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Notes on Embarkation
originally published in GASNews, October/November 2000

            This issue of GAS news focuses on Career Development. While aimed primarily at young or emerging artists, the information covered herein should pertain to any artist seeking to heighten their professional profile, to conduct the business of their careers in a more effective manner or to widen the horizons of their opportunities. Much of this information is available in greater depth through other sources, but I have no doubt that there are those among us who are encountering it for the first time.  I say this because some years ago, undergraduate degree firmly in hand and veteran of an MFA program, that would have been me.
            Not only was the subject of professional practices never broached in the schools I attended, there was a prevailing attitude that any concern with the subject was, if not downright tainted by disfiguring ambition, then certainly suspect. Gallerists and dealers were scornfully equated with shoe salesmen; the working world that existed beyond the bounds of campus remained mysteriously unknown.
            This received attitude began to change for me when I attended Pilchuck in 1986 and signed up for a seminar. For about the price of my weekly beer consumption, Dale Chihuly and Kate Elliott presented topics such as photography, grant applications, resume preparation, gallery relations, etc. They brought in visiting artists and experts in various fields to lavish us with lessons in the finer points of professional practices. To this day, I consider it one of the best classes in my extended career as a student and it had a direct impact on the resulting Fulbright grant that I received the following year.
            One aspect of career development that precedes the practical information of applying for grants, residencies, and scholarships, etc. is establishing career goals. The impression I received in school was that the studio glass movement was comprised of individuals making sculptural work whose sole aspiration was one-person shows. That is what my professors and their peers were doing (buoyed by their salaried teaching positions). There simply weren’t any other role models available. No one was operating a small business; no one was working with industry; no one engaged the marketplace in any other manner.
            However, just because you work in a shop banging out paperweights, don’t assume that there isn’t an audience for more unique pieces that you can access. Just because you’re enrolled in a degree program that abhors the production of multiples, don’t assume that there aren’t satisfying careers to be had in functional design. The information that you need to pursue any of these goals is out there, but the variety of options must be considered first. Don’t be limited by your assumptions.
            G.A.S. conferences highlight the broad spectrum of activity that comprises the international studio glass movement. They are an annual opportunity for exchanging information and networking with other artists who engage in a variety of career paths. We are fortunate that we are offered a selection from which to choose; the times conspire to create opportunity to realize our desires. Career development begins with our own strategic positioning, and proceeds along the lines of initiative, good fortune and attention to detail. We each have a unique combination of talent, ambition and capabilities that makes certain outcomes more favorable than others.  All that is left to us is to choose.

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