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I would love to talk with artists that have been accepted to the annual art festivl.  Two years running i have buffed up my booth, taken what i believed to be amazing photos, wrote precise descriptions, and bam, rejected.  In the body of the rejection email KRASL made it clear that people are rejected often several years running, and please try again.   It baffles me.  Granted i work in wearable fiber and wonder often if that is a limiting factor.  

They do invite artists to attend the jury process, which is refreshing and rare... sadly i live 5 hours drive from there, and could not break away to be there for the jury.  I also wonder if that is a limiting factor.

If you have done the event, can we chat either on this blog or via email?

After having a banner year last year, I'm receiving a lot more rejections this year. I don't know what has changed? I was rejected for South University Art Fair, Crosby Festival of the Arts and now tonight Arts and Apples. It makes me wonder about my other applications. Will those be okay or will I see more rejections? I guess I am in a down year. Which I did not anticipate...

Although I certainly wanted to be accepted into the Upper Arlington Arts Festival -- a show in a wealthy suburb of Columbus OH that my customers say I HAVE to start doing -- the sting almost went away when I read the line in the rejection email that said juror comments were available upon request.

What???  They'll actually share the jury notes and we don't even have to beg?

Thinking this was too good to be true, I jumped on the offer right away and shot back a request for comments.  And today, about a week later, the blessed news arrived.

First there was a brief description of the jury composition, the judging process and the scoring mechanism.  Then my score on a 7-point scale.  Then the median score in my category.  Finally, the jurors' verbatim comments.

Wow.  Really impressive.  More detail than I've ever received.  A little confusing because all the jurors' comments were quite positive, yet I didn't even make the wait list.  The other applicants must have been really good, and I say good for them.

I feel so positive about this show's transparency and respectful behavior that I will happily donate my jury fee again next year.  I'm even feeling inspired to pull out the sketchpad and try to up my game with some new and improved work in the hopes of improving my score next year.

So if you'll be in the Midwest over Labor Day weekend in 2015, give this show a try.  You'll find them on Zapp.

So, I received notification that I was not accepted to a small local show. It was my first show ever and I was in this show three times. It's not a huge sales show. But it is fun nonetheless and about only 5 minutes from my home. But not being accepted this time feels like a kick in the gut...

I even did a poster for the Holiday show last year!

When you work hard with special care or effortlessly from some kind of pure place of personally unique concentration then the art you are creating is precious and unparalleled in value. That this is true whether or not a juror helping assemble a show thinks it's a good fit or not into that show doesn't take away from any of this value. Ever. Can't happen. Good work reflects unique vision. And unique vision operates quite beyond the financial realm. Mind you, most of us can't afford to lock into pure Vision and pay our bills so some commercialization or popularization of our artistic voice has to happen in order for it to relate to the hearts of the people who will eventually connect with and even buy our work.

That's ok, that's just us interpreting our unique Vision for the outside world. Part of the education process we artists offer the world at-large.

Ain't no jury gonna tell you otherwise. What's yours is yours and rejections can't take that from you.

Don't absorb whatever energy you think might be contained in a non-invite to ANY show. Chances are it's not the integrity of your work, your images, or your booth that done your chances in this go round - more likely it's just a plethora of entries bouncing off the eyes of well intentioned jurors who must stay somewhat mindful of the potential of the local populace to embrace the work they're choosing. As much as not being included into a show shouldn't hurt is as much as being included in a show shouldn't make you feel good!

Don't absorb any of that noise. None of it's healthy. Stay pure to your Vision, your process, your optimism and know that what happens next is perfect and right - no matter what.

Figure these shows are all moving targets and the best way to catch the ones you need are to:

• apply to multiple shows with an open mind
• stay true to you vision but
• be willing to grow and adapt when doing so serves you
• Big shows aren't always big shows and neither are little ones always little ones

When you don't get into the shows you hoped for log into this site to semi-privately blow off steam so you can go back to your drawing board and design or re-do the work you feel reflects the world you care to illuminate. Because no jury's decision is going to help you do that, yea or nae. That's not their job. That's your job. And you do it well. You do it so well you're unstoppable!