Jury time... again

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi Everyone:

It is time, once again, for the most maddening process of jury
application assembly. In an effort to go from the sidelines of the
waitlist, directly to the starting line-up, I have a couple of
questions to consider.

  1. Does color scheming make a difference? I use many different
    neutral colors. Would my images present better if they were in a
    single color group or coordinated pieces?

  2. I have website (which will be tidied by jury time)…will this
    help my application?

  3. I have a real booth shot this time (yay!) I’m thinking this is a
    good, good thing.

  4. I have 5 pieces in mind, but the requirement is only for 5 total.
    Is it better to present 5 pieces total, or 4 total with 1 close-up?

As always, any constructive critiquing is welcome. Thanks for any
help.

To prolific sales,
Kim

2

Hi Kimberly,

I wrote a piece for LJ several years ago which has a few tips on
jury slides (Discover The Art Of Jewellery Making In Bed And Breakfast Hotels), but
I didn’t cover all the questions you’ve asked. So…

Does color scheming make a difference? I use many different neutral
colors. Would my images present better if they were in a single
color group or coordinated pieces?

I have a suspicion that some people will say ‘yes’ and others ‘no’
to this question. My own feeling is that ideally the slides should
have a flow, both stylistically and color-wise. More specifically,
I’d try to avoid grouping slides that clash or fight with each other,
but you still want the images to pop. I think one of my worst slide
groupings was made up of five slides that were all in
black/gray/brown tones. Nothing popped even though the pieces were
great.

I have website (which will be tidied by jury time)...will this help
my application?

No. Nor hurt it. Juries do not look at websites (unless a particular
show prospectus specifies otherwise).

I have a real booth shot this time (yay!) I'm thinking this is a
good, good thing.

Yes! Providing, of course, that your booth is attractive and
well-photographed :-). I’m assuming it is.

I have 5 pieces in mind, but the requirement is only for 5 total.
Is it better to present 5 pieces total, or 4 total with 1
close-up?

I would go with five unless a close-up is necessary for the viewer
to correctly “read” the piece and understand what it is. However, a
mistake that many jewelers make is to show an entire necklace spread
out in an oval shape. This is usually a mistake. Even if the piece
is maximized so that there is an absolute minimum border of
background around it, the necklace will appear too small when
projected. So if you’re making beaded necklaces, for instance, find a
way to lay the necklace out with graceful curves and bends or
overlaps; that way it will take up less space and appear larger in
the image. Or use perspective and shoot the necklace from an angle
instead of straight on (though tough to keep in acceptable focus).

If the necklace has a centerpiece, it will be a lot easier to shoot
because you don’t need to show the whole thing (and it’s not
necessary).

I just did a Google Image search and came up with a couple of images
to demonstrate what I’m talking about. First, here are some “don’ts”:

http://www.houstoncrafts.com/beaded/necklaces-212.html
http://1url.org/go/1b3ox
http://www.holistic-alt.com/images/square_beaded_necklace.jpg

And here are several “do’s”:

Examples with curves/bends/overlaps:

http://1url.org/go/1ki3
http://www.berknerdesigns.com/discounts/imgs/sale106.jpg
http://www.northstyle.com/zoom_image.asp?p=/prodimagesC/N40636C.jpg
(although the flower is totally distracting in the above example)

Examples with centerpiece:

http://www.daikendesign.com/catalog/popup_image.php?pID=231
http://www.annsbeads.com/Store/DragonNecklace1.jpg
http://www.sasyglass.com/images/necklaces/necklaces09_lrg.jpg

Examples using perspective:

http://www.preciousimports.com/goodprodpics/Dsc00288.jpg
http://www.titchdesigns.com.au/products/necklace016.jpg

HTH,
Beth

3

Dear Kim,

Check out the “Professional Practices” on the SNAG
website. The presenters have put together some really good tips on
getting into the juried shows.

Nanz Aalund
Associate Editor / Art Jewelry magazine
21027 Crossroads Circle / Waukesha WI 53187-1612
262.796.8776 ext.228

4 
Check out the "Professional Practices" on the SNAG
website. The presenters have put together some really good tips on
getting into the juried shows.

Nanz-- I tried to take your suggestion, but could not find what you
are talking about. Can you post a link?

Thanks!
Noel

5

Noel,

What Nanz is referring to, I think, is the Professional Guidelines
on the SNAG website. This is a valuable series of documents covering
a spectrum of important from insurance to shipping to
ethical issues. I am the Board liaison and Editor of these documents.
As such, I usually hand out a PG flyer at workshops. Did you not get
one in Chicago?

Let me know and I’ll send you one.

Andy

6 
What Nanz is referring to, I think, is the Professional Guidelines
on the SNAG website. This is a valuable series of documents
covering a spectrum of important from insurance to
shipping to ethical issues. I am the Board liaison and Editor of
these documents. As such, I usually hand out a PG flyer at
workshops. Did you not get one in Chicago?

Thanks Andy, I have those… maybe I was wrong but I thought Nanz
was referring to info about the jury process… Nanz?

Noel

7

Noel,

Thanks for the X-mas greeting.

Andy had it right on. I was referring Kim to the SNAG website and the
Professional Guidelines Andy has edited on their site. Sorry for any
confusion.

Nanz Aalund
Associate Editor / Art Jewelry magazine
21027 Crossroads Circle / Waukesha WI 53187-1612
262.796.8776 ext.228

8

Hi everybody

Sorry for redundancy, but, when I looked at the slides on the
Smithsonian Show site, I thought of a question that comes up for me
every year at jury time.

I was told a while ago (somewhere) that it is best for the entire
item to be pictured in the slide (unless it’s a close-up). For my
images, I have always had shots of the entire necklace. I noticed
that a couple artists in the Smithsonian Show, when they suspended
pendants from a neckwire, only showed the pendant. Presumably, this
is because the neck wire is not made by the artist and, therefore,
does not add to the chances of getting into the show.

I have thought endlessly about how to best show my bead woven
pendants. I have tried many methods of suspending them and found that
the one thing that looks nice (to me) is a strung bead necklace. Any
other way does not look “pretty” to me.

I know that strung beads are not thought highly of, but I don’t find
anything else to be what I like. My question is, should I just shoot
the slide of the pendant in close-up only and avoid showing the whole
piece? Is the strung bead portion of the piece actually keeping me
out of shows?

I have considered completely dropping making these…but I love to
do them. I think they’re very pretty and they take 2 or 3 hours to
make, but I don’t know if they are actually holding me back at this
point. BTW, one of the things that is good about these is that I can
retail them for 150 to 275 and this puts me in a place where more
people can afford the work, but truthfully, they sell ok. What really
sells is the bracelet.

Be honest, I can take it. kimstarbarddesigns.com and they are also
shown in the Orchid galleries under Kim Starbard

Thanks