Art Noir Art Exhibit

A few weeks ago the photography teacher posted in the photography group information about an art show and encouraged us to enter.  I thought about entering and even messaged the photography teacher for more information.  The day before the registration deadline I was messaging with the photography teacher asking more questions about the show since I'd never entered any of my pictures in anything before.  My biggest question was since most all of my recent pictures were of family members, if photos of people ever won anything.  The photography teacher replied that her friend had won third place with a picture of a person in 2014 so my decision was made that I'd give it a shot.  Since my decision was made on the very last possible day I had to hand deliver my application over to the Gallery, which happens to be just a few blocks away from my office.  I didn't even realize it was there!  

So now, came the hard part, picking what pictures to enter.  The entry fee was $35 and with that you could enter two items.  I first narrowed my pictures down to my very, very, most favorites ones - I manged to get it down to five, which was not an easy task at all!  I even contemplated paying an additional entry fee to be able to enter more than two, but later decided that it was silly to pay to be competing against myself, especially since this was my first time entering!  I really didn't know what to expect, so I just sucked it up and picked two of the five photos while keeping in the back of my mind that my other favorites would get their chance!

The show or exhibit I guess you would call it, is sponsored by the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana - visit their website for more information:  Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana.  The title of the exhibit is "Art Noir - An All Black and White Exhibit" - you can visit the Facebook page for the exhibit at Art Noir Facebook Page.

After registration deadline came and went we received an email giving us all the important dates.  The email also informed us that they had an overwhelming response of entries with 80 artists entering over 130 pieces!  That in itself made me even more nervous than I already was but I realized that even if my photos didn't make it in the show it was still a great learning experience!  

My registration was now in and it was time to start putting everything together! Once I had picked my two favorites I then picked up frames and ordered the prints from Nations Photo Lab who I've used a few times now for ordering prints.  I have been pleased with the quality and price every time!  If you're not in a hurry to place an order and can watch for a while before you order, they run some great sales!  When the prints arrived Mike helped prepare my frames, I added the prints and they were ready for drop off day last week Friday!  Entries were to be dropped off Friday, judging was on Monday and we would receive an email by 4 pm on Tuesday notifying us if our pieces were accepted for the exhibit.  

Friday after everyone's pieces had been dropped off the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana posted these pictures which didn't help one bit to calm my nerves!  Although I was excited to see how many entries there were!   

So today was notification day and my photos didn't make it in but I'm still excited that I had the chance to enter them!  I'm especially excited to check out the pieces that did make it in the show!  If you have the chance stop by the gallery to check them out!  

Unfortunately I didn't take a good picture of my prints framed but these are the two "favorites" that I selected to enter! 

"The Prowl"

"Smile On A Cold Day"