In addition to Mother’s Day, this weekend is also the Second Saturday Artwalk in Downtown Lafayette, LA for the month of May. This Artwalk will feature work from students of the Lafayette Parish School System and the Talented Art Program in several galleries and restaurants around the downtown area. As a former Talented Art Program student from the New Orleans area, I can attest to the importance of such a program and it’s impact. So be sure to come out and see what future professional artists are doing in our community! As promised, here is this month’s schedule:
Acadiana Center for the Arts -101 W. Vermilion St. / 233-7060
Main Gallery: May 8 – July 24, 2010 Southern Open 2010
Side Gallery: May 8 – June 4, 2010 Jeremiah Ariaz: Tucumcari
Vault Series: May 8 – July 24, 2010 Pat Juneau
Architects + Artists Gallery– 200 Jefferson St. / 234-4166
Artwork by students of the Lafayette Parish School System’s Talent Art Program
Cajun Spice– 535 Jefferson St / 232-3061 Eclectic Chairs, Mosaics and More by Tanya Falgout through May 31
Cité des Arts– 109 Vine St. / 291-1122
Artwork from the local talent in our Lafayette Parish Schools.
Galerie Eclaireuse– 535 Jefferson St. / 234-5492 Sue Boagni and Paul Schexneider
Gallery 549– 549 Jefferson St. / 593-0796 Frederic O. Daspit – New Sculpture
Gallery R (at The Russo Group)– 116 E. Congress St. / 769-1530 Exuberance: The Art of Coyo
"Special Ingredients" by Amy Guidry; (c) Amy Guidry 2010
Funny that I just wrote a post on how to get your work published,that I received some good news regarding my own art. I had submitted my work to Adbusters Magazine quite some time ago and the right opportunity has finally presented itself. It just so happens my painting “Special Ingredients” is the perfect fit for one of their features and will be in the July/August 2010 issue. (That’s it on the left!) More good news- my work will also be featured with an artist’s profile/gallery on the beinArt Surreal Art Collective. I’ve been a fan of this site for quite awhile now and am honored to be included among the many talented artists featured there. I don’t have an exact date on when my work will be posted, but I will let everyone know as soon as it is online. In the meantime, be sure to check out their site (the name is a link!) and also be sure to check out Adbusters- online or in the bookstore. And if you would like to see more of my work, visit my website at www.AmyGuidry.com.
May issue of Art Calendar Magazine- my profile is featured on pg. 44
One question that I seem to get repeatedly as an artist, and not from viewers but from other artists, is “how do you get your work published?” On my website, you will find a Press section in which I post articles in newspapers, magazines, and sometimes online articles about my work. (Take a look at www.amyguidry.com/press.html) If I had to estimate, I would say that 70% of those originated because I notified writers and editors about my exhibits or announcements. (For the record, Art Calendar’s Louise Buyo contacted me- I just got lucky on that one!) Of course these days, press is viral, so if one blog or paper publishes you, another will then post something. I’ve had that happen a lot as well, which I did not directly influence. Anyway, I want to give you some helpful information to boost your own publicity.
First, assuming you already know what you want to promote, make a list of your local media. If it’s an out-of-state show, you should also do some research and find their media contacts as well. Get some double-duty out of your efforts. Once you have your media contacts- names of actual people, not just the name of the newspaper, etc., you can start writing your press release. I’m no writer, (yes, ironic since I have a blog…), but I always write a press release when I have a show or a big award or something I think the general public may find interesting. In your press release, which I like to limit to a one-page letter for expediency, you should give the usual- who, where, when, how, and why. You don’t want to write a bland description covering all these bases. I know- but isn’t that the writer’s job- to spruce things up? Yes, but there is a lot of news out there in the world, and especially for newspapers, it has to be covered quickly on a daily basis and they don’t have enough writers to possibly cover everything. This means you need to get their attention with something that sounds too great to not write about and make it easy for the writer to get all their information in the least amount of time possible.
So, here’s how to do it: You need a pitch. You can’t just write, “I am having an exhibition this Saturday at the Big Time Art Museum.” Start brainstorming. What reasons do you have for the public to find this interesting? Think in terms of impressing not just your writer or editor, but the public as well since that’s who you’re ultimately trying to impress. Think of what would matter most to the public. What is the most significant factor behind your news? How will it affect the public? Think of this as telling a story, not just stating facts.
Once you have your letter written, you can then add to your press release by including images. Either photographs, or a CD, or a brochure- just something with images pertaining to your news. A CD may be best since the writer can automatically use images from it, but if you can also offer to email high-resolution images. Oh, and be sure to send all of this to your media prospects well in advance of your event. I have found that it can take up to 3 months to get coverage, so the sooner the better. Depending on the publication, they may be booked for awhile and not able to fit your story in on short notice. Regardless, give at least a month’s notice to ensure at least some coverage.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear back right away… or at all even. Sometimes it takes a few tries, especially if you are unfamiliar to the media. Be persistent (and patient!). Questions? Feel free to ask. Comments? Let me know. www.AmyGuidry.com
If you’ve been following my blog, you may recall awhile back that I was to have a show at the Schepis Museum in Columbia, LA. Well, since that show had been planned a year in advance, and a lot can happen in the meantime, there were renovations being made that turned into a bigger project than expected. So my show had to be postponed. Well, I am happy to say that the time has come and my exhibit will open next month at the Schepis. This will be a solo exhibition of my New Realm series. This series has been in several locations in Louisiana, as well as Austin and Las Vegas. No two shows have ever been the same since works are sold and replaced or new work has been added by the time another show opens. So on and so forth.
The exhibit will open next month- May- and be open through the end of June. With a two-month display time, this should give many of you a chance to see the work in person. I can’t stress enough that I have to use low-res, small images on the web (thanks to copyright infringement), so seeing my paintings in person is a whole other experience. The opening reception will be held on Sunday, May 30th from 2-4 pm.
Many works from the New Realm series can be seen online at www.AmyGuidry.com. While you are there, be sure to check out my Press section for an article in the current issue of Art Calendar Magazine about New Realm.
"Artist Amy Guidry with Gallery 549 Director Don LeBlanc"
I think you should give the people what they want, and I have noticed as of late searches to my blog for info on the Second Saturday Artwalk in Lafayette, LA. So since I am a regular attendee and sometimes exhibiting artist of the ArtWalk, I thought I should provide a schedule for this month.
The April Artwalk is in conjunction with Festival International, so there are some special performances listed. Kind of short notice, but all of this will take place TOMORROW- April 10th.
6:30pm-8:30pm Recycled Cycles Trio Del Rio 6pm-8pm in front of Green Room Rhythm/Soul & Kabuki Kru with special guests Desert Shadows Belly dancers, DJ Dokda J, DJ Prima & DJ Andino 6pm-6:30pm & 7pm-8pm Jefferson St. Market Les Djembles (8 drummers playing West African Rhythms) 6:30pm-7pm Parc de Lafayette The Ryan School of Irish Dance 6pm Corner of Polk & Garfield on Marley’s side Lafayette High Arts Academy (street theater) 6pm-8pm in front of AcA For the Moment (Barbershop Quartet) 6pm-8pm Gallery Sans Souci Nouveau String Band 6pm-8pm Strolling along Jefferson St. Sweet Olive
Acadiana Center for the Arts– 101 W. Vermilion St. / 233-7060
Main Gallery: Through April 24, 2010; Susan Shaw: Moving Violations
Side Gallery: April 10 – 24, 2010; Festival Poster Artist: M. Craig “Whoojoo” McCullen & Bonnie Camos
Vault Series: Through April 24, 2010; Emily Wortman: Out Of The Rice Fields
Art House Circle Gallery: March 30 – April 10, 2010; LJ Alleman Student Showcase
Cajun Spice– 535 Jefferson St / 232-3061 Eclectic Chairs, Mosaics and More by Tanya Falgout April 10 through May 31
Cité des Arts– 109 Vine St. / 291-1122 Vestiges and Songs From a Room, two exhibits by Caroline Goodell
Galerie Eclaireuse– 535 Jefferson St. / 234-5492 Sue Boagni and Paul Schexneider
Gallery 549– 549 Jefferson St. / 593-0796 April Group Exhibitionfeaturing works by over 20 local artists
Gallery R (at The Russo Group)– 116 E. Congress St. / 769-1530 Les Ailes: The Art of Reggie Michael Rodrigue
Pottery Alley– 205 W. Vermilion St. / 267-4453 Esprit du Fest– Jessica Odell Courville
Amy Guidry's work in the No Dead Artists exhibit at Jonathan Ferrara Gallery
I came across an article the other day in the October 2009 issue of Allure magazine that I wanted to share. Their “Insider’s Guide” series usually takes on interesting topics with a sort of “how-to” approach. I found this one particularly interesting since it deals with art. Rory Evans wrote the piece “How to Visit an Art Gallery” which can be found online at http://www.allure.com/howtos/2010/01/visit_art_gallery. Silly as it may seem, there are many people that have never even set foot in a gallery before and honestly are intimidated. You don’t need to wax poetic about art or philosophy in order to attend an opening or visit a gallery on your own time. Just as anyone can appreciate music or film, the same goes for the visual arts. I can’t play an instrument, but I like Mozart. There’s no harm in that.
So here are some basics. First, galleries are free to visit. You are under no obligation to buy anything and you don’t have to pay to enter. (Museums usually have an admission cost or a suggested admission cost, but it won’t break the bank.) Galleries are generally open Tuesday through Saturday. Openings are generally held on weekends, usually the first or second weekend (be it a Friday or Saturday) of the month. Openings are held in the evenings in most cases, and are late hours with a high attendance. During the week it will be quieter, so you will have more opportunities to focus on the art and even stand back and view the work as a whole.
Galleries and museums both offer work for sale, but not all work is for sale in a museum. So if you are looking to buy, you have more options with galleries. They also change their shows on a monthly basis (for the most part), so there is always something new to see. Galleries will also introduce you to more “new” artists that may not have had as much exposure yet, whereas museums usually grant shows to more established artists.
Understanding the art does not require the Rosetta Stone. For starters, there’s usually an artist statement posted in the gallery whenever there is a show. The artist statement is written by the artist and is their personal account for their work. This will give you a good general idea about the roomful of work you see. It goes without saying, but also take into consideration the name of the show and the titles for the individual artworks. Many artists will admit that there are multiple interpretations of their work and that’s perfectly normal. You may see something different than the artist, or maybe you can add to what the artist feels. There’s no right or wrong answer. No one can tell you how to feel or what to feel, that’s your interpretation to make. All the artist can do is provide you with the information. And even if you do not have the opportunity to meet with the artist personally, you can always ask someone that works for the gallery. As for this artist, I am always open to questions, so feel free to contact me at www.AmyGuidry.com.
Awhile back, fellow artist Buddy Nestor asked if I would like to have my portrait done for a series he’s showing at The Toothless Cat Gallery. I was thrilled to be asked, and now I can share the result with you. The series is “Every Girl Goes to Hell” and will be on display at The Toothless Cat Gallery in Philadelphia, PA starting April 3rd. Buddy has painted numerous female artists for the series, choosing them based on their own artwork. Some of those artists include Edith Lebeau, Peggy Wauters, and Katie Perdue.
In Buddy’s own words, “All of the models I use for these portraits are very beautiful. However, when I paint them, they are very ugly.” But are they ugly? I find them quite intriguing, myself. You be the judge- the opening reception will be April 3rd from 6-10pm and the exhibit will be up through April 28th. For more of Buddy’s work, visit his website at http://buddynestorartwork.com.
"Untitled (Heads)" by Amy Guidry; (c) Amy Guidry 2010
I have some exciting news to share! My work was selected as a runner-up in the Creative Quarterly magazine’s CQ19 competition. This is the first time I’ve ever entered, so this was a nice surprise. Here’s their bio: “Creative Quarterly publishes the best work being done internationally in graphic design, illustration, photography and fine art. Published four times a year, we’re the only competition accepting entries from all parts of the globe.”
So as a runner-up my work will be featured on their website- www.cqjournal.com in June to coincide with the 19th issue on newsstands at that time. By the way, they picked my painting “Untitled (Heads)” as seen on the left. (Good thing, since that was the only piece I chose to enter!) You can see a larger photo on my website www.AmyGuidry.com.
Here’s a list of all of the winners:
Fine Art: Professional
Marie Bukowski
Sonja Danowski
Barbara Duval*
Brent Funderburk*
William Grigsby*, Reactor Art & Design Ltd.
Jillian Ludwig
Andrew Myers
Bruce Roberts*
Kerstin Stephan
Fine Art: Student
Sean Larson, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Angela Young
Graphic Design: Professional
Matteo Bologna*, Mucca Deslgn Corp.
Andrew Byrom
Adrienne Hooker, Studio Wan-ker
Therese Joanis, Leibold Associates, Inc.
Buck Smith
Christine Strohl, The Strohls
Alex Trochut
Marius Valdes, Zoo Valdes
Rozina Vavetsi, Rozina Vavetsi
Karin Von Ompteda, A Work of Science
Graphic Design: Student
Jeffrey Carpenter, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Johnny Chang, Art Center College of Design
Jiyun Ha, Art Center College of Design
Wayne Tang, Art Center College of Design
Jou Ying Liu
Illustration: Professional
Leeay Aikawa
Vlad Alvarez
Scott Bakal
Hans Baltzer
Sonja Danowski
Felix Gephart
Beppe Giacobbe*
Robin Hursthouse
Carl Johanson
Esa Peltonen
Giselle Potter
Steven Tabbutt
Hui Tsai
Illustration: Student
Catherine Choi, California College of the Arts
Sam Wolfe Connelly, Savannah College of Art & Design
Barbara Graetzer, Fashion Institute of Technology
Tory Novikova, Pratt
Shigeko Okada, School of Visual Arts
Alexa Thoen, Minneapolis College of Art & Design
Christine Wu
Photography: Professional
Michael Alberstat, Alberstat Productions Inc.
Marti Belcher
David Ellingsen
Elwin Goh
Steffanie Halley
Jens Honore
Harold Lee Miller
Jes Schrom
Richard Tuschman, Richard Tuschman Images
CQ19: Runners-Up
Runners-up will be displayed on the online Gallery June 2010.
Fine Art: Professional: Runner Up
Paul Cooper
Kelli Craig
Barbara Duval*
Brent Funderburk
Amy Guidry
Chunghee Han
Anita Kunz
Roselyn Leibowitz
Wade Mickley
Jane Powers
Lucas Richards*, MouseSaw
Steven Tabbutt
Jaime Zollars
Fine Art: Student: Runner Up
Antony Anderson, Minnesota State University Moorhead
Abby Cline
Sean Larson, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Zach Nader
Cole Swavely, Massachusetts College of Art
Angela Young
Ina Yun, Cranbrook Academy of Art
Graphic Design: Professional: Runner Up
Phil Choo, Choo Renyer Ball Loftis
Allan Espiritu
Yongseuk Lee, Adhesive Art & Design
Jamie Burwell Mixon, Mixon Freelance
Kurt Munger, Interbrand
Buck Smith*
David Ter-Avanesyan, Ter33 Design
Graphic Design: Student: Runner Up
Sara Alway, Temple University/Tyler School of Art
Sean Barnes, Texas State University, San Marcos
Emanuel Cohen, Université du Québec à Montréal
Jiyun Ha, Art Center College of Design
Katie Hatz*, Temple University/Tyler School of Art
Elizabeth A Herrmann, Maryland Institute College of Art
Jee Won Kim, Art Center College of Design
Amanda Mocci, Université du Québec à Montréal
Francesca Staffieri, Montgomery County Community College
Cynthia Wiley, Iowa State University
Illustration: Professional: Runner Up
Timothy Banks
Pascale Carrington
Matthew Daley, Three in A Box, Inc.
Marcelo Garcia, Aparelho Produtor de Imagens
Felix Gephart
Michael Glenwood
Katrina Kopeloff
Jesse Kuhn
Keith MacLelland
Michael Marsicano
June Michel
Isaac Orloff
Zara Picken
Chris Riely
JungYeon Roh
Matt Rota
Morgan Schweitzer
Kerstin Stephan
Sara Tyson
Andrew Wright
Heidi Younger
Vincent Zawada
Daniel Zitka
Illustration: Student: Runner Up
Christian Castro, Fashion Institute of Technology
Marian Dilan, California College of the Arts
David Gonzalez, Fashion Institute of Technology
YooJin Guak, Ontario College of Art & Design
Nicole Jarecz, College for Creative Studies
Deena Pagliarello, Sheridan Institute
Christine Wu
Photography: Professional: Runner Up
John Abousief
Marti Belcher
Andy Bloxham
Jae Chung
Chris Koules
Jonas Kulikauskas
Harry Longstreet
Yshihiro Makino
Harold Lee Miller*
Jes Schrom
Brian Smale
Richard Tuschman, Richard Tuschman Images
Merrell Virgen, VSPOT Photography
Rachel Waller
Photography: Student: Runner Up
David Corso, Indiana University
Stephen Crimarco, University of Central Florida
Dan Elstone, Langara
Meghan Fischer
Nicole Gavrilles, Ringling College of Art & Design
Frederic Gosselin
Jessica Holcomb, Cal Poly Pomona
Ashley Matthews, Louisiana Tech University
I thought I would share some photos from the opening I had the other night for the 6@549 show. The opening was a big hit at Gallery 549 during the Second Saturday Artwalk for March. The gallery was literally packed with people the entire time. Which is great, of course, but sometimes you can’t get a good view of the art when there’s such a large crowd. So, hopefully this will remind everyone to go by and see the show while it’s still up for the next couple of weeks.
Amy Guidry with her painting, “The Wild West”
Artist Deborah Norsworthy and a guest at the 6@549 show
Montage of image details from the 6@549 show
More photos will be posted on my website soon, so check out www.AmyGuidry.com. And if you are in the area, be sure to check out the show. This is a great opportunity to see the work in person. Artists featured are myself (Amy Guidry), Deborah Norsworthy, Diane Pecnik, Lisa Ayres, Marie DesJardins, and Mary Attwood.
"The Wild West" by Amy Guidry. (c) Amy Guidry 2010
I’ve had a lot of interest in Studio Visit Magazine as of late. Hopefully most of you have found your answers in some of my recent posts. So low and behold, I received an acceptance letter (and email!) from Studio Visit Magazine. My work was selected for inclusion in the Summer 2010 edition. So this will be Volume…10? Not sure, but I think there’s a Winter edition about to come out…then the Summer edition. The juror for this volume was Dina Deitsch, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, deCordova Sculpture Park + Museum in Lincoln, MA. For those who don’t know, Studio Visit is published by The Open Studios Press and is the sister publication to New American Paintings. It is a nationally conducted juried competition featuring 2D and 3D work. Oh, and in case you haven’t seen it- the painting that will be in the magazine is “The Wild West” which I’ve included a small image of here. There’s a closeup of it on my website www.AmyGuidry.com
