24 Comments
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Sherry Cobb-Kelleher's avatar

Great way to break down and evaluate the decisions to choose and where to make the effort! Thank you Deb

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Debra Keirce's avatar

Thanks Sherry!

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Rob Diseker's avatar

Hi Debra, Thank you for the wonderful rubric-I think it will be very helpful as someone starting out on their career as a sculptor(I met you a few years ago at the Portrait Society of America in Atlanta!) I love the mathy nerdy work, but regretfully think I have to point out an error in calculations, though, for Cost vs Benefit in your example. Wouldn't that be 4 x 0.1 = 0.4 vs your 0.6? Not a big change lowering the score to 4.3, but cant' help the nerdiness. Still a high result! Let me know if I missed something. Thanks for all the good inspiration and hope to see you again in the art world. -Rob Diseker

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Debra Keirce's avatar

Hi Rob! Nice to "see" you again. I could lie and say I put that error in there to see who was actually paying attention, and you win! But, the truth is that I have totally lost my math skills at this point. LOL. I don't keep records, but now you have me curious at what point in the 20 drafts, did I type 6 instead of 4. Oh well. Now you know I'm nowhere near perfect. :)

Thanks so much for reading and commenting.

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TheoSpirit's avatar

Thanks Clint, that was really helpful and I hope you enjoy your weekend!

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Debra Keirce's avatar

Thanks for reading!

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Kristina Rodby's avatar

Excellent info, has not thought of it this way. Thank you.

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Deborah Tomkinson's avatar

This is useful, thanks for sharing!

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Carmen's avatar

This was very helpful. I am new to this world, and I haven't tried to find shows or anything yet to display my work as I'm still in the process of building a body of work after a very long hiatus from art. Eventually I want to try, and I'm going to remember this as a great starting point.

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Debra Keirce's avatar

Thank you for reading and commenting Carmen

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Donna Lee Nyzio's avatar

thanks Debra, I also have a sorta system and am always interested in those of other artists. For a show, I like to also think, does the show sell? If so, would my art sell? Is it close so I can go or worth the price of shipping etc. I also look at, like you, will this bring me forward somehow. Like you, I dont prefer shows with photography or digital art. I also look at the judge, and look at what they are interested in... I dont mean are they painting still lives, abstract or whatever.. I look at are they a value painter, interested in design, or colour.... and is that what I am interested in... As I tried a LOT of shows early on, I now narrow them to ones I consistently enjoy.

Oh, If you join an association, you owe it to yourself and the group to enter each show, it supports the group and pushes you to get a painting done and sent.

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Debra Keirce's avatar

I like how you think Donna! Thanks for reading and commenting.

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Marian Fortunati's avatar

Hi Debra..

Maybe nerdy, but a problem we all deal with and a very unique way of trying to decide. i think I will try it in the future. It's always difficult to decide and "just go for it" maybe isn't the best way.

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Debra Keirce's avatar

I'm always surprised, and it happens maybe 40 percent of the time, at how when I use a rubric I come up with a different course of action than I would of if I just followed my gut. It's interesting and I will never know how things would have turned out if I'd followed the gut, but I usually stick to the rubric. I have a rubric for where to teach workshops, and I broke away from that once and followed my gut recently. The host seemed sincere and I put my trust in them. They ended up having a chaotic life, and underestimating how much work it is to host workshops, they had no flexibility or backup plans - so my workshop was cancelled, but less than 24 hours before I was supposed to start my travel for it. Needless to say, I regretted not following my rubric, and it just reinforced the importance in my brain.

Who's to say what's right, but this way works for me!

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Debbie Abshear's avatar

This was very well written and thought out. I appreciate the rubric! There are so many shows I would love to enter however the cost of shipping has really been a stumbling block for me!

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Debra Keirce's avatar

It's always a balance between resources for artists, isn't it? Thanks for reading from one Debbie to another!

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Chuck Rose's avatar

This is so helpful. Thank you for posting this. Would you recommend this as a way to choose galleries to go after as well? Thanks!

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Debra Keirce's avatar

Thanks for reading Chuck. Great question! I actually DO use this - or versions of it for pretty much every decision. Funny fact - I've been married over 4 decades now, and recently came across a weighted pro/con list where I was deciding in the 80's whether I should continue dating my now husband! LOL.

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Lori Woodward's avatar

This makes a lot of sense Debra and leads to a clear answer that's not based totally on emotion or unrealistic expectations. I think I can handle the math!

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Debra Keirce's avatar

:) So glad it might be of use to you Lori!

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Linda Schroeter's avatar

Thanks, I have been pondering the same questions. Art organizations help build community for artists that seek validation of their work which in turn can help boost us through these market downturns. I am now looking forward to a trip to NYC to attend one of the exhibits I was juried into. Your article has helped me see past the expense and recognize the benefits. I look forward to meeting my fellow artists there.

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Debra Keirce's avatar

YES! Congratulations and safe travels Linda!

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marie provine's avatar

Thank you. I’ll keep this for rereading

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Debra Keirce's avatar

You are most welcome!

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