2 Month Display in Nampa, ID

I know I know... I said I'd have this up last week but I didn't have a good photo until last night. I need more photos but those can wait.

Since January 20th I have had 8 pieces of my work up in display cases at the Nampa Civic Center! They will be there until mid-March. The majority of them are located at the southern entrance in a large lighted display case. Nicely protected behind glass and beautifully arranged by Patricia White who is the art coordinator and who also is in charge of a gallery in the artsy portion of Caldwell called Indian Creek.

One of my favorite things is to see my work on display because you really just don't get the same feel for the art when it's sitting at home stashed behind a desk. ;) The Civic Center is a perfect place to show because they don't charge commission for any sales as they refer all potential buyers directly to you and they also don't charge anything for you to display. Just FYI, artists should not have to pay to get their work displayed. If you pay a gallery a rental fee and then a commission on top of that you are most likely dealing with a Vanity Gallery. Something to avoid! Paying commission is a common practice for galleries but keep in mind that AT MOST should a gallery ask for 50% commission. And that is asking a lot. Normally you'll see anything between 20% and 40%

But luckily there are places like the Civic Center that don't charge a rental fee nor commission. Always keep a lookout for those places as they also won't make you sign a deal where they are the only place in the region that can show your work. <-- another topic to be aware of that I'll probably write about later.

Seeing my work up on display always gives me such a high. I find it so satisfying that I don't really care if any of the pieces sell or win prizes or anything like that. I guess you could say that I'm easily pleased, but you could also say that my needs are simple and that I'm not the most ambitious person in the world.

120 thin wooden sticks of pigment

The CPSA Explore This! 5 award came in the mail a couple days ago.

I haven't used them yet, it's almost a shame to disfigure the brilliance of these little tools of color.

The wooden box itself is beautifully made and it opens up into three layers of colored pencils.

For an excellent description of this collection of pencils I shall quote from the Blick Art Materials website (where you can order these and all sorts of other stuff for really great prices).

"Swiss precision isn't just for watches. These precision artists' colored pencils will delight anyone who appreciates the best.

Use them on paper, wood, or photographs. They offer creamy, soft, water-resistant 3.7 mm leads. Pablo pencils have exceptional covering power, and superb lightfastness." - Blick Art Materials


And now I shall ogle these pencils and the box once more and then squirrel them away. They may see the light of day again when I run out of the pencils I'm currently using and don't feel like going out and buying more.

Caran d’Ache Award for Excellence

So... I am evidently AMAZING.

I got this email this evening (Monday the 19th) and I'm still in shock about it. I edited out contact information and a few names of some members, but this is almost the exact same email.


__________________________________________________________________

Hello Kathryn,


Congratulations!! Our juror, Dr. Gwen Chanzit, has selected your artwork titled “MultiBlue” for the Caran d’Ache Award for Excellence in this year’s Explore This! 5 Exhibition. If you are a CPSA member, this acceptance will count toward earning CPX Signature Status.

Your Award Certificate will be sent in the near future. You have won a choice of products from Caran d’Ache of Switzerland, valued from $300 to $360. See the attached sheet for full information on making your selection. Please send your choice and shipping address and we will arrange to have your selection shipped directly to you.

Please feel free to contact me or Paula Parks, our Exhibition Director, if you have any further questions.


Again, congratulations from the entire CPSA Governing Board.



Regards,
Kay Schmidt
President
Colored Pencil Society of America


__________________________________________________________________


I read this. And had to reread it several times.

When I first got it I thought it was some spoof and some spammer had gotten my email address from somewhere and was trying to scam me. Then I thought... wait a sec... O.O Holy Crap!

There were four choices for the award and I chose the super awesome set of 120 colored pencils that comes in a wooden case. It's quite beautiful and the pencils are suppose to be fantastic quality and lightfast. Basically these ones.

I'd include a link here for the award winners for the Explore This! show but it won't be officially posted until the 1st of February.



This isn't all of the great news for today, but I'll post about that later when I have some photos to go along with it! Later this week, maybe Wednesday or Thursday.



:D

The Award Certificate.

Acceptance into Explore This! 5

I thought it was about time that I updated all of my loyal fans about the CPSA show I entered my work into and I am pleased to let you know that I Got In!

*insert smiles and sighs of relief here*

Not that I had any doubt that I'd get in. ;)

The piece called MultiBlue got in and the other did not unfortunately. Of course getting one is excellent and pretty sweet in and of itself so I'm not going to complain. Here is the link of those who have been accepted into the show:

Explore This! 5 Acceptance List

Watch for the Exhibition Artwork and Award Winners to be posted on February 1, 2009!