Round Rock Art Walk

As a self-proclaimed jack of all trades, master of none I am always trying out different ways of being creative. In my two years of traveling, I have taken over 32,000 photos of the states and countries I have gotten to see. A couple of weeks ago, I found a link to the Art Council for the city I live in and submitted three photos to their Art Walk. Two of my photos were selected, which means that I am now working on getting them prepared for display.

This one I took at the Mdina Glass Factory in Malta (a little island off the coast of Italy). I loved the colors of the vases and was in a macro setting mood at the time, which is how I got this very fun angle.

The photo is of bicycles in the Dead Sea in Israel. They had chairs and other things in the water as well, which the salt likes to grow on. We all thought these bikes were pretty fun, so I snapped this shot. What a gorgeous place!

This has been a longer process than I thought it would be and one that I find rather tedious. When I first saw the submission page, I emailed the contact person and stated my "green"ness as to the world of art on display and/or for sale. I was assured that they were seeking amateurs and would email me with all the information I'd need should I be selected. Once the two photos were selected, I entered into an email game of cat and mouse with the woman who could allegedly assist me. Once I spoke with her, she literally asked, "So how is it I can help you?" She knew nothing that could help me. She emailed a few professional photographers she knew, but by then a woman from church was gracious enough to tell me about a few places she trusts. Even then because it had all taken so long, I had less than a week to get everything together!

So much for helping the amateurs! I searched online and in stores and finally had my pictures printed from the online store and they should arrive tomorrow. I then purchased frames from the local art supply place, but have been informated that while I can frame the art, it cannot have glass. This means that I either now need plexiglass or to just leave the photos exposed, which raises the issue of making sure it's securely mounted to the backboard of the frame.

Oy vey!!! And for all this, I have paid about $70, and will still need to deliver everything to the council by Wednesday and then be ready for the gala on Friday. I am excited to participate and look forward to attempting to break into the world of photography and hopefully be invited to be displayed in a gallery; but this has not been a fun road. As someone who has written manuals and trained countless people on various systems, I assumed there would be a packet or email in place that could assist amateurs as to what to do, where to go, what to use, etc. I was mistaken. What's that they say about assumption?

If you are new to the Austin area and find your way to this blog, the online store is www.mpix.com. There is also a store called Precision Camera in downtown as well as Hobby Lobby, which has basic frames.

Wish me luck!