Jurying

A friend of mine does jury work for Tennessee Assoc of Craft Artists on a rotating basis. The participants are supposed to keep it a secret until after the jurying is over. She gets a token honorarium. Basically, all other things being equal (quality of work, distribution of media and pieces, quality of photos, etc.), it comes down to personal preference. Which is why they do not have the same jury two years in a row.

In an ideal world, what Louis said is pretty darned good. However, there are times (that I've been personally aware of) where a lot of "mitigating" factors take place. Most of the time this is true in a bad way in local association shows that are internally juried. My Mom has griped about jurying for her local watercolor association. (She's a member, she's competed, AND she's juried.) It can become a popularity contest. Thankfully this isn't always true. The American Crafts Council shows and the Sugarbush shows on the east coast have a pretty good rep for jurying reasonably. They tend to look for innovation (not being run of the mill), variety, and good presentation. If you're asked for a slide of your booth, make sure it's accurate AND eye-catching. For pix of beads or jewelry, you want good lighting, a simple background, and crisp colors and definition. If you're submitting multiple slides, go for a good variety.

Good luck!

-- KarenK Desert Dreamer Designs

The TACA jurying is blind, so if the jurors are not familiar with the artist's work, they don't know who they are. I think most juries are blind, but often an artist's work is well-known or distinctive enough so jurors may know whose slides are showing. Also, once you are in a TACA show, you are grandfathered in until you miss a show. Then if you want back in, you have to be juried again. The system isn't perfect, but all in all, it's pretty good.