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 Program	Works Submitted	Result	Cost of Submission	Calendar
Penland Winter Artist in Residence 2023 (2 weeks)	Aroha, One of these things, Isolation, Home	Accepted	$30	7 Jan to 21 Jan
ArtSpace Summer Artist in Residence	Invisible Visible, Rails II, Snowfall, Isolation, One of these things, Aroha, Study No. 3, Cairns, Home, City of Mannheim	Declined	$25	N/A
Durham Art Guild Artist in Residence	Rails II, Snowfall, Isolation, One of these things, Aroha, Study No. 3, Home, Broken Trellis, Ford+Son, Colosseum Wood bock Print	Accepted	$15	Jul to Dec
Chateau Orquevaux, France Artist in Residence	Rails II, Study no.3, Ford+Son, Colosseum, Broken Trellis	Accepted	Fee Waived	Jun 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 for	Works Submitted	Result	Cost of Submission	Calendar
Town of Cary, Solo Exhibition	Tread, Negative Crosswalk, San Francisco Bustle, Altitudinal Ecosystem, Snowfall, Orange Creamsicle, Rotating Spokes, Manicured Gardens, Rails I, Sunday Best	Accepted	$0	7 Jul to 19 Aug
Scaffold, ArtSpace NC	Outskirts	Accepted	N/A	3 Apr to 30 Jun
NC Artist Exhibition	Ford+Son	Accepted	$35	24 Sep to 22 Oct
DAG: Breathing New Life	Live Life	Accepted	$0	18 Aug to 22 Sep
Quilts=Art=Quilt	Rails II	Declined	$35
Durham Art Guild 69th Juried Exhibition	Rails II, Broken Trellis, Colosseum	Accepted	$15	17 Nov to 5 Jan
Homage, 311 Gallery	Whitney	Accepted	$25	Dec
QuiltCon 2024	Rails II, Broken Trellis, Colosseum, Walled	Accepted	$80	22-25 Feb 2024
Artfields SC 2024	Ford+Son	Accepted	$25	26 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 Shows	Works Submitted	Cost of Submission	Calendar
Modern Textiles @ Fayetteville Technical Community College, The Art Gallery	Study no. 3, Orange Creamsicle, Sunday Best, Carbon under pressure, Correlation	$0	23 Oct to 15Dec
12×12 Member Showcase, ArtSpace NC	Shutters	$0	3 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 for	Works Submitted	Result	Cost of Submission	Calendar
Excellence in Quilts (Fiber Art Now)	Rails II, Ford+Son, Colosseum at Night	Declined	$30	NA
2023 Exhibition In Print (Surface Design Association)	Ford+Son, Rails II, Snowfall	Declined	$30	NA
Durham Momentum 360 Art Entrepreneurship (Triangle Artworks)	Artist Statement, Bio, CV	Accepted	$0	6 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.