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
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. :)
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
Great way to break down and evaluate the decisions to choose and where to make the effort! Thank you Deb
Thanks Sherry!
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
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.
Thanks Clint, that was really helpful and I hope you enjoy your weekend!
Thanks for reading!
Excellent info, has not thought of it this way. Thank you.
This is useful, thanks for sharing!
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.
Thank you for reading and commenting Carmen
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.
I like how you think Donna! Thanks for reading and commenting.
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.
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!
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!
It's always a balance between resources for artists, isn't it? Thanks for reading from one Debbie to another!
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!
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.
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!
:) So glad it might be of use to you Lori!
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.
YES! Congratulations and safe travels Linda!
Thank you. I’ll keep this for rereading
You are most welcome!