdigitalphoto.com, ask for Tim. Most photographers will resize your images and put them on a CD for a small extra fee.

Go to www.acga.net for a link to the prospectus. Email questions to 2011ACGAnational@gmail.com

Letter From the President

I hope everyone who showed their work at the Palo Alto Clay and Glass Festival had a good show and even better sales, though I know some people did not. As I'm sure many already guessed, our sales were down this year. It is easy to explain it by saying it's the economy or maybe even World Cup! But I happen to think there are any factors at work when it comes to whether or not people buy at any given show, and the economy is just one factor.

Two weeks after Palo Alto, I did another show at Fort Mason called the Renegade Craft Fair. The Renegade Fair is a very different show from Palo Alto in that it highlights "indie craft and design," a term that is partially a code word for the next generation of young, emerging craftspeople and artists. Despite the differences between Palo Alto and Renegade, I couldn't help but compare certain aspects of the two shows. While Palo Alto caters to a sophisticated and educated buyer/collector, the Renegade largely brings in the 20 and 30-somethings, younger people who are just starting to establish homes and families, and are very interested in buying handmade and local.

The Renegade crowd doesn't have the big bucks that we see in Palo Alto, but what the two audiences have in common are a serious dedication to connecting to artists and learning to appreciate handcrafted items. It made me think about how many of our audience members at Palo Alto are getting older, and not as interested in collecting anymore as they retire and move into smaller homes and a different phase of life. Even many of our exhibiting members are getting older and to be frank, I do not see the next generation of clay and glass artists replacing them in our exhibiting membership. Where will that leave the ACGA in another 15 years?

As your "next generation" president, one of my interests is bringing in the next group of emerging artists and buyers to our association. But I can't do it by myself. Paying dues and showing up once at year at Palo Alto isn't enough to keep the ACGA relevant and interesting. I need members with ideas, energy, and a dedication to being active within our community. Come to a board meeting to pitch an idea, mentor a younger artist through the jury process, write an article for the newsletter. These are just a couple of things any member can do to keep the juices flowing, both for ourselves and our future. What do you think?

Letter from the President

The Palo Alto Clay and Glass Festival is almost here, and I hope you are feeling the anticipation and excitement. I'm a little jaded when it comes to "craft shows", but I think the Palo Alto show is special and I look forward to it every year. I love Palo Alto for two reasons: I get to hang out with my favorite clay and glass pals and sell side by side with them, and the audience at Palo Alto are just as high quality as the work you see there. If only every show had customers like the Palo Alto show: people who love clay and glass, who are interested and educated about the medium, and are willing to spend the money supporting the artists whose work they love.

"Educating the customer" is a common theme when artists are learning how to sell and market their work, and thinking of clever ways to do that without feeling like a used car salesman can be a challenge to artists. I used to be a big fan of the "mellow sell" which comes down to, "You like it? Then buy it. You don't like it? Don't buy it." Not a lot of room there to tell the story of my work and get people interested in what I do. But educating the audience is key to creating a smart and appreciative customer, people who will not only buy from you, but buy from other artists. Creating a culture of buying handmade, locally crafted art is essential for our future as makers and artists.

As I've become more comfortable selling my work, I've gotten better at engaging the potential customers who walk in to my booth, and educating them about the what and how of my work. I have my own style and way of doing it which is still reflects my mellow approach, but my goal is to make sure that if the person can manage to resist buying a piece of my work, they are going to walk out of my booth with a shred of new knowledge about ceramics. This year, I'm going to create fresh postcards that have more than just a pretty picture on them, but also some words about my story as an artist, part of my education campaign. A high quality audience takes maintenance, so take some time to think about your own ways of educating your customers before Palo Alto, or any show you may be doing this summer.

See you in Palo Alto!

J. Jones Photography at the Palo Alto Festival

As you may or may not have heard, Hap Sakwa will no longer be available to photograph artist's work at the Palo Alto Clay and Glass Festival this year. We will miss Hap and his photography skills. We will have available a new photographer on hand this year, J. Jones. J. has many years of experience photographing artist's work, including clay and glass. He is already the go-to man for many ACGA members already! Please take a look at some of the images below to get the flavor of J.'s style. If you wish to have your work photographed at the Festival, please call J. at 415-773-8784 for an appointment. He will be on hand in the Palo Alto Art Center Friday afternoon through Sunday.

J.'s rates are $22 per view, digital only. He will give you a CD of your work or put your work on your own flash drive when you pick up your pieces. CD's are an extra $5, but you can avoid this charge if you bring your own CD.

Exciting Juror for the ACGA Clay and Glass National Juried Competition

The juror for the upcoming ACGA Clay & Glass National is independent curator, historian and author Jo Lauria. Ms. Lauria is the recent author of Craft in America: Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects. This book accompanies Craft in America, the PBS television series, as well as the traveling exhibition of the same name, which is also curated by Ms. Lauria. She is the author of Color and Fire: Defining Moments in Studio Ceramics, 1950 – 2000; and is a former curator of decorative arts with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

ACGA is excited to have Ms. Lauria as the juror of our first national competition. Her knowledge and expertise should combine to create a stimulating survey of current American glass and ceramics. This is an excellent opportunity for artists to have their work seen by a nationally known curator, so now is the time to think about the type of work you would like to submit. Go to www.acga.net and scroll to the right side of the homepage for the prospectus, and remember, entries are due October 30th.