JAM FINE ARTS

Submitted three pieces today for Side Street Studio Arts' "Off the Wall" exhibition for later this summer. I offered to do a site-specific Outgrowth installation. I'd love to show that. The fun part would be working with a random space they allot to me. If accepted, it would be Outgrowth 3.

"OFF THE WALL is for non-traditional and alternative 3D works that utilize conventional and non-conventional installation procedures. Architectural, 3D printed, textiles, kinetic works, clay, ironwork... ... any artwork in the Third Dimension may be submitted.
​This exhibit will be juried. 
​This exhibit is open to the public August 6 - 29, with an Opening Reception Friday, August 6 from 6-9pm.  Submissions must be received by Sunday, July 25th @ midnight. No late submissions will be accepted. 
Accepted artists will be notified via email by Wednesday the 28th of July.
​Please complete the submission form below. Submission images must be sent through this application.
Submissions will be limited to 3 works or less, including sets."

Goldilocks Panopticon 1, 2021, is a woven glass and reflective bead tile mosaic on a full dome security mirror with optional chain for suspending it from a ceiling or beam. It is part of the Panoption series. I am working on a 36" GP2.

Below are some WIP shots:

I applied to Harper College's Small Works show. I didn't get in the last time I tried 3 or 4 years ago. We'll see. Galleries only have so many pedestals to go around. Oh, I forgot. This is the place that notifies the artists by posting accepted works on a web page instead of  an email notification. Right.

Call for Artists and 2021 Exhibition Calendar 

• 6/28:  Entry deadline 
• 7/30:  Jury notification posted on website 

• 8/24:  Deadline for artwork to be received 
• 9/20 - 10/28:  Exhibition at Harper College 

Online Entry and DetailsELIGIBILITY AND MEDIA

• All artists age 18 and over living in the United States are eligible.
• In its largest dimension, artwork must be 24 inches or less, including frame if applicable.
• All media are eligible, excluding jewelry and film/video.
• Weight limitation: 45 pounds
• Work that requires special installation or instructions will NOT be accepted.
• Only work created within the last three years is eligible.

ENTRY AND ONLINE PROCESS 
All Small Works entries will be judged from digital files. Before entering, prepare the following:

1.  Required Artwork Information for each entry:

• Title
• Medium
• Sale Price
• Insurance Value
• Actual and Framed Art Sizes in inches (height" x width" x depth") 

2. Required Digital Image File for each entry, up to three (3) per artist

• File Format: .jpg only, maximum 2 MB file size
• File Name: Artist’s last name_First initial_number of image
  (Note: Do not place your name into the digital image.) 
• Example: Smith_M_1.jpg

NOTIFICATION
Accepted entries will be posted on this web page by July 30, 2021. Individual notification will NOT be sent. Please check this webpage for the jury results.
ACCEPTED WORK
Presentation: All works must be delivered to Harper ready for hanging/ installation/display. For framed work, use Plexiglas only. Original work not accurately represented by the digital file may be declined at the discretion of the Juror. All work will be insured during the exhibition for the artist’s stated valuation.
Shipping: Work must be shipped in sturdy, reusable cardboard containers to arrive at Harper College no later than August 24, 2021. In-person deliveries for local artists may be arranged during August, pending campus safety protocols.  DO NOT use loose Styrofoam “peanut” packing. Works should not require special handling or instructions.
RETURN OF ACCEPTED WORK
Works will be returned in original containers via UPS as soon as possible after the close of the exhibition. The Exhibition will pay for return shipping, insuring containers per stated valuations.
CATALOG, SALES AND REPRODUCTION
In conjunction with the Small Works exhibition, a color catalog will be produced. Each participating artist will receive catalogs by mail after the exhibition closes. Harper College will not retain commission on sales. Consent to reproduction for publicity purposes for this or future Harper national exhibitions is considered granted. 

Oh. There are so many gorgeous and detailed images of the sun coming in that show the sun with a shaggy texture. I'm having flashbacks of goldenrod shag carpets from my childhood. I realize that this isn't the actual appearance and color of the sun due to filters...but I'm the artist and I'm running with it.

I am in the middle of a large study in which I am working out how best to capture shagadelic luminosity. I also did a small study with mistakenly purchased silver-lined beads where I experimented with expanding the hexagon weave as large as I could before losing control of it. (Note to self--four strands of embroidery floss when weaving with only glass 6/0 beads; three strands are too loose and floppy). The small study is on a large glass charger. It is a birthday present.

The larger 3-d study is on a 26" full-dome security mirror. I tried baby bear with mama bear tiles and spaced the tiles out more so that I could do more of a negative space treatment. I'm not very pleased with the mama bear tiles because the design gets more angular when beyond the first row. The surface of the sun doesn't have angles. I'm want the geometric negative space, but not in the beadwork which is too obvious.

I wanted to incorporate second-hand beads into the project. A lot of people are selling off extra 11 or 10/0 yellow beads. So I have a bunch of those and I'm going to start adding those in the next couple of days. I started doing this with the smaller beads on Honeymoon and I loved it. My only concern is that by placing the beads hole side up I won't get the shaggy texture I want. Then I will have to switch over to placing them in whole rows from the needle. The downside of that is that the design will be more opaque with less mirror shining through and I will use more beads.

I might try weaving the mama bears with only six reflective beads in the center. Then placing reflective beads in an arc through some of the woven voids and then continuing that line into the negative space to join it up with one from another tile. Yep. Blogging is magic.

Oo. I just looked at a mama bear and traced it out with my finger. It will work! That's how I'm going to do the next piece. The 36" full dome bought surplus is here. It came in a very battered box that was barely taped shut, but it's fine for my purposes.

Design note: I used a variety of thread colors and I really like the school bus yellow/orange. It gives the design more depth somewhat like the image below with the orange base color with yellow highlights. The thread color does a lot of visual heavy lifting in that it makes the piece more variegated, painterly, deep and less boring.

Color-wise I keep going back and forth. I think I want to make a yellow/white sun with a mix of white and yellow reflective beads and then I see these gorgeous solar astronomy images and I revert back to all yellow.

Above is one of Andrew McCarthy's solar astrophotographs. He's on Twitter and Instagram as @CosmicBackground. He has takes astro photos from his back yard in California. He sells his images as printed or digital merch.

Just uploading my Sunny Side talk slides here before I lose them.

Oceanic Panopticon, woven glass and reflective bead mosaic, 48x48x10, 2021, 7000

Flat Earth, woven glass bead mosaic on a preowned glass bowl, 12x12x2", 2018, 900

Solar Panels, bead mosaic on panels with solar light elements, 30x80x5, 2019, 7000

OUR PLANET: OURSELVESDEADLINE - MAY 16, 2021

Spring is here! And the beauty of our natural world is ever more apparent. Green shoots are poking through the crust, and once again the earth is warming in the sun. However “the warming earth” carries a more somber message as well—a reminder of the fruits of our greed, the fragility of our planet, the reality of our losses. And, as we face the urgency to respond, we seek to raise our artistic voices -- to celebrate, to mourn, to activate, and to contemplate how we live together in relationship to this one planet we must all share and nurture. 

We welcome all applications to our next juried show “Our Planet: Ourselves”, which will give expression to these messages. All media is accepted, including video, performance and sound; and all artists’ work will be considered. Due to space limitations no large projections or media-based installations will be accepted. Three “juror awards” will be selected for a small monetary award ($100 each); and awarded work will be featured on the ARC website.

The exhibition will run from June 24 - August 14, 2021. This time frame is equal to two ARC Gallery exhibition months - so more opportunity for your work to be viewed! We encourage everyone to enter (details below). 

Exhibition contingency plans:  
At this time, we plan to have an actual exhibition at the gallery. There will be no in-person opening, though we will have a virtual opening event on Zoom (parameters to be determined). The gallery will be open, but both hours and visitors will be somewhat restricted until it is safe to do otherwise. 

IF the city closes all businesses again due to COVID-19, the gallery will be closed, but we will have the entire show online visible to everyone who visits our website and social media sites; and we will send out a link to everyone on our mailing list, potentially around 4000+ viewers. All artists exhibiting will be identified, along with their work and their statement.  

COVID Gallery hours are: Fridays, 3-7; Saturdays and Sundays, 12-4. Masks for all visitors are required and no more than 6 people will be allowed in the gallery at one time.

Calendar, Eligibility and FeesExhibition Dates: Fri, June 25 - Sat, Aug 14, 2021
Virtual Opening Reception: Sat, June 26, 4pm - 6pm
Pick-Up Work at Gallery: Sat, Aug 14, 12:00pm – 4:00pm 
Shipped Work Return Date: Fri, Aug 21, 2021 *Pre-Paid FedEx or UPS label is required.* 
Do not use the U.S. Postal Service. 

ELIGIBILITY: 
Original works created within the last 5 years. All mediums and materials will be considered in addition to video and performance based arts. No projections or media installations will be accepted for this show due to space limitations. Open to all artists, national and international.

Gallery’s email is: info@arcgallery.org

EXHIBITION AND DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS:
• Work must arrive by scheduled dates or will not be hung.
• A label must be attached to the back/bottom of each work with name, title, medium and price.
• Work must be presented in a manner appropriate to the artwork and be equipped for presentation. If work isn’t shown in the traditional gallery sense; it should still able to be displayed in a professional manner by gallery installers per artist specifications.  
• Images of accepted works may be used at the sole discretion of ARC for promotional purposes including but not limited to invitations, postcards, and website. Image will include attribution.

ACCEPTED WORK: SHIPPING AND DELIVERY RETURN
With the exception of hand-delivered and picked-up work, all work shipped to and from the gallery must be paid ahead-of-time by the artist. 

QUESTIONS: Please feel free to contact gallery, during gallery hours, should you have any questions about show, submitting work, or prospectus.

ARC Gallery and Educational Foundation
COVID Gallery Hours: Open Fri - 3-7pm, Sat & Sun - 12-4pm; Closed Mon-Thurs.
1463 W. Chicago Ave 1st floor
Chicago, Illinois 60642
312 877-5760
info@arcgallery.org

Added June 2, 2021:
Jane Stevens accepted "Flat Earth" for this show.

Calendar
Work Delivered to ARC: Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat June 16-19, 2021 (Wed & Thurs 12-4pm, Fri 3-7pm, Sat 12-4.)
Exhibition Dates: Fri, June 25 - Sat, Aug 14, 2021
Virtual Opening Reception: Sat, June 26, 4pm - 5pm
Pick-Up Work at Gallery: Sat, Aug 14, 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Shipped Work Return Date: Fri, Aug 21, 2021 *Pre-Paid FedEx or UPS label is required.*
Do not use the U.S. Postal Service.

Virtual Opening Reception, Saturday, Sat, June 26, 4pm - 5pm

• Exhibition dates: JUNE 25 – AUG 14, 2021
• Current Gallery hours: Fri – 3-7 pm, Sat & Sun – 12-4 pm  

 Names of artists in the show:

'Honeymoon Panopticon, the second piece in the Panopticon Series, was inspired by a lack of consent, betrayal of romantic intimacy, and a smart phone. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
​
Unfortunately, the problem of lack of consent isn’t limited to intimate interpersonal relationships. It has become a concern worldwide. This results in an imbalance of power between the subjects of data collection and those who use it.
The Panopticon Series explores both the benefits and drawbacks of humanity's new capabilities to observe each other, our world, and our universe.

The piece is a woven bead tile mosaic on a 36" convex security mirror. Each tile is woven into the shape of a heart with reflective, pearly, and iridescent beads.

This piece will be debuted at Sculpture at the Kavanagh opening March 26, 2021. You can view the exhibition in person or through a virtual exhibition.
More info at the Fine Line Art Center's web site.

Applied to Sculpture at the Kavanaugh (3/26 to 5/8/21) with VALIS Lamp with Wearable Neuralink, Juicy Sunrise, and Honeymoon Panopticon.