Emerging Artist.

I decided this year that I was going to try and participate in more exhibitions and shows, so I applied for and was accepted to a show in March 2011 in Toronto called The Artist Project. www.theartistprojecttoronto.com It is an artist exhibition/art fair and the artists are chosen by a jury selection which was important to me because it means my work is good enough to show with other emerging artists. It is the first time I will be doing a show in Toronto and I can't wait to meet new people and make new connections with other artists. It will be lots of work but I am ready to put in the time and see the results.

I am also going to be putting on my own show in June 2011 in Montreal. It will be a busy time for me the next 6 months but I am a little scared but more excited for both shows because it means my work will be out of the studio and in front of a large audience of people to see.

Its also not that I wasn't exhibiting before this, I was, but more in line of having group exhibitions, short open studio weekends, exhibitions and events mostly at my studio which were also very important because it gave me a sense of how to put on a show and exhibit my work. I guess there is also the reason being mostly that as an emerging artist I didn't feel ready. By that I mean, if you take your art seriously enough as I do, I believe that it takes awhile until the work you create can have its own voice, vision and a confidence in yourself that makes your art your own.

There are some people out there that are convinced that they are artists after taking lessons at a local art school and start exhibiting right away. They think that by simply putting down some splashes on canvas that they are indeed, artists. They are even convinced that they are the next best thing since Jackson Pollack, making art seem sometimes trivial and easy, almost effortless like picking flowers from your garden and done almost without much thought. Masters in their own mind.

I am not convinced. There is much more to being an artist than splashes on a canvas. Art was not created in a day! It even took God seven days to create the world and he was so tired that he had to rest after day six.

Creating is work work work!! Take your art seriuosly and give yourself the time, have the patients, explore ideas and grow to the point that you are ready to emerge from within your studio, ready to show your work, talk about it and feel great about creating something with meaning.