Contemporary 2019: Contemporary Figure at The Western Colorado Center for the Arts

In June, I had my first piece accepted into a juried show. This piece (Footnoote to Howl I, pictured above) went on to win Second Place in the exhibition. Yay! You might be thinking, Emily has been making art for a long time. Why is she just now showing work in a juried show? You probably aren't thinking that, because you, strange internet person, are not judgy and negative. But I think about my own professional, artistic delays all the time. Here's why it took me awhile.

There are all of these little steps in the process of having a piece in a show, all more nerve-wracking than the last, all seemingly insignificant and somehow insurmountably important. Artist Statements to revise, CVs to update, packaging to craft, pricing to decide, return shipment labels to buy. I knew how to do none of those things--they didn't teach the business aspects of art in my college program (but I painted a lot of fruit bowls). None of these tasks take that much time, expertise, or focus, and yet each one became convenient excuses for me to not submit to calls for entry (this is where galleries/cities/whatever put out a call so that artists can submit their art/ideas to the concept/show). Before even looking at open calls, I would think if I'm accepted, I don't even know how to build the right size box to send in my piece. I just shouldn't apply. My artist statement never feels quite right, and I can't enter until it feels perfect. It's always nice to see my ol' pals, "Fear of Rejection" and "Fear of Failure," coming back for a visit.

Recently I started telling the fear to get lost, and I applied to calls for the first time. One of my new works was accepted into Contemporary 2019: Contemporary Figure at the Western Colorado Center for the Arts. Yay! I jumped up and down like an idiot when I got the acceptance email.

Me, wondering why we weren't staying one more day to check out "Comedy Night" at The Art Center

My mom joined me for the four-hour mini-road-trip up to Grand Junction, Colorado, for the show's First Friday reception. I was really nervous. In person (and maybe here, too), I am great at talking up other artists and showing off their work, but I hate talking about my own processes and art. The idea of being in a room with a crowd looking at my painting is scary for me. I go worst-case-scenario in my head, and imagined standing by my art and answering questions like "What does your work say about the significance of institutionalized religion in the context of modern society?" or "How does your use of mirror embedded into the piece speak to the connection of individualized spirituality and the human condition?" Surprise, no one asked me any of those questions, which is great because I don't have any answers.

The Art Center had several gallery spaces. We wandered through the exhibition sequentially, slowly drawing our eyes over each work of art as we went. I would do a little nervous-scan of each room as we entered to see if my piece was there. After looking through three other rooms, there it was--my little painting, Footnote to Howl I. It was interesting to see my painting in the context of the whole show.

Mom and I had a lot fun despite how awkward I felt. The show was an incredible collection of diverse work--we guessed at the stories behind our favorite (and, more often, our least favorite) pieces and made up complicated situations for the figures.

After a short "thank you" to juror Ron Hicks, we left the exhibition and went for celebratory sushi in Grand Junction's downtown. 

My work on display in the exhibition