DEADLINE:
Sunday, November 16, 2014
EXHIBITION DATES:
January 7 – 30, 2015
LOCATION:
Nave Gallery Annex, 53 Chester St, Somerville, MA
CURATED BY:
Ellie Laramee-Byers and Rachel Mello
The Nave Gallery Annex (Somerville, MA) invites artists to participate in the curated exhibition “The Sketchbook Show.”
Artists use sketchbooks for as many different reasons as there are artists. Maybe it’s a daily practice, maybe it’s a planning book. It could be a travelogue or a dream journal, sketching from life, memory, or ideas.
What distinguishes sketchbook work from other artists works is the connection, one piece to the next, building on or exploring visual, compositional, or mark making ideas: the sense of a thought being puzzled out by process of sketching, a problem being explored. Usually (but not always?) sketchbook work is done in one moment, and the next time the sketchbook is opened, a new pieces is begun.
For this show we are looking to hang a set or series from each artist who is included in the show. Rather than the one, best polished piece, we would like to see your process. Were you teaching yourself a new media? Drawing a new-to-you subject matter? Trying different things each week? (day?) Recording a trip?
Any size sketchbook up 14″ x 17″, but artists must be willing to remove pages from the sketchbook and submit as individual sheets (or, see note about photos, below). For artists who indicate that it’s OK for us to put pin-holes in the corners, we may pin pages directly to the wall. (Alternatively, if work is sent in an artist-quality acetate bag, we can pin through just the bag).
We welcome any media or technique that you use in your sketchbook, including but not limited to pencil, watercolor, marker, ball-point pen, collage, woven or torn paper, or more. We will also consider photographs of sketchbook work, as long as the photo itself is an intentional work.
If there is a specific sequence in which the pieces are best understood, please indicate that.
GUIDELINES:
-There is a $15 entry fee payable through PayPal
-Please submit a minimum of 5 pieces and maximum of 10
-Submissions will be accepted through midnight, November 16, 2014
-The Nave Gallery will retain a 30% commission for work sold
-Artist is responsible for cost of shipping work to and from the gallery
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK:
-Please send a minimum of 5 pieces and maximum of 10 artwork submissions as .jpg files to info[at]navegallery[dot]org
-Each .jpg should be 800 pixels in the long dimension and named as “#_NAME.jpg” where # is the submission number and NAME is your last name.
-Include an image list with your jpeg submission email, indicating submission number, title (if aplicable), size, process and year, as well as a brief artist bio and statement. Please include in your statement a brief description of what role your sketchbook plays if for you and your larger art practice.
-There is a $15 submission fee, payable through Paypal. Please include “Sketchbook Show” in the subject line.
-Accepted pieces should be delivered to the Nave Gallery Annex located in Davis Square (53 Chester St, Somerville, MA) ready to install. For The Sketchbook Show only, “ready to install” may be pages with artist permission to nail directly to walls, simply matted, or framed.
CALENDAR:
Deadline for entries: Sunday, November 16, 2014
Notification: December 5, 2014
Artwork drop off: TBD
Exhibition dates: January 7 – 30, 2014
Opening Reception: TBD
ABOUT THE CURATORS:
Ellie Laramee-Byers is the Coordinator for the 2015 Somerville Open Studios. Her paintings are primarily watercolor or acrylic, and she has a professional photography practice as well. Ellie recently completed a large solo show at Somerville’s Diesel Cafe.
Rachel Mello’s work in cut silhouettes can be seen outside Somerville City Hall in the Phone Art Box Project, as well as found in 13FOREST Gallery and Blue Cloud Gallery. She recently showed her newest installation work at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artist’s Coalition in New York, and she’s working now on a larger installation of cut silhouette work. Rachel was the Coordinator for the 2013 SOS and currently serves on its board of director. She was trained as an architect and theater set designer and for ten years owned and ran a mural arts business in the Boston Metro area.
Ellie and Rachel met and became friends through volunteering for SOS, and by both having studios in the Mad Oyster Studios building. During the Spring of 2014 Ellie and Rachel made a plan to get together every Thursday morning for an hour or more of sketching. They shared tools and learned techniques from each other, and have continued their practice remotely when either is traveling.
