From Behind the Camera:
Creative Catalyst Newsletter
February 24, 2009
From Behind the Camera: So if you’re going to enter…
Last week I wrote about why it’s good to enter art shows. Here are some additional tips.
First of all, don’t paint for the judge. It’s in-authentic. Even if an award is received, you’ve learned nothing about yourself and your artistic path. In this time of copying and cheap rip-offs, I’d like to think we could at least be honest with ourselves.
Large paintings tend to do better than smaller, equally good pieces. I think it has something to do with surrounding the viewer or dominating the wall. I remember asking a juror about my piece and all she had to say was, “I didn’t realize it was so small.”
Don’t get worked up over rejection. It is the opinion of one juror at a particular moment in time. On another day, in another situation, you may have been accepted. The rejection may have had nothing to do with you. For example, if you’ve painted a sunflower and there have been 5 other sunflower paintings entered, and your entry was the last one up, the juror may have thought, “Too many sunflowers!” and out it goes.
Prepare for the show. I’ve heard many of the artists we work with say they are “painting for a show.” This means they are giving time, effort and their full attention to their entry.They want their entry to be a reflection of their best work at that particular time in their career. Additionally, mat and frame your piece nicely. How will someone else take it seriously if you don’t value it yourself?
Use your own resource materials. Last year an artist won the top award in the American Watercolor Society Annual show by literally copying a commercially available stock photograph. This is so sad in so many ways. The insecurity or complete ignorance that drove the artist to do that is unfathomable. The award has since been rescinded.
Shows are a reason to push yourself. Your best long range hope is to be yourself. Take a few risks. Work up your own unique combination of techniques, subject and presentation. Entry deadlines help us focus. If you’re nervous, start with a small local show. Give yourself the gift of time to prepare. One day, with enough insight and effort, an acceptance will arrive, made all the more sweet because it was honestly earned.
Cheers, Lynn Powers
Creative Catalyst Productions Announces Agreement with ArtWorkshops.tv, LLC. for Video-On-Demand
Free Media Passes offered to members of the media
Albany, Oregon, February 10, 2009: Creative Catalyst Productions, Inc. (CCP) today announces a licensing agreement with ArtWorkshops.tv, LLC (AWtv) to offer its art and craft workshop videos on-demand through their new site.
Media Passes are available through CCP to members of the media who wish to review the site in their magazines, zines, blogs or in any other form of media. You may apply for a press pass from Kelly Powers, CCP’s Director of New Media. Apply HERE.
More than seventy of CCP’s, full-length, art and craft workshops will be offered through the video-on-demand site. This agreement enables AWtv to launch with a full library of videos for art and craft enthusiasts. New titles from artists and independent production companies will be coming on line throughout the year.
One exciting feature of the site is the ability to rent workshops for as little as $9.95. Options include daily, weekly and monthly rentals through streaming and purchase by download. Rented media can be streamed instantly from any PC. (Not yet available on Mac computers) The viewing experience is enriched by advanced encoding features that enable the viewer to navigate to any part of the workshop.
“We are thrilled we can offer our workshops, world-wide, on-demand. This means that anyone with a PC and a web connection can learn from these wonderful teachers,” says Kelly Powers, Director of New Media Marketing. “I think ArtWorkshops.tv is presenting an incredible opportunity to artists and crafters around the world who want to share their talents. It also gives students a resource that will allow them to flourish as artists.”
About ArtWorkshops.tv, LLC
AWtv was founded in 2008 with the goal of designing a Video-On-Demand delivery system for Art and Craft video produced by variety of production companies and independent artist/video producers. The site offers a platform to monetize video content to a world-wide audience without the considerable up-front cost of development.
Video-On-Demand meets a number of opportunities, head on. It overcomes shipping barriers to international DVD sales and offers art and craft students and enthusiasts an alternative to renting DVDs. AWtv gives instant access to this educational media and pays artist royalties on every transaction.
The licensing agreement with Creative Catalyst enables AWtv to launch with the substantial group of workshop titles produced by Creative Catalyst. New titles with other production companies will be added throughout the year.
SOURCE: Creative Catalyst Productions, Inc.
Websites:
www.ArtWorkshops.tv
www.CCPVideos.com
Contact:
Kelly Powers – Director of New Media Marketing
Kelly@ccpvideos.com
From Behind the Camera: To enter or not to enter…
I love picking the brains of artist’s when they’re here to film. One of my favorite subjects is juried art shows. I want to know what they think about shows both as judges and competitors. There are many points of view. Here are some reasons why a serious artist should make the effort to enter shows.
Entering an art show works best if we approach it as a learning experience. One aspect of art is communication. If our message is not getting through to our audience, then perhaps we are not finished learning how to best express our message.
Professional teachers say it’s necessary to enter shows to acquire credibility. Book publishers, gallery owners, workshop directors, art organizations and yes, even video production companies, look at show catalogs. In addition, national association credentials say an artist takes themselves seriously. They have moved their art from the hobby phase and into the light of public scrutiny.
Hanging one’s work next to that of another painter’s can be very educational. By doing so we have the opportunity to see our work as though it was painted by someone else. We can ask ourselves if our painting captures our attention like those with whom we share the wall.
Artists gain insights that change the way they work. Ann Pember, for example, said she realized she needed to add strong colors, values and design to express her feelings about flowers. The show enabled her to see her next growth step.
With some luck, a successful show can be reaffirming. An artist’s life can be one of second guessing. We wonder if we are making any headway. A bit of public recognition can encourage us onward and upward.
And finally, some of our best artistic associations can be made at shows. We may admire someone’s work and learn a thing or two by talking directly to the artist. Lifelong friendships can develop through a shared interest.
February 17, 2009
Cheers, Lynn Powers
Press Release
Creative Catalyst Productions, Inc.
PO Box 767, Albany, OR 97321, (541) 926-3024, fax (541) 791-4326, www.CCPVideos.com
Creative Catalyst Productions Announces Agreement with ArtWorkshops.tv, LLC. for Video-On-Demand
Free Media Passes offered to members of the media
Albany, Oregon, February 10, 2009: Creative Catalyst Productions, Inc. (CCP) today announces a licensing agreement with ArtWorkshops.tv, LLC (AWtv) to offer its art and craft workshop videos on-demand through their new site.
Media Passes are available through CCP to members of the media who wish to review the site in their magazines, zines, blogs or in any other form of media. Contact Kelly Powers, CCP’s Director of New Media, for passes.
More than seventy of CCP’s, full-length, art and craft workshops will be offered through the video-on-demand site. This agreement enables AWtv to launch with a full library of videos for art and craft enthusiasts. New titles from artists and independent production companies will be coming on line throughout the year.
One exciting feature of the site is the ability to rent workshops for as little as $9.95. Options include daily, weekly and monthly rentals through streaming and purchase by download. Rented media can be streamed instantly from any PC. (Not yet available on Mac computers) The viewing experience is enriched by advanced encoding features that enable the viewer to navigate to any part of the workshop.
“We are thrilled that we can offer our workshops, world-wide, on-demand through the web. This means that anyone with a PC and a web connection can learn from these wonderful teachers,” says Kelly Powers, Director of New Media Marketing. ”We are also looking forward to our site becoming a portal to artists and crafters who would like to offer their skill and talent, to others, through this site.”
About ArtWorkshops.tv, LLC
AWtv was founded in 2008 with the goal of designing a Video-On-Demand delivery system for Art and Craft video. It is available to all production companies and independent artist/video producers. The site offers a platform to monetize video content to a world-wide audience without the considerable up-front cost of development.
Video-On-Demand meets a number of opportunities, head on. It overcomes shipping barriers to international DVD sales and offers art and craft students and enthusiasts an alternative to renting DVDs. AWtv gives instant access to this educational media and pays artist royalties on every transaction.
The licensing agreement with Creative Catalyst enables AWtv to launch with the substantial group of workshop titles produced by Creative Catalyst. New titles with other production companies will be added throughout the year.
SOURCE: Creative Catalyst Productions, Inc.
Website:
Contact:
Kelly Powers – Director of New Media Marketing
Kelly@ccpvideos.com
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