Having an Exhibition

 

This past weekend I was in Sacramento for the opening receptions of my exhibition at Viewpoint Photographic Art Center. They had a Friday reception for their members - which was very lively. The group has been in existence for over twenty years and they have a very active membership. They produce over 24 shows a year, host workshops, artist talks, critique groups and a student night...pretty impressive. 

On 2nd Saturdays, the city has an enormous Art Walk from 5-9pm...and we did the entire gig. It was quite something to have continual waves of people coming through the gallery.  I got to talk with people who'd never been to a gallery ("my wife made me come") to seasoned artists who make sure they know what's going on in the local art scene. My favorites were the ones who took the time to really look at the work and I had some great conversations about how I work, why I use repeating themes, what my goals are etc. 

I'm happy to say, we had both print and catalog sales. I had discussed the gallery's previous history of sales to get an idea of what the market was like and I created a catalog of the work for viewers without deeper pockets. Here's a link to the publication - and right below it are one from my American Triptych series and my Multiple Viewpoints series.  On Sunday I gave an artist's talk about Creativity - which got a nice group of about 25 people. Overall, we loved being in Sacramento, it's a great hybrid of a small town and large city. It's very easy to get around, has great restaurants and it's super easy to get out of town. They have four community colleges in their district, plus a university...and Davis is just a stone's throw away.

When I was in grad school, one of my instructors talked about how many "art worlds" there are out there and this weekend really got me thinking. Living in a larger metropolitan area, buyers can become jaded - but when you get a bit further out, the quality of the work is still amazing, but there seems to be a more direct line to people who want to buy art. Consider this when you're putting together your "hit-list" of places you'd like to approach for a show...

Five Ways to Make Your Own Photo Group

This week my focus was on community - as in, no one makes it on their own. I got to spend time with several of the terrific people I went to my undergrad (Art Center) with. It was like a reunion of old army buddies remembering basic training. In the days after, I thought a lot about the gathering and the truth is, I wouldn't have made it through school without them. 

As a teacher, I try hard to create situations where my students will bond and work together, because I know that their chances for success increase dramatically if they build a community around what they're trying to accomplish. 

So here's a few steps to consider building your own community: 

1. Email (text/whatever) four friends to meet for coffee and bring one new photo each. 

2. If you're in a photo class, approach the instructor and ask if you could take the last X amount of time during one lab section and have an informal "photo club" meeting. If Photo club is too corny a word...create your own. 

3. If you've got a car, invite several photo friends or classmates to go up to a local park. If you're located in Southern California - consider Antelope Valley, where the poppies are in bloom now. 

4. If you don't have a car, look up what photo shows are happening locally and have a group of friends take public transit there - spend the day shooting. 

5. Don't want to reinvent the wheel...go to your local photo supplier and scan the notices for groups you'd be interested in. In SoCal there are: SoCal Photog Association, South Bay Camera Club,  Clickers and Flickers just to name a few. Start attending and see if there are other's you'd like to create a splinter group with.