It’stimeto startaskingforwhatyouwant,
saysourcolumnistLAURABOSWELLH
owgoodareyouataskingfor
whatyouwantwhenit comes
toyourart?Beingtheone
makingthefirstapproachcanfeel
daunting,whetherthat’sjoininga
localartgrouporpickingupthe
phonetocallyourfirstgallery.
I’mthefirsttoconfessthatI am
verybadatasking.It tookmethree
daysofagonisingbeforeI emailed
theeditorofthismagazinetosuggest
I writeforhim.InretrospectI needn’t
haveworried,butI amgladI did:
it showshowmuchtheideamattered
tome.Startbyseeingnervesasa
positivesignthatyouareinvested
inwhateverit is youarerequesting.
Beinginvestedis great,butit’sjust
asimportanttothinkthroughyour
requestandconsiderif youwant
theconsequencesthatfollowfrom
a positivereaction.I oncefoundthe
couragetoaska localmuseumfor
permissiontousetheirprintingpress.It seemeda goodideaatthetime
forbothparties,butI wassweptup
intheromanceoftheideaandfailed
tothinkthroughthecommute,the
lackofpracticalspaceandthefact
thepresswasverymuchonitslast
legs.Theprojectwasdroppedfairly
fastandI feltbadaboutwasting
everybody’stime.
ThebestbitofadviceI ever
receivedwithregardstoasking
camefroma galleryandI thinkit
is applicabletoanysituationwhere
thereis a formalprocessinvolved,
fromjoininganartgrouptoentering
a competition.Theadviceis simple:Never let fear of refusal put you
ABOVE Laura off asking for something
Boswell, Granite,
linocut, 40x60cm
get a pen and paper, call the person
in charge or read the website, write
down what you need to do and follow
the instructions to the letter. Knowing
you are doing things correctly can be
very calming and it is surprising how
many people fall at this first hurdle.
When you ask, you don’t always get.
It is important to see that rejection is
just part and parcel of putting yourself
forward. Try not to take it to heart, it
happens to us all and sometimes it’s
just a matter of getting the timing
right. My applications for both of my
Japanese residences were rejected
several times, but I got there in the
end. Never let fear of refusal put you
off asking for something; I promise
you that feeling bad for never taking
the chance is a far worse feeling.
Laura’s new book, Making Japanese
Woodblock Prints, is published
this month by Crowood Press.
http://www.lauraboswell.co.ukArtists & Illustrators 27