callforartists – Art & News from EBSQ

Gearing up for an Awesome Artful 2013

Lo and behold, it’s a new year. What the heck happened to 2012? Or that pesky zombie apocalypse we had on our calendar? The whole year just seemed to whiz by. Anyhow. 2013. It’s here. Time to gear up!

Is your portfolio ready for 2013?

Check out these 7 art portfolio readiness tips here on the EBSQ Blog!

Speaking of 2013…
Our 2013 Art Exhibit Calendar has been announced! Which shows are you most looking forward to?

Finally–New Beginnings

December was a rough month for Team EBSQ. Everybody was down with the flu (and other ailments) multiple times. I think I can count the number of days I personally wasn’t sick on one hand! As a result, the finishing touches on the newest iteration of the EBSQ website is running behind schedule. We’re looking forward to getting back on track in 2013, bringing you a faster site, e-commerce tools, a significantly improved FAQ (I can hear many of you applauding), and hopefully, a site that will be advertising-free.

To achieve these ends, we can also use your help. We still haven’t met our goal of 150 new members to replace the lost advertising revenue. To that end, monthly memberships and permanent accounts are still on sale. Each new (and returning) monthly member helps us meet our monthly bills and expenses. Each permanent account purchase goes toward upgrading equipment, software licenses, and building toward our future so we can compete with the big fish out there. Together, we can make 2013 an incredible year for the self-representing artist.

Wishing you peace, prosperity, and an Artful New Year,
-Amie Gillingham on behalf of Team EBSQ
http://www.ebsqart.com
Supporting living artists since 2000

Holiday Jewelery Challenge -Exteneded

The Holiday Jewelery Challenge has been extended! That means you still have time to gather your holiday detritus and get creative. In fact, you have until the Sunday after Valentines day – Feb. 15th! In case you need a refresher of what you are supposed to do, just follow the instructions below.

The challenge host, Joe Callahan, says this about challenge: “Make a piece of jewelry out of “Holiday Junk”, something that would normally get tossed out!Wrapping paper, tinsel, bows/ribbons, a broken ornament, a burnt out holiday light, that stale candy cane that’s been in your wrapping paper tub for 15 years, holiday cards, pieces of your broken Menorah that you just can’t bear to toss, wood from the dying Yule Tree, well, you get the idea.

The jewelry has to be made from at least 70% Repurposed Holiday “Junk”. This gives room for you to use jewelry wire/clasps if you like, but the more of it that is repurposed, the better! The Challenge includes a prize!”

The Holiday Jewelery Challenge is open to everyone and is running in the Artist Made Jewelry topic in the Art Specific Topics section of the EBSQ Forum.

You can find all the information current EBSQ Challenges as well as the weekly Simon Sez by checking the Challenge Central topic on the forum. It’s where everything that’s going on can be found.

Like what you see here? We hope you’ll consider leaving a comment or subscribing to one of our feeds. Never miss another cool post from EBSQ. Subscribe to EBSQ: Art Meets Blog v2.0 by Email today!

New this week – Simon Sez… Yellow!

This week, Simon Sez is all about the colour yellow because that is what the week’s Simon, Lisa Miller, has asked for. Here are her instructions: “Simon is tired of winter…so me something bright and cheery! Yellow, any medium. 5 entries.” As usual, Simon Sez will run through Sunday. This week that’s February 1st.

All Simon Sez challenges are open to everyone. To enter Simon Sez… Yellow! and to see more than just the above entry, simply go to the EBSQ Forum, find Member Groups, Challenges & General Art Discussions and then go to Challenge Central. All the challenges past and present – including Simon Sez, can be found there.

via DWR- Champagne Chair Contest

When I saw this challenge at DWR last year, I thought it was seriously cool. How great that they’re doing it again. Plus–what a great excuse to open a little bubbly before New Year’s Eve! DWR challenges you to “create an original miniature chair using only the foil, label, cage, and cork from no more than two champagne bottles.”

Intrigued? Learn more at Design Within Reach. And if you happen to enter, we’d love to see your entries!

photocredit DWR

Like what see here? Never miss another cool post from EBSQ. Subscribe to EBSQ: Art Meets Blog v2.0 by Email today!

Got art? We’ve got shows!

The Bat Show

From 10/1/2008 thru 10/31/2008

Bats. The only mammal capable of true flight. Most bats eat insects, some eat fruit and a few are carnivorous. They are nocturnal. They … more

Fragile! Handle With Care: Glass

From 10/1/2008 thru 10/31/2008

Glass as a medium creates magic. There is something about the quality of glass that we are drawn to. There are three different categories of … more

Flower of the Month: Black-Eyed Susan

From 10/1/2008 thru 10/31/2008

Black-Eyed Susans were a great favourite when I was a child. My mother used to have what felt like an acre of these magical late-summer … more

3 Reasons to Apply for EBSQ Juried Artists

EBSQ Juried Artists are accepting applications for new members through 20 October 2008. New to the program? On the fence about applying? Here’s three compelling reasons to jump into the fray:

EJA is peer-juried. Unlike other art sites with a juried section, ours is a peer rather than an editorial review, based solely on the quality of your art and online presentation of your work, not “taste” or “experience.” The jurors are your fellow artists, who previously went through the process themselves.

An in-depth critique like no other. Ours is a blind-submission/blind-juror process. The jurors do not know the identity of the artists whose work they’re reviewing, nor even the identity of the other jurors. What they see is your five pieces of art (with its accompanying artist statements) stripped of your personal information. And what you’ll get back is amazing. Because it’s anonymous, our jurors are able to give you unbiased feedback about your submissions and online presentation style. Even artists who haven’t been accepted have found the process to be valuable.

Access to a community of peers (and additional EBSQ shows). In addition to the accolades that accepted members showcase in their portfolios, EJA members have access to an additional private member forum and shows that are EJA-only. To borrow a phrase from American Express, membership has its privileges!

Thinking about applying? Have questions? We have answers! Feel free to ask here, or stop by the official EBSQ Juried Artists Q & A forum at your leisure. (you must be a paid member and logged into the forums to access this section)

Good luck!

Holy Kielbasa! Spam & Trout is one smokin’ show!

Spam and Trout, our wonderfully surreal biennial exhibit just got a serious influx of cash in the kitty! Come share in the love–you can add new work through 30 September 2008 or chipin toward the final prize through 7 October 2008.

From 9/1/2008 thru 9/30/2008

September brings EBSQ’s biennial foray into the unknown realm of Spam & Trout. What will this year’s show entail? No one knows for sure, … more

Less than 10 days left for the EBSQ T-Shirt Show!!

Better get hopping people – there isn’t much time left!
Be creative, innovative, different, do whatever, use whatever media, any colours any configuration, it doesn’t matter as long as somewhere EBSQ or ebsqart.com is included. Weird, wacky, out there, over there, anywhere – it’s all welcome, so let your mind wander and come back with something for the show. We’d love to see what YOU want to wear!

EBSQ Show “Light My Way: Artist-Made Lanterns” Clarification

In case anyone is wondering what we mean when we say “lantern”, let me clarify by saying that we mean it in the true sense of the word.

lan·tern
Pronunciation[lan-tern]
–noun

1. a transparent or translucent, usually portable, case for enclosing a light and protecting it from the wind, rain, etc.

2. the chamber at the top of a lighthouse, surrounding the light.

Portability is not required as show entries can be electrified. What is important is that the light be enclosed in the manner of a lantern. As for the second definition… it must be full size to qualify. 😉

If anyone has questions, please drop me a line at edu@ebsqart.com.
-Melissa