Tag Archives: exhibitions

Quarterly Update

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Not quite a quarterly update, and I realized that I did not post about my goals here, on my blog. So, let’s start by sharing my goals and how they are going now that we are a third way through the year.

Solo Show Goals:

Finish All 10-11 Pieces COMPLETED
Enjoy the experience which means for me accept that the residency was for experimentation not perfection COMPLETED
Set-up a couple of Studio Visits Had 1 Studio Visit

Overall, my solo show went really well. Two of my three events had great attendance and participation. I loved how all the pieces came together in the space.

I did also have some other art goals I would like to accomplish this year. So far things are going really well. Here’s how they are tracking :

Exhibit in a Museum COMPLETED (See my piece through July at NC Museum of Art)
Working on exhibiting outside of NC via art institutions (already exhibit outside of NC for quilts events) – Artfields, SC (Ford + Son); 26 April – 4 May 2024
– Solo Exhibition “Eyes Wide Open”, Petersburg, VA; 14 June – 3 August 2024
Find a Artist Studio in the triangle COMPLETED – Have a studio at ArtSpace!!
Keep putting myself out there and be open for opportunities See application updates below
Continue to meet new people/support artist I’ve met in my local community ON-GOING
Finanicial Goals – Cover expenses ~$20,000 3/4 of goal and expenses are covered
Be represented by a Gallery or work with Art Consultants Not followed through yet

Applications have been surprisingly successful. Here are the ones I have applied too so far this year.

Artist in Residence

Residency Program Works Submitted Result Cost Calendar
Ox-Bow Summer Artist in Residence Colosseum, Ford+Son, Rails II, Walled, Broken Trellis, Aroha, Home, Study No. 3, New York Highline, City Bustle Accepted NA 26 May – !5 June 2024

Exhibitions/ Shows

Applied for Shows Works Submitted Result Cost of Submission Calendar
Solo Exhibition – Eyes Wide Open 20 – 24 pieces Accepted NA Petersburg, VA
14 June – 3 August 2024
Coined in the South Rails II, Colosseum, Crack of Light TBD (06/28) $40Installation Dates: August 1, 2024 – Nov 1, 2024
Exhibition dates: December 14, 2024 to April 27, 2025
Durham Art Guild Members Show COVID Mash-up non-juried $0 June 14 – July 29, 2024
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Broken Trellis, Rails II Teacher’s Exhibition $0 July 13th
PIQF Rails II TBD (06/21) $40Pacific International Quilt Festival, July 24 – 27, 2024

Fellowships and Grants

Name Result Cost
South Arts Fellowship Declined $25
Hopper Prize TBD $35

This year, I also wanted to include health goals as these tend to be the last ones I accomplish. Overall, these are going better than past years but I still have to work on consistency.

Loose weight ~40 pounds Doing well, DOWN 17 pounds
Start Walking Regularly Working on consistency
Set-up Monthly Photography outings for getting out and walking – Set up a 30 day challenge that I’m doing now (struggling for every day)
– Plan on 2-3 outings for June in MI and 2 weeks for vacation in OR in July
Make all my screenings Still to Organize

I am so thankful for all the things that have come to fruition and excited for the things to come. I have some larger goals I want to accomplish but I’m still working through what those look like.

Right now, I want to give myself some space to experiment and play with some ideas and see where that leads. More to come.

Durham Art Guild Artist in Residence Experience

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My time with the Durham Art Guild (DAG), as an artist in residence (AiR) has come to an end. It was bittersweet, excited about the new opportunities in front of me (more to come) but sad I won’t see everyone as often. I can highly recommend this 6-month (ish) artist in residence. I got so much out of it.

DAG Studio Space at Durham Bottling Company

I learned a lot about myself through this residence, which could be in part due to the fact I had a lot to learn about being a full-time artist for the first time in my life. Things I learned about myself:

  • I am scheduled driven person. Once I left corporate I thought I would never need scheduled meeting requests have my daily life ruled by planned activities. I was so wrong. I need all my meetings in my outlook calendar or I forget. I also need a weekly planner. I have much better focus and also tend to accomplish things with a weekly plan. It is really just a list for me, broken into three parts – Things I want to get done this week (art, business or home activities), stretch goals (activities I would love to do if I have extra time) and lastly things carried over from the previous week which have highest priority.
  • I enjoy working in a studio whether at home or outside the home. It is harder to have two spaces though, as you either need two of everything or you need to know what you need to bring with you depending on what you are working on.
  • As an introvert, I still find it hard to talk about my art but its easier if I take someone with me especially someone that will help promote my work.
  • I’m ok at administration tasks but terrible at the accounting side of my business (as in collecting receipts, mileage, and taxes etc. )
  • I need community and access within a future studio space outside my house. If I don’t get those things in a studio space, I can work from home.
  • I am terrible about asking for help but I learned when asked not to always jump to “I’m OK” and take time to think about items where I didn’t need to complete them on my own.
  • I got a lot out of hanging work I might now have shown if I had more time or I wasn’t restricted to only new work for the show. There was a lot of positive feedback and folks connecting to those pieces I wasn’t sure about. Seeing all the pieces together and hung also gave me a different perspective which let me accept all the pieces.
Fellow AiR (L-R): Delayna Robbins, me, Sanjé James, and Mentor Isabel Lu

Photo: Danny Peña ( IG: @pen_yah)

The residency not only gave me insights into myself but also provide me:

  • A close group of people who were my fellow AiR, DAG staff and also, our mentors in the program who I would consider friends. This was the best part of the residency. I cherish the friendships made.
  • Networking opportunities. I tried to attend and submit to every event DAG provided or shared. With this I met some more wonderful people, that I need to know in the art community, and other wonderful artists who I can converse with and learn from.
  • New Opportunities like First Christmas Market, First Critique, Second Solo Exhibition and more.
  • Opportunity to experiment and produce new work for 6-8 months.
  • Studio Space outside the house for free was invaluable, especially to work out what I need in a studio space if I was to pay for one outside my house.
  • Provided me additional skills in organizing a solo exhibition. Check out my checklist for a show.
Part of my Solo Exhibition Space

Photo: Danny Peña ( IG: @pen_yah)

There are things I wish I had known before or within the first month of the residence and things I would change:

  • I might have missed this originally or it didn’t sink in….The solo show was going to consist of just new work created during the 6-8 month residence. For me, this meant experimenting was really limited to the first two months, as I needed to start finishing things for the show. It worked out for the space 6-8 new pieces were needed for the gallery. I actually wish the residency could be longer to get more time to experiment.
  • A guide on what is needed for a successful solo show. Activities list, I should look at and dates in which I should have these completed.

Other than that, the experience is amazing, something every artist should get a chance to experience (especially as an emerging artist).

DAG Critique

Photo: Jacqueline Dulin (IG: @significantform)

If you are interested, the 2024 -2025 program (July – December with a show in 2025) is currently open for applications. You can apply here by 1st May 2024.

Recap of 2023

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2023 has been a little bit of a whirlwind, from quitting my job to focusing on being an emerging artist, to turning 50, and then to top off the milestones celebrating 10 years of sewing and quilting. I am so thankful for the opportunities and the people I have met and supported me on this journey.

In 2023, I was focused on engaging and learn about the local art communities. It was a year of firsts:

  • I was accepted for my first artist in residence and then was offered a 6 month one with the Durham Art Guild.
  • Had my first Art Solo show at Page Walker in Cary, NC.
  • Taught my first Summer Camp Classes for middle and high schoolers.
  • Juried into my first Art Show across multiple medians.
  • Attended my first artist critique.
  • Participated in Big Ink and carved and printed my first woodblock.
  • Selected to participate in my first business class for artists with Triangle Artworks.

There were so many new experiences and I tried to embrace and engage with as many of them as I could. My biggest accomplishment though was putting myself out there, attending the events and networking.

In light of those following my journey though here are some of the numbers for things I have applied to or completed in 2023.

Artist in Residence Programs

I applied for 3 Artist in Residence this year and completed one that I was accepted in last year. Acceptance rate was 66%. I will definitely include more information on my experience for my 6 month Artist in Residence after I complete it in April.

Residency ProgramWorks SubmittedResultCost of SubmissionCalendar
Penland Winter Artist in Residence 2023 (2 weeks)Aroha, One of these things, Isolation, HomeAccepted$307 Jan to 21 Jan
ArtSpace Summer Artist in ResidenceInvisible Visible, Rails II, Snowfall, Isolation, One of these things, Aroha, Study No. 3, Cairns, Home, City of MannheimDeclined$25N/A
Durham Art Guild Artist in ResidenceRails II, Snowfall, Isolation, One of these things, Aroha, Study No. 3, Home, Broken Trellis, Ford+Son, Colosseum Wood bock PrintAccepted$15Jul to Dec
Chateau Orquevaux, France Artist in ResidenceRails II, Study no.3, Ford+Son, Colosseum, Broken TrellisAccepted Fee WaivedJun to Jul
(3 weeks 2025)

Exhibitions

For exhibitions, the second half of 2023 was very successful. I have learned a couple of things with this experience. Firstly, I now keep a spreadsheet for submission with piece (and its details), dates and notes. This way I can keep track and try to avoid any overlaps. Secondly, it is ok to withdraw for some events and say no (though keep as an exception not a rule).

Here are the shows that I exhibited in 2023 (except the solo show as that was accepted last year but exhibited this year). All shows below were juried. For the Durham Art Guild’s 69th Juried Exhibition, I even got an Honorable mention. My acceptance rate was 92%, which was just amazing.

Applied forWorks SubmittedResultCost of SubmissionCalendar
Town of Cary, Solo ExhibitionTread, Negative Crosswalk, San Francisco Bustle, Altitudinal Ecosystem, Snowfall, Orange Creamsicle, Rotating Spokes, Manicured Gardens, Rails I, Sunday BestAccepted$07 Jul to 19 Aug
Scaffold, ArtSpace NCOutskirtsAcceptedN/A3 Apr to 30 Jun
NC Artist ExhibitionFord+SonAccepted$3524 Sep to 22 Oct
DAG: Breathing New LifeLive LifeAccepted$018 Aug to 22 Sep
Quilts=Art=QuiltRails IIDeclined$35
Durham Art Guild 69th Juried ExhibitionRails II, Broken Trellis, ColosseumAccepted$1517 Nov to 5 Jan
Homage, 311 GalleryWhitneyAccepted$25Dec
QuiltCon 2024Rails II, Broken Trellis, Colosseum, WalledAccepted$8022-25 Feb 2024
Artfields SC 2024Ford+SonAccepted$2526 Apr to 4 May 2024

Additionally, I had two other opportunities to show work. One was a non-juried member show and the other was by Invitation.

Non-Juried ShowsWorks SubmittedCost of SubmissionCalendar
Modern Textiles @ Fayetteville Technical Community College, The Art GalleryStudy no. 3, Orange Creamsicle, Sunday Best, Carbon under pressure, Correlation$023 Oct to 15Dec
12×12 Member Showcase, ArtSpace NCShutters$03 Nov to 30 Dec

Other Applications

Lastly, in full transparency, I did apply for a course and was selected to attend with no cost to me and received to declines for Magazine competition submissions which is below. Acceptance rate 0% for the magazine submissions.

Applied forWorks SubmittedResultCost of SubmissionCalendar
Excellence in Quilts (Fiber Art Now)Rails II, Ford+Son, Colosseum at NightDeclined$30NA
2023 Exhibition In Print (Surface Design Association)Ford+Son, Rails II, SnowfallDeclined$30NA
Durham Momentum 360 Art Entrepreneurship (Triangle Artworks)Artist Statement, Bio, CVAccepted $06 week class

Actuals (the money side)

The other thing I have released is to make sure you budget at the beginning of the year for the application fees. This year, just from above, here is what my actuals were.

Application Costs $345
Income (includes monetary value for prizes)$1600

I learned so much in the past year, so this year my 2024 goals are a little more targeted. I’ll share more in my next post. Happy New Year, everyone.