Just Desserts: A personal note.

Posted on March 30, 2020March 30, 2020 by R.L. Gibson

Just Desserts -- a personal note from Rachel at AAAD!

Yesterday, my husband stood under the open hatch of our car with nitrile gloves wiping down our groceries with disinfectant before they entered the house the way a Southerner would clean-hand-dirty-hand the breading of fried chicken. Surreal. Covid-19 has touched all of our lives by now.

My husband lost his job in recent days, so I am grateful to HAVE groceries. I am grateful to have the option to stay home and complete creative work and commissions to keep my mind occupied while so many are fighting to get well or stay well. Productive distraction has always been a mental health tool for me, and I hope it is working for you.

With so many of us unsure of what lies ahead, it is hard to plan for the future or even find the motivation to want to do any hopeful planning. But today, I did. Today I applied for an artist residency… in Italy. I did it for me, and I did it in honor of all the galleries and arts agencies that have to keep planning for a future that they can’t currently clearly see. I see you. I hear you. My heart is full for you.

As for AAAD, because my own practice has been growing, I have not tended this site and the weeds are knee-high. I had plans to transition this site over the next year and a half, but it seems like the time to say goodbye is now. In 2009, this site began as a convenient way to catalog “safe” calls from trusted people and places. Along the way, I met the best people, made wonderful friends, shared ridiculous food segues and made connections that will last a lifetime. I will miss talking to you regularly, or even irregularly.

Fine Print details:

I have enabled comments on this post, which in this time of trolls and bots is uncommon for me to do, so feel free to leave a note.
The site will remain in place for a while and will eventually auto-forward to my personal website.
If you want to screenshot a feature of your work, your agency or anything else, the search bar is still in the sidebar even though the pages are not on the navigation menu. If you need help finding something, contact me, and I will help.
If you feel you are owed something by this site, please feel free to contact me so that I can make it right.
I added a contact page with all my personal contact info.
Social media sites for this page will go dark by (May 1, 2020), but feel free to contact me personally.
I will completely delete the mailing list (by May 1, 2020) for this website from the subscription feed to prevent any pirating of email addresses in my absence.

You deserve the very best. Be kind to yourselves, and may you all get your just desserts, artistically & edibly. Love always, Rachel (R.L. Gibson)

CALL for ENTRIES: Harrow

Posted on May 31, 2019May 30, 2019 by R.L. Gibson

ORANGE you glad?

I’m going to have orange elbows any day now. I have been craving and eating carrots daily. In my area, they are usually around a dollar a pound for full size organics and make great chips for hummus, a great boost to Indian dishes, beautiful color in Buddha bowls. When my son was learning to eat real food, he preferred anything sweet or starchy, naturally, with a preference for carrots and sweet potatoes. His hands, feet, knees and elbows stayed a hilarious color of orange for a few weeks. I expect mine to turn any day now, ha.

Continuing with this week’s publication theme, I want to introduce you to Up the Staircase Quarterly if you’ve not yet had the privilege. Established in 2008, Up the Staircase Quarterly is an online journal of poetry, art, interviews, and reviews. New issues are published every February, May, August & November, unless otherwise stated. And for some of you that write poetry in addition to visual work, UtSQ nominates for the Pushcart, Best of the Net, and Best New Poets.

They have a 10+ year history and a detailed Masthead for you to research. So, check out this Call for Entries from Up the Staircase Quarterly (online pubication) for Harrow. There is no entry fee, but also no payment. Do you have suitable work?

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CALL for ENTRIES:
Harrow
from Up the Staircase Quarterly

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ELIGIBILITY: Open to all artists 18+

MEDIA: Open to all media

THEME: Paranormal. Open to any takes on this subject–serious, quirky, and everything in between, work containing ghosts/spirits, aliens, conspiracy theories, cryptozoology, near death experiences, glitches in the matrix, extrasensory perception, pseudoscience, and any experiences that can be considered supernatural.

DEADLINE: June 15, 2019

NOTIFICATION: Less than 30 days

ENTRY FEE: No fee up to 10 images

AWARD: Publishing credit, no monetary compensation. Harrow goes live on August 1st.

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

CALL for ENTRIES: Summer 2019 Print Issue

Posted on May 29, 2019May 28, 2019 by R.L. Gibson

COLD complication

For years, popcorn was the ultimate summer food. Popcorn with a hint of olive oil, parmesan and cracked black pepper was my idea of the perfect snack food. Then, there was some weird shift for me. Stovetop popped was too greasy. Microwave-popped was always singed. Air-popped was always tough. I just quit eating it — for nearly two years. I missed my daily snack favorite, but was resigned to the absence of popcorn.

Then one day Facebook started feeding me ads for an Amazon listing a silicone popcorn popper (not a sponsored ad) for the microwave. I’m guessing I did something online that Google’s algorithm decided meant I needed popcorn, and, well, it was right. That $10 product arrived, and it was ridiculous, a floppy, ridiculous concept. It came without instructions. I searched and found an equally ridiculous video. Holy popcorn! It is soft like stove-topped but without that queasy overly greasy aftertaste. So what’s the lesson? No lesson, except maybe… all hail Summer.

Continuing with this week’s publication theme, here’s a call for one of my all time favorite art publications. Check out this Call for Entries from Create! Magazine (print publication) for the Summer 2019 Print Issue. $30 entry for this gorgeous magazine. Don’t miss this chance…

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CALL for ENTRIES:
Summer 2019 Print Issue
of Create! Magazine

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ELIGIBILITY: Open to all artists.

MEDIA: Open to all media, i.e.: painting, sculpture, digital, printmaking, fiber, mixed media, photography, installation & more.

DEADLINE: May 31, 2019

ENTRY FEE: $30 for up to 3

JURORS: Nina Blumberg is a full-time art consultant at the New York City-based firm Samuels Creative. Outside of work, she fills her time with freelance social media contemporary art clientele and projects, most recently engaging with the art technology space. Nina received her BA in Art History from the University of Virginia and her MA from FIT’s “Art Market: Principles & Practices” program. Nina is also the founder of @Artstagram__,the contemporary art world Instagram account that covers art happenings and exhibitions in NYC and beyond.

AWARDS: Artists selected by the guest juror will receive a 2-page spread including a brief bio, website, and 2 images in print and digital formats. Published artists will receive a complimentary digital issue and will be listed on Create! Magazine’s website/social media & will be listed with images, details and information on their website/social media for life. All featured artists will automatically be considered for any upcoming curatorial projects & exhibitions organized by the Create! team.

SALES: The Summer 2019 Print Issue will be available online, in global retail locations in London, New York, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Wilmington (DE), Philadelphia & more.

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

CALL for ENTRIES: Recycle 2019

Posted on January 13, 2019January 12, 2019 by R.L. Gibson

BA-NANA–nana-nana

How many bananas do you throw out every week? Back after the wildfire in 2016, I had to clean out my refrigerator after 9 days without power. When I opened the freezer door, the smell of bananas almost knocked me out. I’ve always bought bananas, used fewer than I bought, then tossed the remainder in the freezer for banana bread that never materializes. That ended the day I had to clean banana slime out of my freezer–until last month. Now I buy 7 or 8 fresh bananas each week; we eat 2 or 3 fresh bananas each week. With out newly re-discovered love for smoothies, I know throw my extra bananas into the freezer and re-purpose them later for smoothie. If I lose power again for an extended period of time, I may revisit the banana ban. We’ll see.

The idea of recycling and re-purposing materials and locations has been on my mind. My family downsized a year and a half ago; then six months ago, an extra family member moved into our tiny home. So, the dual use dining room / studio isn’t functioning so well with its view of the couch / bed of my 19 year old. I’ve turned to my Instagram & Pinterest feeds for inspiration. I am loving all the reading rooms with garden views and walk out basements with darkrooms, but that isn’t what I have. My husband found an 10’x20′ abandoned storage shed with a Queen Anne roof line that had once been the workshop of a Native American woodcarver. He passed away, and his family has declined the option to clean out his belongings. The building owner is willing to foot the bill for the renovation for the tiniest of rents. But in the back of my head, I am haunted by images of the big industrial studio spaces of movie and magazine spreads. This is a running theme, right? That we all fit in the same box, on the same path. Where did I leave my smock & beret?

So, 2019 is the year I try to cut that out. Join me? I will repurpose the places & things in my life to suit my needs. I will stop reshaping myself to fit the spaces in which I do not belong. This next show is all about repurposed, recycled, or reused materials, and feels like a good place to start. I like this venue, and as I mentioned last week, I am trying to spend the few dollars I have supporting the places & people & businesses that support artists. This is one.

Check out this Call for Entries from BWAC (Brooklyn, NY) for Recycle 2019. Take advantage of a discount for early entry, a distinguished juror & significant cash awards. Take a look…

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CALL for ENTRIES:
Recycle 2019
from BWAC

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“Recycle, the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition’s national juried show of art crafted from cast-off, discarded & re-purposed materials, will be a celebration of ingenuity and imagination.” –from bwac.org

ELIGIBILITY: Open to U.S. artists 18+

MEDIA: Open to all media that incorporate at least 50 percent of repurposed, recycled, or reused materials.

ENTRY FEE: $50 up to 3, $6 ea. add’l (early bird) or $70 up to 3, $6 ea add’l after Feb 4

DEADLINE: February 4, 2019 (early bird) or February 24, 2019 (final)

NOTIFICATION: March 18, 2018

JUROR: John Cloud Kaiser is the Director of Education at Materials for the Arts, one of the largest reuse centers in the U.S and a program of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Through art shows he curates at MFTA Gallery and his work with his art group Free Style Arts Association, he has been championing reuse‐themed art in the museums, streets, and schools of New York City since 2000. These works have appeared broadly, from The Metropolitan Museum, to the NYC Parks Dept., to The New York Times. Kaiser graduated from New York University and is currently working on a series of temporary sculptures for Storm King Sculpture Center and Socrates Sculpture Park.

AWARDS: Best of Show Gold $1000, Most Innovative Use of Materials $500, People’s Choice $250, Curator’s Choice $250 & ten $100 Certificates of Recognition.

SALES: BWAC will retain a 30% commission on all exhibition sales.

For full details, Read the Full Call!

CHANGES for the NEW YEAR!

Posted on November 27, 2018November 28, 2018 by R.L. Gibson

CHEERS to change

I seem to always anticipate being done with the year, exhausted & ready for the idea of a fresh start do-over. This year I feel a subtle, but significant change. I am excited for the new year. 2018 has been hard and uncomfortable and has brought anxiety and fear and embarrassment AND GROWTH. My work has grown by leaps and bounds. Where are you? I fell into a rut and found my work technically more proficient, but I was creating without joy.

I languished. I talked with my friends & peers. Everyone had a story, but no one had a solution. I finally realized that it was fear that was holding me back. There is safety in the clear, known action. After 20 years, I changed media. I’ve coached a lot of artists on how to do it. Easy, right? Yeah, not. It feels like artistic, metaphorical puberty. Painful. The difference is that I now know there is something on the other side puberty. And, I can’t wait.

So, cheers to the new year. Raise a glass of whatever you crave, my current obsession is Prosecco, and let’s celebrate possibility. I’m scared but willing to gamble. How about you? That isn’t a rhetorical question. AAAD is about to change…

Have you noticed the lack of posts? I am busy. You are too. And, I’m not trying to sell the cult of busy. I am creating and screwing up and scheduling and dreaming. There hasn’t been use value in my posts FOR ME, so I have been avoiding them doing them at all, despite knowing that they ARE useful to some of you. Self-absorbed, but honest. How do we resolve this problem? My solution is to make these posts a part of my practice and process. Change is necessary but still scary.

So… food segues remain, calls remain, subscriptions remain free. Content will be less formal, more personal. Visuals will be simpler, colors softer. Some sharing of my own work (oh, the scandal) and some of yours too. ♥ I want to weigh the pros & cons of calls and opportunities for me, personally, in the hopes that my painful transparency makes you think about some portion of your own journey differently. We can’t all be on the same journey, but we all have the same issues with different food and geography and destination.

I don’t know exactly how all of this is going to look; be prepared for some trial and error. Tell me what works and what doesn’t. Tell me your stories and how your experience applies. Want to help? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Insta, wherever you are. Give us a thumbs up, like or re-post. Interact. We don’t need the social media boost, just YOU.

I want community.

CALL for ENTRIES: 12 Cubed

Posted on July 12, 2018July 13, 2018 by R.L. Gibson

SWEET squared

When is the last time you saw a sugar cube in a restaurant? Me neither. Maybe I’m going to the wrong restaurants, ha. Did you know that before the Victorian-era sense of order gave us manageable single-serving size cubes of sugar, there was a person whose job it was to nip sugar into less large chunks than the cone-shaped loaf you brought home from your grocer. This next Call is all about the cube or the square or smaller. Take a look…

Check out this Call for Entries from MTSU’s Todd Art Gallery (Murfreesboro, TN) for the 6th Annual 12 Cubed, a national small works show. $20 entry & cheaper shipping because the work has to be small! Don’t procrastinate…

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CALL for ENTRIES:
12 Cubed from
MTSU Todd Art Gallery

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ELIGIBILITY: Open to artists 18+

MEDIA: Open to all media. 2D work must be 12″x12″ or smaller. 3D work must be 12″x12″x12″.

DEADLINE: August 8, 2018

NOTIFICATION: August 22, 2018

ENTRY FEE: $20 for up to 2 (through Nov. 16, 2014) or $40 for up to 3 (Nov. 17-Dec. 4)

JUROR: Charles Clary, Area Coordinator & Assistant Professor at Carolina Coastal University’s Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts. He has shown in exhibitions at Galerie EVOLUTION-Pierre Cardin in Paris, France, completed a three week residency in Lacoste, France. Clary has exhibited regionally, nationally & internationally in numerous solo and group shows, is represented by Diana Lowenstein Gallery in Miami, FL and Patrajdas Contemporary Gallery in Ogden, Utah. Clary currently lives and works in Conway, South Carolina.

AWARDS: Best of Show $1,000 & Merit Award $350

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

CALL for ENTRIES: Aug / Sept Print Issue

Posted on May 22, 2018May 21, 2018 by R.L. Gibson

MENU options

Long before I dreamed of having a full time studio practice, I wanted to be a restaurant reviewer. I wanted someone to pay me to eat food and talk about. I got an English degree; I went to culinary school. I abandoned the idea of capturing one of those ridiculously small number of jobs. I still eat a lot of food, and I still talk about food more than most people. This next Call offers us the opportunity to have your work reviewed. Take a look…

Check out this Call for Entries from Create! Magazine (print publication) for the 2018 August / September Print Issue. $30 entry for this gorgeous magazine. Don’t miss this chance…

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CALL for ENTRIES:
2018 Aug / Sept Print Issue
of Create! Magazine

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ELIGIBILITY: Open to all artists

MEDIA: Open to all media, i.e.: painting, sculpture, digital, printmaking, fiber, mixed media, photography, installation & more.

DEADLINE: June 30, 2018

ENTRY FEE: $30 for up to 3, $35 for 5, $40 for 10. *There is also an optional $15 for online review, if selected by curator.

JUROR: Conrad Benner is a photographer, podcaster, curator, and Founder of StreetsDept.com, a photo-blog that discovers art on the streets of Philadelphia. Conrad was recently named ‘One of the 100 Most Influential People in Philadelphia’ by Philadelphia Magazine & his blog named one of the ‘Best Blogs for Travellers’ by The Guardian and his photography highlighted by Mashable and Instagram. Established in January of 2011, Conrad’s primary focus with Streets Dept is to document and celebrate street art and graffiti. “In general, I believe deeply that the public space has a profound effect on us as individuals and on our city as a whole, and my aim with Streets Dept is to explore how we build and use public spaces creatively.”

AWARDS: Artists selected by the guest juror will receive a 2-page spread including a brief bio, website, and 2 images in print and digital formats. Published artists will receive a complimentary digital issue and will be listed on Create! Magazine’s website/social media & will be listed with images, details and information on theirr website/social media for life. All featured artists will automatically be considered for any upcoming curatorial projects & exhibitions organized by the Create! team.

SALES: The Aug /Sept Issue will be available online, in London, New York, Amsterdam, Wilmington (DE), Philadelphia & more.

Category: Art Review

You deserve the very best. Be kind to yourselves, and may you all get your just desserts, artistically & edibly. Love always, Rachel (R.L. Gibson)

ORANGE you glad?

CALL for ENTRIES: Harrow from Up the Staircase Quarterly

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

COLD complication

CALL for ENTRIES: Summer 2019 Print Issue of Create! Magazine

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

BA-NANA–nana-nana

CALL for ENTRIES: Recycle 2019 from BWAC

For full details, Read the Full Call!

CHEERS to change

I want community.

SWEET squared

CALL for ENTRIES: 12 Cubed from MTSU Todd Art Gallery

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

MENU options

CALL for ENTRIES: 2018 Aug / Sept Print Issue of Create! Magazine

For complete details, Read the Full Call!

CALL for ENTRIES:
Harrow
from Up the Staircase Quarterly

CALL for ENTRIES:
Summer 2019 Print Issue
of Create! Magazine

CALL for ENTRIES:
Recycle 2019
from BWAC

CALL for ENTRIES:
12 Cubed from
MTSU Todd Art Gallery

CALL for ENTRIES:
2018 Aug / Sept Print Issue
of Create! Magazine