JAM FINE ARTS

Celebrating its 101st year, the Oak Park Art League (OPAL) proudly announces a regional call for art work with Art 101: A Regional Juried Exhibition.  OPAL is looking for work that best demonstrates the artist's use of materials and mastery of skill in their chosen medium.  
Artists are invited to submit up to 3 images that best represent their current artistic practice.  
Submissions are open to artists over 18 years of age, living in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. 
All mediums will be considered. (drawing, painting, mixed media, digital/new media, printmaking, photography, ceramics, fiber, glass, sculpture).
Size is limited to 48” in its largest dimension. All work should have been created in the past 3 years.
Juror:  Sarah Cox, Manager of Collections and Exhibitions, Elmhurst Art Museum
Dates to Remember:
Call opens:  March 18th, 2022
Submission deadline: Friday, July 15th, midnight
Email Notifications of Acceptance: August 1, 2022
Delivery of work: August 22-27, 2022
Exhibition dates: September 1-30, 2022
Opening Reception: September, 9th 7-9pm
SUBMISSION VIA SUBMITTABLE ONLY - LINKImportant Information:

• Accepted work should be shipped or dropped off to our Carriage House Gallery at 720 Chicago Ave. Oak Park, IL 60302 and arrive between August 22nd and 27th.
  
• OPAL reserves the right to reject work that is significantly different from the original submission.
  
• All accepted work must remain on display through the duration of the exhibition.
  
• Submission fee is $40 for up to three images of work. One additional image will be accepted for each 3-dimensional piece at no additional cost.
  
• All work must be ready to hang. Work that arrives with saw tooth hangers will not be installed. Works with frame hanging wire and D-rings preferred.
  
• Incomplete submissions will not be considered.
  
• Submission fees are non-refundable.
  
• All shipped work received, MUST include a prepaid shipping label for return of the work. OPAL will not ship work without this prepaid label.
  

Juror Information:
Originally from Geneva, Illinois, Sarah Cox is the Manager of Collections and Exhibition at the Elmhurst Art Museum, in Elmhurst, Illinois. She works closely with artists, curators, and creative groups to create innovative exhibitions. She also manages the Mies van der Rohe design home, the McCormick House, located on the museum’s campus. Previously, Sarah was the Manager of Collections and Exhibitions at the Zanesville Museum of Art, in Zanesville, Ohio. She earned her BA in Studio Art and Art History from Illinois College and her MA in Art History and Theory from Northern Illinois University. Sarah has also interned at the Museum of Contemporary Art-Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, National Hellenic Museum, and the Geneva History Museum.

Artist statement on the three submitted pieces:
​"Throughout my career, I have created a distinct body of woven bead mosaics on canvas, panels, salvaged glassware, and other objects. My work evolved out of an interest in environmentalism and upcycling. I create my mosaics on second-hand or salvaged objects. These three works have been layered over salvaged security mirrors. I enjoy working with glass on mirror for the added luminosity from the light bouncing back through the glass beads. In addition to glass beads, I also weave reflective beads into the designs. Again, this adds another luminous effect that, in these pieces, also references the reflective phenomenology of water and ice. I weave the bead mosaic tiles out of new beads, but the supplemental beads between tiles are often second hand.

These three pieces are from an exploration of environmental issues surrounding climate change. "Oceanic Panopticon" is a study of the Pacific Ocean that is one of largest engines of Earth's climate. "Permafrost Panopticon" and "Morteratsch Glacier" are from a series of pieces in which I am calling attention to bodies of geologic ice while they still exist."

I'm pleased with the cohesiveness of the group of art works I was able to enter.

Gallery Seven in Lockport, IL
Important Dates: 
September 7-9: Notification of selected works via e-mail
September 23-26: Delivery of Work 
September 30: “Illiart” opens 
October 3: Opening Reception 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
October31: “Illiart” Closes 
  
   Uh-oh-- "Work that requires special installation or instructions will NOT be accepted." Reader, the show accepts every media except video and film, so I don't know what they are going to do for installation art pieces. Most sculpture is somewhat challenging to display.

Anyway, it is in the jurors hands now. Jurors are people with their own tastes, skill levels, pet media and their own ideas for what kind of show they want they want to build.

So, I started editing some of my portfolio archive photos in Lightroom. After a couple of days of tutorials and videos, they are a hair better. I am still learning the program. I am trying to create a few good-enough pictures to post to Behance and hopefully make some connections there. The ultimate goal is to connect with architects.
