A month to go!

It's done, the entries are in and juried and we just finished sending the acceptance emails out. Now we just need to get the art here and on a wall... and get the catalogs finished and printed, though I have to admit I'm enjoying designing the catalog wayyy more than I enjoy hanging shows...


Anyway, in the meanwhile I want to pass along news from Tyler Darden about an awesome talk that AIGA is hosting

COMMUNICATION ARTS Tuesday, May 12, 2009 6:30 p.m. VCU Commons Theater 907 Floyd Ave. Richmond, Virginia See the website for complete details. Patrick Coyne, Communication Arts Patrick Coyne will discuss the history and philosophy of the magazine, how CA's competitions work and how creatives are chosen for profiles in the magazine. He will also present a selection of award-winning design and advertising projects produced on limited budgets and discuss the future of creativity in the post-information age. Patrick Coyne Patrick Coyne is editor and designer of Communication Arts. In addition to determining the layout and content of the magazine, Mr. Coyne writes feature stories and the editor's column. He has also guest lectured at numerous creative clubs and universities. The recipient of numerous awards for his design and art direction (including a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators), Coyne received the 2004 Design Leadership Award from the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Prior to joining CA in 1986, Coyne studied at the California College of the Arts, worked for Michael Mabry Design and SBG Partners and established the multi-discipline, San Francisco-based design firm of Patrick Coyne Stephanie Steyer Design Office. Communication Arts is the leading professional journal for designers, art directors, design firms, agencies and corporate communications departments. Current circulation is 60,000 paid. Through editorials, feature articles and annual competitions it sponsors, CA provides new ideas and information, while promoting the highest professional standards for the field.

AIGA Richmond | P.O. Box 18492 | Richmond, VA 23226

It's almost time!!!

10 days left!

This is somewhere between a continued reminded (harangue?) for anyone and everyone to enter the show, and a reminder to myself that now is when the work really starts. Promoting the Call for Entries is one thing - the internet is like magic - but getting all of the work here and organized and on a wall and the opening sufficiently promoted - plus some sort of catalog - that is a true time management nightmare.
So yes,

A#1.) Enter the show. Get your work seen by the ever fascinating Marshall Arisman. If he likes it, get it up on the wall at Ghostprint where inevitably, well over 1,000 people will see it. Many of them gallery owners, art directors etc.

B#2.) If you are involved in the club in any way, get ready to help distribute postcards, contact media outlets, hang art work and set out hors d'oeuvres (more or less in that order).

Feels like a city

First Friday last night was one of the better ones in months, I'm going to imagine in large part due to the fact that it was neither a.) raining or b.) miserably cold. If you are from the Pacific Northwest, Chicago or anywhere north of the 45th you can mock me mercilessly for my pathetic inability to withstand weather.

To be fair though, 4 club members, myself included, stood outside of Ghostprint at December First Friday to sell prints, cards, jewelry and other illustrated gifts for the holiday. This year was the first time (since I've been a member) that the club had done something like that, and while we could have sold more it was a good experience and one I think we'd really like to repeat. Holly's greeting cards sold the best, and she's since had them sold through both Quirk gallery and Mongrel in Carytown, as well as at the holiday Bizarre Market above Chop Suey Tuey and on Etsy.com.




I totally agree with what Dwayne said the other night, that he wishes Richmond would feel like a real city more than just once a month on Friday. It really is just about the only time when there is volumous foot traffic all over town, businesses stay open later and Broad Street doesn't look abandoned. It is nice in some respect that it's art that makes this town feel like a city. In an economy where any sort of luxury item is regarded with sudden scorn, it's refreshing to see that original art, which has always seemed to me to be viewed as a luxury, is bringing people out - and some of them are even buying it. A few of the skatebirds by Klutch at Ghostprint sold last night, and they were amazingly cool. They were also really reasonably priced, and it struck me as a real win-win situation.


The other particularly awesome thing last night was when numerous patrons at Quirk picked up and shook Thea's handmade snowless snowglobes, only to get really disappointed and frustrated to discover that there wasn't any snow in them.

Edit - I am totally remiss in not mentioning this earlier - I'll claim a dog emergency that pulled me away from the computer before I could add it and beg forgiveness.

Last but clearly not least, another fabulous opening on April's First Friday was our members show! We have done this show at the library for god knows how long - it had been going on for a while when I joined the club in 04, and at this point we have a standing show in the Gellman room of the main public library on Franklin St. every April. Somehow this show seems to come out of thin air every year. There is a great group of people showing work this year - Forrest Young, Andy Parrish, Jolinda Smithson, Eric Collins, Tin Salamunic, Dwayne Carpenter and Katie McBride (me!). This show is a great perk of club membership (plug plug) b/c it is so low key, and you can show anything. If you have some experimental pieces and you want to get them out there and get a reaction? Great. Got some traditional figurative work you've done at Ghostprint's drawing night? That works too. Plus Lynn Vandeness at the Library is incredibly sweet and so enthusiastic, so that helps too. I definitely encourage everyone to go down and check out the show. It's a great range of work, from high intensity graphic Transformers (seriously), to meticulous line drawings of Richmond, to expressive ink and mixed media portraits.

Anyway, as usual, here's a plug to enter the Juried Show - deadline April 24 - and as always, check back here and our facebook page for updates on all sorts of Richmond Illustration things.

All the kids are doing it these days...

... blogging that is - so you know, I figured we should get back on board.

They are all also submitting to the Richmond Illustrators Club 3rd Annual Juried Show! (deadline April 24th)

We are getting ready for our Third Annual Juried Show - hard to believe it's that time already.
It's going to open at Ghostprint Gallery again this year, which is really fantastic. The space is beautiful and Geraldine and Thea are incredibly helpful and generous, not to mention having created quite the reputation for having impeccable taste in art. The crowds last year were amazing and we have serious high hopes for this year.

Having only one juror will be a little different, but the fact that it's Marshall Arisman tends to make up (in my mind) for any drawbacks that having only one juror could create.

We are also in the throes of getting a new website up - www.richmondillustratorsclub.com - which will be lovely, as we will finally be able to have member galleries and a central location for all of the events, news and resources we would like to be pointing the illustration community towards.
Right now you can download the entry form for the 3rd annual juried show there, and pay for your entries through Paypal.

We are also simplifying this year by accepting all entries through email, either to the richmond.illustrators@gmail.com address, or to our new email - info@richmondillustratorsclub.com. Use "entries" in the subject line.

You can find all sorts of useful info about the last two shows below, incuding pictures from the opening, previous winners and a map with the location.

The deadline for this year is April 24th, which is really soon, and I know everyone (myself included) waits till the last few days to enter everything... but really, no extension this year - so enter now!

Looking forward to seeing all of the amazing entries this year and seeing which 35 Marshall picks!