all in

YAY! Both paintings I submitted to the Maine Open Juried Art Show in Waterville were accepted! I almost didn't apply this year, but I am glad I did. Here's why:

I was talking with Bill Tomsa (another local artist) during the opening reception for the Joy of Art show in January, and he asked me if I was planning on submitting work to MOJAS. I said, "Well, I don't know…last year, I dropped off two paintings in the morning, then I had to be at work in Portland that afternoon, then I found out only one of my paintings got in, so I had to drive all the way back up to Waterville again to pick up the one that wasn't accepted…it's just so much driving. I spent five hours in my car that day going back and forth." He looked at me and said, "Really? I just spend the day up there. That way, if I need to pick anything up, it's only one trip." For some reason, it hadn't occurred to me to take this approach, so I decided to adopt Bill's idea and signed up to have my work considered once again.

Terry also had the day off on Saturday, so he agreed to keep me company. After dropping my paintings off at the Waterville Public Library just before 11 am (and receiving a note with a phone number and a time to call for the jury's results), we headed over to Bull Moose for some browsing; then it was off to Mainely Brews for a very tasty lunch. The results wouldn't be available until 3:15, and there were no movies playing in the area we were interested in seeing, so we decided to pop over to the Colby College Museum of Art. WOW! What a beautiful place! If you love art and you're planning on being in the Waterville area, or even if you're just looking for a fun little road-trip destination, check out this museum. The building itself is gorgeous, the work they have is incredible, and it's FREE! Before we knew it, it was almost time to head back to the library area…but first, a quick stop at Holy Cannoli was in order...they certainly did not disappoint, either!

I made my call to the phone number provided at the appropriate time, and I was given the good news that both of my paintings had gotten in. I guess we didn't have to spend the day in Waterville after all, but we're both really glad we did, and we definitely plan on doing it again before too long! If you'd like to explore Waterville, here's a link to their website: http://www.watervillemainstreet.org. Have fun!