Yesterday, my husband stood under the open hatch of our car with nitrile gloves wiping down our groceries with disinfectant before they entered the house the way a Southerner would clean-hand-dirty-hand the breading of fried chicken.  Surreal. Covid-19 has touched all of our lives by now.

My husband lost his job in recent days, so I am grateful to HAVE groceries.  I am grateful to have the option to stay home and complete creative work and commissions to keep my mind occupied while so many are fighting to get well or stay well.  Productive distraction has always been a mental health tool for me, and I hope it is working for you.

With so many of us unsure of what lies ahead, it is hard to plan for the future or even find the motivation to want to do any hopeful planning.  But today, I did.  Today I applied for an artist residency… in Italy.  I did it for me, and I did it in honor of all the galleries and arts agencies that have to keep planning for a future that they can’t currently clearly see. I see you. I hear you.  My heart is full for you.

As for AAAD, because my own practice has been growing, I have not tended this site and the weeds are knee-high. I had plans to transition this site over the next year and a half, but it seems like the time to say goodbye is now.  In 2009, this site began as a convenient way to catalog “safe” calls from trusted people and places.  Along the way, I met the best people, made wonderful friends, shared ridiculous food segues and made connections that will last a lifetime.  I will miss talking to you regularly, or even irregularly.

Fine Print details:

• I have enabled comments on this post, which in this time of trolls and bots is uncommon for me to do, so feel free to leave a note.
• The site will remain in place for a while and will eventually auto-forward to my personal website. 
• If you want to screenshot a feature of your work, your agency or anything else, the search bar is still in the sidebar even though the pages are not on the navigation menu.  If you need help finding something, contact me, and I will help. 
• If you feel you are owed something by this site, please feel free to contact me so that I can make it right.
• I added a contact page with all my personal contact info.
• Social media sites for this page will go dark by (May 1, 2020), but feel free to contact me personally.
• I will completely delete the mailing list (by May 1, 2020) for this website from the subscription feed to prevent any pirating of email addresses in my absence.

You deserve the very best.  Be kind to yourselves, and may you all get your just desserts, artistically & edibly.  Love always, Rachel (R.L. Gibson)

CULINARY tour

I spent 15 days on vacation –one week in Arizona, one week in New Mexico.  Adjusting to the elevation was no joke. I’ve spent most of my life living at or around sea level.  My homes for the past 10 years have been at around 2000 feet in elevation near the base of the Great Smoky Mountains.  Bisbee, AZ has an elevation of approx 5500 feet and Silver City, NM has an elevation of 5800 feet, both higher than Denver, CO.  Plus, Bisbee is known as the city of 1000 steps.  We hear you get used to it after 3 weeks, but we only had two.  We survived, but it was eye-opening.  On an unrelated note, I think we took as many bites of food as we did steps.  That’s a lot of forks folks.  We’ve decided to start calling our vacations “culinary tours”.  It seems more purposeful, less gluttonous, ha.

Now that I’m back, I am hard at work planning my year, including a residency (or three), a solo show, some juried shows, some invitationals.  I have some announcements, but we’ll save those for another day.  I am also looking to expand my “comfort” galleries to new areas.  You know those galleries that you show in time and time again because you like the people, you like the space, you like the curation, you like the sales.  You’re comfortable.  I have a handful of those, but I am always looking to freshen my resume.  This next call is a great way to try on a new gallery or, if you’ve shown at Las Laguna Gallery before, continue to develop that relationship.  Take a look.

Check out this Call for Entries from the Las Laguna Gallery (Laguna Beach, CA) for mon-o-chrome, $35 entry & 35% commission, most media accepted.  Don’t miss this opportunity…

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CALL for ENTRIES:
mon-o-chrome
from Las Laguna Gallery

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ELIGIBILITY: Open to all artists

MEDIA: Open to most media, including acrylic, airbrush, assemblage, charcoal, color pencil, collage, digital art, drawings, encaustic, etching, fiber art, graphite, illustration, mixed media, new media, oil, painting, pastel, photography, screen print, serigraph, and watercolor.

THEME:  mon-o-chrome. The term monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photograph or prints in one color or values of one color.  For this call for art Las Laguna Gallery challenges artists to explore not only the range of tones of black and white, but also explore the range of a single color.

DEADLINE:  March 8, 2020

NOTIFICATION: March 15, 2020.  If accepted, delivery of work is January 30-February 4.

ENTRY FEE: $35 for up to 3 

SALES: The gallery will retain 35% commission on all sales.

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

NUTTY dreams

Winter is flying by me.  It is January, and I haven’t even considered a butternut squash.  My food habits are lagging behind, but that can only mean Spring foods will be here before you know it.  Tonight I will dream of soft fresh lettuces and herbs sprouting in my window and Dolly Parton.

Let’s be honest, Dolly Parton has no season.  Dolly is considered the patron saint of the mountains I currently call home.  But I really AM dreaming of her because I am doing a piece inspired by her.  This deadline is only 10 days away, and I am not suggesting that you should produce work to suit a Dolly Parton theme.  But, I do want to invite you to read the call and the juror’s vision of how the theme could be interpreted because I think many of you will find you have work that suits already in your portfolio.

Check out this academic Call for Entries from the Slocumb Galleries at ETSU (Johnson City, TN) for the P/N 35 – Dolly Parton, a nat’l juried exhibit. $30 entry & most media considered. Don’t miss it…

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CALL for ENTRIES:
P/N 35 – Dolly Parton
fm ETSU Slocumb Galleries

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ELIGIBILITY: Open to U.S. artists 18+

THEME:  Dolly Parton – “the ideas or associations she represents: homespun charm and Appalachian heritage but also camp and celebrity and sexuality; an embrace of Christian traditions alongside vocal and longstanding support of the LGBTQ community; the self-made singer-songwriter in Nashville, country music; gender and identity performance”. Like many of us, he sees Dolly Parton as a “unifying cultural figure… the only celebrity or artist who is equally valued and celebrated by my native community of East TN (in a very homogenous, white, conservative, evangelical setting) and by his current community in Atlanta (in a very heterogeneous, multiracial, progressive, queer setting).” –juror Lockner

MEDIA:   Open to 2D & 3D media & video 

DEADLINE:  January 20, 2020

NOTIFICATION:  January 27, 2020

ENTRY FEE:   $30 for up to 3

JUROR: Logan Lockner, is an Atlanta-based writer and the editor of Burnaway, an online magazine of contemporary art and criticism from the American South. His writing has also appeared in national and international publications including Art Papers, Pelican, Bomb, Photograph, and The Rib, and he recently edited the anthology Stranger, Harder, Brighter: The 2019 Burnaway Reader. In 2018, he was a finalist for the Rabkin Prize for Arts Journalism. He has given talks and led workshops on art writing at venues including the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art and Georgia State University’s Ernest G. Welch School of Art. An East Tennessee native, he holds a BA in English literature from Emory University in Atlanta.

AWARDS: Up to $1,000 in cash prizes 

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

a CITRUS dream

Oranges trigger holiday memories.  So many different holidays, both secular and sacred, are celebrated during the month of December.  And regardless of the holiday, you’ll always find someone whose memory of that holiday is triggered by the smell of oranges.  My mother said that when she was a child, Christmas was the only time her family could afford citrus of any sort.  I have incorporated citrus into my entire sense of winter because it is the only time I can find super sweet clementines.  It is an odd sort of passing of the baton.

Now that most of the holidays have past, it is time to kick it into high gear.  I am attempting another 30 paintings in 30 days. (I don’t hold out a lot of hope of finishing that in grand style.)  Meanwhile I have 3 commissions & 3 shows that I desperately want to enter.  I am no longer a member of the cult of busy.  I don’t celebrate or glorify it.  But I have certainly bitten off more than I can chew. How do you rank your art priorities?  When you figure that out consider this Call.

Check out this Call for Entries from the Las Laguna Gallery (Laguna Beach, CA) for Mixed Media, Collage and Digital Art, $35 entry & 35% commission.  Don’t miss this opportunity…

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CALL for ENTRIES:
Mixed Media, Collage & Digital Art
from Las Laguna Gallery

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ELIGIBILITY: Open to all artists

MEDIA: Open to mixed media, collage & digital art

DEADLINE:  January 11, 2020

NOTIFICATION: January 17, 2020.  If accepted, delivery of work is January 30-February 4.

ENTRY FEE: $35 for up to 3 

SALES: The gallery will retain 35% commission on all sales.

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

a sleepy SIP

Ginger ale has offered me clarity, of sorts.  As a 40-year insominiac, I have tried everything from warm milk to herbal remedies and tryptophan-laden foods to no avail.  For the last few years my only manner of sleep has been pharmaceutical, taken in half-doses to fend off side effects.  But in the end, long term use of sleep aids has side effects, the worst has been fogginess & some memory loss.  Six weeks ago, I started taking a double-strength, full spectrum CBD oil.  It took 5 days to build up in my system before I started magically falling asleep in 15 minutes instead of 3+ hours.  The pros a gentle lifting of my fog; I can hear the birds’ chatter outside my studio window again, even with this morning’s snowfall.  I am experiencing a gradual but noticeable improvement in my day to day memory which makes working in series flow easier. I am getting nearly twice as much sleep per night, on average, as I have since I was in elementary school.  The cons?  The taste of CBD oil. Ginger ale has ridden to the rescue and is an easy and obvious trade for chirping birds and living color.  What trade will you make?

With my newly-found sleep has come reduced anxiety surrounding my trajectory as an artist.  I know the paths, where they converge, where they change priority, if you’ll let them.  I cannot say this often enough.  Enter the shows that serve you.  Use them to determine your audience, test your narrative and create your own story.  The creative process will serve you if you let it.  This next Call is for a small gallery in California with a prolific show history and a straightforward curatorial approach.  Does this show offer an outlet that serves your work?  Investigate. 

Check out this Call for Entries from the Las Laguna Gallery (Laguna Beach, CA) for Animalz, a show of depicting animals, real or imagined. $35 entry & 35% commission.  Don’t miss this opportunity…

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CALL for ENTRIES:
Animalz 2020
from Las Laguna Gallery

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ELIGIBILITY: Open to all artists

THEME:  Animalz.  “Las Laguna Gallery invites . . . . artwork depicting animals (real or imagined)” — laslagunagallery.com

MEDIA: Open to all media, including acrylic, airbrush, assemblage, charcoal, color pencil, collage, digital art, drawings, encaustic, fiber art, araphite, illustration, mixed media, new media, oil, painting, pastel, photography & watercolor.

DEADLINE:  December 7, 2019

NOTIFICATION: December 14, 2019.  If accepted, delivery of work is December 26-31.

ENTRY FEE: $35 for up to 3 

SALES: The gallery will retain 35% commission on all sales.

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

the SMOOTH move

I found a culinary treasure in my own backyard.  Because leftovers are common in our house, I often send my husband back to work with them at lunch, and one of his co-workers in particular is commonly the lone “taker”.  I am delighted that it isn’t wasted AND that my number of repeats of a given meal is reduced.  As an unneccessary and unexpected “thank you” for all the lunches, she sent two packaged meals home with him from a local service that specializes in locally sourced, fresh made “take home meals”.  They are available fresh or frozen and they are delightful.  I stopped by to pick up 10 meals today… for $7 each.  Woohoo!  What an exciting find!  I asked them how long they had been in business assuming they were new.  Nope.  Eight years.  I have been missing out for 8 years.  Wow.  What have you been missing out on for years?

The end of the year always makes me cast a glance foward to the new year.  I don’t make resolutions, but I do re-evaluate each year to see how I can be happier in my studio practice, how I can be happier in my personal life and how I can make my studio life and home life work better together.  Recently I have really been enjoying making small works.  I completed fourteen 4″x8″ pieces recently, formatting their layout for pre-selected frame sizes.  I don’t usually work backwards from the frame, so that was a new experience.  Are you updating your practice?  This next call is one of my favorites.  The deadline is very close, but it isn’t thematic, so you HAVE WORK to submit, regardless.  Don’t miss out.

Check out this Call for Entries for the 57th Annual Juried Exhibition from the Masur Museum of Art (Monroe, LA). $20 Entry & no commission.  This is a stunning museum show with such history. This is one of my favorite shows of the year.  Take a look…

CALL or ENTRIES:
56th Annual Juried
from Masur Museum

ELIGIBILITY: Open to all US artists 18+

MEDIA: Open to all media

DEADLINE: December 5, 2019 (5pm CST) 

NOTIFICATION:  January 17, 2020

ENTRY FEE: $20 for 2, $10 ea. add’l (5 max.)

JUROR: Allison Glenn, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville, AR).

AWARDS: Best in Show is $1,000, and total awards are $3,200. The People’s Choice Award is $200 and will be voted on by visitors throughout the run of the exhibition. Best Packed: $100 This award will honor for the artist who packs their art in the most professional manner. 

SALES: The Masur Museum of Art does not receive a commission on sales.

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

this is how we STEW IT

I making stew in the slow cooker today. *cues the Fall music*  Like clockwork, soups and stews suddenly appear several times a week once the temperature outside drops 10 or 15 degrees.  Old habits die hard, and I have no motivation to change this one since it only leads to easier dinners and more studio time.  Other habits are worth changing though.  Late night snacking has to stop (for me), and breakfast has got to get less boring.  What norms do you want to change?

My studio habits are already on the move. I have been slowly shifting my work toward the studio work that will be my future.  I’ve worked hard to change my thinking about the expected artist career arc, and the effect I allow the perception of others to have on my work.  It started with a media change and progressed to extricating myself from multiple arts organizations that were all take and no give.  It has now moved to considering opportunites based on desired outcomes versus how I feel about entering.  I will still enter shows whose themes excite me, but I am better equipped to say “no” to shows that don’t serve my purposes.

With that process in mind, I am breaking another of my rules by publishing two calls in one post.  They both come from the same gallery, Limner, that has a long curatorial and sales history to be dissected and interpreted by you.  But these opportunities couldn’t be more different.  One show is a more traditional juried show with standard risk, fees & commission with the possibility of a bonus publication award.  The other show is a lightly juried, retail-oriented show that has no entry fee, but front loads the risk of no sales onto you with a hanging fee.  The commission skews sightly less as the pieces get more expensive.  Depending where you are in your career and what your current goals are, one or both of these shows can work for you.  But you have to do the work to figure it out.  No more auto-pilot.  Let’s make that next year’s theme… no more auto-pilot.

These calls cover a wide spectrum of show options in one place.  Check out these Calls for Entries from Slow Art Productions for Emerging Artists and Holiday Smallworks at the Limner Gallery (Hudson, NY). $35 & 35% for the Emerging Artist show.  No entry fee & 35% after the first $100 on the Holiday Smallworks show.  Both are open to all media and all artists.  Carefully examine these opportunities…

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CALL for ENTRIES:
Emerging Artists and Holiday Smallworks
at the Limner Gallery

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ELIGIBILITY:  Open to all artists 18+

MEDIA: Open to all media.  Note: Work submitted to smallworks show must be 18″ or under. 

DEADLINE: October 31, 2019

NOTIFICATION: December 30, 2019 for Emerging Artists.  Rolling Notifications for Holiday Smallworks.

ENTRY FEE: $35 for up to 4, for the Emerging Artists exhibit; no entry fee for the Holiday Smallworks, but there is a hanging fee.  Do not waste your time or the gallery’s time applying for the Holiday show if you haven’t read the fine print.

SALES:  SlowArt Productions will retain 35% commission on sales.  The Holiday Smallworks show is commission free for the first $100.  Note:  Please do the math.  The commission of the Holiday Smallworks show is calculated differently, and you should be aware BEFORE you submit work.

For complete details, Read the Full Calls!

sneaky SNACKS

Do you stop eating at a certain time at night?  I have relapsed into late night snacking, and now I have a rock in my stomach every night when I am already struggling to sleep.  Ahhhh.  I go to sleep later, so I get up later, so I get into the studio later, so I get less done.  If I could close my mouth, I could make more art.  I think I’ve heard that before, ha.  

I have been away from posting for a while because I have also been having a hard time keeping my mouth closed in this volatile poitical climate.  It is helpful for me to remember that not everything is about me, and sometimes I just have to walk away.  It is with that in mind that I remind you that this Call is not for all of you.  I normally refrain from publishing regional calls; however, a significant number of AAAD subscribers live in this region.  So, this Call isn’t for me, but it might be for you.  This opportunity includes the main exhibit AND satellite exhibits.  (And, please share this Call with your California friends and peers.)

Check out this Call for Entries from Richmond Art Center (Richmond, CA) for The Art of Living Black.  This is a great multi-venue exhibition opportunity. $65/$75 entry & 40% commission. And, this is a great venue…

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CALL for ENTRIES:
The Art of Living Black 
from Richmond Art Center

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ELIGIBILITY:  Open to all artists of African descent, who are 16 years or older, and who reside/work within the nine counties of the California Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma).

MEDIA: Open to all media 

DEADLINE:  October 31, 2019

NOTIFICATION:  June 15, 2018

ENTRY FEE: $75 for 1, $65 for RAC members

CURATION:  This event is organized by The Art of Living Black Steering Committee in partnership with the Richmond Art Center. The Steering Committee is a dedicated group of established Bay Area artists touched by the vision of founders Jan Hart-Shuyers and Rae Louise Hayward. The group’s mission is to preserve and expand the vision of their beloved founders by supporting emerging, mid-career and established artists of African descent.

AWARD:  The Art of Living Black registration fee includes participation in the exhibition at the Richmond Art Center and open studios/satellite exhibitions. Artists without a space for open studios/satellite exhibitions can request to be offered a space. Artists who do not wish to participate in open studios/satellite exhibitions may choose to opt out at the time of registration (the fee remains the same).

SALES:   40% commission on all sales will go to The Richmond Art Center. 

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

fair FARE

When’s the last time you ate a candied apple?  I haven’t had one in a while either.  Every year I am tempted at the Tennessee Valley Fair to at least have a caramel apple, but I chicken out every time.  I mean, I’m not afraid of the sugar-draped fruit, but it seem like a commitment.  It’s not like I can eat it with a knife and fork in deliberate portions; you have to sink into it teeth first, knowing you may end up wearing it face, fingers, clothing and all.  I’m not ready.

This next call is a worthy pursuit on its own, but it is also a measured solution to the art fair.  When’s the last time you contemplated participating in an art fair like Art Basel?  One option is to venture out on your own, which can be very expensive & risky if you aren’t in the right place for that opportunity.  Another possibility is going as a part of a group or gallery, which still involves costly production like framing and shipping with no guarantee of sales.  If you’re not ready for either of those options, this call from Create! Magazine gives you an opportunity to reach the Miami art week audience without the commitment to a booth.  Their curatorial history proves you’ll be in excellent company.  Think about it.

Check out this Call for Entries from Create! Magazine (print publication) for the Miami Art Basel Edition.  The 3rd Annual Art Miami Edition will be released during 2019 Miami Art Week in December, available in international shop locations & during VIP preview night at Art Miami Fairs.  Don’t miss this chance…

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CALL for ENTRIES:
Miami Art Basel Edition of Create! Magazine

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ELIGIBILITY:  Open to all artists

MEDIA:  Open to all media, i.e.: painting, sculpture, digital, printmaking, fiber, mixed media, photography, installation & more.

DEADLINE:  September 30, 2019

ENTRY FEE:  $35 for up to 3

JUROR:  The Director of 3 galleries in central London and New York, Rebecca Hossack was born in Melbourne in 1955.  Following degrees in Law and in History of Art, Hossack studied at Christie’s and at The Guggenheim in Venice. She set up her own gallery in Windmill Street, Fitzrovia, in March 1988. Hossack’s business, despte the economic climate, has not only survived, but thrived. From 1993-7, Hossack served as the Australian cultural attaché in London, initiating literary links between Australian and British writers and organising a series of exhibitions of Australian art in London.

AWARDS:  Artists selected by the guest juror will receive a 2-page spread including a brief bio, website, and 2 images in print and digital formats. Published artists will receive a complimentary digital issue and will be listed on Create! Magazine’s website/social media & will be listed with images, details and information on theirr website/social media for life. All featured artists will automatically be considered for any upcoming curatorial projects & exhibitions organized by the Create! team.  

SALES: The 3rd Annual Art Miami Edition will be released during 2019 Miami Art Week in December, available in international shop locations & during VIP preview night at Art Miami Fairs. 

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

SOUPER bowls

I plead guilty to taking my eating utensils and dishes for granted.  Because of my love for the art of plating food, I’ve always owned solid white functional dishware.  My mother is a “collector” of flatware and hasn’t allowed me to pick my own, EVER.  It is bestowed upon me on occasion without request or explanation.  We all have our burdens, ha.  

Now I am married to a commercial production potter (120+ pots a day & NOT pictured here), and suddenly the world of dishware is my oyster.  Did you know you need differently sized and shaped bowls for salad, cereal & pasta? As I said, we all have our burdens, ha.  I love eating out of the bowls my husband has thrown.  Every once in a while he comes home with a “one off” just for me because he thought it looked like it was “meant for me”.  *swoon*  I’ve been trying to convince him to enter this show because I love this venue.  It isn’t restricted to a literal interpretation, so be sure to investigate this opportunity. 

Check out this Call for Entries from Arts Benicia (Benicia, CA) for Table Testaments.  $45 Entry & 40% commission. Take a closer look at this community-based non-profit…

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CALL for ENTRIES:
Table Testaments 
from Arts Benicia

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ELIGIBILITY:  Open to all artists 18+

MEDIA: Open to ceramic, wood, glass, metals, paintings, prints, photographs, mixed media, installation artworks & digital works.

THEME:  This exhibition will coincide with seasonal gatherings around tables, offering an exploration of sculptural and functional tableware as contemporary carriers of narrative & story – central elements in human gatherings.  Utensils and flatware, table linens and tables & chairs themselves will be considered, as will wall-hung works that relate to the exhibition subject.

DEADLINE:  October 2, 2019

NOTIFICATION:  October 12, 2019

ENTRY FEE: $45 up to 3 ($35 for members) 

JUROR:  Juan M. Santiago’s art practice explores the narrative of human experience using traditional & non-traditional methods in clay and other mediums. He has taught at Sonoma State University, Diablo Valley College, Chabot College & California College of the Arts. He is currently a professor at Southern Oregon University. Juan holds an MFA from Alfred University & a BFA from California College of the Arts & Crafts.

AWARD:  Best of show $250, Juror’s Choice 2-D $100 & Juror’s Choice 3-D $100.

SALES:  Arts Benicia, a non-profit organization, receives 40% commission on sales.

For complete details, Read the Full Call!