Paula- I have been doing large public art commissions for about 30 years now- so I have a bit of a track record-but there are lots of opportunities out there for new artists.
In fact, I just got a job in St. Cloud Minnesota- so I know for a fact there are public art opportunities right in your home state.
Obviously, you dont start out with the biggest projects and the highest budgets- you would need to prove yourself on smaller, say $10,000 to $25,000 commissions.
The way to get started is to get into artist registries with state and local arts commissions- like the Minnesota State Arts Board.
http://www.arts.state.mn.us/
Watch sites like CAFE for opportunities-
http://www.callforentry.org/
Sign up for the email lists at places like RACC, in Portland-
http://www.racc.org/about/join.php
And start applying.
As a beginner, you will have more chances entering competitions where they require a design proposal- this requires speculative work on your part, but it allows you to show what your ideas are, and have a chance of getting commissions without having a lot of finished work to show.
Many more experienced artists skip these, as they can usually get work just by showing slides of previous commissions.
There are two basic kinds of competitions- one, they just do a preliminary judging based on images of previous work, and perhaps a one page letter of interest, while the other type requires full fledged proposals.
Unless I have the perfect idea, I seldom enter the proposal type- I know, its arrogant, but I have that luxury, having a resume of previous work.
But that makes it more likely that artists without a track record can have a chance.
Be aware that you will be rejected, a lot. I get rejected all the time- I just pick myself up, dust myself off, and apply again.
Its not personal.
As a blacksmith, you actually have a lot of opportunites out there- lots of public art commissions are actually looking for function- railings, fences, grilles, lighting, gates, and so on. My project in St. Cloud is bike racks- and I will probably forge a fair amount of them.
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Paula- I have been doing
Paula- I have been doing large public art commissions for about 30 years now- so I have a bit of a track record-but there are lots of opportunities out there for new artists.
In fact, I just got a job in St. Cloud Minnesota- so I know for a fact there are public art opportunities right in your home state.
Obviously, you dont start out with the biggest projects and the highest budgets- you would need to prove yourself on smaller, say $10,000 to $25,000 commissions.
The way to get started is to get into artist registries with state and local arts commissions- like the Minnesota State Arts Board.
http://www.arts.state.mn.us/
Watch sites like CAFE for opportunities-
http://www.callforentry.org/
Sign up for the email lists at places like RACC, in Portland-
http://www.racc.org/about/join.php
And start applying.
As a beginner, you will have more chances entering competitions where they require a design proposal- this requires speculative work on your part, but it allows you to show what your ideas are, and have a chance of getting commissions without having a lot of finished work to show.
Many more experienced artists skip these, as they can usually get work just by showing slides of previous commissions.
There are two basic kinds of competitions- one, they just do a preliminary judging based on images of previous work, and perhaps a one page letter of interest, while the other type requires full fledged proposals.
Unless I have the perfect idea, I seldom enter the proposal type- I know, its arrogant, but I have that luxury, having a resume of previous work.
But that makes it more likely that artists without a track record can have a chance.
Be aware that you will be rejected, a lot. I get rejected all the time- I just pick myself up, dust myself off, and apply again.
Its not personal.
As a blacksmith, you actually have a lot of opportunites out there- lots of public art commissions are actually looking for function- railings, fences, grilles, lighting, gates, and so on. My project in St. Cloud is bike racks- and I will probably forge a fair amount of them.