Running With the Swift

It's been nearly a year since I got that call telling me I had been juried into the Bakehouse.  Just the day before, I had thought that I hadn't been accepted.  After all, it had been over a month since I had applied and I'd heard nothing at all.  I was feeling pretty down, actually, when the phone went off.  “You've been accepted”, the voice said.  That was it, I had passed the jury.  I was vetted.  People who know what they're doing said my work was good, that my photos were art.  I was in.  Wow.

It's been a great year, one with many lessons learned that will probably be the subject of other blog entries.  Still, the most important thing I've learned from this year is that I need to constantly strive to improve my work.  This doesn't mean buying new equipment or obsessing about sharpness like people do on the photography forums.  No, it means I must actually improve the work, strive to push the envelope, explore new subjects and techniques and do all that while remaining true to my style and to myself. I've learned this by looking at the work of other artists at the Bakehouse, but especially my incoming class.  These are some excellent artists that includes painters, sculptors, mixed media and several who also incorporate photography in their work.  I look at their work, especially the other new photographer, and am just wowed by the quality and the creativity.

All my life I've tried to surround myself with good people, to be inspired by them and to be motivated by them to excel.  Well, these people are excellent and I'm glad of it.  To strive for excellence you must run with the swift.

The photo in this blog entry is of the year's entering class at the Bakehouse.  It's the promo for our end-of-the-year show called Recently Acquired IV, curated by Ananda Demello.  The opening will be held on March 8, 2013 at 7PM in the Audrey Love Gallery in the Bakehouse.  I'll have three pieces in the show.