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A thank you to the Artists that entered the 2022 Fairy Juried Show. All submissions are now available for viewing by clicking this link. Winners will be announced in the December newsletter as well as being placed on the IADR Award Winners page.
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The new list for 2023 Juried Show themes is now available on the Event page for IADR members only to vote on. Why is choosing a good theme so important?
A theme should inspire and allow you to create, to express it in a way that others are taken on your journey. That is one reason why there isn't a lot of actual genre expressed this year. But take for example "Sitting under the Apple tree"... that can be expressed as a little boy fishing under the apple tree, a little girl reading her favorite book there, a faery teaching a flower how to grow or a tree nymph talking to her sister. There is no wrong or right expression of what those words mean other than what they inspire in you to create.
A theme should inspire and allow you to create, to express it in a way that others are taken on your journey. That is one reason why there isn't a lot of actual genre expressed this year. But take for example "Sitting under the Apple tree"... that can be expressed as a little boy fishing under the apple tree, a little girl reading her favorite book there, a faery teaching a flower how to grow or a tree nymph talking to her sister. There is no wrong or right expression of what those words mean other than what they inspire in you to create.
Did you know that a third of the voting for a Jury Show is... Did the artist capture the meaning of the theme? This is where you envision the judges to see what you see by explaining to them your vision. AND... did you know that another third of the judging is... How well did the artist render their interpretation of the theme... overall appearance?
That is 2/3 of the voting on just the theme. The other 1/3 goes toward the level of skill the artist displayed in their creation. Therefore, being clear in your interpretation will be important since it isn't being narrowed down to a type as well as following it through with the visual of your creation showcasing the theme.
So, when voting for a theme, don't look for a specific type like fairies or mermaids or zombies... but look to the theme that challenges you and inspires you. If, like me, doing character type faeries are what you enjoy, then pick a theme and create the character that tells that theme/story. Don't create a character and shove it into a theme, hoping it fits. A theme should bring art to life. The themes listed in the polling for 2023 with the most votes will be the selected ones for our Juried Shows. Click here to go to the Polls.
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We have an upcoming Juried Show that will draw to close the year 2022. With this event I hope to share some of the changes and hopefully inspire the imagination with some new events planned for the 2023 year.
One of the first changes is reluctantly the statuette trophy will no longer be available. With the rising cost for product and shipping, this was no longer viable. So, for the 2022 Juried Show, the new awards will also apply as we move forward. What are they and what's 'new'? Let me tell you!
On the website is the page to our Events for 2023 that will make it also easier to refresh or review as we update the Events information that will be coming up.
One of the first changes is reluctantly the statuette trophy will no longer be available. With the rising cost for product and shipping, this was no longer viable. So, for the 2022 Juried Show, the new awards will also apply as we move forward. What are they and what's 'new'? Let me tell you!
On the website is the page to our Events for 2023 that will make it also easier to refresh or review as we update the Events information that will be coming up.
In the December 2022 newsletter I will send out some show theme ideas for you to vote on as I would like to offer two (2) Juried Shows each year for members only. The first show's deadline will be April 30th, 2023, (theme to be announced after the voting), and the second show's deadline will be August 31st, 2023. There will be four Best of Show award opportunities at each of these two shows. The categories will be Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Professional. When there are two or more entries for a category, then there will be the opportunity for awards. If there is only one entry for any given category, then by definition, no competition exists, and the entry moves to an Honorary Award. All award winners from each of the events will be posted on the IADR Award Winners page on the website also!
What the winners will receive is a choice of: (1) A physical Embossed Award Certificate only (which includes the cost of shipping) sent to them... or (2) A downloadable digital Award Certificate (suitable for framing) with a $75 (USD) cash award placed in a PayPal account... or (3) A downloadable digital Award Certificate with a $75 (USD) gift card at the online store of the winner's choice. Honorary Awards will receive a downloadable digital Award Certificate (suitable for framing) and the judges commentaries with scoring.
Then we will have our third big event for the year! This will be the Public Christmas Event with a deadline of October 1st, 2023. There will be no cash award for this event but that is all explained in an earlier blog (click here to read the blog) This event will be all about who will be the center point of the marketing event through the People's Choice selection. We are planning on expanding the voting pool by setting up a public voting link you can share with family, friends, and even your favorite cousin to encourage them to come vote for their favorite doll. This opportunity will give each entry more exposure if all of the membership will share the voting link! This will also expand the viewing and hopefully encourage those to come to the event. (And to our Judges - this will be an event you can join in as well since the judging on this event will be done by the People's Choice *smiling*). This event will be open to all mediums of dollmaking as long as it is a One-Of-A-Kind and the artist is a member of IADR.
Then to wrap up 2023 will be the final show which will be our End of Year Show. Now this is going to be a little different. This will be scheduled for a December 31st, 2023 deadline with the winners being announced in January, 2024. Since this is a juried show on an artist's accumulated work, the first requirement is that of the three (3) dolls an artist is submitting, one (1) of them has to have been in one of the three previous events announced for the year. Meaning that one of the three submitted dolls has to have been in either in the April show, the August show, or the Public Christmas Event. The other two (2) dolls to showcase the artist's work must have been made in the current year since this is hopefully a YEAR-end type of award. Also, if one of the artdolls is a new piece done for the End of Year award, it will be judged with the accumulated work as the End of Year Show will not have any Best of Show awards.
The End of Year Awards will be awarded in the categories of Best Artist of the Year, Best Doll of the Year, and Rising Star of the Year. Each category winner will receive a downloadable Certificate (suitable for framing) and a cash award of $150.00 (USD) to be placed in a PayPal account or as a Gift Certificate with a online store of the winner's choice. All award winners from each of the events will be posted on the IADR Award Winners page on the website also!
I hope to entice you to join in our events this coming year, but please keep in mind that anyone that enters these events will have the opportunity to have their submission receive the comments and suggestions from the judges. This is a valuable tool to help give the artist a different point of view to grow and learn. IADR is a group of artists who are here to help support and encourage each other to be the best we can be. These shows are just one way of doing that.
