Skip to main content

Acceptance and Rejection

This week I learned that I was accepted into the Baer Art Center residency in northern Iceland for the month of July 2016. It's difficult to get into this residency and so I was thrilled to find out that I was one of ten artists accepted: five for June and five for July.

It makes me think of all the times I have experienced rejections in my art career. Early on, I found rejections from juried shows devastating and I used to withdraw from artmaking for a bit to have a little sulk. A week or so later, I'd recover and realize I was going to paint anyway.

For years, I painted representationally and had sell-out exhibitions every year. Smugly, I figured that I'd always have sell-out shows! But then I experienced growing pains.  My work gradually changed and I experimented in many directions in painting, eventually settling into abstraction. Along the way, I had my first exhibition that sold absolutely nothing. Nothing. Not only nothing at the opening, but nothing for the whole run of the show. I was devastated. In reaction, I decided I'd quit painting for the year, in an "I'll show you sort of who-cares attitude". A bit misplaced I'd say. When I told my galleries, they all, to a one, said, "Oh I think that's a great thing for you to do!" What? No one was sorry to see me go. They just moved on. That was a bit of a reality check I'd say.

With this same who-cares attitude I decided to spend part of the year traveling. I went deep into my line of credit and funded two major trips: one to China with Chinese botanists to see the tree peonies in  the hills of Tibet, and another to southern India to visit the temples sacred to Shiva. Both were transformational trips that helped me grow as an artist and a person.

My work continued to change until it settled into the work I'm currently doing which is a search for light.

Comments

  1. Becca CliffordMarch 27, 2016 at 1:51 AM

    Beautiful and inspiring blog, as ever. I always get a little lift of joy when I see your name in my inbox. Congratulations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Judy WiseMarch 27, 2016 at 6:16 PM

    Thank you for writing this. Rejection is painful and inevitable if you are very active in this field; it does help to know that we can overcome it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Geri deGruyMarch 27, 2016 at 7:45 PM

    Congratulations Janice! Sounds like a wonderful adventure!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Liminal Time

 The word liminal comes from the Latin, limen meaning threshold. an in-between place, a place of transition, a time of waiting and not knowing. Dawn and dusk are considered liminal places. Crepuscular animals, like foxes and coyotes are most active at this time of day, a time that is considered a magical time in Celtic spirituality and to Indigenous people which is perhaps the origin of their designation as tricksters.   As I write this, the northern hemisphere has just passed the vernal equinox, where day and night are of equal length.We are in a liminal space between winter and spring right now, unsure if we will have one more storm or snowfall before spring finally settles in. We're also in a liminal place as we live through this pandemic with the  anxiety and discomfort of not  knowing. A  time of great transition for the entire world, wondering what we've learned from this and what lessons we'll carry forward.     Author and Fr...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Importance of Silence in Art

Gathering Light 60x60"  Oil on canvas © 2014 Janice Mason Steeves  Michael David Rosenberg, the musician known as Passenger, sings, "See all I need is a whisper in a world that only shouts." In the workshops I teach, I find that one of the most common problems with paintings is that they shout. Most have too much going on: too many small shapes, too much texture, extremes of colour, too many lines, too much, too much. One thing I say most often as I walk around the classroom working with students individually, is 'make bigger shapes'.  But not only bigger shapes. Quiet shapes.  Where can your eye go and rest in the painting? That isn't a consideration in much of contemporary painting or much of contemporary life.  Ours is a noisy world both visually and auditorily.  Ours is a world that shouts.  People are afraid of silence. I wrote a blog post  3 years ago about planning a retreat in my own home, where I shut off the computer ...
1 comment
Read more

Meet the Owners of a Scottish Castle

Anne Tristine Nguyen, Ali Orr Ewing, their children, Ava, Atticus and  their dog, Harriet Beecher Stowe. Dunskey Estate, Portpatrick, Scotland Anne Tristine Nguyen and her husband, Alistair Orr Ewing are the owners of Dunskey Estate near Portpatrick, Scotland where I will teach a painting workshop in September. Dunskey is a splendid Edwardian castle on 2000 acres of ocean-front land with miles of walking trails. As well as daily workshop sessions in the studio on the top floor of the castle, our small group of artists will enjoy breathtaking hikes, superb accommodation and fabulous meals.  Not having met owners of a castle before, I asked Anne if I could interview her to hear a little of their background story and that of the castle. Can you tell me a little of your personal story and that of your husband, Alistair Orr Ewing? Anne emigrated to America when she was ten years old, but it was at an art gallery in Saigon, her birthplace, where s...
Post a Comment
Read more