A thought-provoking November meeting

Today we held our meeting at the Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach, a very lovely facility indeed, with impressive gallery space, and wonderful classrooms such as the one used for our meeting - spacious and with great lighting. We will hold our spring juried show here, and got to preview the space where our work will hang.

Despite the monsoon-like rains that caused lots of street flooding we had 18 attendees show up at the meeting this morning.

Those who braved the weather were treated well. The spread of food was so amazing it almost looked like our holiday party. We certainly had plenty to eat and drink! Special thanks to Carron Wedlund and Jimmy Blackwell for providing a lot of the food and drink. The tangerines from Jimmy's own tree were delicious.

While we feasted our president, Lyn Asselta, led us in an overview of the discussion topic of the morning: Artists' bios, statements and resumés, with ideas about what they should and should not include. We also had lots of examples to review.

After her overview we broke into teams to work on the questions presented to help us come up with ideas for our own bios, statements and resumés. The discussion was thought-provoking, and everyone, from experienced artists, to newly fledged artists came away with ideas they could include.

Our meeting next month will be a holiday brunch and still life painting session held at The Art Studio in St. Augustine Beach, so stay tuned here for more details on that.

In the meantime, for those who missed the meeting, here are some of the review questions:

What is an Artist's Bio? 
An artist's bio gives someone an insight into what has influenced you as an artist, and briefly states your process, and your reason for making art (generally written in third person)

Questions to ask yourself:
1) What art/life/educational experiences have led you to your current stage as an artist?
2) Do you have a particular technique that people might be interested in?
3) Are there any artists who have influenced your work?
4) What/who motivates you to paint, and how does it affect your subject matter?
5) Is there something in particular that you would like to be noted for?

What is an Artist's Statement? 
An artists's statement generally is written in the first person, and briefly states the philosophy you wish to share with the world about your art.

Questions to ask yourself: 
1) Do you have a personal philosophy related to your art?
2) Is there a reason you choose to paint particular subject matter?
3) Is there something you'd like to tell the world about your art?

Note: Some too-often used phrases:
- "And I've never looked back..."
- "trying to capture a moment in time ..."

What is an Artist's Resumé? 
An artist's resumé is a chronological listing of your accomplishments. It is generally divided into years and lists of shows, awards and other honors that you have been the recipient of.

It also clearly shows the artist's name, provides complete contact information for the artist, and usually lists professional memberships, and gallery representation (if any). 

Questions to ask yourself? 
1) How many years should you go back with your resumé?
2) Have all your noted accomplishments been directly related to your art career?
3) Which galleries currently represent your work?
4) Have you clearly noted your contact information?
5) What sort of honors/awards have you won for your art?
6) Have you noted art-related residencies and scholarships?
7) Do you hold memberships in art-related organizations?