The 37th Annual Smithsonian Craft Show 2019

The 37th Annual Smithsonian Craft Show 2019 National Building Museum, 401 F St., NW, Washington DC April 11, 2019 to April 14, 2019

The Smithsonian Craft Show is a most prestigious juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American craft in art and design, held annually in Washington DC. Three jurors who are experts in the field and newly selected each year choose 120 artists from a large pool of applicants. Previous exhibitors must re-apply each year. No one is grandfathered into the show. There is no quota for any category of Craft Art. Artists are selected on the basis of the originality, artistic conception, and quality of their work. The show is produced by the Smithsonian Women's Committee. Proceeds from the Show fund grants that benefit the Smithsonian's education, outreach, research, and conservation  programs.

Application Dates: May 23, 2018 - Sep 14, 2018 Application Fee: $50.00

Late App. Dates: Sep 15 - Sep 21, 2018 Additional Late Fee: $25.00

APPLY NOW!

The Craft Show does not charge sales commissions. However, accepted artists are encouraged to donate an item for the Show’s on-line auction, raffle, or other fund-raising initiatives, the proceeds of which benefit the Smithsonian. ACCEPTABLE MEDIA CATEGORIES: Basketry, ceramics, decorative fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper, wearable art, and wood. The artist should apply in the category that best describes their medium. For instance, a jewelry artist using metal should not apply in the metal category. Other media not listed above may be included in the mixed media category when it is combined with one of the Show's established media. If applying under mixed media, please explain in your artist statement why mixed media is the appropriate category for your work. AWARDS: The Smithsonian Women's Committee recognizes outstanding work exhibited at the Craft Show by presenting a number of awards. The awards include Gold, Silver and Bronze levels of distinction, Excellence within select categories (such as jewelry, glass, ceramics, etc.), as well as several Exhibitors' Choice Awards. Cash awards range from $500 to $1500. "Honoring the Future Sustainability Award" of $1,000 will be offered for the fourth year. The purpose of this award is to educate the public about climate change and to inspire and model sustainable responses to this problem.

Making Waves: Paintings by John Aquilino

DMV artist John Aquilino's  seascape paintings will be on exhibit at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center Galleries this fall. This will be his second exhibit at NIH this year.

Low Tide, oil on canvas, 14" x 36"

"Making Waves: Paintings by John Aquilino"
NIH Clinical Center (Building 10), West Gallery
Bethesda, Maryland
September 14 - November 2, 2018

The mission of the Clinical Center's Fine Art Program is to pair art with medicine to promote healing, and benefits patients, caregivers, and employees. For the artwork that is available for sale, 20% of the proceeds will benefit the Patient Emergency Fund. The NIH Clinical Center Galleries are open to the public, but there will be a security check (see NIH map).

How to price your artwork

This article has some good advice and some bad advice --- but the key rule is: NEVER, EVER compete with yourself -- that means that you MUST keep your prices consistent and not all over the place... that only hurts you (and if you're represented by a gallery or dealer, their reputation, and thus yours...).

There is a well-known Oscar Wilde quote that goes, "When bankers get together for dinner, they discuss art. When artists get together for dinner, they discuss money.”

As an artist, you understand the making part of your job like the back of your hand. You could probably paint blindfolded and come up with a decent-looking piece. You have spent thousands upon thousands of hours honing your craft. What we often struggle with is the part that comes after we put that last final touch on an artwork—pricing.

Pricing is awkward. Setting a price on something that is so deeply personal and doesn't have a set market value is even more awkward. 

Especially at the start of your career, or if you don't have a nest egg to fall back on, you want (and need) to make sales, but you also don't want to sell yourself short. 

So, how do you start setting the prices for your artwork so you can get the salary you deserve? If you don't have a consistent history of selling your art in a particular price range or in a particular market, follow these seven rules to get started. 

Ways to Diversify Your Income and Make More Money as an Artist

If you want to make a full-time living as an artist or creative, it's not enough to rely solely on online sales or gallery representation. If you have been a professional artist for any number of years, you are probably already familiar with the slow seasons, with flopped shows, and rained out art fairs. It can be difficult to count any single income source. 

You don't put all your money on one horse, or all your eggs in one basket, so why do you want to get all of your income from one place?

The good news is that there are so many different ways for artists to make a living today. The better news is that most of these ideas require some work up front, but minimal ongoing labor. The best news is that as an artist, you already have the creativity to think of unique ways to grow your business.

Read the whole article here. 

Open House at Otis Street Arts Project

Super Casual Open House at Otis Street Arts Project
COME ON BY!
WHEN: Saturday September 8th
             1:30-4:30
WHERE: Otis Street Arts Project
               3706 Otis Street
               Mount Rainier, MD
WHO:   Gloria Chapa, Liz Lescault, Kirsty Little, David Mordini, and Lisa Rosenstein will all be there to welcome you.
             Other artists studios are open for viewing. The list includes Nick Alberti, Chris Boehner,  Ceci Cole Mcinturff, Beth Curren, Art Drauglis, Eric Gordon, and Sean Hennesey

Huge commission

A few months ago, before I knew that I had to deal with cancer resurgence, I agreed to do a huge commission for one of the nicest NYC art collector on the planet. It is essentially a multimedia family portraits which cuts across generations and comes together in an embedded video piece.

Here are some parts of the piece...

Getting my ass nuked every day in the middle of the day makes it harder to find studio time, but the work is moving along...

2018 Trawick Prize Finalists

Lori Anne Boocks, Germantown, MD
Clay Dunklin, Laurel, MD
Mary Early, Washington, D.C.
Jay Gould, Baltimore, MD
Caroline Hatfield, Baltimore, MD
Phaan Howng, Baltimore, MD
Timothy Makepeace, Washington, D.C.
Nicole Salimbene, Takoma Park, MD

Virginia gets shut out! I think that this is the first time that I recall this happening in the DMV's most prestigious art prize!

The exhibit will be on display Sept. 5 – 29, 2018 at Gallery B, located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E. The award winners will be announced on Wednesday, September 5, 2018. The Best in Show, first place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000.

The public opening reception will be held Friday, September 14 from 6-8pm. Gallery hours for the duration of the exhibit are Wednesday through Saturday, 12 – 6pm.

The 2018 Trawick Prize jurors are Christopher Bedford, Director of The Baltimore Museum of Art; Sukjin Choi, Head of Ceramics and Associate Professor of Art at James Madison University; and Valerie Fletcher, Independent Art Historian and Senior Curator Emerita at the Hirshhorn Museum.

Founded by Carol Trawick in 2003, the regional competition is one of the largest prizes to annually honor visual artists. Ms. Trawick, a longtime community activist in downtown Bethesda, also established the Bethesda Painting Awards in 2005. She has served as the Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Strathmore and the Maryland State Arts Council. She founded the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation in 2007 to assist health and human services and arts non-profits in Montgomery County. The Foundation has awarded grants to more than 90 nonprofits in Montgomery County and funds the annual Trawick Prize and the Bethesda Painting Awards.

To date, The Trawick Prize has awarded more than $220,000 in prize monies and has exhibited the work of more than 135 regional artists. Previous Best in Show recipients include Richard Cleaver, 2003; David Page, 2004; Jiha Moon, 2005; James Rieck, 2006; Jo Smail, 2007; Maggie Michael, 2008; Rene Trevino, 2009; Sara Pomerance, 2010; Mia Feuer, 2011; Lillian Bayley Hoover, 2012; Gary Kachadourian, 2013; Neil Feather, 2014; Jonathan Monaghan, 2015; Lauren Adams, 2016 and Larry Cook, 2017.

For more information, please visit www.bethesda.org or call 301-215-6660.

Smithsonian Call for Photographers!

16TH ANNUAL SMITHSONIAN.COM PHOTO CONTEST

What does an award-winning photograph look like? 

It can range from an captivating portrait of a family member to a moon-drenched landscape to movement captured at just the right time. 

The SI's 16th Annual Photo Contest is now open for submissions, and they're looking for the best of the best. 

There are 6 categories. 

No Entry Fee. 

Details: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/photocontest/?referer=dailycampelloartnews

Your artwork in a billboard

The juried exhibit consists of 45 billboard-size images, each work of art is created by local, national & international artists reflecting their interpretation of our theme “enriching lives through diversity & inclusion."

Awards are given for “Best-in-Show Adult,” “Best-in-Show Student,” and “People's Choice.” 

The exhibit will be displayed from 1-19-19 through 3-14-19, in Sarasota's Bayfront Park. 

No Entry Fee. 

Details: 941-404-5710 OR http://embracingourdifferences.org/submit-art?utm_source=dailycampello OR brenna@embracingourdifferences.org

Gabe Brown and Akemi Maegawa at Adah Rose

"Along the Enchanted Way"

Gabe Brown and Akemi Maegawa

Sept 12-Oct 28
Vernissage Saturday Sept 15 6:00-8:00 pm.
Live Music by Terraplane

Adah Rose Gallery
3766 Howard Ave
Kensington MD 20895
Thursday-Sunday 12:00-5:30 and always by appointment

Gabe Brown:
The abstract landscapes of Gabe Brown are exploding with color and teeming with the lush diversity of nature. They are captivating in their richness of tone and interplay of shades. Gabe employs motifs of delicate lines, leaves, rainbows, rock formations, botanics, erupting forms, and bursts of color. One sees the complexity and wonder of life in her works. There is whimsy, sophistication, elegance, and a sense of the artist’s imagination in her works on canvas and paper. For Gabe, “Art is like magic, an illusion created by the force of humanity.” 

Gabe Brown was raised in New York City. She received her BFA degree from The Cooper Union and was awarded a Full Fellowship to attend the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She went on to receive her MFA in Painting from the University of California, Davis. Gabe is a 2018 recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Painting Award. Gabe has exhibited in many shows including Kenise Barnes Contemporary Art, Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, Matteawan Gallery, The Saratoga Arts Center, Garrison Arts Center, ArtsWestchester, Schweinfurth Arts Center, SUNY Brockport, The Horticultural Society of New York, Sears-Peyton Gallery, and Carrie Haddad Gallery. Gabe exhibited in our Carte Blanche show in 2017.  

Akemi Maegawa:
Akemi Maegawa is a conceptual artist working in ceramics and a variety of medium. Her ceramic sculptures in the show include Darumas, Vessels, and Housing Market Miniatures. Akemi’s works are delicately and intimately conceived, reflective of musings on the world around her; Akemi uses her sculpture to “question the human condition, politics, history, and everyday life.” Her works broach serious topics, yet maintain an exquisite delicacy, indicative of her conscientious artistic process. Akemi’s works radiate with a soft tenderness, lovingly imbued with their creator’s personality, humor, and deep thought.  

Akemi was born in Tsu, Japan. She came to the United States to study at the Corcoran College of Art and Design and graduated with a BFA in 2005, before acquiring her MFA from the Cranbrook Academy in Michigan. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Anne and Ronald Abramson Award for Excellence in Ceramics at the Corcoran. Akemi has exhibited in numerous shows including the University of Maryland University College, Metro Micro Gallery, Irvine Contemporary Gallery, Area 405, Carrol Square Gallery, the SculptureCenter, the Betty Mae Kramer gallery, and DCAC. Akemi exhibited in our Carte Blanche show in 2017.

A second sphinx has been discovered in Egypt

A second sphinx—whose existence has been the subject of theories developed by historians and egyptologists for decades—has been discovered in Luxor, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities. 

Details here. 

Malware report

Just found this Malware embedded into several of my webpages... but I have Malware detect, which now removes the crap that some asswipe managed to insert into my code.

Password changed
Malware deleted
Culprits (all UK sites) reported

Call for Glass Artists

The Workhouse Arts Center-Glass Program (a project of the Workhouse Arts Foundation in Lorton Virginia) in the Northern Virginia/Washington DC Metro area is pleased to announce a “Call for Entries” for its 4th Annual Workhouse Glass National. We invite you to apply online through Juried Art Services at link here

Juror Carmen Lozar is an artist and educator who lives in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Lozar directs the Merwin and Wakeley Galleries at Illinois Wesleyan University and is a member of the art faculty. She has taught at institutions around the world including Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Craft, Pittsburgh Glass School, Appalachian Center for Crafts, The Chrysler Museum, and the Glass Furnace in Istanbul, Turkey. She has had residencies at the Corning Museum of Glass and Penland School of Craft. Her work is included in many collections including the Bergstrom Mahler Museum, WI and the Museum of Art and Design, NY.

She's also one of my fave artists on this planet!

Application Dates: Mar 16, 2018 - Sep 19, 2018
Application Fee: $30.00
Apply here

Capitol Hill Arts Workshop’s 2019 Artist Residency

The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) is currently seeking applicants for its 2019 Gallery Artist Residency, a six-week paid residency January 7 through February 8, 2019 in CHAW’s Gallery at 545 7th Street, SE, Washington, DC, 20003. The residency provides an opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or artist team to create a new body of work, evolve an existing body of work, or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. The residency also encourages interaction, dialogue and exploration both within the CHAW artist community and city-wide. Completed applications are due September 15, 2018 at www.chaw.org/artist-residency. 

“The right fit is someone who is interested in transforming the gallery space and who is looking for a blank slate that is theirs, offering freedom, challenge, and openness to the artistic process, as well as a collaborative community element,” says Ellen Cornett, CHAW’s Resident Gallery Manager.

Qualified applicants are professional individual artists or collaborative artist teams over the age of 18; the program is not designed for undergraduate students or commercial artists. Artists must be available to work in the CHAW gallery during the six weeks of the residency. CHAW will not provide housing for Gallery Resident artists. After reviewing all the applications, three artists or artist teams will be interviewed at CHAW by the Resident Gallery Manager and the CHAW co-directors. For more information, please call (202) 547-6839 or visit www.chaw.org/artist-residency.

Since 1972, the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) has provided arts education to thousands of children and adults in the Washington region, especially from the greater Capitol Hill area. Through classes, performances, and exhibitions in visual and performing arts, CHAW brings together diverse segments of the population to connect through the transformative power of creativity.  CHAW offers a tuition assistance program and flexible payment plans. CHAW is funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. CHAW is a featured charity in the 2014-2015 Catalogue for Philanthropy, mentioned as Best Venue to See on the Cheap in DCist’s 2014 Best Theater Venues in DC, the 2015 & 2016 winner for Best Arts Class in the Washington City Paper Readers’ Poll, 2014 & 2015 Hilly Award winner for Best Arts Organization/Venue, and the winner of the 2017 Irene Pollin Community Engagement Award through the NSO.

The Morning Routines of Famous Artists

The Morning Routines of Famous Artists, from Andy Warhol to Louise Bourgeois...

In keeping with his character, Salvador Dalí’s daily routine featured a healthy dose of self-importance. “Every morning upon awakening,” he wrote in 1953, “I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí, and I ask myself, wonderstruck, what prodigious thing will he do today, this Salvador Dalí.”

Read the whole article by Abigail Cain here. 

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: Mon, November 26th, 2018. 

The Ormond Memorial Art Museum is accepting submissions from artists in a variety of styles and media for exhibitions in late 2018 and 2019. Individual and small group submissions are welcome.  The museum is not able to cover shipping costs of work.   

Details for submitting can be found at www.ormondartmuseum.org.  Follow the “get involved” tab on the top right to the Call for Artist link. 

Submissions are needed by mail by Nov. 26, 2018 and are nonreturnable.  

You will be notified of outcome.

Call for proposals

Deadline: August 17, 2018

1708 Gallery welcomes all artists to submit exhibition proposals. Their Exhibitions Committee reviews proposals annually. This committee includes professional artists from their Board, Curator, and Executive Director. 

Exhibition proposals are currently being considered for the year 2020. 

If you are currently a student, you must have graduated by the exhibition year. 1708 Gallery strongly encourages proposals for new or developing projects and bodies of work. In addition to proposals for exhibitions in 1708’s gallery space, public works and other non-gallery based projects will be considered. Exhibition periods are approximately six weeks. 

1708 provides a $1000 honorarium, plus shipping, travel, installation and other exhibition support. 

Please contact 1708 Gallery Coordinator Erin Willett with any questions at info@1708gallery.org or 804.643.1708. For more information and to submit a proposal, visit www.1708gallery.org

How I dodged a giant bullet

As many of you know, since I described it in full agony here, a while back I underwent prostrate surgery after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

In most cases, that solves the issue of that cancer.

However, in about a third of the cases, what is known as the PSA count, which once your prostate is gone should be between 0.0 and 0.1, began to arise in my case recently... a couple of years or so after the surgery.

That meant that the good doctors were very concerned that some cancer cells had been left behind, and thus they ordered a scan.

The scan revealed something very scary when compared to the same area from a 2015 scan.

What you are seeing there is my pelvic region and the white things forming a "V" on the center of the scan are my pelvic bones. The doctors noticed that since 2015 the left pelvic bone had developed that white area (compare to the right pelvic bone), which in many cases indicates that the cancer had jumped to the bones.

Since the pelvic bone is the favorite place for prostrate cancer to migrate to, there was a pretty good chance that I now had bone cancer.

The bullet had been fired.

Next came a bone biopsy, consisting of laying on your back and having a nurse comfort you while a doctor uses a drill to drill into your pelvic bone and extract bone matter... three different times.

It hurt like a motherfucker.

A tense week later the results came in, and the bone was not cancerous.

The bullet was dodged... a giant bullet.

And last Thursday I started radiation treatment for the prostrate bed area, which I will be undergoing for seven and a half weeks... everyday Monday through Friday.

My instructions were to show up with a full bladder, apparently because it helps to "push" the bladder away from the prostate area while you're laying down on the radiation room table, and thus tends to minimize damage to the bladder while they're nuking your ass region.

I overdid it, and my bladder was ready to explode when I showed up to the treatment.

"I think that I overdid the full bladder thing," I explained to the two radiation techs, "I'm about to explode."

"You wanna go to the bathroom and empty some of it," suggested the lady tech.

Both the other male tech and I looked at her. "I know of no man on the planet who can stop peeing in mid pee operations and hold it," I commented wryly while the other guy agreed silently. 

"I'll be OK," I added laying on the table and hoping that I was right.

It wasn't.

It was hell, that's what it was. I recall reading somewhere how the Emperor Caligula used to entertain his guests by having giant parties where one of the "shows" was to have a number of poor bastards who had their dicks sealed with string, and then they were forced fed water with a funnel until their bladders exploded.

"At least my dick is not tied up," I thought to myself while the minutes passed and my private Caligulan torture moved on.

Eventually it was over.

"The doctor wants to show you something," said one of the techs.

"Not before I hit the head," I responded as I ambled to the bathroom holding my crank like a five year old boy and with my hospital robe fully opened on my back and showing my radiated ass to the world... at that moment I didn't care.

As I approached the bathroom, I was hoping that there was no one using it... and the head gods were on the side of this old sailor and I popped in and began to pump bilges.

Half an hour later, fully drained and feeling much better I returned to see what the doctors and techs wanted to show me.

"We believe that you have set a new world's record for the largest expanded bladder ever recorded on film," they told me, showing me what looked like a giant balloon inside me.  "It doesn't have to be this full," they added.

And that's the story of last Thursday, the first of seven and a half weeks of ass nuking.

VICTOR EKPUK book signing event

Don't miss the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of "Victor Ekpuk : Connecting Lines Across Space and Time", Edited by Toyin Falola. This near 500 page, mid career retrospective of Victor's work includes fascinating writings by 13 scholars and countless images of his brilliant creations.

VICTOR EKPUK

Book Signing of Victor Ekpuk: Connecting Lines Across Space and Time

Saturday, September 1st, 2018 from 2pm-4pm

The artist will be in attendance.

LOCATION

Morton Fine Art (MFA)

1781 Florida Ave NW (at 18th & U Sts)

Washington, DC 20009

HOURS

Tuesday - Saturday 11am - 6pm

Sunday 12pm-5pm

Please RSVP to mortonfineart@gmail.com

Call for printmakers

2019 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition

Deadline: Sun, October 21st, 2018. 

Founded in 1996, the Delta National Small Prints Exhibition is currently accepting entries for the 2019 exhibition. Artists from around the world have the opportunity to enter this competition, which is chosen by a nationally known expert in the field of printmaking. This year the juror is José Diaz, Chief Curator of The Andy Warhol Museum. 

Eligibility: Open to all artists 18 and older. 

Submissions must be original works on paper, created within the last two years, including but not limited to, digital, intaglio, lithographic, photographic, relief, serigraphic and stencil processes. 

Monotypes are also eligible but reproductions of pre-existing works are not. 

Entry Fee: A $35 (nonrefundable) entry fee permits each artist to submit up to three prints. 

Awards: Purchase Awards and Juror’s Merit Awards will be offered and announced at the opening of the exhibition. Each artist receiving an award will have their artist’s statement of 100 words or less printed in the exhibition catalog. 

Typically half of the show is purchased for the A-State Permanent Collection of Art and by the viewing audience. 

In an attempt to be eco-friendly, the Call for Entry is available Online Only. For details visit: BradburyArtMuseum.org or go directly to this link.