Don't Try This at Home!

Every now and then I'll be looking at my inventory of paintings and come across one that I don't really like any more. If this happens when I also happen to be out of blank boards, the painting will be "recycled."

When I teach my encaustic workshops, I usually talk a little about storage and shipping of encaustic paintings. One of the things I always say is, "Don't leave your paintings in the car." But secretly I've always wondered what would happen if someone did leave a painting in their car. So, for the sake of science, I did a little experiment with one of those soon-to-be-recycled paintings.

We actually had a fairly mild summer (by Texas standards) until the end of July, when it was in the upper 90's. So I took the opportunity to wrap the painting in bubble wrap and I put it in the back of my car. I left it in there for a couple of weeks and took it out to peek at it. It actually wasn't too bad. But then it got really hot and we had about a week of 105 degree temps, so I stuck it back in the car for a couple more weeks.

It cooled down a bit (back to the upper 90's), so I took it out the other day. As you can see in the photo above, it didn't look too promising. The archival paper that I use to protect the painting from the plastic on the bubble wrap had kind of soaked into the painting. This most likely happened because the wax was so warm that it seeped into the paper. I've never been able to find any Tyvek paper, but that (or glassine) might solve that problem... Also, not letting anything touch the surface of the painting is always a good idea, but it seems like that would involve some sort of crate where the painting is screwed in from the back...

I was surprised when I removed the paper - it's not so bad, really. You can see where the paper stuck to the wax, but I think it could be fixed with a little light fusing. I expected to see a big glob of wax...

But I think if the painting were in that melty stage (that allowed the paper to stick) and was somehow bumped or poked with something, the damage would be much worse.

So while I would never leave a painting in the car on purpose, this makes me feel better about shipping and transporting encaustic paintings, as long as they're packed well.

Other tips:
- ship overnight or second day
- never ship on a Thursday or Friday because the artwork might end up sitting in a warehouse over the weekend

More on packing and shipping here.

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Another Proposal

Today I'm working on getting out a couple of proposals for my "Beyond the Scrapbook" show. I'm happy that it was shown earlier this year, but I'd like to expand it and get it into a couple of more venues.

This time I included my resume, the proposal, 10 photos, an image list that corresponds to the photos, and a postcard from the previous show. This particular venue asked specifically for slides or photos. Otherwise I would have sent a CD.

I'm working on getting one out to another venue, but they want lots of really specific information like budgets for printing, shipping, catering, etc. It's stuff that I don't really want to think about, but I know it would be good practice to do.

As I mentioned above, I'm trying to expand the show since a couple of the original artists dropped out (one of them has even disappeared!). All of the artists are people that I know and went to school with, so I'd like to find some new people from different areas, especially from different cultural backgrounds.

So if you or anyone you know has some artist's books lying around that fit the definition of the show, please let me know. I don't actually need the book until we schedule a show, and then you can send the book directly to the venue.

Here's a brief summary of the show:
Beyond the Scrapbook features artists that remember, examine, and present family histories through the medium of book arts. The artists have each presented their family histories in very different ways. Some celebrate their past while others delve into the dark side of family memories. But each has used the medium of book arts to preserve the past and create a work of art that transcends the traditional scrapbook.

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Productive!

I had a very productive day today. I worked on putting proposals together for the Waxy Buildup exhibit.
I made a few minor changes after I shot these images, but it's basically how it looks. I included our resumes, a CD, an image list that corresponds to the images on the CD, and a statement. This image shows a postcard, but I ended up not printing them because the prints off my computer scratch too easily. I want to get some professionally printed postcards to include in future proposals.

Each packet also includes a cover letter and a SASE.

There's one packet that I had to customize because the venue had really specific proposal guidelines. You have to do that sometimes, so it helps to be flexible.

I'm sending out 8 proposals tomorrow. Wish us luck!

I also entered my work in a couple of juried shows and put together a packet of my work to send to a curator.

I like days like this.

I've got some new stuff going on in my studio but I'll talk about that later. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with it.

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New Body of Work

Deanna Wood - Poise, 12" x 12", collage, wax transfer, and encaustic

I finally completed the series of "Waxy Buildup" paintings that Trayc Claybrook and I collaborated on.

I'm working on a proposal now and we're going to send it out to art centers and galleries. Hopefully we'll get to show it somewhere.

Alyson Stanfield mentioned SlideShare on her blog the other day, so I thought I'd check it out. It's kind of like YouTube but for PowerPoint presentations. Normally, I try to avoid PowerPoint, but I did one for the proposal CD and thought I'd upload it. Check it out:



Despite my aversion to PowerPoint, I actually liked SlideShare. There are some examples of really well-designed presentations. You can also see some really atrocious ones, which is helpful in showing you what not to do. In fact, after looking at some presentations on the site, I redesigned mine to make it be more readable.

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How Galleries Choose Artists to Show

Panel Discussion sponsored by the Greater Denton Arts Council. June 14, 2007

Panelists:
Nancy Whitenack from Conduit Gallery, Dallas, Texas
Marty Walker from Marty Walker Gallery, Dallas, Texas
Burt Finger from Photographs Do Not Bend, Dallas, Texas

The GDAC hosted an exhibition of emerging artists that are represented by galleries in Dallas (Denton is about 35 miles north of Dallas). They also hosted this panel and invited arts groups and art students from the area universities. I took notes and wanted to share them with you.

Nancy Whitenack:
Her gallery features two major spaces and a small "project room" where they show artists that they don't represent.
She sees the gallery/artist relationship as a journey.
She watches the artist change and brings the public around to the changes.
She picks artists instinctually.
She does studio visits and views juried shows.
She responds to work that she immediately resonates with and connects with - she has to love the work.
She tries not to overlap other types of work - not have two or more artists that do the same thing.
She likes work that examines a story in a different way.

Marty Walker:
Suggests that you take time to visit the gallery or website to see what the work looks like before you approach a gallery.
She sees several variables - she must like the work - the resume and exhibition history is important but not the final decision. She's willing to take a chance on an artist.

Burt Finger:
He looks for an artist that will add something to the gallery.
He thinks about his clients, not just what he loves.
Suggests that you do research on a gallery before you approach it.
He prefers artists who have work in major museums and who have a monograph.

Q&A:
What is the role of an alternative space?
Alternative spaces are important - Some recent grads are not necessarily ready for a commercial gallery. They're great for creating a community of artists and are important for experimental work (there were several artists present who are on the board of the 500X, a prominent alternative space in Dallas). But all of the gallery directors said that if they believe in an artist, they would be willing to show experimental work.

How should an artist approach a gallery?
If you're local, go to the openings and meet the gallery director.
Build up a relationship first.
Make a personal connection.
If you have work in a local show, ask them to visit to see your work.
Participate in major local juried shows (in this area it's the Contemporary, the MAC, Art House, Art in the Metroplex, TVAA, etc.)
Show work in non-art spaces to begin with - coffee shops, etc.

What makes you want to visit an artist's studio?
The artist has to be serious.
It helps to have built up a relationship.

What about exclusive contracts?
Marty Walker and Nancy Whitenack said that their contracts are usually just locally exclusive (if you show with them you don't show at another competing gallery in Dallas).
Burt Finger said that he prefers his artists to be exclusive to his gallery.

Other thoughts:
Most galleries will send out packets with info on their artists to museums and collections.
They all said that they didn't have any bias against self-taught artists.
If energy is happening in your studio then everything else will fall into place.
Don't expect to produce part-time effort and expect full time results.
Artist's recommendations are very important. They place a great deal of importance on recommendations from other artists.

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