If I had to pick only one thing in this world to love, it would be handmade art. Which is probably why I answered an emphatic “YES!”, when my college professor, Suzie Garner, asked me to submit some of my own handmade artwork for the Second Annual 4×6/6×4 Postcard Exhibit held at my alma mater, Colorado Mesa University. Art is such a huge part of my life, both personally and professionally, that “no” was never even a consideration.
A charity event hosted by the CMU Art Department and benefitting the department’s endowment fund, the exhibit includes original artwork donated by artists from around the world. Last year’s submissions included numerous media including acrylics, oils, collage, fibers, pencil, ink, and block and intaglio prints.
Each artist may submit up to four pieces of artwork, but each entry must be 4×6 or 6×4, unframed, and light enough to be hung up by a T-Pin on the gallery wall. For my piece, I submitted a hand drawing of the X-Men character Wolverine. (Yes, I am a comic nerd.) I first sketched it using graphite and layered it using Prismacolor Colored Pencils and Faber-Castell Pens.
To learn more, I spent a few minutes interviewing Professor Garner remotely to get her insights on the event and what it takes to from a social media standpoint to promote the show and receive entrants globally.
This is the second invitational postcard exhibition. How did the event get started. Your idea?
The CMU Foundation asked us to help with an endowment campaign to help fund activities for the Art Department. Some of the faculty and I had experienced similar exhibitions hosted across the country. I had participated in 12×12 and 6×6 exhibitions in New York. We simply adapted what we’d learned from those to create our event.
What social media networks do you use to maximize artist participation worldwide? Are many of the entrants past students? Or do you find that you receive submissions from artists with no affiliation to CMU whatsoever? Do you submit your own work to the exhibit?
I used Facebook for the first time to advertise this event in addition to advertising it on a few list services for artists to find call for entries. I think Facebook was really helpful for connecting with alumni. I have some friends all over and some of them shared the event too since they are artists.
Can you explain some of the specific “educational opportunities” that the Foundation and endowment fund bring to Art Department students?
The money raised by this exhibit and art sale will fund visiting artists, speakers and instructors, in addition to equipment and supplies. Generally, this will result in a broader exposure to the arts for our campus and community.
The 4×6/6×4 Postcard Exhibit will be held at the Art Gallery at the University Center on February 18th and will continue through the 8th of March. New this year is an online gallery where buyers across the globe can view and purchase the pieces for $20 each.
$20 for a one-of-a-kind piece of handmade art! What’s not to love about that? I hope that you’ll take a moment to “stroll” through the gallery, pick out handmade piece for yourself and simultaneously support future artists.