What I have learned in the past 9 months that I have begun to establish myself in the artistic community, is that there are lots of artists out there creating beautiful works in a variety of mediums. There are mediums that I never knew existed and new ways to create beautiful pieces of art. The biggest lesson that I have learned is that everyone will not love your work. You have to walk around with big shoulders and take criticism when given. I was fortunate enough to get accepted in the first show that I applied to, a local community college held a regional art exhibit and I was very excited to get my first piece in. It was a juried competition (meaning one or more persons within the art world look at all the work submitted and decide if yours met their criteria and within the theme of the show). To get into a juried competition is a significant stepping stone on your artist's resume. That moment was a great one for me and felt so very satisfying and validating at the same time. I had arrived and made my first mark as an artist. My work was good enough, not just for my friends and family to oooh and aahh over but a total stranger in the art world loved my work enough to include me among other artists.
Soon after my first gallery exhibition in a themed art show, I received my first rejection along with a critique and recently I was rejected from a beloved local art fair that I was dying to get into. The jurors for these competitions were bold enough to say that my work was that of an amateur and in regards to the art fair that my work didn't define a theme and it is often difficult to do so in photography. What I learned from these rejections was that not everyone will like your work and you have to remember one thing... stay true to yourself and your art form. I could have looked at my present body of work and tried to adjust my creative style to conform to what a critic told me, but then I remembered a quote from Benjamin Disraeli, "Critics are the men who have failed in literature and art." There's beauty in all art even if you don't understand it. I have subsequently learned that there is also difficulty in being recognized as an artist when your medium is photography. Some do not deem it as a true art form. Not in the same traditions as oils, pastels, watercolors or even sketching. I disagree, not because I am a creative photographer (I also paint watercolors), but simply a photograph does tell a story, create a mood, and sends a message in the same way that traditional art does. Two good examples are the famous kissing couple at the end of WWII and the young Afghani girl on the cover of National Geographic. I could have easily switched and begin to submit my watercolors but I choose to create what I love the most, photography. Because of my perseverance and dedication to my art, I have been blessed and granted my first solo show! So again, stay true to yourself and your art medium.
The piece below is a true example of my creative body of work, the subject matter is a popular Chicago icon, "Cloudscape" known affectionately as the "Bean." I have several versions of this icon varying along my many moods when I created them, but this one is my favorite and truly indicative of my style of photography.
"Square Beans" (c) 2011
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