bio/artist statement opinions please.

[rosanna gusler]

ok i wrote one i guess. got a show to take work to tomorrow. 26 annual frank stick memorial art show. they want " a copy of their resume to be included in a gallery portfolio". well this is what i came up with. not really a resume' but whatever...........bio: rosanna gusler born 1957. graduated from osu 1981 with a bs in wildlife management. 1981 - present, commercial fisherman, licenced captain, charter mate, yacht finisher, artist. not necessarily in that order. .........artist statement: i love glass. glass has facinated me my whole life. beach glass, glass melted in a campfire, a copper enameling kit in grade school all helped guide me to the medium of kiln formed glass. the physical and chemical reactions that take place in my kilns at 1500F offer an endless pallette of colors and textures for my art. ... thats all. rosanna

[Cynthia]

bio: rosanna gusler born 1957. graduated from osu 1981 with a bs in wildlife management. 1981 - present, commercial fisherman, licenced captain, charter mate, yacht finisher, artist. not necessarily in that order. .........artist statement: i love glass. glass has facinated me my whole life. beach glass, glass melted in a campfire, a copper enameling kit in grade school all helped guide me to the medium of kiln formed glass. the physical and chemical reactions that take place in my kilns at 1500F offer an endless pallette of colors and textures for my art. ...

Your bio should include info about your glass history as well as other interests and education. You can even get a little personal and add that you have a collection of rare scarabs...as long as it relates to your work. Leave out non-art related affiliations to secret societies (you don't want to get that personal)

Statement...What is your work about? Texture, color, shape, light, composition...? What floats your boat about what you do along with your basic fascination with melting glass...or if that's it, what do you do with it when you melt it that makes your work yours?

Don't let this get bigger than it needs to be. It can be as simple as a conversation with someone who likes your work and wants to know more. Tell 'em what it is.

Make it seem as if you are really stoked about what you are doing and that you can't wait to tell us about it...but briefly

[Dani]

And don't forget to use spell-check ~ Marian the Librarian

[rosanna gusler]

ok thanks. word pad has spell check thank goodness. i just am not deep or introspective. you all would have laughed to see me try to make a document out of that plus a sentence or two. not being puterliterate, it only took me about an hout to figure out how to get that arranged on a page. sheesh, i gotta take a class. rosanna

[Debinsandiego]

What about photos?? Do folks put photos in there ?? I've got to do a "bio/resume" as well.

[Cynthia]

What about photos?? Do folks put photos in there ?? I've got to do a "bio/resume" as well.

Not typically, but you could insert a photo onto the paper as a letterhead design maybe. Think about what the bio, resume, statement is being used for; Cold call with a gallery, to accompany work for an exhibit, for a gallery to provide to clients, included with an entry???

[Lyn]

I need one too! In my case I won't even be meeting the gallery owner, my artist friends say you seem to sell to people you have met personally. So the statement will be all the owner or buyer will know about me. I have a diverse background, ceramics, painting, stained glass. metal sculpture and now fused glass. Should this all be included or focus on the fused glass pendants and cut stainless steel that are going to the gallery?
It would be great if all you had to do was create the stuff!

[Cynthia]

I need one too! In my case I won't even be meeting the gallery owner, my artist friends say you seem to sell to people you have met personally. So the statement will be all the owner or buyer will know about me. I have a diverse background, ceramics, painting, stained glass. metal sculpture and now fused glass. Should this all be included or focus on the fused glass pendants and cut stainless steel that are going to the gallery?

Focus on the current work, but think of it this way... If something you do has informed what you are doing now, it's relevant. If Girl Scouting was a major influence and lead to doing fused glass, it's relevant, if not, leave it out. I can easily see how ceramics, sculpture, painting...lead you to kiln forming and that's as simply as you need to say it. "I have a diverse background in ceramics, painting, ....which informs my work with fused glass pendants...." I want to know who you are, why you do what you do and what the work is about.

Keep it short. If you read it to someone and you see their eyes glaze over, it's too long, too detailed and too blah. Make it personable and professional. Say it with confidence and make it clear. That should be enough.

When I look at these things (I'm involved in a fine crafts organization and we do some juried shows...so I see a lot), I want it to be like a book. If I'm not captured quickly, chances are that it isn't worth reading.

It's easier to crit a statement than it is to write one. I want to change mine everytime I read it and it would never be finished if I retooled it everytime I thought I needed to. Sometimes you gotta figure out when good enough is really good enough.

It would be great if all you had to do was create the stuff!

Aint that the truth.

[Lyn]

Cynthia,
It is so kind of you to respond, not only to my question. I've noticed your careful answers before. They are really helpful to someone like me who has spent more time with equines than humans for many years, far away from the art world. Thanks again, (you must type faster than the normal artist as well) Lyn