What's Eating Me Tonight

FangsOverFunSlide, originally uploaded by carolsLittleWorld.

Ok, time for a confession. The other day, I was reading a website, done by another photographer, who talked about how he recently “didn’t have much luck with juried shows lately.” While it’s true that, to the untrained eye, it might seem like I have been getting into more than my fair share of shows, it’s also true that I’m no stranger to rejection either. I have learned, through time, trials, and tribulations, to just ignore the losses, celebrate the gains, and, as you well know if you read this website at all, leave the opening night reception the split second the booze runs out. This mantra has served me well over the years-I’ve gotten far, showed some, gotten rejected a bit too, and learned to live with, maybe actually enjoy, those little bumps in the road others may take as a more personal form of rejection. Hey, I’m an exhibiting artist, and everybody and their brother wants to be one of those, it comes with the turf-you have to learn to either deal with it or just accept it and move on. Life can be cruel and the booze does run out so watch yourself out there, snowflakes.

And so, life goes on in Carol’s Little World. I blog, I watch Top Gear re-runs when I can, I avoid scary TiVo’s with Nicolas Cage, and I continue to take pictures because, well, that’s just what I do.

With one noted exception: the local art fair.

Now, I don’t know why but, for some reason, for some strange twist of the heavens, I can never seem to get accepted into any form of local art fair. Sure, don’t get me wrong, I’ve shipped work overseas, I’ve done shows in New York, heck I once even got written up by a critic (and it was positive! Go figure!) but, somehow, some way, some strange twist of fate always seems to keep me out of the Podunk, Texas fair and rodeo grounds or the local Autumn Moon exhibit. You know those shows-they are the little ones, usually at places like the library, that feature all of the “local” artists-they have your grannies watercolors and Aunt Sally’s pretty paintings of flowers. They never take my stuff though, ever. I could send them a freaking Monet with my name on it and they’d reject me yet again It’s always the damn little shows that eat me up too.

Now, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happens here. I get rejected from the local art fair yet again, I feel all down in the dumps, I think I’m not worthy again, I pout and mope and wonder what kind of booze they are enjoying at the local art fair this year, and then I pick myself up, move on, and get accepted into some kind of show off in New York or something. It’s always the case. Every year, it’s the same old, same old. And then, the local art fair announces it’s next call for entries it’s come around again, and I stress and I strain, and I rack my brain trying to think of what sort of crap-on-a-stick artwork they could possibly want to exhibit this year and I go off and I send them something I think is just ducky, for sure *this year* they are going to love it and let me in and throw a “Carol” parade, complete with balloons, elephants, and face painting for the kids, but then, when the acceptance notices come in…BAM!…rejected yet again. The cycles continues until I’m dizzy.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not actually complaining about this. I mean, on the whole, I’d much rather be in the shows I have been in. I don’t actually mind getting rejected from the podunk art fairs-they never sell any artwork anyway-but there’s just something about being rejected each and every single time that just frustrates me to no end. I mean, what are there people exactly looking for in an artist and, for pete’s sake, if I’m good enough to go get into shows in places like New York and San Francisco, Toronoto and St. Louis, why, oh why, do the good people of Podunk not want to look at my artwork? I mean, what could they possibly have against me? (Nevermind, don’t answer that.)

It goes without saying really but, in case you could not figure it out from this post, I’m sitting here filling in the annual, “I’m going to get rejected but I have to, I just have to, send it in anyway,” form to my local art fair.

Ahem, wish me luck. I say that and yet, even if I had all of the luck in the world….

Until next time…