Jurors - The Hunting Art Prize

Each time that I enter my work into a juried show, a humorous mix of emotions stream through me, ranging from complete confidence in my work to an unrealistic fear of not being good enough. What tends to happen is usually much more pleasant than the later, but artists generally never know or hear about what goes on in the jury process. Did he/she/they almost choose my piece? What was said or thought when the juror/s viewed my image or artwork? Did it almost win a prize, award or honorable mention?

Competitions are what you do as a good exercise ~ Maya Lin.

After a few years of entering these healthy resume boosters, it becomes quite clear to most who venture to compete, that it is strictly a personal choice made by one or more of the various art professionals chosen to judge art. Jurors are usually art dealers, gallery owners, art collectors, art historians, other respected artists, museum curators, college art professors or even art critics. Some like what you do, some don't. Not to say that judging fine art is so basic. Some art is just not as well put together as it could be, or sometimes even poorly constructed, while other artwork is so well made, it blows the socks off anything remotely close. Then there is use of media, theme or subject matter, and how the message is conveyed. In general, this kind of decision is respected by all.

If the juror has the opportunity to speak about their process at some point during a juried exhibition, this is a nice bonus, but often this is a general speech geared to promote positive intent and feedback, which is as it should be. There is always some statement made about how difficult it was to choose from so many diverse and well executed pieces of art. I think this is undoubtedly true in most cases, as trying to choose one, two or three winners from a large group of j-peg images submitted to be viewed on some small computer screen, could be more than a bit daunting. Because of this, often there is a second juried process to view those first chosen pieces in person…. a very smart idea. This is how the Hunting Art Prize jury process was done.

The Hunting Art Prize is one of the largest, yearly art competitions in this country, as well as one of the heftiest awards given to a single artist - $50000. This year, 110 finalists were chosen from 1600 entries from across the state of Texas. I (my artwork) was fortunate to be chosen as a finalist this year. I also was a finalist in 2007.

The winner, Leigh Anne Lester from San Antonio, was announced at the large gala that Hunting Oil Company put on for this event. The food was marvelous and there were plenty of artists and guests to visit and talk with… quite an enjoyable evening.

I felt a strong urge to do something different - to thank these professionals, who in this case happen to be two women and one man: Rachael Blackburn Cozad, Director, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Carol Damian, Director, Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum, Florida International University, Miami and Julien Robson, Curator of Contemporary Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia.

I cannot even imagine sorting through so much art to come down to the smaller list of finalists, and then to choose just one. You had quite a formidable task, and as a team, you achieved the mission most honorably. I am so grateful for your discerning eyes and your skilled perspectives in making your choices. It is because of professionals like yourselves who attribute to such an event, artists can participate in a healthy competition, lending to the valuable growth necessary to continue the vital process of creating. Thank you so much.

Art, at its best, is not a competition to outdo others or even ourselves. The focus is more appropriately channeled to reveal our hearts and to hint at the illumination of life that is mysterious and larger in spirit than in any single work of art. ~ Gregory Packard

April Garden Update

There have been some good results, even though some things did not go so well. I had a couple of tomato plants that did not grow… at all. One just looked like it was committing suicide… some sort of beefsteak plant that was kind of stalky and stiff. It always felt too stiff, and I could not help but blame myself for over watering, or not watering enough, even though I am fairly certain that it was really about an unhealthy plant.

On the other side of this issue, the plant that is producing the most is also a tomato plant, which had seeded in my avocado tree pot throughout the winter. It has 16 tomatoes on it already, and is continuing to produce multiple new flowers. I don't know what kind of tomato plant it is, but it is likely from some store-bought, hybrid variety I tossed into my compost… usually these were Romas, but they do not have that classic Roma shape.


I recently brought home a red okra plant from the local farmer's market, which already has a couple of wine-colored okra-etts on it. I was told it will flourish in the summer months. I am not that completely fond of okra, but will make new friends with this vegetable if this plant produces well.

I have some green bean plants that have not even reached a foot tall and are already putting out tiny beans. I am afraid this is all they will do, and I laugh to myself as I imagine putting a meager serving of 10 or 12 miniature beans on my plate for a meal. I have so much to learn about growing some of these edibles.


A few of my pickling cucumbers are finally growing full ahead, and one is the champion as it puts out those delicate, lime-green feelers to grab onto my garden fence. I don't know why I am so amazed at its self climbing ability. I just look at it smiling, telling it what a good plant it is. There are baby cucumbers emerging all along it, with those sweet, yellow blooms attracting bees. I am in love.

Some other failures were those red cabbage plants that never grew. I was told by a local farmer that large home stores put growth inhibitors on their veggie plants so they last longer while waiting to be sold. Seems so backward, and certainly doesn't help an amateur gardener like myself. Fortunately, I bought most of my plants from local garden stores or seeded them myself.


My Brussel sprout plants (also from one of those large stores) finally took off a few weeks ago and are growing large green leaves. I am thinking that Brussel sprouts probably do not grow well in the summer months, especially in this climate, so I may just have this lovely, large, green-leaved plant and no veggies. Even so, it is rather satisfying to see something grow bigger. Kind of sad, though, or maybe pathetic on my part. I am like a desperate gardener… please grow… please.

Still, some of my favorite plants are the herbs. That curry plant is just heavenly. I run my fingers over the leaves and take in the spicy, Indian aroma. And the lavender plant… the scent is soft and dreamy. I have sage, borage (which has beautiful blue, star-flowers), parsley, rosemary, oregano, lemon thyme society garlic, purple and green basil and chocolate mint. The mint has already filled the pot it is in, and it keeps trying to send shoots over the edge. I have to maintain it, or it would take over the back yard by next month, but it does smell a lot like mint chocolate chip ice cream… mmmm.


By far, the most exciting thing is my avocado tree. It put out about 30 tiny avocados a few weeks ago and now there are about 10 growing larger - one about 3 inches long. I can hardly wait to taste one of these favorites after it has softened to the right moment for eating.

This tree stands about 5 feet tall, and is in a large red pot. I am concerned about putting it into the ground because of the hard freezes we have had the last two years. We bought it last year, and we were told it would not bear fruit until the following year. When I saw the tiny yellow flowers appear (some came in during that spell of 20 degree weather) I wondered if this was the beginning of the fruit process. I tell it I love it everyday. I actually adorn all of my plants with affection. Hope they are feeling the love, and continue to grow healthy and productive!

Wire & Paint

I am posting some of my artwork, fulfilling the main purpose for keeping this online journal. My most recent creations involve two elements - steel wire and wood, followed with oil paint. As much as I love painting, there has been this increasing desire to work in a 3-dimensional capacity, and combining these two medias seemed natural when it came to conveying the subject matter... that of Spirit. This one is titled 'Tree Spirit'.

I am fascinated with the world of things we cannot see... the other side, another dimension or plane of existence that mysteriously encompasses the world of spirit. You could say this side of the unknown is that of those who have passed - ghosts, angels, spirit guides and the not so pleasant idea of evil - demons. Whether you believe in these spirits or not, most of us can probably tell a story related to something difficult to explain in our sense of reality.

But, looking at what stands before us in this "real world" does not eliminate spirit. I believe that we are indeed spirit first, and then human being in our material body, second, although most of us go through life completely unaware of this essential part of who we are. I also see this to be true for all living things, and even for things we do not think of as living... rocks, earth, water and fire. These things, in a spiritual sense, are alive, coming to or from life, restoring and changing life and often bringing forth life. They have energy - something measurable and yet unseen, which is regularly used to describe what spirit is.

This series is an attempt to make that connection to spirit, both personally and collectively as a human being and a visual artist.

Moved

I listen to one commentator on CNN say, "this is in Japan right now... this is real, folks...". I sit in a surreal stupor, watching the reports unfold, and I ponder about the thin, blurred line between safety and chaos. A wave of tenderness passes through my body... my heart, as I know millions also watch at this same moment... mixed in disbelief, horror and a deep, collective compassion.

I pray for all those who are feeling this terrible grief and loss of all they once knew. May they find solace, as time allows for the restoration of their lives and the healing of their spirits.

Spring Garden

Chocolate mint, anyone? Just found this sweet, delectable plant at the local Farmer’s Market this morning. Knowing that mint can be a very invasive plant, I decided to keep it in a pot, along with some other choice edibles. But my big undertaking this year is my square foot garden – 4’x 8’x 6” in all. I know, it sounds small and hardly enough to grow much food for two hungry adults, but this idea of growing in a square foot is quite amazing, and I actually have confidence that this method will produce very satisfying results.

Purple basil, green basil, Brussel sprouts, red cabbage, green beans, lima beans ( a favorite from my childhood… honestly, I was the kid who ate all those veggies on her plate, the ones my two sisters would toss from their plates to mine when our parents weren’t looking! Caused a lot of spontaneous giggling), three different Italian heirloom tomato plants, three kinds of bell pepper, Asian cucumbers, pickling cucumbers (I eat these fresh… so tender) Asian radishes, red radishes, borage (for the bee-charming flowers) and one tomato that grew from a seed in my avocado tree pot! Oh, not to forget this odd climbing spinach plant. Must wait until all cold weather leaves our area before planting this vining curiosity. Can hardly wait to pick those yummy leaves as it weaves it’s way along my wire fence, supposedly sprouting new leaves in their place.

Still, with all these plants, not all of the squares are taken, and I do plan to grow strawberries, kale and a few others yet to be decided, when the season is right. Living in a semi-tropical, swampy-hot climate makes for interesting planning when it comes to gardening. And after having a rather failed attempt at container gardening last spring, (oh so disappointing) I heard a friend talking about this newer method called ‘square foot gardening’, and that no matter where you live, it is supposed to be failsafe. Hmmmm, really?

The soil is so much a part of this, but there are many other factors, like sunlight, water and nutrition. After purchasing the book, the ‘All New Square Foot Gardening’, by Mel Bartholomew, I was made aware that I could probably do this method with much less space and ultimately, much less effort. Although, never let it be underestimated the amount of work to start such a project. In one word… labor! However, I do believe that the worst is over, and the “less effort” will be more evident throughout the entirety of the many seasons to be enjoyed with this garden.

All gardens are a work in progress. My wonky wire fence is probably going to change, with some added whirly-gig or kinetic art creations atop the posts. The gate is already hitting one leaning post, as all the posts were placed deep into the ground with no concrete… really didn’t want this to be too permanent, but I am not sure why. Now I realize I did not stomp down the earth well enough around each post. Will see if I can secure them well enough without pulling them out and starting over… hope so.

I am sure that the most satisfying change will be the steady growth and harvesting of fresh vegetables, and the simple act of walking out to my garden to gather food for lunch or dinner. Will have to post a plateful of food from my garden when that time comes!

New Blog

This is a fresh start... a new blog. My other blog found an early grave one recent morning, and it seems there was not much else to do but mourn ever-so-slightly and then move on.

It is not that what I had written was so valuable, but whenever I did look back at a few of my older posts, I could follow a progression in my life… some sort of beneficial growth, I think. I especially had fun reporting on certain projects - the building of a shed, building a fence, making a compost and putting together a small garden. I also loved reminiscing about past vacations, holiday’s, family members ( many furry ones), friends and even some strangers. Lots of tears in some of these brief stories, but mostly joyful stuff.

As a visual artist, I thought I would mainly be keeping a good record of my art career, posting images of new pieces and my visual journey along the way. This happens occasionally, but I think this kind of blog needs to be all-inclusive of who I am, as this is the real stuff behind any creative spirit.

So, here it is, here I am... happy to be here.