The happiness of the...dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know that and to wonder at it. Jacque Cousteau
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a whale pendant created especially for a friend of mine. After she picked it up, she asked about having a dolphin pendant for daughter Meeme.
Here is the finished dolphin.
Declined - Your application in this category was not accepted by the jury for the following reason: We like your concept, but it's not the level of quality we were looking for. Take it up a notch and try it again next year
Your application in this category was not accepted by the jury for the following reason: We like your work, but it needs more originality and uniqueness. Do something different to make your work stand out and try again next year!
__________________________________________________________________
Yesterday, I received the above rejection email in response to my application to a local craft fair. Even though I've been at this a while now, it still is no fun to get rejected.
However, it is a part of it, and you have to take the good with the bad.
For me, this one was a bit harder than some since I was fortunate to get in last year, and it was a great show. I did really well, and I hope all of the participants this year do even better! It is an exciting festival and was a great experience for me.
I am sure handing out rejections is a tough job, but I can't say I'm in love with their rejection email.
I know it must be next to impossible to jury something like this and even more difficult to be the bearer of bad news. However, I think I would have preferred the usual - way too many applicants, way too little space, your work doesn't fit in with our super-hip vision rejection.
I have no doubt that these emails were crafted with the best of intentions. I imagine they sounded better in the writing than they did in the in-box. I kind of felt like I was on the receiving end of a backhanded compliment...there was a "you don't sweat much for a fat girl" vibe there.
We like your "concept" but the quality isn't that great and it lacks uniqueness and originality...hmmmm. It's tough to feel good about any of that, even with the suggestion that I "take it up a notch and try again next year." Or, maybe I'm just being overly sensitive. It's tough to remain objective when you put your work out there for jurying.
Thankfully, I have several shows and events lined up between now and Christmas. I'm too busy working to get too worked up about this one. But, the sting of rejection does cause me to step back and evaluate what I'm doing. It helps me focus on what's important and what isn't.
One thought that jolted me yesterday was how terrible it feels to be rejected. In these moments, my faith sustains me. It is comforting to know that Christ came to earth as a man, he experienced all the pain and difficulties that we experience. I was reminded that - He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him - John 1:11. Not only that, but many today still reject His gift of grace.
The tiny hint of pain I feel when I am rejected is nothing compared to the pain we must cause Him.
So...I survived another rejection email... What's that old saying...what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger?
Maybe the 200+ of us that got the ax should unite and have a Reject Festival! I think we might just do pretty well.
I have to say that these are really good. I've tried the Citrus Cranberry, Chocolate Raspberry, and Honey Fig. They are thin, crispy and light. They aren't necessarily low calorie - but not too bad. This isn't a paid advertisement or anything...I just liked them and thought others might too!
This is one of my favorite pendants. It is somewhat transparent, and so it would pick up some of the color of whatever is beneath it. I sold it a few Saturdays ago at the first ever SLAM (Saturday Local Art Market). But, I plan on creating some similar to it soon.
This is my most recent painting. I finished it today and hope to put it in the gallery this weekend. I am experimenting with washes and layering of color. This piece is 16"x20" canvas board.
Detail of the background
Detail of the water
Last year I began creating these little creatures. I loved making them and giving them names and a story. This week, I am featuring Chirp. He has a special pair of red and white striped socks that make him giggle whenever he wears them. Chirp likes to eat mashed potatoes with syrup.
I really enjoy living in the Greenville area. The downtown area is amazing! They started a revitalization process a while back, and they have turned it into a wonderful area. The waterfall above is at the center of Fall's Park. For a long time, it was hidden by a standard bridge overpass, but several years ago, they tore that bridge down and built the beautiful suspended bridge below.
Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Luke 12:27
A friend recently asked me if I could create a whale pendant for her. She has written or is writing a book about a whale...I think, but haven't gotten all the details on that just yet.
Anyway...I just finished the whale pendant along with a few others, and thought I'd post the step by step photos. I am also linking this post to Kristen's weekly Show and Sell.
Step 1 - the image is hand painted on a black piece of glass.
Step 2 - the image is capped with a clear piece of glass and placed on a kiln shelf inside the kiln.
Step 3 - the pieces are brought up to about 1550 degrees for a full fuse, flash vented and then allowed to cool.
Step 4 - once cool, a pendant bail is affixed and the pendant is finished.
Here are a few other finished pendants from this batch.
Wow! I found out the other day that my work has been juried into SLAM! the new Saturday Local Art Market! I am so excited about this new opportunity!
Below is some information from the official SLAM FB page. I hope you'll check out the page and make a trip downtown to the market soon. I am not there every Saturday, but I will be there June 11, July 8, August 6, September 24 and October 22.
Stroll down Main Street, or take the free trolley, to the corner of S. Main and River Street (where River St. turns into Augusta). See that empty lot across from Smoke on the Water and the Army Navy Store?
This is where downtown Greenville's newest open air art market...SLAM!...will appear every Saturday afternoon, from June 11th until October 29th from 11:00am to 4:00pm. See you there!
702 S. Main St., Greenville, SC 29601 · Get Directions
http://slamart.com
Sat:11:00 am - 4:00 pm
June 11, 2011
An open air, Saturday Local Art Market in downtown Greenville's vibrant West End.
In addition to local artisan's work, SLAM! will also feature:
· A food and beverage booth hosted by local West End’s Coffee to a Tea.
· A sponsor’s tent
· A student artist’s tent, featuring the work of a different local highschool student each week.
· A children’s art activities area.
Downtown Greenville's Saturday Local Art Market, SLAM! is dedicated to furthering community development for both present and future generations, through the education, presentation and promotion of diverse local artforms.
Local art, including Painting, Photography, Ceramics, Glass, Jewelry, Wood, and Printmaking, plus Handmade Clothing, Furniture and much more. Between 20 and 25 artists will display and sell their wares each week.
Street
Parking Lot
Downtown Trolley
Kelly's Korner is having Show Us Your Life Appetizer Friday. This recipe came from my mom-in-law. These day, my 17 year-old son is the guac expert around our house!
2-3 avocados they should be soft, but not mushy
Container sour cream
1 tomato diced
1 small onion finely chopped
1 lemon - a couple squeezes of juice (to taste)
Grated cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
Peel avocados, scrape avocado from seed and put in a big bowl. Use a potato masher to mash up. Add sour cream, chopped onion, diced tomato, lemon juice, salt and pepper and stir it to mix. Mix in some grated cheese. Cover with a layer of cheese. Serve with tortilla chips.
Note: we rinse the seed and put it into the avocado mixture because we were told it will keep the guac from turning brown. Not sure if that is really true, or if we are just gullible.
In our office, there is always art on display. Most of the time, we showcase student artwork from some of the very talented students in the district. During the summer, we sometimes have show featuring art teachers from across the district.
However, this summer, the person who coordinates the shows is not able to do so. I was asked to help a friend downstairs put up a display featuring my work and things from the collections of others in this building. So, this week, we hung the show. It was small, so it was very manageable, and we had fun doing it.
It's Kristen's Show and Sell time again. Every week she opens up her blog for anyone that wants to post things they create. Check out her blog if you have a chance. http://kristenscreationsonline.blogspot.com/2011/06/show-and-sell-party-4.html
This is a detail from one of my recent paintings. I go through stages of wanting to paint, trying, getting frustrated, retreating and gradually getting up the nerve and courage to try again...
This is the full version of Daylilies and Hydrangeas. The finished piece is 16"x 20" a on canvas board. I was intrigued by the combination of the bright, orange and yellow lilies that grow like weeds on the side of the road down here, and the beautiful pom pom blues and purples of the hydrangea bushes. They are both in full bloom here now.
Detail of a single bloom
According to Wikipedia, "dichroic glass is glass containing multiple micro-layers of metal oxides which give the glass dichroic (having or showing 2 colors) optical properties".
Very often, when you see fused glass at festivals, it is created using dichroic glass...sparkling, lovely and multi-faceted. I don't use this type glass exclusively, but I do enjoy working with it sometimes. In fact it was a piece of dichroic that first attracted my eye and started me down this path.
Below are some pendants I recently created using different types of dichroic glass.
