that schmoozing thing

So I didn't really have any opportunities to get out and visit any shows around Dallas or Fort Worth because of... well, many reasons that I'd rather not bring up. However, I had a couple other neat encounters this semester that led to the spread of my art or just art in general, so I'll share those.

I met an artist at a Taco Bell. She never gave me her name, and I never gave her mine, which makes it seem like a weird dream or something. She had all her paints and canvas panels strewn about a couple of tables, which I thought was kind of weird, but when I approached her to talk about it she was very excited to find that I was also an artist and she showed me a binder full of pictures of her paintings and drawings over the years. It was really cool, she'd been working for decades and created these beautiful representational works that reminded me of concept art for disney- only far more developed- or like paintings one would use for a bestiary of creatures, anywhere from small paper-size to full-scale murals. I showed her a bunch of my paintings as well, and we bonded over our interests in certain animals and oil paint. I left after talking with her for a good half an hour, only realizing once I got home that I didn't exchange any semblance of contact info with her, which I regret. I'd love to see her work again.

I also did a couple of commissions for my aunt (they were like. oil paintings of her dogs), who posted it to her themed instagram and which led to about 7 different people emailing me about more commission work, which I'm always down to clown with. Since commission-based work tends to be one of my primary interests, this worked out really well for me.

Lastly, I had one of my favorite works up in the Lightwell Gallery for the senior Drawing and Painting Invitational, and I was excited to see quite a few people taking pictures of it and talking about it, but about a week ago one of my friends got in contact with me and let me know that her friend was actually writing a paper about it? When I asked for the details, I was told that she liked the piece so much that she picked it to be the subject of a paper she had to write, in which she had to basically guess why I created the works and what they were about. She wasn't able to talk to me directly while writing it, but she's planning on it once it's finished, and she's also going to let me read it and see how on point her guesses were. It may not be getting out and about to network, but just knowing that my paintings had that strong of an effect on someone, even just one person, is one of the best feelings in the world.

Schmoozing

This semester during the Metals Club “Late Night”, Cathy Hartman came to visit us to “show and tell” her personal jewelry collection. Cathy is the associate dean of the UNT Libraries and it was so nice of her to share her collection with us. She had some pieces that were from the 1970s, some of the newer ones were from around 2010 and so on. It was very interesting to see all of the same techniques we all use in our metals projects and how they were used 40+ years ago to today. She had about 25+ pieces to show us with some more left at home. Some pieces were not stamped with a maker’s mark, this helped us all realize how important stamping our pieces truly is. Cathy had many questions about understanding the techniques that were used in the pieces she has collected which allowed us students to explain the process/technique to her, with the metals program professors there to approve of our explanations. She had some pieces that used techniques like reticulation, champlevé enamel, cloisonné enamel, many textured pieces, some with different stone settings, and some with very interesting mechanisms (necklace latches and hinges). Some pieces were very simple in design while others were more complex.

Meeting and talking with Cathy Hartman helped me realize that there are people who simply just want to collect unique jewelry pieces and that the pieces do not have to be “practical” to wear. It truly opened my eyes to more possibilities with my jewelry designs. Though, I do not know if she wears the pieces she has collected, I would imagine some that she has she might wear, but probably not all of them. Seeing her collection made me realize that I do not have to worry so much about a piece of jewelry to be wearable, for there ARE people who will simply buy it to collect it. Yes, I want to make wearable/practical pieces but it doesn’t have to always be so uptight. I should allow myself to let loose and do something fun for the collectors out there. Getting to talk with Cathy in our environment made it a very relaxed meeting.

Schmoozin'

Due to issues with work and that I don't have a car, I kept most of my schmoozing focused on a production company that I've had my eye on interning with since August. It's been pretty slow going, but I have a few good friends within the ranks who have introduced me to some other associates. While I know this has nothing to do with curating or gallery networking, this is more relevant to what I would like to do as a career. While it doesn't seem like a potential job in the immediate future, it's still good to see how things work from the people I've become connected with.

shmooze

On Halloween I went to a show at Pariah arts with some friends. Pear Earl was playing so we went to see them. After the show I met a woman named Brandy Adams who I talked to for a while with Lindsay. She was very nice and it was definitely a more unprofessional setting as we were all wearing ridiculous costumes, but she told me about the gallery she own and curates, WAAS Gallery. We exchanged info and we are now friends on the popular social media site facebook.

Schmooze

During the whole process of setting up our group show, 'Dissonance', at the black lodge, I had the privilege of meeting Evita Cortez and Darius Goodson. They are two artist who you can tell sincerely love what they do because of how committed they are to nurturing new art.
During our first meeting I got to explain my medium and my work and they shared a lot about the history of the venue and their work in the art world.
During installation I got to talk to Evita about one of my pieces she had liked, it made me feel a lot more at ease knowing she enjoyed my work. My main fear when it comes to my work is it being too kitschy but often times me trying to be not kitschy is just as destructive. My experience with The Black Lodge has helped me relax when composing my drawings and taught me to think more about space when speaking.

Schmooze

Earlier this semester Susan Goethel Campbell came to my Alternative Processes in Fibers class to give us a presentation about her work. Since I was also in the Weaving class right after alt processes, I was able to stick around after class and join in on a discussion she had with several other students about what to do after your undergrad.  This was extremely informative, and definitely worth being almost an hour "late" to weaving. During this discussion she mentioned that she had once needed several girl scout cookie plastic containers for a piece, and how difficult it was to find them when they weren't actually on sale. I told her that I work for the Girl Scouts and that if she ever needed any more containers to just let me know, I could definitely get them. The next day I stopped by to help with the instillation of her piece in the UNT Dye Garden. Overall it was just really great to get to meet her, and talk with her. I really think that these schmoozing kind of things have to happen naturally, and this felt so natural I almost forgot about it in the context of this class.

if ya don't schmooze ya looze

             During my group's reception for our 'Dissonance' show, I had the pleasure of meeting an interesting character named Rick Vesny. Rick approached me, and seemed to be very taken with the pieces I had displayed in our show. Although he is not necessarily a "professional" in the art world, he mentioned some great resources and gallery names in the DFW area. He also  mentioned that he was available to photograph work in the future, which is a great option to consider if I am ever in need of a photographer. I also got to chat with someone named Darrel, (which I believe was a friend of Gideon Swift, and art dealer mentioned by a couple people in my group) and I, unfortunately, did not catch his last name. We discussed my process, and the meaning behind my work. He seemed to have a great reaction to my pieces, and I also got to discuss the endless possibility of meanings behind my pieces, and how/why each viewer reacts differently. Overall, our group show was such a rewarding experience. Darius and Evita were so helpful throughout this whole process, aand were an absolute joy to work with.