COLUMBIA

Apply Often, Conrad from Page 11

labeled as well with whatever numbering system is requested by the
gallery in the proposal information. The clearer you are with every
aspect of the application (even if it seems redundant) the clearer it
will be to the jury panel, who can then focus on judging the work itself
rather than wasting valuable time figuring out what goes with what.

Apply often—dont get discouraged. It is always disappointing to
be rejected for whatever the reason, even when we don't know the
reason. It is important to realize that we each create unique work and
our work simply won't be accepted by every jury we submit to. For
each call for entry, rejections outnumber accepted applicants simply
based on demand. Try not to take it personally. So many variables
affect the outcome but with practice, at least the way in which we
present ourselves can be controlled and can be improved. It is another
learned skill not unlike learning to make pottery. It is a skill where it is
essential, as potters wishing to show work in gallery settings, to have at
least some basic comfort level.

A few notes on photographing your work:

With digital images being widely accepted these days, gone are the
days of having to shoot slides, and process film. I personally feel that a
photo booth in the studio is becoming a necessary piece of equipment.
Cameras are getting better and less expensive all the time. Investing in
a clean backdrop, a camera and tripod and proper lights in the studio
is very useful to any potter. Once you swallow the costs of the initial
setup, taking digital images really doesn’t cost anything. (Printing
them is another matter). Not only does a studio photo booth allow
us to easily take regular “reference” images of our work, with some
fine tuning it can also be used to take “professional” quality images,
ultimately saving in costs associated with having to hire a photographer
each time (and if I can do this, you can too). Sometimes it takes a little
trial and error—I usually take a bunch of shots of some pots and then
load them onto the computer to see how they look. The immediacy
of the results allows me to make adjustments to the camera angle or
perhaps tweak the lights a little and reshoot the pots to improve the
images. I shoot everything in the camera RAW format so that the
resulting photos are uncompressed (of the best quality) allowing them
to be used for any future purpose. Having learned to do this myself
allows me to put together packages very quickly and the ability to
do this has provided more opportunities that I would otherwise have
missed. It is a competitive market and I do think that we need to be
professional in other aspects other than just the playing with the clay.
Realistically, there is always ample warning for submission deadlines
so it does allow all of us to seek help if needed in putting together our
own professional portfolios. Good luck!

Vote for the Leach Pottery to receive the
next £100,000 Art Fund prize

There is no question that the British Columbian studio
movement was greatly influenced by Bernard Leach. A Potters
Book, the only publication available to student potters at one
time, was the bible. The Leach orientalist aesthetic was perfectly
suited to the Canadian west coast regional artistic identity. To help
preserve the Leach Pottery as a historic site please submit your vote
for this Arts Fund prize. It only takes a few minutes to complete

the form. TO VOTE: www.artfundprize.org.uk/2010/vote/

Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - March 2010

2 Pottery Sate!!! -®

A collectton created bY the
Atberthau Potters Club
The wort of over 30 Artists!

Saturday, April 24
LO AWM. -~4 pm.

42397 West 24 Avenue
Vancouver, B.C.

www. aberthaupotters.com

Don't forget your boxes or cloth bags to carry your pots home!

2010 Winifred Shantz Award
for Ceramists

This $10,000 award allows the recipient time away from the studio,
to travel for career development, link with mentors, visit other studios,
study museum collections, investigate kiln sites, or liaise with industry,
performing research that will further their studio production. Applicants
must have been working for a minimum of five years and a maximum
of ten years in a productive studio capacity. The jury will meet in the
late summer and the winner will be announced at a gala event held
in support of the gallery to be held September 16, 2010. Email your
resume, slide list and proposal to info@canadianclayandglass.ca by
June 30, 2010. Hard copy applications are due by 5 p.m., June 30,
2010. Contact: Robert Achtemichuk, Director, 519.746.1882x231,
robert@canadianclayandglass.ca

www.canadianclayandglass.ca/Awards.htm

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