Preparing a Portfolio by Dianne Young(first presented at the IAA marketing workshop on September 27 2003) A portfolio is a condensed review of your personal background, exhibition record and work experience as well as a visual representation of your past work. It can show your development and document a project or a process. You may initially put together a portfolio just as a reference source of ideas you have worked on developing with little intention of sending it anywhere. A portfolio can be used to apply to craft sales, to obtain gallery exhibitions, commissions and grants, in applying for an art related job; simply stated, when you are not there to represent yourself, your portfolio is your representative, your image. It should be designed to create a favourable impression with those reviewing it. A basic portfolio contains an up-to-date resume, at least eight good images of your work (preferably slides) and an artists' statement. It should be visually pleasing and the information in it should be well organized and easy to read. If you are looking to apply to major competitions and high-end galleries, you might want to invest a little more heavily in developing the best portfolio that you are able; using slides taken by a professional with high-end paper and overall packaging. This is all part of the professional image that you are marketing. Portfolio checklist
Your Resume A resume is used to give the reader sufficient background information about you, the craftsperson. There is more than one way to write a resume although there are basic components to a resume. The standard way to present your information is under a series of headings such as Education, Exhibitions, Work Experience, Awards and Scholarships, Publications and so on. Items in each category are presented in reverse chronological order, with the most recent achievements listed first. After your name and personal information, whichever category is considered most important for a specific application is generally put first. So at times your resume might have the exhibition record preceding the education category and vice versa. With computers, it is easy to have a number of different versions of your resume available to meet specific needs. Basic Components of a Resume ( for any given application you may omit categories that are not suitable) a) Name and address: Use your full name and address, your full phone number and your email address. b) Education and Training: Included here would be any post high school training. If you did not attend any university, college or vocational school, you may choose to eliminate this section. You may list relevant additional courses and workshops here or in a separate category called "Professional Development" or "Workshops". For each entry, give the type of degree or certificate, if relevant, the name and city and province where the school is located and the month or year the degree or certificate was conferred or the dates that the training took place. c) Exhibitions: Included under this heading is a list of places that have shown your work. Details for each entry are as follows: the year of the exhibition; the name of the gallery; the city and province in which the gallery is located; and, whether it was a solo or group show. You may have various categories (solo, group, invitational, juried). This could be named Selected Exhibitions if you are just including those that are most prominent. You can have separate categories for solo and group exhibitions as well. As your accomplishments increase in number, list only those of major significance. d) Work experience: You list the job, where it was and the dates you worked. If you have only been self-employed, it can be listed as such or you can omit this category completely and list relevant information in other categories. It is common these days to include skills that you have acquired on a resume. This usually means that, under the employment section of a resume, one lists the primary functions they carried out at each job under that part of your employment record. Even if you are self-employed, it can be worthwhile to include the skill sets that you have developed in you career as an artist . These can be stated under the heading 'work experience' or some other of your choosing. Skills statements show the breadth of your experience. Examples of such skills statements are "designed a prototype for an ornate oak bench for limited production and installation at Vancouver City Hall" or "successfully completed colour selection for furniture and accessories for ultra-modern home in design phase". e) Teaching and Lecturing: If the only employment you have had other than self-employment is teaching you may choose to omit the work experience category and go with this instead, presenting information in the same fashion as you would have in the work experience category. f) Related volunteer experience g) Prizes and Awards: Included here should be any special achievements that are related to the arts/crafts area. A purchase award, a grant, an award from a juried show and the winning of a commission to execute a project would be listed here. h) Collections: State the collections in which your work is included. i) Special skills and abilities: Show those that apply to the current objective only or things like languages spoken, other vocations, etc. j) Bibliography: List notices and reviews of your work or articles with reference to your work. Each listing includes the writers' name, the name of the article, the name of the publication, the date of the publication, the page numbers. k) Professional organizations: List the names of relevant professional associations in which you hold or recently held memberships, including any board or important committee office held. l) References: You can state "Available upon request" or you supply reference information with prior approval from those being used as references. m) Other: You may find as you are writing your resume that there are certain things that reflect your seriousness as an artist that do not fit in any of the standard categories. You may include information in your resume under whatever headings you feel appropriate, e.g., employment objectives, special projects, publications (articles you have written), etc. You might also like to include the places where people can see your work on an ongoing basis. Remember, this is your tool and you can include whatever you want those receiving it to know. Another style of resume that is commonly used outside of the arts world is a skills-based resume where one lists their set of skills on the first page of their resume after their personal information with all of their other information on the second page. When preparing your resume: a) Keep in mind that a resume should be 100% honest. b) Use the block style for your resume (all items are blocked to the left). c) Arial and Times New Roman fonts are good ones to use because they are easy to read . The smallest font size to use would be 10 and the largest 14. Also, have lots of white space on the page for an easier read with 1" margins around the edges. Generally, use one font throughout. d) All of the statements in your resume should be positive statements. Do not include information that would reflect negatively on you. e) Avoid long words or lengthy sentences. Very simply, say exactly what you mean using proper grammar. f) Use a consistent writing technique. For example, if you have been using phrases such as "attended American wholesale gift shows on a regular basis" to present information, do not suddenly switch to using full sentences. g) Avoid abbreviations whether it be the name of an organization or a date. h) Present yourself as confident but not boastful. When completed, print your resume. Proof read it thoroughly, make any necessary corrections and then print your good copy on 8" by 11" white bond paper, single sided. Put each page in a good quality clear plastic sleeve for presentation in your portfolio. Whenever necessary, your resume can be updated to reflect your current situation. Anything that is no longer relevant is excluded. The various categories of the resume may be reordered for specific use. Things that you wish to stress will appear earlier in the resume. Your Artists' Statement Your artists' statement can place your work in context by describing the ideas which inspire your work; what you perceive your work to mean. It may be as short as a paragraph or two or as long as one or two pages. You might state what you perceive your work to mean and/or give a more factual account describing the materials you use and your processes and procedures. It helps those viewing the slides to form an understanding of your intent. Your Slides Your slides should indicate that you know the direction in which your work is going. A large part of a decision hinges on your slides. Select thoughtfully as your slides are making a major part of your statement. Your slides may represent :
It's not uncommon for application criteria to state that all slides must be of work done in last 3 years. Always mark the originals of your slides as a master copy (it's a good idea to have 2 master copies of each slide, taken at the same time) Keep one set of your masters in a secure place while the other may be sent away for copying.
Your Slide List Anytime slides are sent away, they must be accompanied by a numbered slide list with the corresponding relevant information: title, medium, technique, size, date of production and sometimes the price or insured value (if not for sale). The numbers on the slide list should correspond to the numbers on the little red dots on your slides.
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